My Uptown Girl

by C. Morgan

  I grimaced, knowing what that meant. “The wall under the sink?”

  She nodded. “I couldn’t see. There was so much water.”

  “Okay. I can look into it, but I’ll need to go home and get some tools.”

  “What? Really?”

  “Yes, I told you before, I’m pretty handy with these hands.”

  For a brief moment, the worry and strain left her face. “Yes, you are.”

  “Do you have a squeegee?”

  She bit her lower lip. “I don’t know. Probably. I’m sure we do.”

  “Look, you can’t work in there. I have shut off your main water. I hate to say it, but you need to close. If you can, have someone use the squeegee and push the water out the back door. You can mop up what’s left.”

  She was nodding. “Yes, you’re right. Good thinking.”

  “You have staff here. If anything is in the water, you need to move it. Do what you can to get the water away from the freezer and fridge.”

  She offered me a small smile. “You’re kind of my hero.”

  “Damn straight. I’ll be back. I need to make a delivery and then pick up my tools.”

  “Thank you. I appreciate any help you can give.”

  “It’s not a problem,” I told her.

  I looked around and noticed her staff was watching us. I was sure they were wondering why someone like her was even talking to someone like me. It was a beauty and the beast situation. I was the beast. I was in my work clothes and my old tattered boots, and I probably stunk.

  “I have a plumber coming out,” she said.

  I shrugged. “That’s fine. I won’t come back.”

  “No!” she blurted out and touched my arm. “Please do. I called several plumbers. I didn’t think you were an option.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “An option.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “I’ll be back,” I said and decided I didn’t give a shit what the people standing around thought. I grabbed her face and gave her a quick kiss before swatting her ass and walking away.

  I didn’t miss the looks from the small group of her staff. I didn’t care who knew. If they had any thoughts about hooking up with her, I wanted to quickly discourage it. It would be easier to do it without violence.

  I had a feeling her problem was much bigger than she realized. I was going to have to tear into the wall, which meant pulling the sink and god knew what else. A plumber would take advantage of her. Then I’d have to kick his ass. It was easier for all parties involved if I just fixed it myself.

  I quickly made the one other delivery and drove home. I dug around in the garage, grabbing tools I thought I might need. If I needed something else, the hardware store wasn’t far. I debated changing but figured I was going to get wet and dirty anyway. I wasn’t going to be too worried about my appearance.

  Chapter 22

  Amara

  I sent everyone home. I couldn’t afford to pay the staff if I wasn’t making any money. The week had been too long and too slow. Now with the water damage that was going to cost a fortune to fix and the loss of inventory, I was screwed. I would clean up the water myself. It was my responsibility.

  Kerri pulled into the parking lot just as I was bringing out a garbage bag filled with soaked paper products. “What the hell happened?” she asked as she walked toward me.

  “A pipe burst. At least I’m assuming that’s what happened.”

  “No!” she wailed. “I saw the cook at the store. I thought he was teasing when he said you sent everyone home for the day.”

  I slowly shook my head. “Not joking.”

  “Why didn’t you keep them and have them help clean up?”

  “Because I can’t afford to pay, and I have no idea how long we are going to be closed for.”

  “Did you call a plumber?”

  I rolled my eyes. “I called three. They are all busy. They can be here after four, which just happens to be emergency hours and the fee is doubled.”

  “Assholes.”

  “Yeah, and even when they do show up, it’s hard telling how much it will cost to fix.”

  She walked in, her feet sloshing through the water. “Oh my god,” she breathed. “Did a geyser explode?”

  “It was running for several minutes. I didn’t know how to shut off the water. Fulton happened to come by at the right time and shut it off.”

  She was doing a slow turn around the restaurant. “This is not good.”

  “No, it isn’t,” I said with a heavy sigh.

  “I hate to say it and I know you don’t want to, but do you think it’s time to call your dad? He could pay for the repairs. The restaurant has been doing okay and you’ll be able to pay him back if you feel like that is necessary.”

  “I’m not going to borrow money from my father,” I told her. “Fulton said he would come by to see if he can fix it, but I’m not holding out a lot of hope.”

  “At least you can pay Fulton with sex.”

  I frowned at her. “That makes me sound like a prostitute.”

  “Whatever works. Write him an IOU. Like one hummer for every hour he works.”

  My mouth fell open. “You sound like you have done this before.”

  “Not exactly this, but of course, I’ve used sex as a bargaining tool.”

  “I’m not going to bribe him or pay him with sex,” I argued.

  “But you can.”

  “I’m not going to.”

  “Then call your dad,” she insisted.

  I looked at the mess. It was bad but it wasn’t bad enough to make me want to call my dad and ask for money. I could not do it. I could not beg him for help. I needed to do this on my own. “I’ll see what the plumber has to say first.”

  She sighed. “Fine. I know when you dig in, you are not going to change your mind.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  “Then I’ll help you clean up,” she said.

  “No. You are off today. I know you have a date.”

  “How do you know that?”

