His Construction Princess

What if it fails?

Aria's POV

"This is your lifeline when you are twenty-plus feet in the air. You are to have this on at all times. From the time you step on this job site, till the time you leave. When you come off the roof for breaks, it stays on. Under no circumstances do you take it off. Am I understood?", I asked.

Only to be met with silence. I clenched my jaw and nodded my head. "Let me better clarify for you gentlemen. If I see you without your harness on, I am pushing you off the f*****g roof. Capeche?", I growled loudly.

"Yes ma'am", they shouted in unison. "Much f*****g better. Use your voices. I can't read your f*****g minds that a board is falling towards my head", I said, loud enough that the nearest neighbors could have heard me. Alexander chuckled, drawing my attention to him. The smirk on his lips caused my heart to skip a beat. My brain fogged momentarily before I quickly snapped out of it.

I demonstrated to the men how to properly strap themselves into the harness. Then, I proceeded to check each of them to make sure they were secure, while also demonstrating how to check for stability. "I want all of you to take a moment and tug on your neighbor's harness. This is the only time I'll check them for you", I said, tugging one harness, for it to give way.

"Y'all see that? Your comrade would've been a dead man when he hit the ground", I said, holding the harness up in the air. "Strap in again", I commanded, tossing the harness back at him. "Can you?", he batted his eyelashes at me, receiving a growl from behind me. "Negative", I deadpanned, turning to face the other men.

"I am not your mother, your babysitter, or a tit for you to latch onto", I announced. "You are all grown men. Time to act like it", I added. I made the mistake of catching Alex's fiery gaze. His arms were crossed on his chest. His muscles bulged against the rolled-up sleeves of his dress shirt. Tattoos decorated his forearms.

I felt my neck and face flare up at my inappropriate thoughts. "I want you all to check the comfortability of your harness", I said, slowly peeling my gaze away from Alex. "Does it restrict your mobility?", I questioned, pulling each knee to my chest, and then doing a squat. While squatting, I stretched each leg out, showing how well they should be able to operate.

I heard Alexander groan behind me, making me smirk. "Ms., I'm still having trouble", the kid said. "What's your name?', I asked, approaching him. "Tony", he answered. "Tony, try moving your baggy ass pants legs out of the way", I said, shaking my head. "There is water in the coolers. I want you all to grab two bottles. Drink one now, bring one up with you. We don't need any of you to pass out from heat exhaustion. You boys will be highly disappointed to find out that the hospital is closed", I continued.

"Hazmat. Grab two bottles. Drink both now", I said, eyeing the other group. "I got it. Test it", Tony said, proudly. I yanked the harness, taking Tony off his feet and sending him tumbling to the ground. I nodded, "Perfect. Get you water", I commanded, heading back to the trailer.

Alexander's eyes never left my person. My eyes traveled from the Celtic cross and tribal tattoos that covered his forearms, up his well-defined chest, locking on his emerald orbs that glistened with anticipation. "I assume you aren't staying", I asked, reaching behind him to grab my three shingle scrapers.

"I have a meeting at 8:30 and 1:30 today. But, I'll come by and check in", he uttered, his gaze fluttering all over my face. "We didn't discuss a dumpster, Aria", he voiced, pointing at the massive dumpster. I smirked and walked to my passenger seat and grabbed the invoice.

I handed it to him, before going back to my truck to get my case of gloves. I walked back to Alex and laid the case open on the shingles.

"This is your address", Alex pointed out, peering over at me. "Correct", I nodded. Alex looked at me with a mixture of confusion and curiosity. "Marty and I have worked with one another for a while now. I just offered him a little extra to deliver them personally, to put my address down and to keep his mouth shut", I explained, with a shrug.

"That explains the price", he chuckled. "When did you find the time to do this?", he asked. "When I got home yesterday", I answered. He gaped at me in confusion.

"Grab a pair of gloves and make sure they fit comfortably", I announced, stepping away from the trailer to let the men line-up. "Any questions, concerns or comments, before we get up on the roof?", I questioned, scouting them out. None of them spoke, only stared at me waiting for what was next.

"Good. If you gentlemen, abide by my rules, and care about your work. You'll all come to find out that I am in fact a fun person to work for", I proclaimed. "Three of you need to come grab a scraper. I don't care which three", I commanded, pointing to the flat-edged iron that I leaned against the back of the trailer.

I headed over to the ladder, feeling the group follow behind. "Up you go then", I gestured to the rongs of the ladder. Four scared faces stared back at me, while two neutral ones awaited. "No more than two people on the ladder at a time", I instructed, stopping the second man until the first was halfway up. I continued this regulation until I was the last one on the ladder.

I made my way to the anchor point, all eyes on me. Even those still on the ground. "Come here", I instructed them, picking up the first two hooks and latching them to the nearest two men. Until, all six and myself were latched.

"This anchor is the only thing keeping you on this roof. You may think it is your feet, but you're wrong", I began my speech. "This anchor is the most efficient there is. It is equipped with smart technology allowing it to read this roof. It knows where each of you are at all times, recording your movement and not allowing you to get too close to the edge", I explained walking over to the edge of the roof.

"If you fall, your ass will never leave the roof, literally", I said, tossing myself backwards for the anchor to lock and make me smack my ass on the shingles. "You must always trust that your equipment will assist you", I announced.

"And, what if it fails?", one of the men asked. "Yes, equipment can fail. That's why maintenance is always a top priority. I have mandatory checks on a regular basis on all of my equipment. It's required by law", I spoke, ready to move on to the next.

"Everyone good?", I asked. Everyone nodded their heads. "I can't hear the rocks in your head raddle over the generators and industrial vacuums!", obviously a metaphor since none of that was running yet. I was only trying to get my point across. "Yes ma'am", they returned.

"It's super simple", I began, taking a flat scraper from one of the men. "You gently scoop them up", I demonstrated. "Now, you three will take the removed shingles and toss them into the dumpster. Cleaning as you go is a requirement",I explained, handing the man back his tool.

"One more thing. There will be soft spots all over this roof. Be vigilant of where you step. You will have people right under you, working in the attic", I noted, heading back to the ladder. "Any questions?", I opened the floor for concerns. "No ma'am", they shook their heads.

"Get to work then, gentlemen", I said, climbing back down the ladder. I released a deep sigh of relief when my feet hit the ground. One major project started, time to start the other. I rubbed my face out of habit as I approached the next group.

"Today, you six will be learning how to treat a house for black mold. Two of you will be working on vacuuming all the insulation out of the attic. I want two of you to be treating the black mold in the attic. In about..", I paused, to step back and gauge the men's speed on the roof. "Two hours, we will be peeling those boards off up there. All the insulation and all the mold need to be gone. The men on the roof won't have respirators to protect them from the toxins as y'all will", I explained.

"The last two will start treating the second floor for mold. I want you each to grab a suit and put it on", I instructed. I pulled four sprayers out and filled them with pre-mixed spray. "My attic people, you need to pay close attention to where you step. Only step on the rafters, if you step anywhere else, you are falling through the ceiling", I explained, as they all put their suits on.