His Construction Princess

How did you know where I was?

Aria' POV

"Most important thing first. You need a new roof and mold treatment", I informed him, still trying to ground my bearings. Alexander swiped a tear that had fallen down my chin. "You can do that, right?", he inquired. I nodded. "Yes. I also have the PPE for a crew", I answered, as I started to leave the room to explore the rest of the house.

Alexander is going to make this hard for me. He's handsome, charming, and unresistable. I need to control myself. "Lucky for you, the structural integrity of the house seems to be in good shape. Of course, I haven't busted the walls open yet, so I can't speak on the possibility of termite damage", I said, as we walked down the hall.

"The railing on the staircase needs to be brought up to code. I'm sure the electricial system needs the same.” "How long do you think?", he asked. I grimanced at his question. "That's not very fair to ask. This is a major undertaking for my experienced crew. It would take months. I'm incapable of estimating a time frame with a crew I've never worked with before", I answered honestly.

"That's fair", he nodded. "Tell them to be here for 6am. And to be ready to work. With summer approaching, we don't have a wide window of time before it is too hot to put novices on the roof", I informed him. He nodded his head in understanding as he followed me around and listened closely.

"Do you have all the specs on this house? The year it was built, blue prints, inspection reports?", I questioned, looking over my shoulder at him. I was sure I just caught him staring at my ass. "I do. In the truck", he answered, clearing his throat and pulling at his collar. I smirked, focusing back on the task at hand.

"This house has undergone renovations before, but it doesn't look like it's been touched in twenty-five years", I observed. "It hasn't", he confirmed. We headed back to his truck with the understanding that we couldn't do a more detailed inspection until we had a new roof and the mold was treated.

"I will inform you. I will only be showing up at 6a.m for a week or so. Then, I expect the crew to take charge until 8a.m. My son gets on the bus at 7:30, and I can only ask my mom to do it for so long", I explained. "I understand, family first", Alexander acknowledged, as we got back on the road.

"Can we exchange numbers?", he asked, quirking an eyebrow at me. "Absolutely", I answered, pulling my phone out. He sighted his number off. "What's your last name?", I asked, saving his number. "Moretti", he answered. I smirked as I sent him a quick text. 'Hey, this is Aria Smokes'. His phone dinged as my message went through.

"This is the folder you asked about", Alexander said, reaching into the backseat. A drift of his cologne filled my senses. I bit my lip to keep from moaning. What the f**k, Aria? Pull it together. Are you f*****g ovulating? Jesus.

Alexander's eyes pinned to my lips momentarily. "Thank you", I uttered, taking the file from his hand. "You're welcome, princess", he grinned. My heart stuttered, and my head twitched. I looked up at him, fully confused. The professional in me wants to tell him not to call me that, it's unprofessional.

The little girl in me is swooning at the drawl behind his lips, and the brat in me? Ha, she wants to rowl him up and snap at him that I'm not HIS princess. A breath taking smirk formed on Alexander's lips, as if he could read my thoughts. "What's the matter?", he quirked.

"Uh, you probably shouldn't call me that", I failed to win the battle in my head and they both answered. He chuckled. "Probably?", he teased. Heat rose to my cheeks. I inhaled to hit him with a comeback, but came up short. So, I closed my mouth and pretended to busy my self with my work.

Of course, I didn't comprehend a single word I read. No, instead I'm trying to understand why, this man, out of all the men I've crossed, had the ability to throw me off my game. It's baffling.

"You mentioned, irrational fears while you were in the attic. Can you explain to that me? What's an irrational fear?", Alexander changed the subject. "An irrational fear, is a fear that I shouldn't have but do", I said, still looking down at the file.

"Like?", he inquired. "Like attics, basements, crawl spaces, water heaters, pipes, a crap load of electricial wires, spiders. That's a big one for me right there", I explained. Alexander looked rightfully confused. "Wait. you literally work with all of that", he commented, looking at me with creased eyebrows. Pure confusion, that's what his beautiful irises screamed.

"Correct", I nodded. "So, why would you chose this job?", he asked. "I love it. And they’re irrational fears. The only way to get over them is to face them", I answered, looking out the window. "That.. makes sense", he nodded, looking at me with a determined look. "Brave", he uttered. "Or stupid", I chuckled.

"Do my men need to bring anything with them tomorrow?", Alexander asked. "Steel toes. No exceptions", I instructed. "Yes ma'am", Alexander smirked. Alexander pulled into the parking spot next to my truck. "Are you headed home after this?", he questioned. I chuckled, "I wish".

He looked at me expectantly. "I need to put an order together for the house that got wrecked today. So, I'm headed there", I answered, as I got out of his truck. "Alone?", he appeared genuinely concerned. "I'll be okay. Promise", I grinned. "I'll see you in the morning, Mr. Moretti", I smiled. "Alex", he corrected, as I closed the door.

I was zoned out the entire drive to the job site. f**k! Aria, you can't get wrapped up with a client. It would not end well at all. I unlocked the house and started taking notes of measurements and materials. I was completely on auto-pilot. A hundred thoughts running through my mind.

I stepped outside to take the measurements there as well. As I was finishing, I felt a hand shove me against the splintered siding. "You really think that you can just get away with humiliating me?", Rico's voice was filled with venom, as he pinned me to the wall with his body.

"Look at this mess, Rico. You humiliated yourself", I growled, attempting to get free of his grasp. "But, you didn't help it, did you? No, you made it worse", he hissed, shoving me into the wall harder. "Let me the f**k go, Rico", I yelled, struggling against him.

What the f**k? I'm too tired for this. Too stressed out. "Ooh, struggle more for me, baby. It's sexy", he growled, moving his hands to my exposed sides. "Get the f**k off of me", I said, elbowing him in the jaw. It was a delayed effect, taking a moment before I felt his body leave mine.

At least that's what I thought, until I turned around. Alexander had Rico by the collar, pumbling him with his fist. "Alex", I uttered, before crouching over to catch my breath. Rico was unconscious after the second hit but that didn't stop Alexander.

After a good eight strikes to his face, Alex let Rico's collar go, letting his body fall lifelessly to the ground. "Are you okay, princess?", Alex said, sprinting towards me and cupping my face in his hands, making me wince. "Yeah. Thank you", I whispered. Concern shown deeply in Alex's frown lines.

Wait a minute. "How did you know where I was?", I asked, confused.