PRIME - 4. Construction Crew

“I’d like you to use Carlos for the remodeling.” Grandpa nodded while looking over my one-sheet proposal and the rough, hand-drawn sketch. I guessed he approved.

“He and his crew did a good job at the bowling alley.” Carlos Lopez was a Cuban daddy who had been friends with Grandpa for as long as I could remember. The middle-aged man was a hunk. Whenever he visited the site while his crew worked, I would follow his bouncing bubble butt all over the place. I was uncertain how his relationship to the Martellini family came about, but I did not think it had anything to do with the old illegal enterprises. “This is going to be different though. Instead of doing it piecemeal over two years, I want it done fast.”

Grandpa smirked. “Itching to open up? When do you think it’ll happen?”

“Well, it’s a total gut job on the main floor. Inspections and approvals will take forever.” Grandpa gave me a questioning look. “And no, I don’t want you using your connections. If this is meant to be a hundred percent legit, I’d rather not start off bribing inspectors.” I was certain he tugged a few strings when we redid the alley, but I wanted to ensure none of that would happen with my joint. “Springtime for the grand opening?”

“Acting like a proprietor already, I see. Any other commands?” The tone was light. It felt like he was toying with me instead of being upset I had ordered him not to do something.

“Sorry, Grandpa. But if I’m going to be in charge, I don’t want anything or anyone coming back to bite me in the ass.”

“Smart. If you encountered any blowbacks we could deal with them, but it’s better if you don’t. So, what’s the next step?”

“Three of them, actually. Talk to Carlos, hire an architect, and decide what to do with the top floors.”

“It’s your building, Tony. You decide what to do with them. My suggestion’s to keep one of the upstairs units for yourself. Maybe a place to work and to crash on nights you don’t want to return to Brooklyn. The others you can rent out and make some extra money.”

“They’re as filthy and disgusting as the main floor, Grandpa. Now that you’re okay with my plan, I’ll call Carlos and ask him to meet me there next week. I’m also going to send in a crew to scrub the upper floors. Any remodeling I’ll figure out later. After I stop being scared of catching something by touching a wall.”

“Don’t be a pansy.” Grandpa laughed at his own joke and at the one-finger response I gave him.

A few days later, my phone rang while I talked to the guy in charge of the cleaning detail I had hired. “Hey, Carlos. You downstairs?” I had scheduled the initial meeting with my contactor for the same day as the disinfecting started. “Take a look around. I’ll be with you in a couple of minutes.

“It all has to come off.” I pointed at the peeling wallpaper, yellowed with age and tar from years of cigarette smoke. “Do what you can today but plan on bringing a steam gun and scrapers tomorrow. There are pieces of furniture all over the place. Let’s get anything salvageable to one of those charities like Goodwill and dump the rest.”

When I reached the bar space, I momentarily froze.

“Tony! Good to see you again.” Carlos spoke before I could shake my surprise and utter a word. “You remember José? Hope you don’t mind me bringing him along. I figured since you guys got along well when we worked at the bowling alley, I would have him run the crew here.”

Did Carlos just give me a knowing look? I sure as hell remembered the man. “Morning, Carlos. Hey, Jose. Good to see you again, man.” The first time he fucked me was in a restroom at Williamsburg Lanes. We had closed it for remodeling, and he had called me in to show me something or other. Turned out it was his cock. When sweaty and disheveled I walked out sometime later, the olive-skinned, thirty-something man knew he had me hooked. It was not the last time he used me.

“When Carlos told me he had a job for me, I didn’t realize it would be with you. Is Dante going to be around too?” Jose lifted the sunglasses off his balding pate and seductively ran a hand over his head. He had tried to get into my cousin’s pants too but had been rejected.

“Nope. Just me. Dante’s in charge of the bowling alley by himself these days.”

“Too bad. I may have to drop by there at some point to say hello.”

“Okay, you two can get reacquainted later.” Carlos definitely knew; the nearly imperceptible wink while he stroked his silver-threaded beard gave him away. “Tell me what we’re doing here.”

“Uhm, yeah, okay. You got the drawing and summary I emailed you?”

“Yeah. Not architectural-plan quality, but good enough to get a rough idea.” His lopsided grin made me roll my eyes.

“Whatever… Those are coming. We hired an architect and expect initial drawings in a week or two. Once we look at them and make any modifications, she promised to finalize them right away.”

“Okay, between whatever time she needs and getting the proper approvals we probably have at least a couple of months.”

“Yeah, but…” I had to stop looking at Jose; the fucker was distracting me. “Right. Take a look around. See the filth? The outside’s the same. What I’d like to do is get the proper permits for demolishing the insides and pressure washing the outside while we wait.”

“We can handle that for you. We’ll have to block the sidewalk so may as well get as much done in that time period as possible. Do you want a formal contract?”

“I think we’re beyond that, Carlos. Considering your relationship with my grandfather, I think we can seal the deal with a handshake.” The smile told me he approved. It was the way he always did business with my grandfather. Of course, we both knew crossing Vittorio Martellini or taking advantage of one of his relatives would not be a good idea.

“Great. I’ll put a bare-bones document together anyway. Something we can use to show the city we’re authorized to act on your behalf when we submit applications or request inspections. You have a liquor license yet?”

“Yep. It’s been in Grandpa’s name for years. The recent occupants leased it from him. I think he was scared they might get raided at some point, and that’s why he wanted a family member to take over. He already started the process of transferring it to my company’s name.”

