Sofia pulled up to the Shah project Friday morning. They had three days left to finish the house before the big reveal, and she needed to be there every step of the way for the finishing touches, despite her desire to avoid Adrian. Her punch list was flooded with details, and she couldn’t afford to let a single one slip. As she got out of the car, her brother Enzo leaned against his shovel and grinned. At eight a.m., his brown hair was already plastered to his head, and he wore a smudge of dirt across his high cheekbone.

“You’re out here early.” She greeted him as she walked up the drive.

“Been here since six. I figured I’d get as much done as possible before the film crew slows me down. It’s gonna be a hot one today.”

“Cameras roll at nine?”

“Yep. Not your usual filming attire,” he pointed out. She looked down at her torn denim jeans and her ancient college intramural basketball shirt, both splattered with a rainbow of paint, and shrugged.

“I’m not wearing nice clothes on a get-dirty day. How can I help with the yard?” Her little brother loomed over her as he gave her a hug. As she wrapped her arms around him, she realized his skinny waistband was bare. He’d managed to avoid being miked yet. She let her guard fall just a little and hugged him tight. Enzo had always been a string bean, ever since he grew six inches the summer before sixth grade. He never had been able to hold much weight on his frame. Working in landscaping had helped him pack on some muscle, but he was still a wiry giant who loomed over his big sister when he hugged her. Not for the first time, Sofia wished she could share some of her padding just to fill him out a little. Her Italian grandmother gene was strong.

“I’m good. You don’t need to get all dirty.”

“Yes, I do, Enzo. You’re covering the labor on this for free to keep us on budget. The least I can do is reduce your personal labor.”

“Fair enough. Grab some gloves from my truck. You can run wheelbarrows of dirt from the truck to the beds, and then fill up with trimmings to take back to the dumpster from these olives I’m pruning.”

“You’ve got it. I really owe you one.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Got any requests?”

“Just…keep an open mind over the next few weeks.” With that, her cryptic little brother clammed up and turned back to his clippers.

Why would she need an open mind? Was he talking about the show? Or Adrian’s proposal? Or something else? She hated not knowing, but she deliberately did as he asked and moved on. “I don’t know if I said it before, but I love your plan for this yard. Simple, native plants with modern touches of wood and whimsy. They’re going to love it.”

“Thanks, sis. I’m glad you approve. You gonna get movin’ or what?”

“On it.” She leaned up and pressed a kiss on his sweaty cheek. “Thanks again.”

“I’m doing it as much for me as for you.”

They worked in companionable silence, and Sofia got caught up in thoughts of Adrian. He was here. She’d seen his truck. She wondered how he was doing, but she was too embarrassed over the way she’d left that she decided to let it be until after they finished the pilot project. As the pile of cut shrubbery grew and the pile of dirt to be shifted diminished, a comfortable numbness descended. So when Enzo interrupted her flow with a question, she was caught off guard and answered honestly.

“So what do you think of this thing with Adrian?”

“I don’t know what I think. It all happened so fast.”

“Not so fast. He has worked for the company for twelve years.”

Ohhhh. The partnership. Right. Of course that’s what he meant. Sofia looked around to see if they were being filmed, before she answered. She’d rather not have their private family business shared on camera.

“True, and he is a reliable contractor. But I just don’t see how this is going to work. Has Dad given you any specifics of his plan?”

“Not in so many words, but I’m for it. If it gets him off my back about leading the company, let’s do it. Yesterday.”

“You don’t have any qualms about handing over part of our family legacy to someone else? No concerns about who’s going to be in charge?”

“Not really. I trust Adrian. I want him on the team.” Enzo snipped more branches from the olive, making it look more topiary than tree.

“As a team member, for sure, but Dad can’t seem to answer the question of what role exactly Adrian will be playing. Is he going to be your boss? My boss? An equal partner? A lesser partner?”

“All I know is that ever since Gabe died, Dad’s been looking at me like I’m some replacement oldest son, and I’m sick of it. If he wants Adrian to step into that spotlight, more power to him.”

The idea of anyone replacing Gabe in the family sat like a stone in Sofia’s stomach. True, she was still angry at Gabe for dying and was desperate to move past the career block his death had become. But no one could ever replace her brash, brave, big brother.

“I mean, he’s practically already family.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Sofia snapped at him, daring him to back that up. What did he know?

“Twelve years is a long time to learn about the running of a company. He’s been with us through a lot of ups and downs, and if Dad trusts him to be the crew boss, so do I.” Enzo tossed his pruners into his work bucket and picked up a shovel.

