Furnace: A Fated Mate Romance

by Amelia Jade

“Vince,” he supplied cheerfully.

  “I see. Why did Vince tell you to come see me?”

  “He said you were doing his job.”

  Lex thought she was going to explode. The steam coming out of her ears was almost visible. He dropped the dumb smile and gave the woman a calm stare. Part of him wanted to tell her that she should relax and smile more. Nobody should be that cold. Those same eyes tracked the change in his face and her jaw clenched some more, but she didn’t say anything.

  “I need work orders,” he said, capitulating now that it was clear she was aware he was purposefully messing with her.

  “Your name?”

  He almost started all over again, but he decided against it. There were people who needed his help. Playing games wasn’t going to get them power any time soon.

  “Lex, but it’s probably filed under Alexander Cronus.”

  A stack of pink sheets was snatched up into one hand and shoved at him rigidly. Lex stepped forward, took the papers, smoothing them out until he could grab a clipboard to put them on.

  “Thank you,” he said politely and retreated from the room before she could say any more.

  Corporate. I hate those stuck-up pricks.

  4. The Plan

  Petal

  I hate hillbillies.

  After several minutes of attempting to focus on the task in front of her after Lex had departed she pushed herself back from the desk and closed her eyes. It irritated her just how easily he’d gotten under her skin. At first she’d just thought him some big, bright-eyed bushy-tailed idiot. But it had become quite obvious after he’d dropped the little act that he had, in fact, been toying with her.

  Petal hated that he’d managed to do so with ease. Never once did she stop to try and understand why. Instead her rage simply focused on the fact that he’d had the gall to do that to her. Her! The Southern Coastal Operations Director! Did he have any idea how far above him in the food chain she was? She could have him tossed out the door before lunch if she so chose. They needed all the workers they could get, but after the crisis was over, she made a mental note to have a word with Vince about Lex’s continued service to Western Hydro. Or lack thereof.

  Relax, Petal. That’s over-reaching by a mile, and you know it. Just get the job done, then leave this country hellhole and head back home. You’ll be fine then.

  She ground her teeth together, admitting the truth of it. She’d been there but a few hours, spending the bare minimum to check in to the hotel and then get over to the office. But even in that time she’d been annoyed by the slow nature of everyone around her. This was a full-blown crisis, and yet they were acting like it was business as normal. Everyone moved so slowly! Her horn was going to be worn out by the time she returned the rental car.

  “Vince!” she yelled, then frowned at how shrill her voice sounded. Was she losing it already, less than three hours into the day?

  The weak-chinned sexist pig came into her office, lips turning up greedily at being wanted.

  “Yes, Miss Olson?”

  “Director Olson,” she corrected. She’d earned the title, and she was damned if this little prick was going to get away without using it.

  “Yes, of course, Director,” he amended.

  “When are the rest getting here?”

  Her question was greeted by a frown. “What do you mean?”

  She pointed angrily at the stack of pink sheets still on her desk. “The other crew leaders. We have work to do!”

  Vince looked momentarily perplexed, but he recovered smoothly. “Director Olson, ma’am, we only have four crews. All of them are out working. We’ve never needed more than that at a time. This sort of thing has never happened to Surrey before.”

  Petal considered this, before looking at the pink work orders that still needed to be handled. “Well, shit. All right, get a truck ready then.”

  Vince’s eyebrows rose. “Ah, what, may I ask, am I getting it ready for?”

  She could tell from his tone that he thought her crazy, that there was no way she was actually going to go out in the field and do the work herself. He was right, she wasn’t going to go do it herself.

  “We’re going to visit the crews and spur them on to greater effort,” she announced. “They need to know just how serious things are. When the managers visit them in the field, it helps ensure they realize that this is a big deal.”

  Somehow it escaped her that with over sixty percent of the roads around town being impassable, most everyone would be well aware of just how serious the situation was.

  For a moment she thought he was going to resist, to try and come up with some reason to stay at the office where everything was comfortable and organized. She stared at him, a steady unyielding gaze, until Vince sighed and nodded. “Very well. I’ll page you when the truck is ready.”

  “Excellent,” she said in a dismissive tone, looking back down at the various reports sprawled across the desk and computer screen.

  It was going to be a long day.

  ***

  “I think that went rather well,” she said, pulling the door closed behind her as they departed from their first visit and headed out to the next nearest crew’s location. “Don’t you agree?”

  “Of course,” Vince replied obsequiously.

  She was having a hard time determining if he was just a pushover and acting like this to try and garner her favor for possible career advancement, or if he thought it was more likely to get her into bed. Either way it wasn’t working, but the fact that she couldn’t decipher it meant he would probably take either outcome. Or both.

  She sat back into her seat as he fired up the engine of the big Hemi-powered truck and started them off to their next site. There wasn’t much more she could have done back at the office, and by getting out into the streets she could show that everyone was doing everything possible to speed up the recovery. More than once she’d stopped to talk to civilians wondering when they would get their power back, reassuring them that they were working as fast as they could, but that there was a lot of damage, and that it would take an unknown amount of time.

