“I know,” Roman said.
Lance patted Roman’s shoulder. “I know what you mean. I don’t want to work for people like this, either.”
“But quitting now won’t help Crystal. We can start looking for other jobs now, but if we all turned in our resignations, it’d be suspicious.” Andy passed the bag of chips around.
“Jobs aren’t exactly being given away around here.” Fred sighed.
Roman took a bite of his sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. The silence in the room wasn’t like them.
“I have another idea,” Roman said.
“Moving is always an option. She’s not majorly rooted here. Except for her friends,” Lance said.
“No, not leaving. I was filling up my SUV earlier and talked to Mr. Nicholas at the garage.” Roman knew owning their own business was risky, but no one would be happy with this place now.
“Nicholas has to be eighty by now. I can’t believe he’s still in business.” Andy laughed.
Roman nodded. “He asked if I knew anyone who’d be interested in buying the place. The town needs the garage, mechanic services and towing. Lance and Andy both have experience with fixing cars. They employ a few mechanics already plus gas station staff, but no one can afford to buy out Mr. Nicholas.”
“Owning our own business?” Fred asked.
“Yeah, there’s plenty of non-mechanic work to do. Managing people, stocking and inventory, safety and so on. All the stuff we do here on a smaller scale. But we’re the bosses. Maybe, Crystal could even do the books for us.” Roman shrugged and waited for the reactions.
Lance grinned. “I like it. We don’t need this crap, working for people who want to get rid of us, Crystal or cut our pay. Nicholas has kept up that garage well. It doesn’t need a ton of work. Employees are good. We buy him out, and all this drama goes away.”
“It won’t be cheap,” Fred said.
Andy took a drink of his soda. “We’ve been saving a lot. Four people living together, one car to work and sharing expenses, we aren’t exactly taking lavish vacations. But we don’t want to rush into things. Fred and Roman can look at our finances, outside of retirement, and see how much we have to put down. We might need a loan.”
“What about me?” Lance asked.
“You and Andy go talk to Nicholas. You guys grew up here. He’ll cut you two a better deal,” Roman said.
Andy nodded. “Exactly. He’ll probably let us look at the books and tell us the real ins and outs. He watched us play ball and grow up; he won’t screw us over.”
“You’re awfully trusting,” Fred said.
“He never had any kids. Wife died twenty years ago. He loves this town and his reputation means more than money.” Lance smiled.
“We won’t get rid of him even if we buy the place,” Andy laughed.
Roman shrugged. “So we let him work part time when he wants. He just wants somewhere to go and people to talk to. I bet if you ask him to do that, he’ll give you an even better deal because he’ll feel valued.”
“You understand this place pretty good for only being here five years.” Andy sighed. “Okay, no rush. No offers. No quitting. No signing anything yet. Info gathering only. Not a peep of this to Crystal. Let that crap play out before we do anything. Agreed?”
All the men nodded.
“Okay, let’s keep this place running and make some phone calls.” Andy crumpled up the paper from his sandwich.
* * * *
In under a week, Crystal had the answer she’d suspected. The meeting was a blur, but she knew two things. First, her reputation was ruined throughout the company even if she still had a job. Second, the guys still had their jobs, but nothing was safe. Douglas implied that Andy would lose his manager spot and be demoted. He couldn’t oversee men he was sleeping with.
Douglas and Himmel wanted her gone, and they were gathering the votes to kick her off the island. Like chopping down a tree, they’d been taking whacks at her slowly.
As long as there was a chance, she’d played the game. She’d been honest and thought she was an asset to the company. Clearly, they disagreed. She knew she had to take control of the situation.
At her desk, she wrote an extensive email to the owners, copying Himmel and Douglas and attached her performance reviews since the beginning of her tenure there. If they had issues with her work, they’d never brought them up. If it was just the relationship, a write-up should suffice. Either way, she resigned.
