Page 591 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

The man had looked so appealing from a distance. Her first impression of him vanished in the wake of his sour attitude. “That’s right. But you can call me Sydney.”

He attempted a smile, but to her it looked more like a grimace. “Barb, would you please bring us some coffee?”Sydney turned to look behind her. She didn’t realize that Sean’s secretary had followed her to his office.

“No, none for me,” Sydney said, holding up her hand. “I don’t drink coffee.”

Sean raised an eyebrow, as if he couldn’t believe she had the audacity to refuse his hospitality. “Well, I’d like a cup.”

Sydney reached for her briefcase. “Jake Roberts and I discussed the fatal accident that occurred on May 15th. He gave me a copy of all the citations against the sawmill, two of which are alleged willful citations. I’ve been going over these and I?—”

“I believe I asked for a cup of coffee.” For a brief second Sydney thought he was talking to her, and then she realized his secretary was still standing behind her. He motioned at the woman. “In case you didn’t realize, that’s your cue.”

Sydney was itching to turn around and look but she didn’t dare. The devil secretary, a.k.a. Barb, had pulled out her pitchfork, and it was pointed right at her.

“Why anything you say, your majesty. You are the boss. Although some days I’m not sure why.”

Sydney could hear her harrumphing down the hall. Even the room breathed a little fresher with her gone. She looked at Sean to see his reaction but his face remained neutral. He seemed completely unaffected. What kind of man was she dealing with?

Then Sydney noticed that he was staring at her. “I don’t mean to be rude, Ms. Lassiter …”

He didn’t mean to be rude? What did he think he just was? Sydney’s eyes met his in a challenge.

“I mean you just don’t seem like the type to be roaming the woodlands with all these back woods loggers.”

“Exactly what type do I look like?” The words had come out before she could call them back. She shook her head and started over, trying this time to keep her temper in check. “I can understand why you feel the way you do, Mr. O’Conner, but I’mmore qualified and competent to do this job than any man you’ll ever find, and I guarantee you I won’t let you down.”

“Well, considering you were hired without my consent, I guess I don’t have a choice, do I?”

She wanted to wither. It took her a second to find her voice. “No, you don’t.” She spoke her next words very deliberately. “I can do the job with or without your help. But it would be in both of our best interests if we work together.”

He seemed to be weighing her words before he spoke. “Okay, what’s your plan?”

His dark eyes were flashing like they held all the power in the world, and she wasn’t sure if she’d gotten through to him or if he was just paying her lip service. “Like I said, Mr. O’Conner, Jake gave me a list of the OSHA citations. I’m also going to need some background information on the safety problems and the accidents that have occurred.”

“First of all, call me Sean. I’m not your father.”

Before Sydney could respond, Barb returned with the coffee. She gave Sydney a hateful look as she traipsed by. I know what’s eating you, and Mr. GQ is all yours, Sydney wanted to yell.

“What’re you doing?” Sean jumped up from his chair.

It took Sydney a second to realize what happened. Barb had spilt the entire cup of hot coffee into his lap. Well, spilt or dumped. It was hard to say which.

Without a word, Barb turned and fled.

Sean grabbed a box of tissues and began furiously wiping his pants. After he’d gone through the entire box, he grimaced at the dark stains that now had shreds of tissue mixed in. “Well, this is just great!” He looked at Sydney, who was trying her hardest not to smile.

“I apologize for Barb. I don’t know what got into her. If you’ll follow me, I’ll introduce you to the rest of this crazy crew.”

Sean led her down the hall where Sydney could hear laughter and a buzz of conversation coming from the far end. Before they went in, a deep voice boomed. “Stop accidents, my foot! I’ve seen this chick and believe me, when she walks through the mill and those guys down there get a look at her, she’ll cause more accidents than an oil spill at the Talladega 500.” The room exploded with laughter.

Sydney’s face burned. Her eyes met Sean’s. Neither of them spoke. Her first instinct was to run and catch the first flight back to Ft. Worth, but she wouldn’t do that. There was too much at stake. Instead, she squared her shoulders and jutted out her chin. “I’m ready to go in now.”

He held out his hand. “After you.”

Sean scanned the room. “Guys, I’d like for you to meet Sydney Lassiter, our new safety consultant. Sydney, this is the gang.”

Sydney smiled and waved. The men and woman sitting around the huge mahogany table stopped talking and looked at her. She wished she had a camera to take a picture of their facial expressions. They had to know that she’d heard the comment about her. After what seemed like an eternity, a tall, potbellied, burley man with a mustache and auburn hair stood. “I’m Joe Slaton, the manager for the outlying woodlands. Welcome aboard.”

“Thank you,” Sydney said.

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