  I smiled and glanced at the outfit she was wearing. “Your dress. And you told me yesterday you were going out with this guy. I’ve got this.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t mind helping. I can tell him I will see him later. It’s an early date.”

  “Nope,” I said, shaking my head. “You go. If you are stuck working all the time, you are going to regret working here and quit. You cannot quit.”

  “Are you sure I can’t help?” she asked again.

  “I’m positive. I’ll let you know what the verdict is and whether we can open tomorrow.”

  She walked toward me and gave me a hard hug. “I’m sorry. I know this sucks. We’ll get through this and things will be back on track in no time.”

  “Thank you,” I said, trying my best to sound confident and positive.

  She patted my head before walking back to her car. Truthfully, I wanted to be alone with my misery. I was pissed at the pipe and myself. If it turned out it was something really bad, it could sink me. I didn’t have the money to make any major repairs. I owned the damn building thanks to my dad, which meant it was on me. I couldn’t call the landlord. It was up to me to figure out how to get out of the mess, and that terrified me a little.

  I walked back inside, leaving the back door opened. I collected more of the stuff that was damaged by the spraying water and went in search of the mop and squeegee. I had a feeling the mess was going to get worse before it got better. The plumber would likely need to remove pipes or something disastrous. Fulton’s offer to help was sweet, but I was certain I was dealing with a situation that would require a lot more than he could do.

  I refused to cry as I looked around at the disaster. Just because it was my entire savings and what very much felt like my life’s blood, I didn’t get to cry. I knew there would be tough days. I expected it, but damn, tough sucked.

  I heard a familiar truck and walked to the back door. I couldn’t believe it. Fulton actually came back.
I truly thought he would call and tell me he got busy or he wasn’t able to fix it.

  “You’re back,” I said when he walked toward me with a toolbox in his hand.

  “Of course, I’m back. I said I would be here.”

  “But I guess I didn’t believe it.”

  “When I say something, believe it,” he said, giving me a hard look. “Now, let’s go see what is going on in here.”

  “You don’t have to do this,” I told him. “I called a couple of plumbers.”

  “Are they here?” he asked without stopping. He put down his toolbox in front of the offending sink and opened it up.

  “No, they can’t be here until later.”

  He stood and looked at me. “Do you want me to leave?”

  “No, but—”

  “Do you want to get your insurance involved and pay a plumber?”

  “I’ve already called my insurance,” I told him.

  “I can take a look. If it’s out of my wheelhouse, you can pay a plumber. If it isn’t, which I’m sure it is not, I’ll fix it. You’ll need to replace a pipe or two and this flooring might need to be replaced. Your insurance will cover it.”

  “I would so appreciate that,” I blurted out. I didn’t want to pay an expensive plumber.

  “Okay, then,” he said and got to his knees.

  I watched as he grabbed a couple of tools and rolled to his back. He slid under the sink, uncaring of the wet floor. His T-shirt moved up a couple of inches when he raised his arms. I had to bite my lip to keep from groaning. I stared at the little trail of black hair that disappeared under the waistband of his jeans. It was horrible, but damn if I didn’t want to crawl over him and ride him right there on the wet floor.

  I stood waiting, feeling completely useless. I heard him curse which was followed by a fresh flood of water.

  “Oh no,” I said and squatted to see what was happening.

  “It’s not bad,” he answered. “Busted pipe, but it isn’t in the wall.”

  He scooted out, sat up, and got to his feet.

  “What?” I asked anxiously. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I can fix it without tearing into the wall, but this leak isn’t new. I’m guessing there has been a lot of water on this floor. You’ll need to replace this section.”

  I looked down at the floor that was discolored and a little uneven. “Replace just the section?”

  “Hopefully.”

  “Hopefully?”

  “This is an old building. The subfloor might need to be replaced as well. I won’t know until I look.”

  I groaned, putting a hand to my face. All I could see were dollar signs. “So, the plumbing isn’t bad, but the floor is?”

  He shrugged. “I’m sure you could skip doing the floor for now, but this section needs replacing. Looking at this tile. I’m not sure you’ll be able find a match. You’ll have a mismatched section.”

  “Shit.”

  “I can do this for you,” he said. “It isn’t hard. It’s time consuming but we can get it done tomorrow. I have a tile saw and I know how to do the flooring. I had to do it in my own house.”

  “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Are you sure? I mean, this looks like a huge job. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

  “It isn’t taking advantage. Friends help friends.”

  I looked into his eyes. Friends. I didn’t know if I liked being called his friend. “Okay. I would really, really appreciate any help you can give.”

  “You’re welcome. For now, we need to get this water out of here. It’s only making the situation worse.”

  I nodded. “You’re right. I’ll do it right now.”

  “Where is everyone?”

  “I sent them home. I can do this.”

  “I’ll help.”

  “Fulton, you don’t have to do that. You’re already doing so much.”

  “Where’s the mop?” he asked, completely ignoring my comment.

  I pointed to the back wall. He took long strides to grab the mop. His back and butt were wet from lying on the floor. It didn’t seem to bother him a bit. He got busy pushing the water to the one floor drain. I didn’t want to stand around looking like an idiot and grabbed the squeegee and started pushing water out the back door.