She cleaned out her desk and gave the senior accountant in her group her keys, passwords and her laptop to secure. Without fuss, she left the building. Once in her car, she texted Andy, and he said to meet them at their house. Odd for a workday but she needed support and two of her best friends still worked in that building. Lizzie had her own work at the bee farm.
Driving over to the guys’ big house, she felt almost numb. Quitting was better than being fired, she convinced herself. If they were going to fire her, it’d look worse. Deep down, she’d been attracted to the men, but it hadn’t influenced her decisions or input. She had no guilt or doubt about that.
She left the pointless desk odds-and-ends in her car when she exited. Part of her was charged with adrenaline, but she was moving in slow motion. Her head ached, and her stomach knotted. She made it up the steps and rang the doorbell.
Andy opened the door, and she was enveloped in a hug. “We heard,” he said.
“It’s all over town now. The company will probably spread the word that I would’ve been fired, but they let me quit.” She walked inside where Roman and Lance pinned her between them. She felt safe.
“They didn’t force you to quit?” Fred asked.
“No. I was told the situation needed further review. They were going to drag it out and make me miserable. If I stayed, I’d never get anywhere. I think Douglas liked being the only woman in the executive offices.” She hugged Fred.
“Got some wine in the kitchen, and we’re heating up some frozen pizzas for dinner. We can stay in and decide what’s next,” Roman said.
“Sounds great. I can always do taxes and stuff, but that’s not really needed for another nine months. Maybe, the small businesses around here need financial services.” She went into the kitchen and poured some wine.
“I’m sure they could use help. Retirement advice, too. There are so many small businesses here. You might like it better.” Lance grinned.
“You could turn that sun room in the back into an office. We never use it. You won’t need much room. A desk, printer and room to see people,” Andy agreed.
“Here?” She couldn’t believe her ears. “I don’t even live here.”
“Well, you should. Then you don’t have to worry about rent. We share expenses, and there’s plenty of room.” Fred made it sound so logical.
She figured they felt responsible. “This isn’t your fault. Douglas has it in for me, and I think my boss is paranoid, too. He never seemed to be threatened by me before. Maybe, there are changes going on higher up that I don’t know about? Maybe the company is selling? I don’t know. But it’s their fault and it’s not mine.”
“Good, don’t blame yourself. We did everything right. Just because we were attracted doesn’t mean we can’t do our job or you couldn’t be impartial. They have some nerve.” Fred poured himself more wine.
“Hopefully with me gone, they won’t bother you guys.” She sat down at the small kitchen table.
“Bother us?” Andy asked.
She sighed. “You might as well know. They were talking about getting rid of you guys and bringing in cheaper workers. But that would be a problem if they were the same jobs, and they didn’t have cause to get rid of you. They talked about cutting your salaries, too. It might’ve been a tactic to scare me. Maybe, I fell for it and did what they wanted. I don’t know. I’m not cut out of backstabbing politics. I’m not a corporate climber with strategy and a poker face. I just want the numbers to add up, the business to be good and a new challenge so I don’t get bored.
”
“Helping different people and small businesses might be just the thing then. You can be honest and put them on the right track. No office crap and red tape.” Lance pulled the pizzas out of the oven as the timer buzzed.
“You guys seem very calm about this. Am I missing something?” She took a long drink of wine and let it relax her.
“After we heard about you, we all tendered our resignations, effective immediately.” Andy shrugged.
“We’re all unemployed?” She refilled her glass. “Is that smart?”
“Oh, we’re employed. We’re all self-employed. We bought the garage from Mr. Nicholas.” Roman set one pizza on the table and ran the cutter over it.
“Why would you do that?” she asked.
“You don’t think we could keep working at a place that treated you like that? From the beginning, it was stressing out Andy to be jerked around by corporate. That’s not Lucky Springs.” Lance set out plates and napkins. “Grab a piece. Eat.”
The words rolled around in her head. They’d quit for her. Not just for her but for the same reasons. “I’m sorry I recommended they buy the warehouse. I didn’t realize the type of people I worked for.”
