Tough Enough to Tango

by Barbara Barrett

  “Until—” Was it that serious? Just because some impertinent crewmembers couldn’t stomach the way she’d treated their questions?

  Ned went to gaze out her window. “You apparently stepped on some toes a little too hard back there. It seems construction workers are almost as superstitious as musicians. They felt bad vibes in that meeting. They don’t want to stick around to see how those pan out.”

  He watched a small group of crewmembers gather in the parking lot. From their animated state, arms flailing, leaning in to each other, he doubted his reassurances had done much good. Within a minute, two more joined the three, then two more. Dissention was spreading fast. He needed to move faster to counteract Shae’s tantrum. Finding new crewmembers would take time, time he couldn’t spare. Those first phase homes had to be on the market soon, so he could get his money back. Since Dave Hale wasn’t here to do clean up, he’d have to rely on her.

  He turned back to find her seated at the desk, going through a notebook. “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Contact information for others we’ve worked with over the years. We don’t have to cave to those guys’ demands or attitudes.”

  Didn’t she realize none of this would have happened if she’d kept her cool? He shot to her desk and placed a hand over one of the pages but didn’t touch her. That had brought him nothing but trouble the other day.

  “Those guys as good?”

  “Of course. No. I don’t know.” She lifted her hands in surrender. “I haven’t worked directly with the crews. Must have been obvious in the meeting. They, their questions, got to me.”

  She nursed a case of damaged ego. He didn’t have the time or the inclination to deal with such sensitivities. “File that information away. There’s still time to keep the crew you have, or had. But you need to regain their allegiance right away.”

  She crossed her arms in front of her and tilted her head toward him. “Really? How do you suggest I do that?”

  Sarcasm. She still didn’t see how much damage she’d done herself.

  “Have your support people call everyone who attended today’s meeting. If you’re sure Dave Hale can make it, invite them back for a follow-up confab tomorrow. Throw in food. A generous spread around the lunch hour.”

  “Since when have you become such an expert at staff relations?”

  How could she be so blind? He took a breath so he wouldn’t say something he’d regret. He had to keep her reasonably pliable until he could get with Hale. “I have a small group of musicians and producers who’ve worked with me for over five years. I’m tough on them, too. There are times when you have to be. But other times it makes more sense to go with the flow, give in to their wishes.”

  “Didn’t you hear them challenge me?” Her voice rose.

  Surely she recognized her inexperience was just the kind of opening salvo employees liked to throw at their new employers? Just to see what they’d do. And she’d done plenty. “How do you account for their actions?”

  She thought about it. “That first guy, Pete, seemed miffed because I hadn’t spent much time in the field with them.”

  “Legitimate point?”

  “Legitimate or not, he was out of line to bring it up.”

  She wasn’t listening, because she was still bristling at the guy’s rudeness. “Put his comments aside for now. Do you think your lack of field visits bothered him so much he’d risk his job to mention it?”

  She opened her mouth as if to say, “Yes,” then shut it.

  “If you were out there mucking it up with them every day, would they be pleased?”

  “I admit I should have spent more time with them. But I’ve been so inundated with—”

  “Yeah, yeah. With my project. I get it. But these guys aren’t upset because they think you’ve ignored them. They’d much rather deal with Dave. He’s a known quantity and one of them. Their complaints about your absence were just their way of testing you.”

  “They seemed to want a show of strength. That’s what I gave them.”

  It was like the early morning California fog he knew so well had suddenly cleared. Shae thought the fact she was in charge meant everyone would blithely follow. She was clueless what it meant to lead. Mike had been right to question her lack of supervisory experience. But, hey, wasn’t this the very reason he’d stuck with Two Rivers? If he could help her manage her people better, he could manage her. God, that sounded so insensitive, even to him. But if he was going to keep Sullivan’s Creek solvent, he had to guard his expenses with an iron hand.

  He turned away from the window, settled in one of the visitor chairs, and repeated her statement. “Show of strength, huh? How did you do that?”

  She blinked several times, as if she couldn’t believe he would even ask such a question. “I told them I’m in charge. I make the decisions. I didn’t let them rattle me.”

  Ned reclined, crossed one leg over the other. “Really? Let’s recap. You ended the meeting abruptly. Didn’t cover anything you’d planned to say. Walked out before anyone could ask any more offensive questions. Sounds like you were rattled to me.”

  She didn’t answer.

  “While we’re on the subject, when you walked out, it may have seemed like a power play to you, but to your audience, me, for instance, it said you didn’t feel you could stay and fight. Like you weren’t tough enough to tango.”

  “I did what I thought my dad would do. I’ve seen him storm out of many a meeting.”

  “Which you attended?”

  “Well, no. I wasn’t always included.”

  Interesting. Her training seemed to have come long distance from the School of Dad. “How do you know such tactics worked?”

  “Because…because—”

  “From my experience with him, your dad could sometimes blow off a little steam. But his crew seemed to respect him anyway, and his clients stuck with him because of the quality product he delivered.”

  Elbows on her desktop, she leaned into her tented hands and seemed to think through his words. “So if I don’t walk out, how do I gain their respect? If I were to run after them and beg them to come back, it would seem like I caved.”

