His Construction Princess

How many of you are scared of heights?

Aria's POV

When I laid down on my bed, I didn't even have time to put on a show before passing out, with Alexander fresh in my thoughts. Like, he lulled me to sleep without even being here.

My alarm blaring told me that it was 4:30 in the morning and time to get my ass moving. I turned on the coffee pot and rolled my morning blunt. I did my normal morning routine, made my bed, got dressed, cleaned up any mess from the day before, while I smoked. Mainly focusing on my own room.

I made a cup of coffee while I accounted for all the tools I would need for today. My mother pulled up as I was attaching my trailer to the truck. "Big job?", my mother asked with distaste. I nodded my head. "Yep", my reply was short. "Thank you again for doing this", I changed the subject.

It's too early to deal with her jealousy. I went back inside to grab my bag and give Colin a kiss before leaving. I stopped at the Home Depot, picked up the order I needed, then stopped to get ice and water for my coolers.

I threw the ice in the cooler and got on the road. I figured I'd just put the cooler together at the job site, while I waited for Marty to deliver the dumpster. My mind kept going back to last night. Cringing at the fact that I had cried my eyes out in a new client's arms.

Gah, Aria, you're such an embarrassment. It's a new day. Time to put my badass pants on, and not dwell on yesterday.

Pulling up to the mansion at 5:30 in the morning was a bit spooky. The fog was still dense on the ground, giving the miniature palace the feel of a silent hill or bly manor scene. A chill of goosebumps traveled down my spine. I shook it off and got out of the truck. I put the coolers together, pulled out all the gear I thought we would need today and gauged my roofing anchor to the roof itself.

The sun began to rise, clearing up some of the fog with it. Marty pulled up with a dumpster as I was finishing placing my anchor on the roof. I signaled for him to park it horizontally against the front of the house, before I climbed down.

"Wow. What a beauty", Marty whistled, climbing out of his truck. "Yeah, it needs major work though", I nodded, looking back at the massive home. Marty handed me an invoice. "This will be my price each time I deliver a dumpster", he said.

I pulled the cash from my pocket and handed it to him. We both signed the invoice as proof it was paid. "Bring another at noon. This one will be full by then", I told him. At first, my request took him by surprise. "Yes ma'am", he saluted, not missing an opportunity to fill his bank account this week.

"Always good doing business with you, Ms. Aria", Marty curtsied. "See you at noon, Marty", I said dismissively. Marty got into his truck and drove away. I checked my watch, 5:50am. They should be here any minute. My anxiety started to take over.

These are all new people that need training and babysitting. Then there's Alex. What a fool I made of myself.

I could hear tires on the gravel road approaching. I quickly took a double dose of my anxiety medicine, knowing damn well, I was going to need it.

Alexander's black RAM 1500 and a black Escalade came into sight. 'You've got this, Aria. It's not the first crew you have trained. This is no different. You can do this', I pep talked myself. Alexander pulled right next to my backed in truck. He put it in park and opened his door.

"Good morning, princess", his gravelly voice sent heat straight to my core. "Good morning", I greeted, trying to keep my s**t together. "How are you feeling this morning?", he asked, taking a step towards me and closing his door.

"Uh, a little sore, but overall I'm fine. Thank you for asking", I nodded, with a gentle smile. Alex smirked as he touched my tender lip. "I should've killed him", he muttered, more to himself than to me. My breath escaped me at the confession, though. My breathing picked up pace the longer we stood there. My chest rose and fell with heavy heaves.

"Are you ready to meet your new crew?", he whispered. I swallowed hard and nodded. "I'll introduce you", he said, holding one hand out and the other to guide me. I could feel the heat of his hand through my shirt, scorching my skin.

On the other side of Alex's truck stood twelve men, standing around, observing their next assignment for the following however many weeks. "Aria, this is my most promising prospects", Alexander said. "If they do good with you, then they will be able to take a permanent position in the family", he explained.

I stood my ground directly in front of the assembly line. "Before we even discuss job assignments, we are going to go over some ground rules. What I expect from all of you", my voice was loud and clear so that I could be heard on either side.

I looked back at Alex, he was leaning against an oak tree that sat indirectly in front of the house.

"Rule number one, he may be your boss outside these grounds. But when you step on this job site, I am your boss. Being construction workers is not a game. One wrong move and someone could lose their lives. Until this house is completely restored, these grounds are my territory", I said, using my hands as I talked.

"Rule number two, if you enjoy using your teeth to eat, or jaw to chew, you'll keep any inappropriate comments about me to yourself. The majority of you believe you are grown men until you are eating a 2 by 4 for an early breakfast. I will show you respect, I demand the same", I said, sternly, looking up and down the line of men, making sure they all heard me.

"And when she's done with you, I'll personally slowly end your f*****g lives", Alexander said, from his position against the tree. "Yes sir", they saluted. I looked back at him with a questionable look. He winked and shot me a panty melting smirk. I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth, before regaining control of myself.

"Rule number three: don't touch the music. You get what you get and you don't b***h", I said, drawing a deep chuckle from behind me. Mhmm, this man is going to get me.

"Moving onto business. We have three major jobs that need to be done first. How many of you have worked in construction before?", I asked. One brawly kid raised his hand.

"What did you do?", I questioned, inclining my head at him. "I was a master drywaller", he boasted proudly. The kid didn't look a day over twenty. I shot Alex a look before facing the kid. "Not anymore. Forget everything you have learned. It's only going to cause you to piss me off", I stated firmly.

He took a step back, offended. "Then what was the point of f*****g asking me?", he sneered with disdain. I took a step towards him, drawing my shoulders back. "So, we could have this f*****g conversation", I growled. This man wasn't about to make me cower. Today and for the foreseeable future, he is my subordinate.

"Keiran, you better think long and hard about your next f*****g move", Alexander's voice was laced with a silent warning. The kid dipped his head in surrender. "Very well. How many of you are scared of heights?", I questioned, falling back to my original position.

Three men raised their hands. "Step forward for me. How many of you get disoriented from heights?", I asked. Two more raised their hands. "Step forward", I demanded. I looked among the crowd left on the rear line. "Who gets sun sick?", I drew my last question. A skinny young man with blonde hair stepped forward.

"Perfect. I have six suits and six harnesses. You six are the hazmat crew. You six are the roofing crew", I said, separating them into two groups, split equally. "I am going to give the roofer's their instructions first, before we move on to hazmat", I said, walking over to the tailgate of my truck, where I had the harnesses and hazmat suits laid out.

"Roofers, come grab a harness", I instructed, grabbing my own from the back seat. I noticed Alexander move closer from his original position. Instead, leaning against my trailer now. The men each grabbed a harness and lined up waiting for my next instruction.