  It felt good to get out and do something.

  A few minutes later they pulled up behind another of the large trucks, its bucket arm extended, with one of the men in orange jumpsuits working at something atop the pole, while two more were cutting up a tree into pieces small enough that they could move from the road.

  Petal frowned as she stepped out of the car.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, stepping up to the two men. They saw her safety vest and nearly unused hardhat and killed the chainsaws. At least they could recognize a superior when they saw one.

  “Pardon me, ma’am?”

  “I said, what are you doing?” She motioned at the tree with one hand.

  “Clearing the road,” he stated, sounding confused, as if it were obvious.

  “I can see that,” she snapped, reminded of her earlier interaction with Lex. “Why are you doing it? Don’t give me any stupid answer either.”

  “Well, ma’am, right now we’re waiting on the line to be affixed up there, so that we can rerun it to that pole over there.” He pointed up, where the orange-clad worker in the bucket was working on something she couldn’t see, then across the street to another pole.

  “So why aren’t you running it over to that pole there then?” she asked, as if the question were obvious.

  “Because, ma’am,” he said, sounding exasperated. “You don’t attach both lines at the same time. You can do all kinds of things wrong, including having the wire the wrong length, or connecting it to a live feed by accident. One at a time.”

  Above them the bucket began to descend.

  She frowned. “I see. I’m sure there’s more productive things you could be doing with your time.” She pointed down the road. “I see another branch on the line there.”

  “Yes, ma’am. There are three more on this street before the next intersection. We’re working as fast as we can. But
—”

  They were interrupted by the man in the bucket. “But there’s only one bucket per truck, and we only have one truck. So how could he get up there and clear the branch while the bucket is in use?”

  She spun, looking up at the lowered bucket as the familiar man in it climbed out and dropped ten feet to the ground like it was nothing. Apparently he was as athletic as he was in good shape. Neither of the two men with him blinked an eye at his actions. They must be used to it.

  “Hello, Alexander,” she said, trying to keep the sourness from her voice.

  “Name’s Lex,” he replied gruffly, slapping his gloved hands together. Tiny bits of metal and possibly plastic shavings flew everywhere, including right at her. The debris bounced off the orange jumpsuits, but it stuck in her hair and vest. “Oh, sorry about that.”

  She grimaced.

  “What can we do ya for, miss?” he asked.

  “Vince and I are out visiting the work crews.”

  Lex’s facial expression didn’t change. He stood still, looking right at her. Petal stared right back. Eventually he seemed to gather that she was done speaking.

  “I can see that,” he replied, removing his hardhat.

  Her shoulders tightened. How did he do that? How did he manage to get under her skin so easily? She glared at him, but the look seemed to just wash right off his face. His dark green eyes, the color of the forest canopy at twilight, seemed entirely unaffected by anything she did. They stared right at her, possibly even through her. It was a rather unsettling effect. There was a wildness to this man, she realized, an untamed nature. The dark brown hair on his head was a sign of that, an unruly mess, the length perhaps of a finger, pushed all to one side but messed up by his hardhat.

  As she tried to stare him down, Petal realized for the first time just how tall he was. When she’d seen him earlier she’d been at her desk, and the height difference hadn’t been nearly as evident. Now though, standing on her own feet, her neck arched backward so that she could look up at him. It was a disadvantage she was used to, however, and not one that would put her off stride any further than she already was.

  “Well, we wanted to ensure that everyone was working hard, and that things were getting accomplished.”

  “We always work hard, don’t we boys?”

  “Of course, boss,” the other two workers replied in chorus.

  “See,” Lex said with a smile. “Working hard.” Then he frowned. “At least, they were. Why did you stop them? I asked them to clear the tree here from the street while I was up fixing the line. It should have been done by now.”

  Petal clenched one hand into a fist. “Clearing the road is not your job.”

  “Power Line Worker Handbook. Section Two. Subsection Three-A. And I quote: ‘The crew leader shall determine which objects constitute a threat to the integrity of the lines and all associated areas, including but not limited to poles, connectors, and transformers.’” He grinned at her. “In my estimation, this tree is a threat. If someone were to hit it just right, they could turn it, driving the trunk into that pole, and possibly damaging the lines.”

  He gestured at the pole in question. Petal wanted to roll her eyes. The feasibility of someone actually doing just that was out of this world. But he was correct; the crew leader was best suited and given final say on what could and couldn’t be removed.

  “Besides,” Lex said, stepping closer to her and dropping his voice. “They couldn’t do anything anyway until I was finished hooking up the line. If you hadn’t interrupted, they would have been done and we could be halfway to hooking up the other end of the new line already. They needed work, and this helps us in the eyes of the residents. That way they feel better about our services, and will bitch less about the exorbitant prices you corporate jerks charge. Now, if you don’t mind, ma’am, please go back to the office where you belong, and stop bothering me, my men, and my other crews. We have a job to do, and all you’re doing is slowing us down. Got it?”