“Don’t apologize. This is much better. The stress level is lower already.” Fred kissed her on the cheek. “You’ll be okay. Don’t worry.”
“I love you guys. All of you. It’s insane, but this does work. I don’t need to move in. I have savings.” She felt jumbled and knew she was running everything together, but it all seemed to matter now.
“We love you, too. That’s why we want you to move in. That little house will rent to someone else. We’ve got the room, and you can work from here. The sun room will be perfect for your office. We’ll be at the garage.” Fred took a bite of the pizza.
Her appetite finally kicked in. With nothing in her stomach since an English muffin at breakfast, she took a big bite.
“We can be your first client. You can do the garage’s books. At least, set them up on a better system and handle payroll. It needs updating.” Andy sat down next to her.
“Seriously? You’re just changing your careers for me?” she asked.
“Not for you. For us. Andy was stressed. You know it.” Lance rolled his eyes. “There’s something for all of us to do at the garage, and we’re our own bosses. All equals. Plus Nicholas needs to retire, and Lucky Springs needs the garage.”
“That’s true.” She took another bite. It made sense. She wasn’t numb or scared anymore. It might take a little time to build up enough clients to support herself, but she wasn’t alone. She didn’t need to be rescued, but it was wonderful not to be flying solo anymore.
“So what do you say? Want to live with us?” Andy asked.
“I was raised to play it safe and not take this sort of risk, but it feels right,” She replied.
“Moving in with us isn’t really a risk. You can always move out if you’re not ready.” Lance laughed.
“I meant the job thing. I don’t have a lease on the house so I’ll let them know to look for new renters. I can start packing tomorrow. It’s so weird not to have somewhere to go.” She sipped her wine.
“You’ll be here. We can help you pack. Or you can come to the garage and let Mr. Nicholas show you the books. He’ll still be hanging around and working part time so no rush,” Fred said.
She smiled. “I have a feeling with five people in this relationship and two businesses, we’ll all be very busy and much happier.”
“Yep, plenty to do. You won’t be bored. We don’t all have to be at the garage tomorrow. We’re signing the papers in a couple of days. The lawyer has the info. He’s drawing it up.” Roman opened another bottle of wine.
She looked around at the family she had now. When she was single, she hadn’t been miserable, but she wouldn’t trade the crowded table for all the promotions in the world. The company didn’t care about her. Finally, she’d found the right men, and she was free to work for herself. It seemed like a dream, but it was very real.
Chapter Eight
Lance was the only one in the group who never got a twinge of doubt after the decisions were made. He’d even seen Roman a bit worried when they’d sorted through Mr. Nicholas’ old-fashioned tracking methods from the past. While the old guy’s body was wearing out, his brain was still sharp. They’d have to make the business their own.
The relationship was working well with the corporate crap behind them. The five of them stuck together and sorted things out one problem at a time. Having control over things made it so much easier.
It took three days of dodging calls to convince the company none of the five were coming back. The guys had managed to move Crystal in with them and set up an office for her in the sun room. They had plenty of time to have a little construction work done so the room would be fully winterized as an office.
Since he was the best at hopping from job to job, Lance was a jack of all trades. Eventually, he’d manage the garage mechanics, but for now, it was all hands on deck with whatever needed to be handled. They had made serious progress with other goals, however. Crystal’s old place had been cleaned until it sparkled and was ready for new tenants. One more thing off the list.
Today, it was all about the garage. Crystal was in one office poring through the books while Mr. Nicholas charmed the ladies waiting for their cars to be done. Lance and Andy were going over the employee files in the other office while Fred worked the phones for better deals on supplies since the old man hadn’t bothered to negotiate in a few years. Roman was learning the front desk from their best employee. It was a different business from what they were accustomed to, but it was theirs. The grin on Andy’s face told Lance everything would be okay.