We had pipes sticking up from the concrete slab the day actual construction began. Some of the plumbing needed relocation and the entire electrical wiring had to be upgraded. Jose’s initial crew was small, but I recognized one guy from when he worked at the bowling alley.

Paco was an Afro-Cuban plumber with a belly and a mass of kinky hair on his stomach and chest. The fucker liked to take his shirt off often. “Hola, chico.” I swear he leered at me. “I’m back.” He knew his foreman was nailing me every chance he got. We had been caught in the act. When Paco tried to join in, I rebuffed his advances. Not only was he not my type, but I doubted my ass could survive getting pounded by two big-dicked Cubans on a regular basis.

“Hey, Paco. Hope you do as good a job here as you did in Brooklyn.”

“I will, boss. Maybe while I’m here I can show you how good I do my job. You could help me lay pipe.”

“We’ll see. I have so much to do I’m not sure I’ll have free time to be a spectator.”

While Jose talked to his other men, Paco moved closer and draped an arm over my shoulders. “You looking just as good as I remember hombre. You know the pipe I want you to work with. I’ve got a thick pinga I wanna fit in your slot.” His hand moved down my back until he cupped my jean-covered ass. “Mine’s bigger than Jose’s. It’ll make you feel real good.”

Was this guy for real? Fit his pipe into my slot? It sounded like something out of a raunchy internet story. “Not a good idea, dude. This time I’m in charge, so I need to act the part. Wouldn’t be right for me to sleep with the staff.”

“Who said anything about sleeping?” His cock was soft, I could see it jiggling in the sweatpants he wore. Obviously going commando, he gave it a squeeze. Based on what I was seeing, I could imagine its size when hard. Tempting, but I needed to steer away from him. Had I been a total bottom my legs might have already been spread for him.

As winter took hold of New York City, work continued at what felt like a glacial pace. At the mercy of government inspectors, sometimes we would spend a day or two with little to do. At the stage of construction we were at, tasks built upon one another, and a delay in completing one pushed subsequent ones down the road.

Grandpa stopped by now and then. He would walk around and ask questions but never interfered, until an unbearably cold day in January. “Why is it so cold in here? Don’t tell me you’re trying to save money by keeping the thermostat down.”

“Nah, the furnace’s acting up again. I called to have it repaired but it’ll be a couple of days.”

“Do you know how old it is?”

“Ancient. No idea really.” It was not original to the building, of that I was certain. But I was convinced it was as old as I was.

“Have it fixed for now, but I want you to get a new one.”

“But, Grandpa, that’ll bust my budget. I thought I could wait until we turned a profit then get a loan to pay for a new one.”

“Budget? What budget?”

“I made one up before we started. Didn’t want to go crazy or overspend.” I was unsure why, but I felt like I had said the wrong thing.

“Overspend what? Did I set a limit on how much you could spend?” Grandpa did not sound exactly upset, but he did not look happy. “Order a new one and have it installed now.”

“But, Grandpa—“

“But Grandpa nothing. Listen to me, Tony. This is your inheritance. Like Williamsburg Lanes is Dante’s. Like my paying for your brother’s college and law school, or what I’ve done for the rest of the family. I was being honest when I said I wanted to leave this world with exactly what I was born with. Nothing but family.

“So, don’t be stupid. Get a new furnace and anything else you thought of delaying.”

“Yes, Grandpa.” I was not about to argue any further.

Near the end of the project, Paco returned. A plumber was needed to install the refrigeration units and all other fixtures. The final day of construction work was actually easy; most of what we did was clean. The following week the interior designer I’d hired would be in to stage the club.

Late in the day, I found myself alone in the storage room, making sure the wire shelving units were properly attached to the wall studs; the last thing we needed was for them to tip under the weight of countless booze bottles. I bent over to tighten one of the clamps when I felt someone push their crotch against my ass. I smiled.

“What you doing, Jose?” I knew my fuck buddy would remain after dismissing his crew, we planned one last fuck atop the bar and I could feel his hardness rub against me.

“I’m about to get me what I’ve been wanting for a long time.”

I jumped and tried to move away; it was Paco who wrapped his arms around me and pulled me against his body. “What the hell are you doing, man? Get away from me.” The plumber was strong. No matter how hard I tried to get loose from his embrace, he held on.

“I’m gonna fuck you, chico. Why should the boss be the only one enjoying your ass?” He sounded ready to rape me if needed.

I cast my eyes around, trying to find a weapon. This was not going to happen. “Don’t do this, Paco. You’ll regret it.”

“Nah… Once I’m inside you you’ll enjoy it. Gay boys are always the same.” He stuck his hand down the back of my pants and dragged a finger through my crack.

Fucker was strong and kept me pinned against the rack. The screwdriver I had used moments before would have to do since there was nothing else close at hand. “Fine.” I allowed my shoulders to sag and relaxed my body. “At least let me take off my pants. I don’t want you to rip them.”

Paco relaxed his grip, and I undid the fly buttons on my jeans. I allowed them to drop to my feet. “Give me a little room to pull them off?” Giving me more room to maneuver was his mistake. As I leaned down, I drove the steel screwdriver where I thought his balls would be.

The howling could most likely be heard out on ninth. My feet trapped in my pants, I could not run, but I turned around to better defend myself. I was just in time to watch Jose hit his coworker on the side of the head with a piece from a two by four.