“You understand I will have to coordinate my work with commissioning the engine, transmission, and other parts. It is not a small undertaking, Mr. Franconi.”
“That’s why I’ll pay you whatever you need to get it done. We can start with the chassis and sheet metal pieces. Then I’ll need to lay in all the wiring. You can take longer to get the engine and transmission. Tell your crew I’ll give a bonus for early delivery.”
The older man wagged his head, staring down at the schematics Will had sent. “These will have to be modified for what you want.”
During the past couple of days, Will had combed the Internet for a similar racing model. What he wanted, though, was much more specialized. “You’re the only man who can do this.” It wasn’t flattery, it was true.
“I will try, Mr. Franconi, but my shop has customers.”
Rupert’s shop was damn near a factory. He was the largest employer in his small town. He had a reputation for overseeing every project like a hawk. Will had a feeling the man would be so intrigued by the project that he’d do a lot of the work himself.
“I’m willing to pay to get this design first in line. I’ll even pay your customers a wait fee, if that’s what it takes.”
“You make an offer a man cannot refuse. But what is the penalty if I discover I cannot deliver on time?”
There was always a penalty clause. But Will was asking for a miracle. “No penalty. Just give me your honest estimate, and I’ll work with that. Keep in mind that this is a present for a teenage boy. And I don’t want him disappointed.” Which was why Will would approach Harper about the car after it was a done deal. He didn’t want to get Jeremy’s hopes up only to crush them later.
Rupert nodded gravely. “Your son is a lucky boy.”
“Not my son. A friend.”
“Then he is very lucky to have a friend like you. I will do my best. You will hear from me by the end of the week.”
Will was the lucky one. For the first time in years, he felt major excitement stirring in his gut. It was partly the new project. It was partly doing something that would mean so much to someone else. It would be the look on Jeremy’s face when he invited the kid to help build the Birdcage Maserati.
But most of all, it was Harper.
*
Working from home, Harper’s Thursday morning had been so full with phone interviews and follow-ups for her recruiting company that she hadn’t even folded the weekend’s laundry. Too often, she didn’t finish putting away the previous week’s clean clothes before she had to wash the current week’s dirty ones.
She pushed her hair out of her face as she stared in dismay at the mess in the family room. On the coffee table, Jeremy’s coloring book and crayons were a hodgepodge of color. The kitchen bar was littered with papers, lists, notes, and several days’ worth of junk mail. She really needed to weed out the important stuff and toss the rest. But housecleaning was always at the bottom of the to-do list.
This afternoon, she told herself. And this time she meant it.
Now, where was the Gordon resume? She could have sworn it was on the dining table, which served as her desk. Back in the dining room, she sat down at her computer to reprint the resume.
She hadn’t been quite this disorganized in the past when she’d gone into an office every day, but at home things sometimes got away from her. Jeremy often dropped his notebook on top of her work, and he’d been known to accidentally grab her papers along with his homework. He’d also been using the computer to email Will, who had come up with the brilliant idea to use Skype, too.
Will.
He always told Jeremy to tell her he said hi, but Harper hadn’t spoken directly to Will since their dinner at Cannelli’s. Not since she’d thrown herself at him by the water temple...and then completely freaked out.
She was still embarrassed at the way she’d acted on their first—and only—date. Throwing herself at a man, and then flip-flopping back to being stone cold, wasn’t like her at all. She wanted to apologize for her behavior at the same time that she wished she could forget all about it.
In any case, it was very nice of Will to continue corresponding with Jeremy even though he didn’t want to go out with her again. And it was all for the best that they didn’t become more deeply involved, of course. It was taking everything she had to keep her and Jeremy’s life together as it was. She didn’t need to add a complication like Will Franconi to her personal life.
Unfortunately, just because she didn’t need something didn’t mean she didn’t want it...
“Okay, stop thinking.” Especially when her thoughts were going round and round in circles about a man she could never have. “You’ve got work to do.”