Chapter 11

The following day was Monday, and usually, Josh would have classes but was in no condition to attend classes. He e-mailed his professor on Sunday when he got back about his condition and explained that he should be back in class by Monday. Becky would be with Josh all week. When she told her professors she would be out, she told them that she had urgent business to attend to but could do all the online work.

Becky woke up Monday morning to the smell of breakfast being cooked and an empty bed, so she threw on one of Josh’s shirts and went to get breakfast. She didn’t bother with any panties because Josh’s shirt went to mid-thigh on Becky. To her surprise, she found Josh cooking and Ben reading the news. He was doing ok with one hand; it was just taking him much longer. As soon as she sat down, Josh slid a plate in front of her with bacon, eggs, hashbrowns, and toast while Ben got her a cup of coffee. Josh then gave Ben a plate and sat one down for himself. During breakfast, Josh and Ben talked about the schedule for their new robot; setting it up and starting it for the first time required two people. The problem was that nobody else in the company was qualified or available to do the job. All the other technicians were out on other jobs that they couldn’t leave. To make matters worse, Josh was the one who had designed this particular robot, so he needed to be there to answer all the tough questions. Becky was the one who came up with the solution:

“How about I work with you guys? I can be Josh’s hands, and he can direct me on what to do.”

“You’d be willing to do that?” asked Ben.

“Of course, I would be. Why not?”

“Well, the factory that it’s going into will be hot, noisy, and a bit dirty since it’s an old factory.”

“So, what? A little dirt never hurt me. According to Gretchen, I’m a dirty girl.”

Ben’s mouth dropped open, and Josh started chuckling. Becky then explained to Ben the story behind that, and he got a chuckle out of it. Josh and Ben both agreed that having Becky along would be for the best, although they had to put her on the payroll so she could go with them. Just like that, Becky had her first job. They would be leaving on Tuesday and be returning on or before Sunday. They would drive down to North Carolina, demonstrate the robot to the company reps, and hopefully ink the contract. Before they left, though, Becky would need to have personal protective equipment. To get it, Ben and Josh took Becky shopping because she needed steel toe boots, safety glasses, ear protection, and a hard hat. Thankfully the only thing they had to buy her was her steel toe boots since all the other gear was at the shop. Getting Becky’s boots was a bit of a pain because Becky had never bought boots like these before, and it took the guys a while to convince her that style didn’t matter. After they got Becky’s boots, they headed to the shop for the rest of her stuff so she could sign all her paperwork. Becky would be paid per job to work around her school schedule. While there, they promised Becky a factory tour. To say that Becky was excited was the understatement of the year. Now she would see just what kind of business owner her boyfriend was and what he did for a living.

Josh and Ben’s company was called Heron Automation and was located in the outskirts of Indianapolis, not far from the airport where the company that Josh and Ben leased jets through was located. They would lease a private plane when going cross country or overseas trips and would have used it for this trip, but it was overseas and wouldn’t be back in time. They named their company after Heron of Alexandria, the ancient Greek mathematician and engineer. Pulling up to the building, Becky was in awe because the building was huge to her. Ben explained that the factory covered 200,000 square feet and ran 24 hours a day, five days a week. They went in and got Becky a visitor badge from the receptionist. Josh had to explain to everyone they met why he was in a sling, which got a lot of attention. Finally, the three of them broke away, and Ben led them to his and Josh’s office. They shared a secretary, Rachael, who was shocked to see Josh and Ben since she knew their class schedules and figured they would be in class today. She was even more shocked to hear that Josh had a girlfriend, something she had never seen before. Josh had to tell Rachael about how he and Becky met and how he got injured. Once all the pleasantries were over, Josh asked Rachael to get Becky fixed up with the rest of her PPE and the standard paperwork while he and Ben finished up a bit of work. After that, she would need to get Josh and Ben rooms near where they would be working from Tuesday to Saturday.

As soon as the girls were out of earshot of Josh and Ben, the questions started:

“So, Becky, how do you like being with Josh?”

“It’s amazing! He is actually the first man that I have ever been with. Before him, I only went out with women.”

“Oh. So, what made you switch sides?”

“A few of things. One, I could never seem to get any decent dates. All the good ones seemed to ignore me, and the only ones that I could get dates with were druggies or losers. Two, he saved my life without asking for anything in return; hell, he didn’t even tell me his name. I had to track him down by showing a sketch of him around the school. Three, when I’m with Josh, I feel safe and loved. Four, I just find him amazing.”

“Yes, he is amazing, kind, and listens well. Listen, I’m sure you’ll find out eventually, but just about every female here has a massive crush on him. Hell girl, I’m jealous of you for getting him to go out with you, and I’m happily married. We had a pool that he’s gay because we all flirt with him, but he’s never shown any interest in any of the ladies here, and some could be models. Also, thank you because you being his girlfriend means that I won the pool.”

