Chapter 30
HUDSON
“It looks good,” I said to one of the guys.
We were checking out the finishing touches on a galley. It was so shiny and new. I knew Natalie’s expertise generally stuck with the structure of the boat, but I could see her influence here.
“We’re going to finish putting in the cabinets today,” he said.
“Good job,” I told him.
“Hudson!” Hux shouted my name.
“Keep up the good work,” I told the employee.
I climbed up the stairs and onto the deck of the boat. “What’s up?” I asked.
“We need to talk. In my office!”
I felt like I was in trouble and being summoned to the principal’s office.
Truthfully, I was a little old for this crap, especially coming from my little brother.
But this was his show. I could swallow my pride.
I climbed off the boat and went into the front area.
Natalie’s door was still closed. I wasn’t sure what was going on there, but I was definitely not brave enough to find out.
She needed to get down some of that coffee first.
I noticed Huxley’s door was closed as well.
I raised my hand to knock but stopped short.
If he and Nat were in the middle of some friend fight, I did not want to get dragged into the middle of it.
They used to do this shit all the time when they were younger.
They’d fight and want me to pick a side.
Things were a little different now. I had a lot more to lose if I picked the wrong side.
“Hux?” I knocked once.
“Come in.”
I opened the door and found him pacing the very small space in his office. As I suspected, he was pissed. “What’s going on?” I asked.
“Shut the door.”
“I don’t know what the deal is with you and Nat, but I really don’t want to get dragged into the middle of it,” I told him. “You two are plenty old enough to deal with each other on your own.”
“You need to fire Trey,” he blurted out.
“What? Trey? The guy down there working right now?”
“Yes, Trey,” he said again. “Immediately. Not tomorrow. Not the next day. Right fucking now.”
“Slow down,” I said. “He’s working. He’s been doing good according to the guy I just talked to.”
“Well, that guy doesn’t know shit,” Hux snapped. “He needs to go.”
“I’d like to know why.”
“Just trust me on this,” he said. “When we started this deal, you said I could ask you to get rid of them at any time. I’m telling you this guy needs to go. You can do it, or I will.”
“What did he do?” I asked. “You can’t just tell me to fire the guy without giving me a good reason. I’ve only seen him busting his ass.”
“Trust me,” he said and looked me straight in the eyes. “You don’t want him around.”
“What did he do?” I asked again.
I believed my brother. I trusted him, but he lived a sheltered life. What he saw as a big deal might not be what he thought it was. He didn’t understand what these guys had been through. In a way, they were young kids needing to relearn the rules of polite society.
“Please, Hudson. You agreed this was a trial. Trey doesn’t make the cut. I need him gone.”
“Did he steal?” I asked.
“No.”
“Did he piss off a customer?” I pushed.
“No, Hudson. No. Just drop it.”
“I’m not going to drop it until you give me a damn good reason to fire a guy that’s trying to get on his feet,” I argued.
“I’m a little more loyal than that. You should know that.
I’m not going to can a dude because you don’t like him.
I need a reason. If you can’t give me that reason, I’m going to fight you on it.
He’s shown up every day on time. He puts in a full day.
Hell, last night he even stayed late to take care of that project to keep the schedule going today. Why is that not worth something?”
“Fuck, Hudson. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be. Please. I don’t want to ruin a good thing.”
“Did he fuck up the boat?” I asked and threw my hands in the air.
I was ready to shake the truth out of him.
He wasn’t telling me something and it was pissing me off.
I didn’t like the idea of being coddled or lied to.
If something happened, I had a right to know.
I had to know, or I was never going to learn where I went wrong.
“No, Hudson, please,” Hux said and sagged his shoulders. “The agency idea is good. But even you said not every guy was ready to start over. You said not every person you brought in was going to work out. He didn’t work out.”
“Is this because you’re pissed at Natalie?” I said. “Or she’s pissed at you and you’re taking it out on him?”
“No.”
I studied him. It had been a long time since I spent time with my brother, but I still knew him pretty well.
Whatever was going on had him genuinely upset.
I believed him when he said it was necessary to fire Trey.
I was always going to back up my brother, but there was a part of me that felt like I had to be loyal to Trey as well.
“Please, tell me,” I said again.
“He’s harassing Nat!”
“Excuse me?” I asked. A lethal calm washed over me. It was the same calm that I got before going into battle. All my senses were heightened. I felt like a lion ready to spring without making a noise.
“I guess there was an incident at the party,” he said. “He came on a little strong and made her feel uncomfortable. Then last night?—”
I saw red. My heart was in my throat. “Last night?”
“He was giving her a hard time,” he said.
“Not a hard time, but she didn’t like it.
He got in her personal space and said some things that upset her.
Natalie isn’t one to make a big deal out of anything, but this guy got her rattled.
She wouldn’t give me specifics about what he said, but she doesn’t want to be near him.
He had her in the office last night and intimidated her.
She was terrified to go home because she thought he was going to follow her.
