Chapter 16
”Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Becca angrily growled. ”Exactly what happened?” she shouted.
The mood and temperature in her office were uncomfortably hot. Sammy gulped. His face lost some color, and his eyes darted around.
”Okay, yeah.” Her right-hand man cleared his throat. The exaggerated sound was like the shrill screech of a fork scraping an empty plate.
With noticeable reluctance, Sammy attempted to draw her a mental picture.
”There were too many chiefs, Mrs. T.”
She begged to differ and interrupted to say so. ”Dave was in charge. He was chief.”
”You would think, but then the solar people showed up, and everything went downhill from there.”
Shoving his hands deep into his pockets, Sammy quickly told her how bad things were.
”Their plan did not match the plan you left.”
In a growl, she said, ”You mean the plan approved by the Major?”
”Uh, yeah. Exactly. The solar installers weren”t listening, and shit got heated. Without you here to pump the brakes, Dave was stuck between a rock and a hard place. He asked me what I thought he should do. Long story short, we kicked the can up the ladder.”
Oh god. Kicked the can up the ladder? What the hell did that mean?
”How far up the ladder?”
”You were on the road. Mrs. Dane is on maternity leave. The same is true for Mr. Jensen. That left Dr. Hunter holding the responsibility bag.”
”Show me. Now!”she hollered.
Sammy backed away as Becca stormed out of the office. With each stomping step she took, her anger increased.
Beneath her breath, she muttered darkly, ”God save me from interfering man-holes.”
Stepping from the stable into the sunlight, she headed for the pavilion and stopped dead when she saw the half-built structure.
”Are you fucking kidding me?”she barked.
Her carefully thought-out design placed the solar array on the ground, in a clearing away from the pavilion cleverly concealed by trees. There were several reasons for the deliberate placement—reasons she had explained to Alex.
What she found involved a rooftop rack and half the number of panels she expected. The roof structure was not designed for the load of a solar rack.
Further visual investigation resulted in finding more red flags.
The water and power lines got rerouted, and by ignoring her design, the reroute killed her plan to add a basketball court in a second phase.
A flat zone off one corner of the pad—where she intended to place a grill station—was where some genius planted a power pole.
Dave ran over to her. In a breathless voice, he explained what happened and, being a professional, took responsibility.
She snapped. Ripping him a new hole wasn”t cool, so she stopped short of scaring the shit out of him with her anger.
To Dave”s credit, he fell on the sword without ever shifting blame. Jamie”s name was barely mentioned except when he showed her a digital scan of the change order showing his initials.
Fury, born from her decades-long struggle to be taken seriously, lit up her insides. A tangle of emotions enflamed the situation.
She had a choice: either continue to berate Dave in a very public freakout or walk away.
Walking away won out.
Locating an electric cart, she got in and headed elsewhere to vent her anger.
* * *
Finished unloadingboxes of supplies he”d picked up from the business center, Jamie closed the tailgate of his truck and brushed off his hands.
A typical summer afternoon in Bendover could be described with just one word—hot. Building heat throughout the day made late afternoons a challenge.
He was sweaty and overheated, and his back ached. Sweat soaked his chambray shirt, and the burrito he ate for lunch—covered in jalapeno—spiked salsa—burned a hole in his stomach.
On his way into the clinic, he”d taken less than ten steps when the sound of a fast-approaching cart caught his attention.
He spun around in time to see Rebecca behind the wheel. His hand automatically began to raise in greeting until a sense of foreboding stopped him.
The cart jerked to a halt. Rebecca hopped out, tore her sunglasses off, and tossed them onto the seat. She shot him a cold look that quickly turned to apparent anger.
Well, this could look better, he thought.
She stomped toward him. If she were a cartoon character, smoke would billow from her feet.
Her eyes blazed fire and brimstone as she marched up to him, boldly invaded his personal space, and started snarling.
”Who do you think you are? I”m serious,”she yelled. ”Who gave you authority over me? Did I miss a memo?”
He blinked. ”Er, what?”
Her lit fuse burned its way to black powder and exploded. Shocked, Jamie stood there, his mouth hanging open, as she berated him in scathing tones.
Her inflamed belligerence woke up a part of him that had lain dormant for a long time. She wanted to fight? Holy hell. She had no idea who she was fucking with.
