hots for him.
The song finished and the people in the audience began to clap. Zane slammed his hands together as hard as anybody and let out a piercing whistle. He leaned in to Kara and said, “That’s my buddy, Clint,” while pointing to the lead singer. “He’s really good. He just turned down an offer to sign with a record label because he’s trying to stay indie for the fans. I’m hoping to convince him to start his own record label.”
Clint waited for the applause to stop and then started talking, his eyes sweeping the audience, his gaze finally stopping on Zane and lighting into a smile. Kara listened to hear what he was saying.
“Thank you so much for coming out to hear us tonight. And while I’m thanking people, I need to thank our sponsors that make the music possible. There’s one sitting over there. Zane Rowe of Rowe Construction. Stand up, Zane.”
Zane look at Kara and shrugged, then bounced to his feet. He waved at Clint and Clint said, “Thanks buddy, we couldn’t have done it without you.”
Zane popped both thumbs out and the crowd laughed in approval. Zane took a bow, then waved a final time and sat down again. Kara was struck by how natural he seemed in the limelight.
“You have a construction company?” she asked.
“Yeah, I bought it six years ago. We’ve got a lot going on right now, in fact that afternoon you saw me at my neighbor's house I had just come home from a meeting. I landed the job of the century. My company will be putting up the new McLean Building downtown.”
Kara whistled. She had heard of the McLean Building. It had been a controversial project from day one as the state and the city fought on opposite sides and the billionaire Harvard McLean pushed to allow it to move forward. It was supposed to be a billion-dollar project. She felt deeply impressed and suddenly a little bit nervous. Was Zane rich? What was he doing with her? She pushed the thoughts aside. She was smart, cute, and hard-working. Just because she wasn’t rich didn’t make her less of a person. He started talking and she struggled her attention away from her pep talk and back to him.
“Yeah, I think that’s what gave me the confidence to ask you out,” he said.
Kara started to laugh but then saw the dead serious look on his face. She pursed her lips and looked around for her drink, something to cover the awkwardness of the moment. Luckily, the waitress was quick and she was right there, stepping in between Zane and Kara, giving Kara a moment to think about her answer.
When the waitress left, she took a sip of her drink and then said, “You don't strike me as a guy who lacks confidence.”
“You’d be surprised,” he replied, and then he winked at her.
Kara’s eyebrows furrowed. What he said was in stark contrast to what he did . For a second, she saw the cocky grin reappear and she was entranced by his incongruence. The band started playing again and Kara let her attention wander for a moment. Zane also watched the band and tapped his feet along to the music.
She leaned over to him. “So the McLean Building, how did you get the contract?”
Zane turned to her and she saw a new light in his eyes. His work was definitely one of the loves of his life and she was fascinated by the liveliness in his face and manner as he talked about it. Within moments though, the story fascinated her even more. It gave her an insight into his life and his drive that she wouldn’t have been able to see any other way.
“That’s a long and boring story. Are you sure you want to hear it?”
She nodded.
“I started working on him three years ago. Harvard McLean, I mean. This was when the controversy first started around the building he was planning to construct downtown. At that time, I was struggling. I had just gotten my contractor's license and we only had a few jobs around town. I could barely pay my employees. I saw the story in the newspaper about the opposition to the building and I read between
The song finished and the people in the audience began to clap. Zane slammed his hands together as hard as anybody and let out a piercing whistle. He leaned in to Kara and said, “That’s my buddy, Clint,” while pointing to the lead singer. “He’s really good. He just turned down an offer to sign with a record label because he’s trying to stay indie for the fans. I’m hoping to convince him to start his own record label.”
Clint waited for the applause to stop and then started talking, his eyes sweeping the audience, his gaze finally stopping on Zane and lighting into a smile. Kara listened to hear what he was saying.
“Thank you so much for coming out to hear us tonight. And while I’m thanking people, I need to thank our sponsors that make the music possible. There’s one sitting over there. Zane Rowe of Rowe Construction. Stand up, Zane.”
Zane look at Kara and shrugged, then bounced to his feet. He waved at Clint and Clint said, “Thanks buddy, we couldn’t have done it without you.”
Zane popped both thumbs out and the crowd laughed in approval. Zane took a bow, then waved a final time and sat down again. Kara was struck by how natural he seemed in the limelight.
“You have a construction company?” she asked.
“Yeah, I bought it six years ago. We’ve got a lot going on right now, in fact that afternoon you saw me at my neighbor's house I had just come home from a meeting. I landed the job of the century. My company will be putting up the new McLean Building downtown.”
Kara whistled. She had heard of the McLean Building. It had been a controversial project from day one as the state and the city fought on opposite sides and the billionaire Harvard McLean pushed to allow it to move forward. It was supposed to be a billion-dollar project. She felt deeply impressed and suddenly a little bit nervous. Was Zane rich? What was he doing with her? She pushed the thoughts aside. She was smart, cute, and hard-working. Just because she wasn’t rich didn’t make her less of a person. He started talking and she struggled her attention away from her pep talk and back to him.
“Yeah, I think that’s what gave me the confidence to ask you out,” he said.
Kara started to laugh but then saw the dead serious look on his face. She pursed her lips and looked around for her drink, something to cover the awkwardness of the moment. Luckily, the waitress was quick and she was right there, stepping in between Zane and Kara, giving Kara a moment to think about her answer.
When the waitress left, she took a sip of her drink and then said, “You don't strike me as a guy who lacks confidence.”
“You’d be surprised,” he replied, and then he winked at her.
Kara’s eyebrows furrowed. What he said was in stark contrast to what he did . For a second, she saw the cocky grin reappear and she was entranced by his incongruence. The band started playing again and Kara let her attention wander for a moment. Zane also watched the band and tapped his feet along to the music.
She leaned over to him. “So the McLean Building, how did you get the contract?”
Zane turned to her and she saw a new light in his eyes. His work was definitely one of the loves of his life and she was fascinated by the liveliness in his face and manner as he talked about it. Within moments though, the story fascinated her even more. It gave her an insight into his life and his drive that she wouldn’t have been able to see any other way.
“That’s a long and boring story. Are you sure you want to hear it?”
She nodded.
“I started working on him three years ago. Harvard McLean, I mean. This was when the controversy first started around the building he was planning to construct downtown. At that time, I was struggling. I had just gotten my contractor's license and we only had a few jobs around town. I could barely pay my employees. I saw the story in the newspaper about the opposition to the building and I read between
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