“What? You’re staring,” Andy said.
“You like being the boss.” Lance smiled.
Andy nodded. “I like us being in charge of our lives. And our business. A little less pressure on me and no corporate bullshit.”
“And we know about motors, tires and all this crap. I’d rather be fixing a single mom’s car so she can to go work instead of worrying about semis getting loaded and the bottom line so the execs get their bonuses.” Lance liked his life more already.
“Damn right. If someone needs credit or a break, we can do that. We won’t be screwing anybody, and we’ll make enough to live on.” Andy and his guys didn’t need to be filthy rich to impress Crystal. She had her own career aspirations and fit right in.
Fred walked in and looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
“What’s wrong?” Andy asked.
Fred held up a finger as Roman and Crystal entered the office. Fred closed the door.
“Okay, we’re here. What?” Crystal asked.
“You won’t believe this.” Fred laughed.
“This really isn’t the time for guessing games,” Roman said.
“Your friends will be telling you this at lunch, Crystal, I’m sure. I only heard because of my friend in HR. The owners were back east for another business venture and never approved any of the inquiries. They had no idea what was going on until they got your letter,” Fred said.
She shrugged. “They didn’t have to know about it. HR had the right to review the situation.”
“Your letter must’ve been taken very seriously. Himmel and Douglas were investigated. They admitted they’ve been sleeping together and working together to get rid of you. Rumor is Himmel fudged something somewhere and worried you’d find it. Anyway, both of them got fired. I think Himmel’s wife is leaving him.” Fred folded his arms.
Crystal laughed. “Serves them both right. Coming after us for doing things by procedure when they were in a secret relationship. I never thought he’d falsify records though. Wow, Himmel. His wife is nice. I met her at the holiday party last year. I still don’t understand why they went after me unless it was something to do with Accounts Payable.”
“The investigation is ongoing. Who knows what they’ll find, but odds are you’d have uncovered
it and they’d have been screwed. Maybe, that’s why they kept sending you to the warehouse and launched the investigation. They didn’t really care. It was just a big cover up. We may never get all the details, but you’d have found it. You don’t miss a thing, and you’re bluntly honest. That’s rare, and I love it.” Fred kissed her on the lips.
“Thanks. It’s not always good, it seems,” she said.
“For us it is. For your financial clients, it will be.” Andy winked at her.
“Just be prepared, everyone,” Fred said.
Andy’s smartphone chimed. Then Crystal’s ringtone went off. She looked at it and ignored the call. Andy did the same.
The silence made Lance a little nervous. Would they offer Crystal a better job? More money. What about the guys?
Crystal shook her head. “No way. We’re not going back. The owners hired Himmel and Douglas and need to learn from their mistakes. They lost five great employees because they didn’t stay in the loop and communicate effectively. If people with power trample their employees, the employees leave. There are other options available for employment. When you treat people like that, they’ll start over elsewhere rather than be belittled and blamed.”
“Thank God! I wasn’t going back no matter what they offered me.” Lance grinned.
“Me, either. An apology would be nice but too little, too late.” Roman nodded.
“Same here. I like being our own boss,” Andy said.
Fred nodded. “Me, too. Security is good, but there’s no trust in that place anymore.”
“We can trust each other. And we know we were right. I hope the owners fix all of their bad picks in the executive wing and rebuild the trust with their employees. At least, we didn’t burn the bridge. Douglas and Himmel set fire to it,” Crystal said.
“I hope they both stay in town so we can rub it in their faces,” Lance said.
Crystal laughed. “I hope they leave, and we never see them again. It’s good to know we’ve been vindicated. Now, back to our work.”
* * * *
At lunch, Crystal was on cloud nine. Proven blameless and free, she sat with the three women she’d driven to Lucky Springs with. Ashley had grown up here and still work in sales at the factory. Her guys were in quality control. Zoe was marketing and already had a baby with her salesmen. Lizzie had left customer service for the bee hunks.
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