  We spent the next two hours mopping and cleaning up the area. I felt grateful and guilty for letting him help me.

  “I think this is good,” he said, hands on his hips as he surveyed the area. “We’ll leave the fans running all night. It will help dry everything up a bit more.”

  “God, what a mess.”

  “Your insurance will cover most, I’m sure,” he said. “This is one of those things that happens.”

  I couldn’t help but smile. “You clearly have some experience with these little emergencies.”

  “More than I care to admit,” he said dryly. “Owning your own business is freeing and a drag at the same time. The buck stops with you. I’ve learned a lot over the years from situations just like this.”

  “I can only imagine.”

  “I’ll get the fittings and tape I need to fix the pipe, and then we’ll get started tearing up this floor to see just how bad it is.”

  “I’ll be here. I want to learn. Will you teach me?”

  He winked. “I will teach you anything you want to learn.”

  “All of it. I need to know this stuff. If this happens again, I want to be able to fix this without relying on anyone.”

  As if on cue, there was a knock on the back door and a middle-aged man stepped through. “Did you call a plumber?”

  I rolled my eyes. “Eight hours ago.”

  He shrugged. “It’s been a busy day.” I looked at the barbecue stain on his faded T-shirt. Clearly, he’d been busy stuffing his face.

  “It’s been taken care of. Thanks, anyway.”

  The guy looked at Fulton, who was glaring at him. He looked back at me and nodded. “All right, have a good night.”

  He walked away and I burst into laughter. “I cannot believe they actually thought I would just wait around.”

  “Most people don’t have an option. They are at their mercy.”

  “But I had you,” I said with a soft smile.

  “You have me,” he repeated, dropping a soft kiss on my lips before stepping away. “We’ve got an early day. We better get home.”

  I walked out with him, feeling slightly better than I did when I first saw the disaster. There was a lot of work to be done, but now that I had him by my side, it didn’t feel quite so overwhelming.

  Chapter 23

  Fulton

  I woke with a start. Last night, I had fallen into bed without texting Stanley and letting him know I couldn’t go out today.

  I rolled over, looked at my clock, and saw it was a few minutes before four. I hoped like hell he’d overslept. I would feel guilty if he was up and out the door already. Then again, Stanley was the type that could go back to bed and fall asleep within seconds. There was something to be said for a carefree life. I didn’t think he had any troubles or worries that kept him from getting a good night’s sleep.

  I grabbed my phone, hit the button for his number, and waited.

  “What’s up, boss?” he answered.

  “We’re not going out today. Something came up.”

  He chuckled. “Something? Do you mean you took my advice? Is she in bed next to you right now?”

  “Not that, you idiot. A pipe burst at her restaurant. I’m helping her repair the damage today.”

  “I thought you said we had to go out.”

  “Stanley, go back to bed. We’ll go out tomorrow. I need to do this.”

  “You need any help?” he asked.

  “Nope. I got it.”

  “All right. Good night.”

  He ended the call and that was that. I closed my eyes, testing my body and brain to see if there was any chance I was going to get to sleep in. There wasn’t. The hardware store opened
at six. I could putter around until then and be at the restaurant soon after.

  I gave Amara a call when I was leaving the hardware store. She was already at the restaurant, which surprised me and pleased me at the same time. I liked that she was taking it seriously. I rang the bell at the back. When she opened the door, she was wearing a pair of worn jeans that hugged her body and a loose shirt. Her choice of accessory was what had me smiling.

  “A toolbelt?” I said with a smirk.

  “Yep. I wanted you to know I was serious.”

  “There are no tools in it.”

  “Not yet, but I plan on watching you and learning. Then I will buy the tools you use and put them in my toolbelt.”

  I nodded. “Okay. That works.” I took another look and let my imagination run wild. “I like it. I would like it better if it was the only thing you were wearing.”

  She blushed. “Maybe later.”

  “I’ve got the parts to fix the pipe,” I said, pulling my mind out of the gutter.

  “Great. I’m ready to learn.”

  “It might get a little dirty,” I warned.

  “I’m ready. I’ll get dirty. I’ll do whatever it takes to learn.”

  “Good.”

  It was only a little strange to be lying on the floor with her next to me. I walked her through each step of the repair. It was pretty simple, and if it had been taken care of at the first leak, it could have saved her a lot of trouble.

  “That was easy,” she said when we were done. “I so could have done that.”

  I smiled, getting to my feet and helping her up. “I’m sure you could have.”

  “It was probably like that for a while, huh?”

  “Yep. I think you should be glad it went on the floor and not inside the wall. That could have been a real disaster.”

  She tapped her foot on the floor. “Now this.”

  I nodded. “It feels spongy. I think you’re looking at replacing a good section.”

  “I’m thinking it would be better to replace the whole floor,” she announced.

  I raised my eyebrows. “Are you sure?”

  “The replacement will be a tax write-off and it will improve the value of the building in the long run.”