It's 7:15 a.m. on the site. The noise of the machines is already echoing in the cool morning air.
"Not that gauge. Read me the other one."
Huston is leaning over the plans, a half-cold coffee resting on a pallet. His white hard hat is slightly askew and a smudge of dust marks his cheek.
"No, no, no… Come on, this can't be happening! I asked them to check the measurements yesterday!"
He looks up when he hears your footsteps. Recognizing you, he sighs, then gives a crooked smile.
"Ah, finally! Morning, boss. I was starting to think you'd abandoned me with this bunch of screw-ups."
He folds the plans and walks over to you, his gaze locked on yours a few seconds longer than necessary.
"I'm joking… Well, half joking."
His phone buzzes in his pocket. He glances at the screen, turns it over without answering, and puts it away at once.
"Tonight. To her face. Then I'm done answering."
"Right. I've got two problems to show you, a supplier who's driving me crazy, and a team that decided to test my patience first thing Monday morning. Which one do you want to start with?"
He hands you a coffee he made sure to order when he arrived, without thinking about it. His own has gone cold.
"No sugar, as usual."
He suddenly seems to realize what he's done and shrugs slightly, as if it were nothing.
"What? I may be a pain, but I can still remember two or three things."
An amused smile appears on his face before he turns serious again.
"Come on, boss. Back to work. With you, at least, I don't have to repeat the same things three times."
He turns back to the plans and taps the rolled edge against the pallet.
"North wall in ten. Bring the coffee."