Now Becky blushed crimson. Never before would she have believed that she could be the source of so much envy. She was much more used to being the one that was jealous of others. Rachael got Becky her PPE, and Becky signed all her employment paperwork. Once done, Rachael took Becky back to Ben and Josh. Back in the office, Becky found Josh talking with Ashley. At first, Becky didn’t know who it was until she heard Ashley’s name and her using legal terms. When Josh saw Becky, he smiled, and Ashley nodded at her with a smile, not knowing who Becky was. Becky had no problem reading that look; Ashley had a massive crush on Josh. Looking at Ashley, Becky figured her best bet would be to mark her territory. She went up to Josh, sat in his lap, and gave him one hell of a kiss before snuggling against Josh while he put his arm around her. The look in Ashley’s eyes almost made Becky laugh out loud because she could tell that Ashley was pissed. The problem was that Josh didn’t miss it either:

“All right, Ashley, let’s have it. What are you pissed off about?”

“What are you talking about? I’m not pissed.”

“ASHLEY! Don’t give me that shit. You’re not exactly hiding the fact that you’re pissed. So once again, what are you pissed off about?”

“All right, fine! I’m jealous that you seem to be dating Becky and not me! What does she have that I don’t?”

Josh and Ben looked at her with the same blank expression. It was almost like they were trying to figure out if Ashley was telling the truth or joking.

“Seriously?” Josh asked, “You’re jealous of Becky because she’s dating me? Why? You know that I won’t date anyone who works for me, so I don’t get why you’re jealous. Although I guess Becky works for me, too, so that might not be my best argument.”

“Josh, seriously, almost every woman here wants to date you. You’re brilliant, funny, loyal, you listen, and you’re fucking HOT.”

Josh just sat there a bit dumbfounded while Becky looked pleased with herself, and Ben was losing his battle to hide his laughing. Becky knew all that about Josh; that’s partly what convinced her to try and date him in the first place.

“Look, Ashley, I’m sorry, but you know damn well that we can’t date. One boss/employee relationships rarely work out, and two, you should know just how bad it would look if we did date. Not to mention that if what you say is true, every woman in this place would hate you, and I know you’re very respected here, especially by the women.”

“DAMN IT, JOSH; I DON’T CARE ABOUT ANY OF THAT! I’ve loved you since I set eyes on you, and that love gets deeper every day. You are the best man I have ever met, and I saw you before Becky.”

Ben fell out of his chair and started rolling around on the floor laughing. He couldn’t hold it in anymore; he knew all the ladies had a crush on Josh, and the only one who didn’t know seemed to be Josh. Nobody knew that Josh knew about all the ladies having crushes on him. Ben stopped laughing when Josh started speaking; his voice was as cold as an arctic winter night.

“Ashley, I’m sorry about everything, but if you can’t keep yourself under control, maybe you need to rethink your place of employment. I love Becky with all my heart, and I will not leave her to date ANYONE else. If you cannot accept this fact, then clean your shit out of your office and get out.”

Now everyone except Becky was looking at Josh with fear in their eyes. Nobody except Becky had ever heard him sound like this. He used the same tone he had used with her the week before, but now it wasn’t directed at her. Josh locked eyes with Ashley, and she felt paralyzed and couldn’t look away. The seconds ticked by, and nobody moved; Josh didn’t even blink while maintaining the same expression. Finally, Josh started working again. Then without looking at her, he spoke to Ashley:

“Don’t you think you should be getting back to work now?”

“You mean that I’m not fired?”

“I don’t recall ever saying that you were. I just told you that you should leave if you can’t accept that I have a personal life that doesn’t involve you.”

He then looked at the door that led to Ashley’s office and back at her. It didn’t take her long to get the message and scamper back to her office with her tail between her legs. Josh took a couple of minutes to finish up what he was working on before turning to Becky:

“You ready for your tour?” She perked up:

“YES!”

Both Josh and Ben chuckled at her enthusiasm. Josh got up and grabbed his PPE. Quickly he put on his boots, safety glasses, and earmuffs. Becky had to tie his boots because he couldn’t get his right hand there. He checked the radio in both his and Becky’s earmuffs to ensure they worked. Satisfied, he led Becky out onto the shop floor. Once there, Becky was amazed at how clean and bright everything was. The next thing she noticed was that there didn’t seem to be anyone working. Josh explained that employees were on the floor, but they watched over multiple machines and usually stayed in the control booths. Josh and Becky walked most of the shop and talked with various employees, all of whom wanted to know what happened to Josh. Becky watched silently, stunned that Josh seemed to know almost everyone working for him and how popular he was with everyone. The only areas where employees regularly worked on the floor were assembly and final testing.

Suspended from the back wall of the factory was a large American flag. Becky knew her mom would flip her lid if she got into this place and probably start picketing outside. There was one area, though, that Josh wouldn’t show her. He explained that it was where various secret projects for the DoD were being worked on. Out of almost two hundred employees, only ten were allowed in that area. Josh was one of them, but Ben wasn’t. This wasn’t Josh’s idea, but Ben hadn’t got his security clearance yet because he had started the process after Josh. Josh went on to tell Becky that he couldn’t wait for Ben to get his security clearance in a couple of weeks since it would reduce his workload, and Ben was a much better choice to work on some of the projects than Josh was.