“Well, I would hope I’m never your target, especially if you get that look when you’re just busy thinking about something randomly.”
“Yeah, well, I’d like to get something in my life cleaned up.”
“Yeah, it seems like, one way or another, we all have something like that.” He shook his head. “I’m not so sure we’re all as active about it as you are, though.”
“Probably not,” he replied, with a solid attempt at levity. “So, what’s the problem around here today?” And, with that, they got back down to work, and that kept Simon busy for the next three hours because plenty of problems were here to mull over and to find solutions for. As always, delayed products and staffing issues topped the list. But the foreman mentioned how they also needed to bring the engineers in on something.
Simon swore at that. “Those engineers are costing me more money.”
“Yeah, these kinds of changes involve bigger money outlays,” the foreman noted. “We might want to remember that for later projects.”
“I know,” Simon replied, raising his hands. “Still, it’s a shitty deal.”
“It is. I’ll get him down here as soon as I can.”
“Yeah, and you tell him that this one’s on him because this one is his fault,” Simon declared.
The foreman laughed at that. “You know that, by the time he gets here, he’ll have worked out how it isn’t his fault.”
“They always have an excuse,” Simon noted. “I’m used to it.”
“I know, but we’ll get this done and fixed as soon as we can.”
With that, Simon had to be content. He checked his watch and swore because it was already well after three o’clock. He’d missed his two o’clock appointment, and no way in hell would he make his three o’clock. Plus, the four o’clock appointment remained, still sitting there, waiting. He hated having anybody wait for him. But today he’d completely glossed over several of his meetings and hadn’t even had a chance to deal with any of them. He quickly sent messages of apology to the two o’clock that he’d missed and to the three o’clock, saying he wouldn’t make it. Then quickly raced ahead so he could salvage his four o’clock.
When he realized it was with the damn realtor, he almost swore at that too. He’d have been better off rescheduling the three o’clock to let him know that he was available now, if they still were. This realtor meeting was just enough to piss him off, but he still wanted that property. He walked the last of the blocks, heading up to the place in question.
When he got there, she was stamping her feet impatiently. He just raised an eyebrow, perversely delighted that she’d been forced to wait for him. “What’s your problem?” he asked.
She declared, “My time is important too, you know?”
“So is mine,” he snapped, “and you keep wasting it with these ridiculous counters, when I’ve been very clear in my position.”
She snorted at that. “Well, if you could just come up in price a little, you’d have a done deal.”
“I’m not interested in coming up. It’ll cost way too much money to fix up this building.”
“And yet that’s what you’re doing with all these old places,” she noted. “Do you think we haven’t noticed?”
“I don’t care if you’ve noticed or not,” he stated. “This one is overpriced, which is why you haven’t sold it.”
She frowned. “All I have left is to finalize the paperwork. My clients are actually prepared to come down a little bit,” she announced, as if that tidbit were gold.
“A little bit won’t be enough, which you know very well,” he snapped. “Stop wasting my time.”
“Well, my time apparently doesn’t matter to you,” she said in a snide tone.
He just crossed his arms and waited. “So, have you got any news or not?”
She frowned. “They are interested.”
“Don’t give me that. I told you what my price is. Yes or no?”
She hesitated.
“So that’s a no then, I presume, and we’re done here.” He raised an eyebrow. “As I’ve told you too many times before, don’t bother calling me again. My price is my price. I’m not interested in any other deal.” He turned to walk away.
“Wait.”