“I’ll tell you one thing. He’s not going to be my boss.” Sofia spun to see Frankie strolling up the path in ancient cargo pants and a freebie shirt that had seen better days.

“Has Dad said anything to you?” Sofia was hoping for more details so she could craft her response before Dom jumped off the deep end and got everyone into trouble.

“No. But he knows I want to run the company. I’ve dropped enough hints, and I’m putting in the man-hours to become head contractor. This is our company, and I’ll be damned if I let someone swoop in and nab it just because Dad thinks I’m too young.” Frankie’s crossed arms and scowl sent a clear message.

“No one said anything about making him your boss,” Enzo argued while he jabbed his long-handled shovel into the ground, clearing a hole for his cypress to live in happily.

“So far no one has said that he won’t be either. I wouldn’t put it past Dad to pull some crap like that.”

“Frankie, if he was family, would you have a problem with it?”

“If he was family, we’d have hashed out this plan together a thousand times during our childhood. We’d have made a pact to run it together. We’d have secretly teamed up to outsmart the middles. But he’s not family, so yeah it’s a problem.”

“So if I’m hearing this correctly, we have one for and two against his proposal?” Enzo asked.

“One and a half for and against. Lord knows we’re going to need some help if the pilot gets picked up, and I’m not against him being a part of the company. But until someone can tell me what part that would be, I’m withholding judgment. We should also talk to Seth about this before we go any further.” Sofia was trying to hold to her impartial position, but her father’s silence wasn’t making it easy.

“Talk to Seth about what?” Her cocky cousin walked up behind Sofia and put his head on her shoulder to surprise her.

“Speak of the devil, and he shall appear.”

“What plot are we hatching now? Are we gonna go egg someone’s tree house again?”

“Hush! There is no evidence to suggest that we had anything to do with that. No, we’re talking about Adrian’s partnership proposal. Have you talked to Dad about it?”

“No. I figured it would work itself out. If he wants to buy in, I don’t have a problem with it. Heck, Nick just bought in when we merged companies.”

“Nick bought in but only retained the rights to decisions involving his custom furniture branch of the company. Adrian’s situation is different. He’d be buying in to have a say over the building business, and equity. How does that work? Seth, do you get Zio Tony’s part of the business and we four split Dad’s? Do we reset the pot and do an equal split five ways? Does Nick want to get in on that and make it six?”

Seth shrugged.

“No, dammit. You can’t shrug this off. Why am I the only one thinking about all this?”

“Well, you are the business manager.”

“NO, I AM NOT! I’m the designer. And just because you all don’t pay the bills doesn’t mean you shouldn’t care about the structure of this company. Frankie, how would you feel if Adrian was your boss versus an equal partner?”

“Dad knows I want to run the building teams one day.”

“He doesn’t think you’re ready yet, and Mom wants him to retire now.”

“That’s not going to happen, Fi.”

“But it could, because who knows what Dad is thinking. Has anyone talked to him lately?”

“No. He’s been avoiding us. He hangs out with Jake whenever he’s here, and I definitely don’t want to talk about this with that snake listening in. He gives me the creeps.” Frankie shivered dramatically.

“Anyone talk to Mom either? How’s she holding up?” Shrugs. Crickets. Sofia looked over her shoulder and saw Trina approaching with her camcorder rolling. “Okay. I’ll check in on her. If anyone can corner Dad, share the details, okay?” She raised her voice and angled herself toward the front door. “Now, let’s get this house ready to reveal. The yard looks fantastic, Enzo. Frankie, thanks for coming to pitch in. Can you finish the trim in the nursery? Come on, Seth. I’ll help you carry in the island.”

* * *

Adrian’s brain hitched when he heard Sofia’s voice in the entryway. Just the sound of her was enough to distract him. He set down his box cutter and waited. Walking backward into the kitchen, Sofia didn’t notice him right away. Adrian watched her carry in the island piece with Seth, admiring her strength and dedication. He couldn’t lie. He also enjoyed seeing her fine curves from his position kneeling on the floor, unpacking the tiles. He’d wondered if she’d go out of her way to avoid seeing him after her hasty retreat from his apartment, and he wasn’t thrilled that their first encounter would be in front of cameras. He had too many questions pushing at the front of his brain to trust his filter for long. He stood up and braced himself.

“Oh! Hi, Adrian.” Her voice squeaked on the last syllable as she tripped over a box of tiles waiting for installation, finally noticing his presence.

“Hi, Sofia. You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m fine. Seth, can you install the island, or do you need a hand?”

