the first try. That's why the guys are fighting over him here and don't want to give him up to the exotic team even though I think that might be making him a little edgy. I think he's been itching to get his hands on the power cars. But a warning," Jeff said and hesitated.
A smile tugged at Ty's lips, knowing the guys were all settling in well with Cole. For some reason, he knew that would be important to his new hire. "Go ahead," he said into the radio.
"There isn't a modest bone in that kid's body. Smug little bastard."
Ty smiled. "That's not a newsflash. What happened?"
"He corrected my process twice. One of those times, if he hadn't caught the problem, I would have been set back about two hours on the rebuild just to troubleshoot the issue."
"If he can paint, I'm stealing him from you."
Jeff's laughter came through the radio. "Oh, that boy can paint. He rattled off a huge list of everything he can do with cars. Like I said, smug little bastard."
Ty's lips twitched into a smile again. "Thanks, Jeff. Have Stacie send him back to the paint booths, please."
"Will do," Jeff responded.
Ty was setting up the stands in the neighboring paint booth when he heard Cole's booted steps near. After the stands were ready, he grabbed the project sketch and taped it to the wall.
"You need me to paint?" Cole asked with a huge grin on his face.
"Can you?" Ty raised an eyebrow and held back a smile.
Cole extended his hand, palm up. "Give me a paint suit and mask and let me have at it."
Jeff's right. Smug little bastard. "I've got the two booths set up. We need to finish priming the panels then I'll tape off the guides so we can move on to color." Ty walked over to the sketch taped on the wall. "This is what we're matching."
Cole followed and tilted his head upward to study the drawing.
Ty couldn't resist taking advantage of a little bit of info Jeff had told him about his new hire after the first few days. He removed the taped sketch and retaped it lower.
Cole looked at him sideways. "I'm not short. I'm concentrated."
"How tall are you? About five-six, five-seven," Ty teased.
Cole turned to face him and crossed his arms, straightening himself to his full height. "I'm five-nine."
Ty looked down at Cole's combat boots. "With those big boots, maybe."
Cole raised an eyebrow. "Careful. I'll unleash my Napoleon complex on you."
Ty laughed.
Cole tightened his lips, obviously holding back a smile and returned his focus to the sketch. "How much of the paint work is finished?"
"Not much. My painter kept odd hours because his wife was in and out of the hospital lately. I was on another project and wasn't keeping tabs on the progress."
"Does Stacie keep tabs on schedules?" Cole stilled then tugged on his beanie. "Sorry, I'm guessing I shouldn't have said that. I don't want to get her in trouble."
Ty waved him off. "It's fine. Stacie doesn't do project management. She keeps tabs on the worker's schedule, inventory, customer orders and requests, pretty much everything other than the project management. I'm the one who does that and it's my fault. I've been working on a different project and didn't realize how far behind we were at this stage."
Cole nodded and continued to stare at the drawing. "I thought you only worked with cars, exotics—"
"I know, I know. I didn't have a choice here. The client owns a few exotic dealerships and wants to haul his cars in a custom trailer. I do all their shop work and they forward any mod work my way."
Cole smirked. "And, of course, the rig is a two-tone paint job, which'll take longer."
Ty sighed. "Murphy's Law in full force." He directed Cole to his paint booth and asked him to finish setting up the rest of the area to prep for primer. He then grabbed the primer buckets and spray guns.
"These aren't ready for primer yet," Cole yelled from the neighboring booth after a few moments.
Ty walked over and saw Cole rubbing his hand along the panel.
Cole looked up at Ty and scowled. "They're not
A smile tugged at Ty's lips, knowing the guys were all settling in well with Cole. For some reason, he knew that would be important to his new hire. "Go ahead," he said into the radio.
"There isn't a modest bone in that kid's body. Smug little bastard."
Ty smiled. "That's not a newsflash. What happened?"
"He corrected my process twice. One of those times, if he hadn't caught the problem, I would have been set back about two hours on the rebuild just to troubleshoot the issue."
"If he can paint, I'm stealing him from you."
Jeff's laughter came through the radio. "Oh, that boy can paint. He rattled off a huge list of everything he can do with cars. Like I said, smug little bastard."
Ty's lips twitched into a smile again. "Thanks, Jeff. Have Stacie send him back to the paint booths, please."
"Will do," Jeff responded.
Ty was setting up the stands in the neighboring paint booth when he heard Cole's booted steps near. After the stands were ready, he grabbed the project sketch and taped it to the wall.
"You need me to paint?" Cole asked with a huge grin on his face.
"Can you?" Ty raised an eyebrow and held back a smile.
Cole extended his hand, palm up. "Give me a paint suit and mask and let me have at it."
Jeff's right. Smug little bastard. "I've got the two booths set up. We need to finish priming the panels then I'll tape off the guides so we can move on to color." Ty walked over to the sketch taped on the wall. "This is what we're matching."
Cole followed and tilted his head upward to study the drawing.
Ty couldn't resist taking advantage of a little bit of info Jeff had told him about his new hire after the first few days. He removed the taped sketch and retaped it lower.
Cole looked at him sideways. "I'm not short. I'm concentrated."
"How tall are you? About five-six, five-seven," Ty teased.
Cole turned to face him and crossed his arms, straightening himself to his full height. "I'm five-nine."
Ty looked down at Cole's combat boots. "With those big boots, maybe."
Cole raised an eyebrow. "Careful. I'll unleash my Napoleon complex on you."
Ty laughed.
Cole tightened his lips, obviously holding back a smile and returned his focus to the sketch. "How much of the paint work is finished?"
"Not much. My painter kept odd hours because his wife was in and out of the hospital lately. I was on another project and wasn't keeping tabs on the progress."
"Does Stacie keep tabs on schedules?" Cole stilled then tugged on his beanie. "Sorry, I'm guessing I shouldn't have said that. I don't want to get her in trouble."
Ty waved him off. "It's fine. Stacie doesn't do project management. She keeps tabs on the worker's schedule, inventory, customer orders and requests, pretty much everything other than the project management. I'm the one who does that and it's my fault. I've been working on a different project and didn't realize how far behind we were at this stage."
Cole nodded and continued to stare at the drawing. "I thought you only worked with cars, exotics—"
"I know, I know. I didn't have a choice here. The client owns a few exotic dealerships and wants to haul his cars in a custom trailer. I do all their shop work and they forward any mod work my way."
Cole smirked. "And, of course, the rig is a two-tone paint job, which'll take longer."
Ty sighed. "Murphy's Law in full force." He directed Cole to his paint booth and asked him to finish setting up the rest of the area to prep for primer. He then grabbed the primer buckets and spray guns.
"These aren't ready for primer yet," Cole yelled from the neighboring booth after a few moments.
Ty walked over and saw Cole rubbing his hand along the panel.
Cole looked up at Ty and scowled. "They're not
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