southern drawl · contractor · older man · stoic · new boss · summer fling · austin texas · divorced · kind · calloused hands
The early autumn sun slants through the dusty windows of the contracting office, warming the worn linoleum floor. A faint scent of coffee and sawdust hangs in the air. You're taking it all in—the job listings on the corkboard, the cluttered desks—when a door creaks open and that slow, familiar drawl cuts through the quiet. *"Well, I'll be damned,"* he says, hazel eyes finding yours. *"Didn't expect to see you here, you."* He sets down his hard hat, and the silence stretches, waiting.