  He placed his hands on the front of her desk and leaned in. “If these guys are the best, why not let them think they’ve won this round? You’ve got the rest of the project to let them learn otherwise.”

  She bit a lip. “Do you have any idea what you’ve asked? It won’t seem like I’m in charge at all if they think they’ve put one over on me.”

  “Yes, you will. If they see Dave defer to you. Same as I did when we first met at my mother’s art gallery. I never would have considered your company if I hadn’t seen the exchanges between the two of you that day and believed you able to take charge.” Not totally true, since the very weakness he’d read in her then had been a deciding factor in sticking with this company, but she needed something to hang onto. For now, he’d give it to her.

  “You did?” Her tone sounded incredulous.

  His opinion seemed important to her. Surprise.

  “Okay, I’ll give it a try, but I’m not convinced.”

  He’d worn her down. “Good luck.”

  He was at the door when she called, “Ned? See you tomorrow.”

  He raised his brows in surprise. How had she known?

  For the first time since their aborted kiss a few days back, she smiled at him. “You were planning to sit in, right? Even though I hadn’t invited you. I might as well let you think you won this round, too.”

  Chapter Seven

  “Crew walked out on her, huh?” Dave swiped his fingers over his chin. It was an hour after the unsuccessful crew meeting, and Ned had sought him out in the surgical recovery room at the hospital.

  Ned clarified. “Actually, Shae walked out on them first.”

  Dave’s hand hit the armrest of his chair. “I shoulda been there. But there wasn’t much choice. Couldn’t leave my wife.”

  “Of course not. No one’s bla
ming you. I’m a jerk to come here and dump this news on you, but too much is at stake to let it go. I overheard several crewmembers talking about signing on with other projects rather than deal with Shae. We need to act fast to pull things back together.”

  “No one’s ever walked out on Two Rivers before.”

  “Shae Harriman has never been in charge of Two Rivers before.”

  Dave angled his head at Ned. “With all due respect, Mr. Collier, that’s unfair.”

  Ned slumped in his chair. “Call me Ned. You’re right. I knew she had little leadership experience when I continued my contract with you folks. But I didn’t realize she had virtually no experience. Today was a real shocker. She seemed more concerned about their lack of respect than the possibility of a walkout. Even when I tried to tell her she could lose her crew, her response was to call in new people rather than attempt to get her current crew back.”

  Dave leaned forward, palms on thighs. “Shae takes people at face value. If they said they’re leaving, then her response would have been to replace them. Probably never occurred to her to coax them to reconsider.”

  “Look, man, I like Shae. She got a terrible deal, being thrown into this job and expected to swim. As a topper, she found herself in charge of the largest project your company has ever tackled. But that project is my project, too, my money. I can’t afford to see it go down the tubes or be delayed because the boss got her feelings hurt.”

  Dave narrowed his eyes. “She know you’re here?”

  “No.”

  Dave didn’t reply but instead stared at his hands. His silence spoke volumes.

  “Okay. I hear what you haven’t said. I have no right to interfere. If I’m not happy with how things are going, I should find another general contractor.”

  Dave still didn’t respond, as if he waited for more from Ned.

  “I don’t want to break the contract,” Ned felt compelled to add. “I know it’s unusual for the developer to be so, uh, underfoot. But this project has been a lifeline for me as I’ve struggled to get my voice back.” As well as given me a back door to keep my costs down.

  “I understand. But she won’t be happy.”

  Ned hung his head. “I know. A bit presumptuous. She’ll tell you about this sooner or later, once she calms down, but I didn’t want to take a chance she’d put it off. To keep your crew, time is of the essence.”

  In a resigned tone, Dave asked, “What do you want me to do?”

  “Come lead the meeting tomorrow, provided your wife’s okay. Shae needs to be there, not just to watch you and see how it’s done, but also to show those guys they didn’t scare her. She really did try to answer their questions today. At first. But when they questioned her ability to head up the project, she got defensive. So tomorrow she has to show she’s gracious enough to step aside and let you run the meeting.”

  “Did you discuss any of this with her?”

  “Had to almost break down her locked door to get her to talk to me, but in the end, she agreed to a second meeting. Over the lunch hour. With food.”

  Dave chuckled. “Food, huh? She gotta cook too?”

  Ned sat back. “Might’ve gone too far with the food, although it seemed like a good idea at the time. Deals in L.A. are usually made over lunch or cocktails.” As an afterthought, he added, “After I left, I texted her the names of a couple caterers my mom uses. Thought Shae wouldn’t talk to me on the phone.”

  “You seem to have it all figured out. Except the part where she sits there without opening her mouth. You really think she can do that?”

  “I do, if we can convince her keeping her mouth shut is not a sign of weakness. I’ll stick close to her tomorrow and nudge her if she forgets. I invited myself to the meeting, although she’d already anticipated I’d be there.”

  At length, Dave said, “She must feel so alone. Confused. I let her down. The crew more or less told her she wasn’t up to the job and threatened to desert her. Now she has to concede to a do-over.”

