Steele Trap (Heart of Steele) (6 page)

Chapter Twelve

Monday morning, Wally
was surprised to find Jake Daniels and another man waiting for him when he
arrived at the office. His administrative assistant told him with clear
disapproval that the men didn't have an appointment.

"That's okay,
Carla. Postpone or cancel my next appointment, I need to speak with Jake here.
And his friend, I guess. Would it be a big imposition if I asked you to get us
coffee?"

Carla acquiesced with
as much grace as she could muster. Calling down to the mailroom, she directed a
clerk to make a fresh pot of coffee and bring it with three cups, sugar,
creamer and spoons to the boss's office right away.

"Well, gentlemen,
you're here early. How can I help you?"

"Wally, this is
Big Jim O'Toole, the supervisor on Dane Johansson's build. We think we have a
way to help you, but you may need to back Big Jim up."

"Let's hear it.
Anything's better than what's going down if your men don't get back to work,
Mr. O'Toole."

"Big Jim. Mr.
O'Toole's my father."

"Big Jim, then.
How do you propose to get past the safety issue?"

Jake explained his
plan. "They'll go back to work if they can get decent steel. If you
pressure Johansson to buy from your supplier instead of his own mill, Big Jim
will guarantee that his crew will go back to work. Johansson can get his next
construction draw, pay you back, and you can get that money back where it
belongs."

To Wally, it sounded
like a long-shot at best, but he was out of other options. He would still have
to throw himself on the mercy of the board, but they should be more likely to
be merciful if the corporate funds weren't missing. He nodded, looking at
nothing, but turning over all the ins and outs in his mind. Steele looked up at
Jake.

"It might just
work. Let me try calling Johansson first, then we'll escalate if we have
to."

Jake stood. "Leave
me out of it. You and Big Jim can work out the details. Glad I could put you
together."

"Can't thank you
enough, Jake. I'll see you later."

Carla was about to
knock at the door with the tray of coffee when Jake came through in what looked
like a hurry. He caught her shoulders quickly to set her back on balance, and
proceeded out the front entrance. Carla sent him an exasperated glare, but
walked into the office with the coffee. She guessed the others would still want
it.

Wally and Big Jim
discussed what the tone of the phone call should be. Should Wally start out by threatening
Dane? Or by acting like he had been hit with this great idea, and what did Dane
think of it? They finally settled on something in between. Steele picked up the
phone. Once again the gatekeeper irritated him when he connected first to her
and she tried to put him off again.

"Listen, this is
of grave importance. Unless he's in surgery or dead, I need to speak with him
right now."

In frosty tones, the
woman told him to wait while she checked. Wally fumed until Dane's voice came
on the line.

"What is it now,
Steele."

Wally counted quickly
to ten. "Dane, I think I may have found a way to help you take care of
your problem."

"What problem,
Steele?"

"Don't play games,
Dane. Your work stoppage. If that crew goes back to work, you can get your next
draw and pay me what you owe."

"How do you
propose to get them back to work? They haven't responded to anything we've
tried. Even threats."

"Don't tell me
that kid of yours is running around threatening them."

"Not personally.
He spoke to some people he knows. They said they'd take care of it."

"Call them off.
I've got your general contractor here, and he says they'll go back to work if
you bring in materials that aren't substandard. In other words, not from your
mill."

"But, that will
mean cost overruns!"

"Dane, I can't
believe you would consider constructing a public building with substandard
steel anyway. Think of the consequences!"

"Okay, so we'll
start inspecting the steel more carefully at my mill."

"No, that won't
work. You need to buy from my supplier."

"What! That costs
me money on both ends."

"Dane, I swear to
God, if you don't get your head out of your ass and do what needs to be done,
I'll send Big Jim over to pull it out for you!."

"Okay, okay, no need
to threaten me. Where are you getting your steel?"

Wally transferred Dane
to Accounts Payable to track down his supplier. He turned to Big Jim.

"I'm glad you've
got that intimidating name. Sorry I had to threaten him with you."

Big Jim grinned.
"Damn, that would have been fun, though."

