Page 123 of Hell Bent
“You took two days off this week. I didn’t want to give them to you, but I did, against my better judgment. And now this. Who the hell do you think you are? This isn’t summer camp or a sorority party. It’s a serious job with a serious deadline. If you can’t handle it …”
He’d raised his voice, but I’d been working with men for a long time. I kept my voice even. “I realize that. Would you rather I’d called out instead? I didn’t do that, because I’d have put you in a bind. I thought it’d be better for you to be able to plan.”
“It would’ve beenbetter,”Howard said, “for you to be here.”
Did I explain? Did I apologize? No. Somehow, I was saying, “And yet people occasionally need time off, especially when they’re working six days a week. What’s this really about? Because something’s sure frosted your Wheaties today. You getting friction from upstairs, or what?”
He stared at me. “Excuse me?”
I sighed. “OK, that was out of line. Let’s try again. I know this is inconvenient and that I didn’t schedule it in advance, because I didn’t know I’d need the time. On the other hand, I’m no slacker, and you have to know it. I’ve been busting my butt out there, and if you’ve got teams more productive than mine, I don’t know who they are. Idoknow that my team has the lowest defects rate and the best safety record on thisproject, and I’m damn proud of that. None of them has quit, either, which makes us unique, the way people come and go on this job. Look,” I went on as he continued to frown at me, “it’s a couple of weeks here, then it’s over. My boyfriend—Sebastian Robillard—is in the NFL playoffs. With the Devils.”
“I know who he is,” Howard said. “I saw him, remember? I just don’t see what he has to do with my project. If you think you can slack off because he’s an investor, you can forget it. That isn’t how this works. There’s a whole lot more money on the line here than just his, and you don’t get to play Electrician Barbie for your boyfriend on the company dime. You were supposed to come back at noon yesterday, and that one, youdidcall out for. And missed another half day. This is bullshit, and I’m not having it.”
I should have told him about Solange, but first, it would have sounded like an excuse, and second, I didn’t feel like it. I said, “Yes. That happened. Unavoidable complication. And also yes, I’d like a day off on Saturday, too, to get to Baltimore, and a half day Monday morning, because it’s a long way back. After that? If the Devils make it to the Super Bowl, I’ll need to get home from Vegas the next day, and that would make me a couple hours late to work. But you know a good twenty percent of these guys are going to call out the day after the Super Bowl or be hungover if they do get here. At least you’ll know about me ahead of time.”
Howard’s face was getting red now. “I don’t give time off for dates.”
I said, “And you’re not the only job in town.” Yes. Way too much temper.
He stared at me. I stared back, because I was so done with stuff like this. My crewwasthe best, and those were the onlydays or even hours off I’d taken. Ihadn’tcalled out on Saturday morning saying I had the flu and left him in thelurch, and you bet there’d been a rash of callouts and hangovers after Christmas and New Year’s. Including some foremen. But none from my crew. We’d been the ones picking up the slack.
Howard said, “It’s one thing when a guy’s wife is having a baby or something.” Dialing it back.
“You’re right,” I said. “That outranks my request, and I should’ve explained the situation to you from the start. That’s on me. And yet I’m still requesting it.”
He picked up some papers, shuffled them, knocked them together, and said, “These better be the last times.”
I said, “Well, as it’s the playoffs, I expect they will be.” I thought about my grandmother’s request and how I hadn’t even scheduled anything with her yet, and my heart sank a little. I couldn’t plan for that right now, though.
Howard looked up again. “Don’t threaten to quit if you don’t mean it.”
“Good to know,” I said. “And here’s something foryouto know. I meant it. And now I’m going back to work. We’re ahead of schedule again, so you know.”
With that, I walked out.
Hey, I’dtriedto keep my head down and just get it done today. But I wasn’t actually Queen Elizabeth, and my stiff upper lip was bending.
More Prince Philip, possibly. Well, hehadbeenmy third cousin twice removed, so maybe I came by my unfeminine temperament naturally. Also, I may have had more aversion than the average woman to getting pushed around. That was why I lived in a trailer. So if anybody tried it, I could drive away.
On the other hand, it’s not a great idea to walk through frozen mud when you’re distracted, exhausted, and pissed off. Especially if you have a bleeding disorder.
Sebastian
It was nearly seven, and Alix wasn’t here. I’d texted her forty-five minutes ago, asking,What do you want to eat?She hadn’t answered, and I’d called a half hour ago and got voicemail. Now, I was getting worried.
Ben looked up and asked, “When’s dinner?” He’d been parked on the couch all day with Lexi sprawled across him, with the exception of a walk I’d shoved them out the door to take. He’d also been completely withdrawn, no surprise, and I couldn’t say it had been my own best day ever. I was looking forward to getting back to work tomorrow, to be honest, and letting Thomas take over. Not starting out great on the guardian-as-parent deal, but what were you going to do.
I said, “I was waiting for Alix. Guess I’ll call for it now.”
Ben sat up, blinking some, and said, “Burgers?”
“No. Not going to work for me, not with the game on Sunday.”
“Man,” Ben said, “can’t weeverhave burgers? Also, pizza has vegetablesandprotein. And carbs. You’re supposed to have carbs for exercise.”
“When the season’s over,” I said, “I’ll have a burger. It’s the playoffs. It’s kind of important.” I finished my one-click dinner shopping—I was going to have to up my cooking skills in the offseason—and hesitated with my finger over Alix’s name.
Ben asked, “How come Alix isn’t here? I thought she was coming over after?—”