  “She’s not too crazy about me at the moment, either,” Ned added. “But if we can help get her crew back and retain a little pride in the process, it’ll be worth her ire.”

  ****

  Though tempted to confide in her father about her problems with the crew and get his advice about how to deal with them, Shae didn’t want to raise his stress level. Couldn’t risk it. If she was really honest with herself, she also didn’t want to lose his confidence and possibly her only opportunity to show him her stuff. Nonetheless, once she’d set the wheels in motion for the next day’s meeting, later that afternoon she found herself a participant in a father-daughter checkers match at Blackhawk Hills, the rehab facility where her dad had reluctantly agreed to be taken.

  Even though he won, Tim Harriman’s fist pounded the game board and sent several checker pieces onto the floor. “How much longer do I have to be cooped up here? This place is the pits.” Thankfully, his outburst didn’t have anything to do with the crew’s pending desertion. Now in his mid-fifties, with his salt and pepper hair, near six-foot height, and penetrating blue eyes, her dad was still quite handsome, when he wasn’t complaining, which seemed to be quite frequent since coming to the care center.

  It was almost a relief to listen to his tirade. This was behavior she knew and understood, the most familiar thing she’d dealt with of late. She retrieved the checker pieces and set them back on the board. “What does your doctor say?”

  Her father grumbled to himself as he hunched over the board.

  “What was that?”

  “Nothing. How’d things go today?”

  She felt for her dad. He was frustrated with the restraints and inactivity imposed by this regimen. However, he seemed to be on the upswing. His complexion had returned to its normal color, not the deathly pallor she’d witnessed in the hospital. “You’re changing the subject again. What did the doctor say?”

  “I’d rather hear about Collier’s project.”

  “Okay, but first, was Ned Collier as hands-on with the project before your heart problems?”

  He sat back, seemed to consider her question. “No more than other developers. They all think they know better than the experts they hire.” He stopped, rubbed his chin. “Now that I think about it, though, he seemed to become more intense as the project progressed. Once the actuals on the sewer system and streets and the rest of the infrastructure started coming in, his attention switched to the financing. Couldn’t believe the costs could be so high, stuff like that.”

  So it wasn’t just her being in charge that had Ned concerned about costs. Although such reassurance didn’t ease her mind completely, it helped to know she wasn’t the cause.

  “Why do you ask?”

  She kicked herself mentally to have opened this door. But Ned’s little lecture after today’s meeting still grated. Yes, it was his project and he was footing the bill. But she was the one in charge of Two Rivers at the moment, and she had to find a way to get the point across to him soon, or both of them were in for their own breakdowns.

  ****

  “No way am I going to slop baked beans on a plate for those guys.” Just prior to the crew meeting the following day, Dave informed Shae the two of them would also serve the free lunch they provided. “I might as well put a bone in my ponytail and wear an animal skin. Both shout Neanderthal woman. Slave. Subservient.”

  “We’ll be servers, Shae.” Dave said. “Not just you and me. The rest of the office staff as well. Even Ned said he’d be happy to help. The idea is to show how much we value our crews.”

  “Maybe you do. I can’t say the same after yesterday’s meeting.”

  “Ah, yes. Yesterday’s meeting.” He steered her away from the food containers the caterer had just delivered. “I’m sorry you had to go through that without me.”

  “Not as sorry as me, to relive it again today. With you in the lead. Am I allowed in the room?”

  Dave placed a comforting hand on her arm, then, as if he remembered his
place, removed it just as fast. “These aren’t bad guys. They just take a little getting used to. They need to get used to their new boss as well.”

  “Ned said they had tested me. And I failed.”

  “Don’t let them get to you. They have no more idea how to relate to you than you do to them. Sounds like both sides went a little out of bounds yesterday.”

  She stuck out her chin. “You didn’t answer my question. Am I welcome at my own meeting?”

  “Of course, you are,” Ned said from behind her as he joined them. “You’re the boss. If it helps, think of yourself as the owner of a number one basketball team. Is it the owner who calls the plays? Well, maybe. But behind the scenes. On the game floor, the owner lets the coach deal with the team.”

  She actually understood his analogy. Basketball was one passion she shared with her father. She tried to recall where the owner sat during games. On the sidelines with the coach? In a skybox above the crowd? She wasn’t a skybox type of person. That would be Ned, even though these days he seemed to relish the sideline post more.

  Finally, as she gestured toward the food, she asked in a begrudging tone, “Do I have to wear an apron?”

  Dave bit back a smile. “Of course not. You don’t even have to slop beans, since we’re serving tacos. On the other hand, you might want to wear something to protect that pretty blue blouse.”

  Her pretty blue blouse. Last night, she’d studied her closet long and hard as she debated what to wear today. Until she’d assumed the reins of this project, she’d never paid the slightest attention to what she wore. Probably because she’d grown up in a male-dominated household. After yesterday, it was important she appear comfortable and in charge. Maybe, since the guys seemed to use her being female against her, it was time to take advantage of her gender. So out came her trusty, no-nonsense navy pantsuit with the light blue blouse. And Cecily’s makeup.

  In the end, despite Dave’s words of warning, everyone except Shae wore a butcher apron as the hungry crew filed past them to be served.