Page 595 of Cold Case, Warm Hearts

“I have a job to do, and by golly I’m gonna do it,” she said. A smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. Those were her father’s words. She’d heard him use them many times.

She parked her jeep and got out, barely noticing the group of men standing nearby. She liked the sound her steel-toed shoes made when they crunched the gravel. She felt confident and knew it showed in her every step. This time she’d come dressed for business.

The wolf calls and leering remarks stopped her dead in her tracks. It was amazing how fast that one incident could strip away her courage, leaving her feeling like a helpless mouse being taunted by huge ugly cats. Her first impulse was to flip them off, but she refrained. She’d put aside such vulgar behavior long ago. Instead, she lifted her head and pretended they didn’t exist.

She turned her head in the opposite direction when she passed Barb’s desk.

“You might want to check your in-box.”

Sydney stopped. “My in-box?”

“It’s the last cubicle on the right.”

Sydney studied Barb, who was looking very chipper in her tight pink blouse. Could it be that the woman had decided to be civil? “Thanks.”

One look at the contents in the box doused any remaining spark of her good mood.

Sydney’s voice trembled.“What is the meaning of this?” She shoved the papers in front of Sean’s face.

“It’s the minutes from the last safety meeting. I thought you needed to get a copy since you were not there.”

She wanted to claw the smug expression off his handsome face. “Need to get a copy! This meeting took place last Friday after I left the mill. I just got the announcement for the meeting this morning in my in-box! I was here all last week. Why wasn’t I informed?”

“You were.”

“What?”

Sean spoke deliberately. “I told Barb to be sure you knew about the meeting. I’m sure all of this is just a misunderstanding.” He picked up a paper from his desk and studied it as if Sydney weren’t there.

Refusing to be dismissed, Sydney stood her ground. “How can I ever gain these men’s respect if they think I’m not interested enough in them to come to their safety meetings?”

“Look, I said I’m sorry. I’ll talk to Barb and find out what happened.” His dark eyes glittered in an open challenge, daring her to argue.

Rage boiled up in Sydney’s throat. “Don’t count on Barb to tell me anything. She just now told me that I have an in-box.You’dbetter let me know from now on, Sean O’Conner.” Sydney slammed the minutes on his desk and stormed out of his office.

Sydney looked at her watch.After the blow-up with Sean, she’d decided to by-pass him by calling and scheduling an appointment with the sawmill foreman. She would take each key player and get to know him on a personal basis. Mr. Gibson was ten minutes late for their appointment, but that didn’t surprise her. It seemed to be the norm in this place.

The foreman knocked once and then entered her office. Could it be? Yes, this was one of the men that had made wolf calls at her.

“How do you do, ma’am?”

“I’m fine.” Sydney’s lips formed a tight line. She stood and shook his hand. “Thanks for coming in. Have a seat, Mr. Gibson.”

Buck Gibson was a small-boned man who carried himself rather confidently for a man who stood a mere half a head taller than she. A short, stubbly mustache covered his upper lip, and his dark hair was sprinkled with salt. His forehead was a shade lighter than the rest of his face, probably due to wearing a cap all of the time. He was trim except for a small, tight belly that barely extended over his belt-line.

His smile was cold, never reaching those dark fathomless eyes. She’d heard that Mr. Gibson had quite a reputation withthe women. Sydney found that hard to believe. He might’ve been an athlete in his younger years, she conceded. Perhaps then he’d been passably attractive. Stoney Creek, it seemed, was a very small pond with lots of big fish.

He seemed to be sizing her up. “So you think you can stop these here accidents we’ve been having?”

“No, Mr. Gibson. I can’t do it alone, but I think that together we can. But first we have to do an analysis to determine any possible hazards. We need to go over every nook and cranny of the mill. We want to catch the problems before they turn into accidents. Then we’ll set up safety procedures and implement them.” She thumbed through her file. “I’ve been going through the reports. In addition to the accident on May 15th, resulting in Timothy MacGregor’s death, there have been several other accidents. Do you have any idea what’s going on or what may have changed over the last few months?”

“Ma’am, if I knew what was hap’nin, I would’ve stopped it a long time ago.” He looked her in the eye. “I do have a question, though.”

“What’s that?”

“How did a pretty young thang like you git a job like this?”

“Mr. Gibson!” Sydney could have screamed. “Have you not heard a word I’ve said?”

---