Wally laughed too, and
shook Jim's hand. "You let me know if you don't have good steel by the end
of the day. I'll lean on my supplier."

"Will do, Mr.
Steele. Too bad you only hire non-union crews. I would enjoy doing business
with you."

"If I didn't have
a good man in Jake Daniels, I might reconsider that. But his crew is top-notch,
and his bid was lower."

"I get it. No hard
feelings."

Big Jim left then, and
Wally settled back into his seat to consider how to approach the board on
Wednesday. This was cutting it too close. Just in case, he put in a call to his
favorite real estate agent to see what the house would bring.

Chapter
Thirteen

Ashley was surfing the
internet, listing all the fashion boutiques she found. It looked like downtown
Denver or Cherry Creek would be their best bets. Becky searched through the
closet, trying to put together two fashionable but relatively conservative
outfits to wear when they went to apply for jobs.

"Are you sure we
shouldn't put our resumes on Monster or something?" Ashley called.

Becky stuck her head
around the closet door. "What exactly would you put on a resume? 'Hire me
because I own a bunch of designer clothes?' You have no experience. You're
going to have to walk into the boutiques looking like a million bucks and wow
the managers."

"I guess you're
right, but it seems like a lot of work."

Becky despaired that
Ashley would be able to hold a job, if she could even get one. She loved her
friend dearly, but Ashley was one of the most spoiled, self-indulgent,
entitled
people she had ever met. And Becky understood herself to be partly to blame.
She always let Ashley have her way, followed her like a puppy dog, and seldom
called her on her bullshit. She was afraid Ashley might be in for a rude
awakening.

"Do you want to
have lunch in LoDo before we start looking?"

"Ashley, I think
you ought to start learning to economize. Let's see what's available in your
kitchen."

Ashley started to object,
but caught her breath. "You're right."

Becky couldn't believe
her ears. She expected an argument, or at least a sarcastic lash back. But
Ashley was leading the way downstairs to raid the kitchen. Amazing.

When the girls arrived
in the kitchen, Ashley called out. "Conchita!" Getting no answer, she
started poking into walk-in pantries and opening cupboards.

Becky said, "Don't
you know where anything is?"

"Not really, no.
I've never had a reason to be in here."

At that moment, Jessica
arrived from the direction of the formal dining room. "Oh, hi, girls. What
are you doing?"

"Getting lunch
before I go job-hunting. Where's Conchita?"

"I believe she
went grocery shopping. Did you say job-hunting?"

"Yes. Becky and I
are going to try to get jobs."

Jessica succumbed to an
urgent need to sit. Pulling a chair out from the kitchen table, she dropped
into it. "What kind of jobs?"

"We're going to
apply to high-end fashion boutiques as sales clerks. Won't that be chill?"

"Speak English,
please, Ashley. You know I don't keep up with slang."

"Cool, rad,
dope."

"Ashley."

"Fun, Jess,
okay?"

"Yes, it will
probably be fun. But it won't support you in the way that you're used to."

"Jess, Daddy can't
support me that way anymore, either, right? It will be okay. I'll live. Hey,
when is Daddy getting home? I want to give him the keys to the Porsche."

Now Jessica was sure
she was hallucinating. She loved Ashley with all her heart, but this was a new
side of her.

"Who are you, and
what have you done with my Ashley?"

"Come on, Jess.
You know I'm just trying to do my part. Daddy shouldn't have to worry about me,
I'm a grown-up now. Where does Conchita keep the peanut butter?"

Jessica got up without
a word and found peanut butter, jelly and bread for the girls to make
sandwiches. Becky observed Jessica's exchange with her stepdaughter with the
same open-mouthed astonishment Jessica exhibited. Now she took the food and
busied herself preparing the sandwiches, pretending not to notice when Jessica
hugged Ashley with tears in her eyes.

"Thank you,
Princess. Your daddy will be so proud of you."

"I don't know why
you and Jess are so freaked out," Ashley said as the two girls headed for
Denver.

"Because you're
acting completely out of character, Ash. It's just weird."