She snuck into her own house and kept her lights off so if he did follow her, he wouldn’t know which house she went into! ”
“Motherfucker,” I growled. “She told me about the shots at the party, but she didn’t tell me it was him. She played it off. I should have known there was more to it.”
“She doesn’t like to make waves,” he said. “I think she probably would have sat with this for a while.”
“Did he touch her?” I asked.
“No. Not that I know of. She said he used his body to block her from moving away from him.”
“Why didn’t she tell me?” I asked with a shake of my head. “Why didn’t she call me or you last night? How late were they here?”
“I don’t know,” he said, shrugging. “I don’t know details, but he has to be gone. It isn’t fair to her. She shouldn’t have to be afraid to be in her office because some dude can’t take no for an answer.”
“I agree,” I said.
“I’m sorry,” Hux said. “I know you are taking all of this very personally. I wanted it to work, but we can’t have a guy like that around here. It isn’t right.”
“I know,” I said, nodding. “I’m going to fire his ass. He knew this was a trial. He failed. His ass is going to end up in prison. I was his one chance and he just blew it.”
“I’m really sorry,” he said.
“Not your fault.”
I reached for the door handle and let myself out.
I considered stopping by Natalie’s office and apologizing.
I hated that I was responsible for more strife in her life.
She’d put up with enough. She didn’t need to keep getting sucked into my bullshit.
Before I talked to her, I wanted to be able to tell her I had handled the situation.
I went out the shop door, trying to control my temper. I was so pissed. I felt like the guy had stabbed me in the back. It only took me a few seconds to spot him. I marched toward him. “Trey! Get your shit and get the fuck out of here!”
Everyone in the shop froze. Trey, holding a paintbrush, smirked when he saw me. “What’s that?”
“You heard me,” I said. “You’re done. You fucked up.”
“What’s your problem?” he asked.
“I gave you a chance,” I said and stopped in front of him. “What the hell is wrong with you? Do you get off intimidating women? Do you think it’s funny to harass women?”
He was looking at me with a grin I wanted to knock off his face. “You need to chill. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You do know,” I said. “You thought you were going to bully her into doing what? She gave you a chance. I put my name on the line for you and you fucked me over.”
“Are we talking about Nat?” he said.
“Yes,” I said. “Are there others?”
“Look, I don’t know what she told you, but she’s a little uptight. We had a good time at the pub the other night. She was a little stiff. I got her to loosen up. Last night, we were talking, and she got all worked up.”
“Bullshit,” I hissed. “You’re an ungrateful, slimy bastard. How dare you take advantage of someone that gave you a chance?”
“I didn’t do shit,” he snapped.
He stepped up like he thought I was going to allow him to push me around. I put my shoulders back and gave him a warning look.
“You’ll want to take a step back,” I warned.
“Fuck you and your bullshit self-righteousness,” he growled.
“Step back.”
“Fuck you,” he said, laughing.
I shoved him hard. “Get out before I throw you out!”
“Fuck you!”
I shoved him again. He stumbled backward.
I saw the look in his eyes and knew he was going to swing.
I went on the defense. I dodged the punch and hit him before his hand ever dropped.
He lunged at me and tried to take me down with a football move.
I was bigger and pushed back. He swung and landed a blow on my jaw. I popped him twice more.
“Hudson,” Huxley shouted.
I felt his hand on my shoulder. Two of the other shop guys grabbed Trey. I shook off Hux’s hand and tried to go after Trey again. Hux jumped in front of me and pushed me back. “Stop!”
“Get that fucker out of here or I’ll rip his fucking head off!”
Trey shook off one of the guys and tried to get to me. I would have welcomed the chance to destroy him after what he had done to Nat.
“Hudson, don’t,” I heard Natalie say.
There was some more pushing and shoving before the two guys pulled Trey out of the shop and out the back door. I looked at my hand to inspect it for damage.
“You need to go,” Hux said.
“What?” I snapped at him.
“Take the day off,” he said. “I need to bring down the temperature in here. We actually need to work. These guys are not your personal bouncers.”
“Whatever,” I muttered.
Natalie was standing near the door. The look on her face said it all. She was pissed. And maybe a little scared. “Nat,” I said.
She shook her head and turned around. She walked out of the shop with a huff.
“Fuck,” I groaned.
“Take the day off,” Hux said again.
“I need to talk to Nat.”
“I think you should probably leave her alone for now,” Hux said.
He was right. I needed to cool off. “Don’t let her walk home alone,” I said.
“I won’t. Do you think Trey is going to be a problem?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“We’ll handle it,” he said. “Just go home. You need to take some time. Maybe call your buddy.”
“My buddy?”
“Gus,” he said. “Give him a call.”
“He came at me,” I said defensively.
“Maybe,” he said, shrugging. “I don’t know. I didn’t see all of it. I just know this is a place of business. Take a minute. One bad apple doesn’t mean everyone else is bad.”
“Yeah, fine. I’ll be at home if you need me.”