Chapter 123: Not So Peaceful Morning

Gideon’s eyes fluttered open as he sat up on the bed and stretched his body. It had been a while since he’d slept this well.

Summer hadn’t bothered him last night, sticking to her word about taking care of her pregnancy and deciding that sex was off-limits for now.

Freya, on the other hand, had been busy with her vehicle project. The diesel engine she pre-ordered would arrive in a week, and she was too excited to sit still.

On top of that, she had been helping the food supply staff, which kept her occupied almost the entire day.

"Ah... finally, a peaceful morning," he muttered with a relieved sigh.

His first schedule today was a meeting with William, Grant, Aria, and Daphne to finalize the housing project. Construction was supposed to start either today or tomorrow, but the two men in charge couldn’t come to an agreement.

"We’re already behind schedule. It’s better to start immediately today. The apartment blueprint is ready, and I’ve completed the drainage system plan. You only need to follow it," William said, making his point again in a calm, measured tone.

Grant shook his head, clearly unconvinced. "Easy for you to say. We need time to properly understand that blueprint, or do you want the whole thing collapsing in a month?"

William adjusted his glasses with a quiet sigh. "I thought you brought professional construction workers, Chief."

His gaze shifted to Gideon briefly before returning to Grant. "With how confidently you speak, I assumed your skills would match your words."

Grant slammed his hand on the table, the impact loud enough to make even Daphne flinch. "What did you just say?! Let me deal with you properly, and we’ll see who’s talking nonsense!"

"Ugh. This is exactly why I hate working with barbarians."

"Fuck you!"

Grant was already moving, ready to lunge across the table, but Gideon grabbed him first, locking his arms in place before he could take a step forward.

"Let me go! I’ll wipe that smug look off your staff’s face!" Grant growled, struggling against his grip.

Gideon let out a quiet sigh, already tired of this, and turned his attention to William instead. "How much delay are we talking about?"

"If we don’t start today, the apartment will only be completed around the middle of the first month of winter. And considering the workers’ current skill level, it could take even longer," William replied as he slid a set of calculations across the table.

Gideon glanced over it, then spoke again, his tone more measured. "Then answer this. If the workers don’t have experience handling a structure of this scale, especially with integrated drainage, gas, and electrical systems, how many accidents are we expecting? And even if it’s completed on schedule, how safe would that building actually be?"

William didn’t answer immediately. He exhaled slowly before admitting, "A lot."

Grant snorted, clearly pleased. "Hear that? Even your own man agrees. Know your place, dog."

Gideon rolled his eyes. Honestly, Grant wasn’t any better. If anything, he was worse. Stubborn, overly defensive, and completely unwilling to follow instructions.

From the second day he arrived, he had already started ignoring William’s safety guidelines, doing things his own way and dragging his team along with him. That alone had caused several delays.

"You’re not innocent either, Grant," Gideon said flatly. "We told you from day one that we’d be focusing on apartment construction. You didn’t object, didn’t even ask questions, and now you’re acting like this is new information."

He gestured toward the plans on the table. "At this point, it barely qualifies as an apartment. Four floors and twenty rooms isn’t exactly ambitious."

He didn’t have time for this. He still had to head to Climber Rift with Elaine later to complete the commissions and deal with Skull Fang. It was going to be a long day, and the last thing he needed was his own team wasting time like this.

"Both of you are experienced in this field," Gideon continued, his tone sharpening just enough to cut through the tension.

"So as the one funding this entire project, I expect both of you to solve this properly. No ego, no nonsense. Use your heads."

Only then did he release Grant.

Grant sat back down in his chair. The atmosphere stayed awkward for a while, but eventually they reached a compromise.

Construction would start tomorrow, or at the latest in two days. Avoiding accidents was more important than rushing the schedule.

That decision came with a cost. The workers would have to extend their hours to make sure the apartment could still be occupied within the first or second week of winter.

Gideon would also need to purchase a crane and a concrete mixer. Most of the other equipment had already been secured, but those two were essential if they wanted to handle heavy materials efficiently.

On top of that, William still needed to train several workers to operate the crane properly, since it was a critical machine and not something they could afford to misuse.

Once everything was settled, Gideon informed them that additional workers would arrive in two days. After that, the meeting finally broke apart, leaving only Aria, Daphne, and him in the room.

The tension lifted almost instantly. Both women let out quiet sighs of relief now that the air no longer felt suffocating.

"Wow, you’re really good at handling situations like that, boss," Aria said with a small grin. "If it were me, I’d probably just freeze."

Daphne nodded in agreement.

Gideon let out a short chuckle. "You’d manage just fine."

"I don’t know," Daphne said, leaning back in her chair. "I deal with women most of the time, and their fights can be terrifying too, but at least no one gets physically hurt."

Gideon raised a brow slightly. "That depends. Women can get just as brutal."

He had seen Freya and Summer argue before, and it rarely stayed verbal for long.

"Anyway, did you two need something?"

"Oh, nothing serious," Aria replied. "Since we’re free today, we were thinking of going to Climber Rift. Can we ride with you?"

Today was Friday, which meant it was hunting day. The kitchen would be closed, and most people would head out to catch Geysermire crabs and cook together afterward. It happened twice a week, giving the supply staff a break while keeping everyone fed.

"Sure," Gideon said as he stood up. "Let’s go find Elaine. She’s coming with us too."