So she was still going to try and avoid him, huh? Hmm, he’d really rattled her. He didn’t know whether to be pleased or worried about that. He settled for a little of both.

“I’ve got it. Adrian can help me get the countertop on. It’s pretty straightforward since there’s no prep sink or gas range to install.”

“Great. As soon as you get it done, Adrian is going to get the tile floor laid, right?” She was narrating for the benefit of the camera Trina had rolling, and he played along.

“Yep, I’ve got the slate right here.” She stopped in her tracks halfway out of the kitchen.

“Slate?”

“Yeah. You didn’t see it when you came in?” he teased. She didn’t smile as he’d hoped.

“No, I clearly didn’t, or I would have asked you what the hell blue slate tiles were doing in my neutral kitchen instead of the bathrooms?”

The terse tone of voice had his hackles rising. Damn it. He hadn’t said anything about the cost of using real stone tiles because he’d been determined to back-off his “utilitarian” stance, but it seemed he couldn’t win. “The cut sheets in the project binder say blue slate in the kitchen and the porcelain faux marble in the bathrooms.”

“That’s not right. Let me see that.” She snatched the massive binder from his hands and scanned the page. “Da…rn it!” Trina moved in for a close-up with her camera mounted on her shoulder, and Sofia barely managed to catch the curse. “How the heck did this happen?”

“I’m sure it was just a simple switch error when someone was entering the details.”

“But was it ordered wrong? Or just written wrong? And…oh God! Did you already tile the bathrooms?” She shoved the binder at him and sprinted to see for herself, not waiting for a reply. He chased after her, his temper rising. Rico was mixing the grout, but hadn’t started laying the floor tile yet. “Stop! Hold on! That’s the wrong tile.”

He raised his hands as if he was being held up at gunpoint, his trowel dripping mortar back into the bucket. Adrian stifled a chuckle, knowing it would only piss her off more.

“Adrian. I need you to figure this out. Do we have enough tiles to finish the kitchen? Or did we order the wrong amounts?”

“I’ll figure it out. Relax.”

Aware that Trina was filming them intently, Sofia managed to keep her temper under control, but just barely. “Relax? We are three days from turning this house over to its owners, and I’m standing on a bare kitchen floor. I have a list a mile long of punch out work that still needs doing, and apparently a tile disaster to figure out. And you want me to relax? Figure it out, Adrian. I don’t have time for any other mistakes.” She looked him straight in the eye, adding meaning to her last two words.

His blood ran cold. Message received. He shrugged and turned to Trina. “Looks like I’ve got to track down some tile.”

* * *

Sofia detoured by craft services to snag a cup of coffee, hoping to restore her sanity before tackling the switch plates and outlet covers throughout the house as painters cleared the bedrooms. That man made her crazy on all the levels. Had she really just ranted at him about tiles in front of the camera? Did she look like a raging harpy or the sexually frustrated coworker? Damn. If she lost her chance at this show, at her dream, because she let herself get all twisted up over a guy, she didn’t think she could forgive herself.

“I think that’s all mixed in now.”

“Huh?”

Jake Ryland stepped up beside her and yanked her from her racing thoughts.

“You’ve been stirring that coffee like a can of separated paint. What’s up?”

“Nothing. Just a little mix-up. Nothing we can’t handle.”

“Don’t stress over mix-ups. Trust me. They make for better television. No one wants to see everything go right.”

“No one wants their house to turn out a mess either though.”

“True, which is why I’m glad you’re on top of it. I love the direction this pilot is heading. The tension between you and Adrian is a great plot arc. Keep up the good work.” He walked away before she had a chance to respond. He had a bad habit of doing that.

Sofia was sure he was a busy guy, but she had a sneaking suspicion that he cultivated that perception to avoid having to deal with arguments against what he said. If he’d stayed, would she have told him she wasn’t sure what kind of tension was arcing between her and Adrian?

Probably not. At least not until she figured that out for herself.

She took a quick tour of the house while she sipped her coffee, pleased with the overall progress. Tiling the bathrooms and kitchen were the last major projects. The flooring in the rest of the house was done. Drywall was up, sanded, and primed. The painters were in the back bedrooms, so they’d be ready to do the front rooms tomorrow.

She could see each room coming together as it had in her mind, details from her design sheets floating into place. If she could just get them to align this nicely during move in, she’d have done it. She’d have proven that she could do the job she loved and do it well. Maybe then she’d be ready to beard the lion in his den and pin down her father about what he wanted to do with the company when he retired.

She tossed her empty coffee in the trash, energy restored, and picked up a screwdriver and her bag of covers. Time to make her dreams come true, one switch plate at a time.