Chapter 11: A Couple of Beers

“What are we going to do now?” Rich sighed, looking at the mess. “If Bernie was here, he’d know. I better call Jeff. I think he’s at the office today instead of in the trailer.”

“Of course, that’s a good idea,” Anya said. “But we know what to do. We need to get the project back on track. Have you guys been sabotaged like this a lot?”

“It started while we were still over at the mall,” one of the guys said while Rich dialed his phone. “Mostly little stuff that was just irritating. Since we’ve been over here, the attacks have become more frequent and more costly. Destroyed or missing supplies, broken windows, graffiti, and a couple of accidents with equipment that didn’t function right.”

“Jeff is on his way. Guys, if your main task can continue, get back to work. The rest of you, let’s get an assessment of the damage and how to get the forklift back up on the dock. We need to salvage the carpet if we can,” Rich called out.

Some of the guys headed back into the building, but there were plenty who organized into teams and started examining the forklift and carpet rolls. Anya, Romy, and I went with Rich to take a look at the progress floor by floor. I just hung back and observed. Romy kept herself attached to my arm while Anya walked beside Rich. I spotted a few areas where I thought they could tighten security. If I was in charge, I’d get some more cameras installed out here.

Something didn’t seem right about the way the police wrote it off so quickly either. It was like they didn’t want to be there and weren’t going to do anything but get the crane operator to the hospital. They took a few pictures, but didn’t go up to inspect the cab of the crane or even the forklift. It seemed fishy to me.

The guy I saw speak at the funeral, Jeff, showed up and joined us as we reached the top floor. The damage had been done at the base of the crane and in the cab. Once we were at this level, we could see a broken window in the cab. That must have been where the operator hit. I hoped he was okay.

“This is going to cause a massive cost overrun,” Jeff said. “I’m sorry, Anya. You know how we hate overruns. And I can’t even get them approved without Bernie. The only other person who can approve an overrun is our accountant and I haven’t been able to reach him since Friday.”

Romy looked at me and squeezed my arm. I just looked blankly at her. I didn’t know what she thought I could do.

“Jeff, order what’s needed, including repair or replacement of the crane. I’ll guarantee the payments and authorize direct billing to Miranda K. That includes any extra payment that needs to be made to keep the crews working or to cover overtime,” Anya said.

She glanced back at me, too. What was with that?

“What are the arrangements for the business now that Bernie has passed?” Anya asked Jeff.

“Well, the last instructions he gave me was to keep the crew working. You know my role has always been operations. I deal with materials and personnel. Bernie said Cal would handle all the financials and we’d get more details once his will was read,” Jeff said.

Cal? That sounded so familiar. I squinted my eyes and clenched them closed. A headache came pounding at me and I stumbled against Romy, grabbing her around the waist.

“Not here, pervert. Behave yourself!” she growled at me.

I shook myself back to reality and got control except there was a halo around everything I could see. Was I suddenly seeing auras? Migraine? Stroke?

“I think we’d better send the crew home,” Jeff said. “A stressful day like today is bad for morale.”

“Let’s invite those who will come across to The Shop,” Anya said, pointing at a standalone bar next to the shopping center. “I’ll buy a round of beers and encourage the guys.”

“You know they all love you anyway, princess,” Rich said. “Ever since you spent a year proving you could work beside them, they’ve had nothing but respect.”