  He spoke low enough so that only Petal could hear, but it had to be obvious to anyone watching that she was being dressed down. She seethed at her treatment by this lowly line worker, and considered returning the favor, including telling him to pack his stuff and go home, that he was done with Western Hydro. But she couldn’t. One of the first things she’d done upon arriving was review the crew leaders. Lex was not only the senior most, but according to all reports, he was also the most liked, and most knowledgeable. Firing him would not be productive. Right now she needed to be as productive as possible. The quicker she was able to solve this crisis, the better she would look to her superiors back at the head office. A raise, or even a promotion was on the line here. She had to handle this properly.

  “Very well,” she said, raising her voice. “Keep up the good work, Lex.” She could toss him a bone by using the moniker he preferred. Perhaps that would keep him quiet, let her save what little face she had left in front of these country buffoons. She didn’t care what they said about her when she left, but Petal needed them to respect her and work extremely hard while she was here.

  “Of course, ma’am,” Lex said respectfully, turning to his crew. “Come on you lazy, useless sacks of nothing. Why isn’t this tree cleared? I need it out of the way to move the truck so we can do our job.”

  Almost immediately the two chainsaws fired back to life. Clearly the men had been waiting for that order from their boss.

  Petal stepped back and then turned, heading for the truck. Vince hurried to catch up. “On to the next site, Director?”

  She shook her head. “No, Vince. Let’s get back to base and see what else we can do from there. I’m convinced that the crews are now aware of the gravity of the situation.”

  The other man seemed to sigh with relief. “And perhaps lunch on the way?”

  Petal tried not to groan. He was choosing now to try and get her somewhere alone to talk? The reports she’d read on his misconduct might have been understating things. He had no tact at all.

  “We can hit up a drive-through, sure. Make sure you get enough for the rest of the office.”

  She grinned internally as the realization he’d just agreed to buy lunch for everyone dawned on Vince.

  At least she didn’t have to put up with his shit.

  5. Bad News, Pt. 2

  Lex

  “Good work again, boys,” he said as they pulled in to the parking lot at the shop. “Go grab some water and start reloading the truck with supplies. It’s going to be a long day.”

  His men, a pair of brothers named Ronnie and Ryan, were good people. They worked hard, knew their trade, and weren’t afraid to get dirty. They also weren’t overly imaginative, so he had to ensure that he was clear with them what he expected. But to their credit, give them a task, and they got it done without stopping. He couldn’t ask for more than that.

  But it was a good thing he was the crew leader.

  “You going to get some more pinkies?” Ronnie asked, using slang for the work orders.

  “Yep.” He started to turn the key when the radio switched over to a news broadcast.

  “The Surrey sheriff’s office is asking everyone to keep an eye out for a missing woman. Leslie Mckay has been missing since yesterday morning. She was last known to be driving to work. Her normal route is along George Street and then on to East Avenue. She was driving a green four-door sedan, older model. Leslie is described as a redhead, five foot six, one hundred seventy pounds. If you see her or know her whereabouts, please contact the sheriff’s office.”

  “Shit,” he muttered, killing the engine.

  “What?” Ryan asked, following him out of the truck. “Did you know her?”

  “No. But it sounds like we had the first casualty of the storm,” he said. “I was hoping that people would get to shelter and be okay, but it appears someone didn’t.”

  Lex took it hard whenever someone in Surrey died of non-natural causes. He considered the inhabitants to be his friends. There were only two tho
usand or so of them in the entire valley. A very small number, many of whom he knew by name, or at least sight. While it was possible Leslie might still be alive, after the damage the storm had caused, he had his doubts.

  “I just hope there aren’t any more,” he muttered, then shook his head and straightened his back. “Okay boys, get the truck cleaned up and top up all the parts we used, plus anything else we said we might need. I’m going to go see where we’re off to next.”

  Leaving the brothers to it he headed inside, marching right to Vince’s office. It was closed. He tried the door handle, but it was locked. Lex wondered if perhaps Miss Olson hadn’t heeded his words to come back to the office and work from there. Frowning, he turned and headed down to the command pit.

  The pit was the operations brain for Western Hydro. It was dominated by the huge map of Surrey and surrounding countryside, with all the known hydro lines, generators, transformers, property, etcetera on it. It was electronic and could be color-coded to show problems down to a single line between poles. Green was good. Orange was minor, red was major, and black was unknown.

  His eyes scanned the map with practiced experience. Every morning he came in and looked it over, memorizing it anew and looking at the various sectors for usual culprits and new problems. By this point in time he was quite used to it all. Well, mostly. The map had never shown anywhere near this much red before. Whereas orange and red were usually a tiny minority, today they appeared to be the majority. A swath of green had begun to cut through it from west toward east, indicative of where the workers had been progressing. But overall there was still nearly as much red as there was green.

  “Lex, what are you doing back here?”

  He turned as Vince approached him.

  “I’m done.”

  Vince’s brow furrowed for a second, then he nodded. “Right. I have more for you, here.” He stuffed a handful of crinkled pink sheets at Lex.

  Scanning them quickly, Lex realized the issue. “Vince, why is nobody working here?” He pointed on the map to the east side of town on the single trunk-line from the hydro dam to Surrey.