Page 84 of A Lesson for Laurel

“Around seven,” she said, laughing. “Are you thinking of being there that early?”

“I was thinking if I can swing it, maybe I’ll come on Thursday night instead.”

“Even better,” she said. “Is there anything you wanted to do today?”

“I thought we could go to the Mianus River Park and walk or hike a bit if you’ve got sneakers with you.”

“I do,” she said. “I come prepared. I do have hiking boots but didn’t bring them.”

“Sneakers are good enough,” he said. “This isn’t like serious hiking by any means.”

“Let me go put on a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt then. It’s not cold out, but I bet it's buggy.”

“I’ve got spray if you need it.”

“I do,” she said. “I tend to get bit a lot.”

He grinned. “They like how good you smell.”

“Just like you,” she said. “But you don’t bite.”

“I can if you want,” he said.

“Hmmm, maybe later. Just don’t leave marks,” she said, laughing, and then sashayed away.

She went to his room and changed her clothes. She heard her phone ring and then Easton yelled, “It’s just a number and no name, but it looks like a local number.”

She came running out. “Could be work. Hello.”

“Hi, Laurel. This is Michele O’Reilly. I work in the jewelry division.”

“Hi, Michele. I know who you are. What’s going on?”

“I’m sorry to bother you, but two people called in sick today. One in our division and one in the accessories. And two people in the plant are sick too. They are working but want to leave. No one can get a hold of Denise. We’ve been calling for over an hour.”

She ground her teeth. “I’m out of town and don’t have my laptop with me to get names and numbers and make calls.”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what else to do. In the past, we would have called one of the sisters, but Poppy is out, and I don’t want to bother Rose knowing she’s due soon. I don’t know much about what is going on in the plant to call Lily.”

“You did the right thing,” she said. “This is my job. I’ll make a few calls.”

“I’ve got someone coming in in jewelry and someone else is calling over in accessories,” Michele said.

“Good. I’m glad you got that covered already.” She’d make a note and reward those staff for taking the initiative to cover shifts when the supervisor on call wasn’t getting back to them.

She hung up and turned to Easton. “Do you have to go home?” he asked.

“No,” she said. “I’m not doing that, but I need to make a few calls.”

“Take your time. We aren’t on a schedule,” he said.

She called Denise and got the voicemail. “Hi, Denise. This is Laurel. I need you to call me ASAP. You’re on call this weekend and things are going on in the plant and no one can reach you.” She hung up and then texted the same damn message.

“Is she the one you’ve butted heads with before?” he asked.

“Yes. She doesn’t do her job. When she is on call she is never around or waits hours to get back to people. She never gives a reason why either. She’s paid to be on call and then to go in and work if necessary. I don’t want to be a hard ass, but this has to stop.”

“Sometimes that is the way you need to be,” he said.

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