"Well, don't stare
at me like I've got two heads when we're applying for jobs. They'll think
something is up."

"Okay. Hey, change
of subject."

"Yeah?"

"What are you
going to do about Jake?"

"Not sure yet. He
really hurt me, you know? But I guess I can understand, he's confused. He still
has to take me to that concert. I'll straighten it out then."

"Where's Dirk in
all this?"

"As far as I'm
concerned, nowhere. If he wants to drop off the face of the earth, that's fine
with me. You know we were having issues."

"Yeah, threats of
forcible fellatio."

Ashley laughed.
"As
if
! He should know me well enough to get that it would be
dangerous. I'd bite the nasty thing off."

Now both girls were
giggling. The rest of the drive went quickly as they made the kind of small
talk that best friends do, with long silences and instant rapport when one said
something. Arriving in the LoDo area, Ashley found a parking lot and paid for
three hours. They would apply everywhere they could in that time, and come back
the next day to hit Cherry Creek.

"Do you have any
experience?" the store manager asked, looking back and forth at Ashley and
Rebecca Sue.

"No," they
chorused.

"We keep up with
the latest trends, and Becky here is fantastic at putting outfits
together."

"We're not hiring
at the moment, but if you'd like to fill out an application, we'll keep it on
file."

This scene was repeated
at least half a dozen times, the girls filling out the applications and going
to the next place, before Ashley called a halt.

"It's time to get
back to the car, before they tow me."

"This was sort of
a bust, huh?"

"Well, we can't
give up. At least I can't. Becky, you're smart as a whip, and you understand a
lot about law. You could get a better job."

"Possibly, but
let's keep on with the plan, and once you get a job, I'll broaden my
search."

"What makes you
think they'll hire me first?"

"Girl, have you
seen yourself? They'll want to hire the knockout, trust me."

"Becky, you don't
give yourself enough credit," said Ashley, throwing her arm around Becky's
shoulders as they walked companionably down the street.

They got back to the
Steele residence just in time for dinner, relieved to discover that Conchita
had returned and a sumptuous meal was waiting for them. Once everyone was
seated and the first course served, Wally turned to Ashley.

"What's this I
hear about you job-hunting?"

"I thought I'd
better start learning to support myself, Daddy. Even if you win this fight, I
can't expect you to support me forever."

"Precious, I would
love nothing more than to support you forever, but I'm very proud of you. Would
you have any interest in working for me?"

"You mean, if you
win?"

"That's probably
the best plan. Wait until we see how this settles out, and if I'm still CEO
after Wednesday, we'll decide what will interest you the most."

"Thank you, Daddy,
I'll give it some thought. Meanwhile, we're going back to Denver tomorrow. We
did LoDo today, and Cherry Creek is next."

"That's good,
Baby. Rebecca Sue, are you looking for the same type of work?"

"I am for now, Mr.
Steele. Mostly I'm along to support Ashley, but once she's set, I'll need to search
for something too."

"Would you care to
work for me?"

"I’m not sure, Mr.
Steele. I'm not very interested in copper, but possibly some of your
development work would be interesting."

"I'm surprised you
know that much about my business."

"Google is a wonderful
thing, sir."

Wally chuckled, turning
to Jessica to ask about her day.

"Daddy, when do
you need the keys to the Porsche?"

"What?"
Turning back to her, his eyes revealing astonishment.

"Didn't you say
you might have to sell everything? I love my Porsche, but you can have it back
if you need it."

This was too much for
Wally, who looked like a deer caught in headlights. "Er, I mean, no need
to worry about that right now, Precious. You go ahead and drive it until
something is decided. That means so much to me, though, that you're willing to
give it up."

"It's going to
break my heart, because it was such a special gift, Daddy. But I have to do my
part."

Wally hung his head. If
anything could have stabbed him with guilt, Ashley's self-sacrifice was it.
"I love you, Baby."

"I know, Daddy. I
love you, too."

Without saying it
aloud, both Jessica and Rebecca Sue told themselves,
My little girl is
growing up
.