Following less than half of her bitchy tirade gave him context for what set her off.
The pavilion. Her pavilion—a project he knowingly interfered with.
Fuck. He”d known at the time his involvement came with a fifty-fifty chance of severe blowback. Explaining this, however, was not an option. Not while she was flinging furious epithets and waving her arms at him like a manic windmill.
His eyes darted to the security cameras in the parking lot and at the corners of the clinic building. Shit. Their antagonistic encounter might as well be happening on stage.
Her eyes darkened like thunderclouds.”I was falling for your tall, dorky, and handsome shtick. What an idiot!”she spat accusingly.
God dammit. Her unscripted confession made him sigh and he briefly closed his eyes. Opening his mouth to offer a defense, he got out her name before she stopped him.
”Fuck off, Dr. Hunter. Fuck all the fucking way off, then turn around and fuck off again. You went too far. I don”t care what you thought you were doing, so save your breath. By sticking your nose where it did not belong, you essentially labeled me incompetent in front of my guys. I”m the dumb bitch who needed a man-rescue. Congratulations.”She slowly clapped while her face registered disgust and disdain. ”I”ll have to do damage control—not just with my people. With Alex. Nicely done.”
”I”ll talk to Alex.”
”Did you not just hear a single word of what I said?”
”Uh…”
”Shit!”She screamed in his face. ”Stay the fuck out of it. You can”t fix what you caused. No do-overs. Understand?”
”Rebecca,”he pleaded quietly, hoping to defuse the angry confrontation. ”I fucked up. It was not my intention to smash your toes.”
”Yeah? Well, you did. Not only did your hubris at thinking decisions I”d already made required your manly touch, but you also took a relatively inexpensive project and flipped it on its head. Do you have any idea how expensive this ego-infused interference is going to cost?”
Every single zinger she threw at the male gender hit home. Her absolute authority had been ignored and then trampled on by men. Instead of taking a passive role when the solar installers started changing the design, he let things happen.
Expedience was no excuse for acting like a dick.
Her fury made him feel like shit.
Bristling, her voice trembling with anger, she snarled, ”Stay clear of me.”
Whirling around, she stomped back to the cart she had arrived in. Backing up, she turned the wheel and looked over her shoulder at him. Feeling like a deer in the headlights, he groaned aloud when she gave him the finger and drove away.
* * *
”Take a sip,”Alex encouraged Becca as he poured tea into a tall ice-filled glass. ”My wife calls this blend Desert Calm.”He smiled. ”Sometimes I think she makes this shit up—it”s probably just regular tea.”
The cold drink tasted like heaven, and she said so. ”Mm. It”s delicious.”
The Major”s face lit with smiling approval. ”Your enjoyment is noted and will be passed along.”
After her off-the-cuff offensive explosion at the animal clinic, she”d taken a tranquilizer and washed it down with two fingers of whiskey.
None of that was true except the explosion, but that didn”t stop her from embellishing her mental account of what happened.
Yes, she came unglued after her confrontation with Jamie. His interference felt like jet fuel poured on a fire. Her anger at the stressful situation increased due to her recent thaw toward the handsome veterinarian.
How stupid could she be? Apparently, this stupid for thinking he was different from the rest.
And now here she was, trying to explain the shit storm happening on her watch to he-who-had-ultimate-authority.
Ugh.
Alex”s black Labrador appeared, slowly making her way from the house and across the patio. She was a beautiful doggo—even with her tongue hanging out.
She ambled up to her dad and nosed his knee. Alex chuckled and scratched her head.
”This is what she does when it”s hot, and she hears the cubes in our drinks.”
Becca noticed the small thermal pail marked ”Zeus”and wondered what was inside. She found out when Alex lifted the lid, reached in, and pulled out a chunk of ice.
The dog wagged her tail and sat. Alex handed her the frozen cube like a treat.
He chuckled lightly and murmured, ”Sometimes it”s the little moments.”
It was impossible not to smile. She asked, ”Is it just ice? Just water?”
”Yeah. Meghan and Carmen spoil her rotten with frozen treats they make using pureed bananas or pumpkin. I”m more of a minimalist,”he drawled satirically.
In the example of Zeus and the people who loved her, the women led with hearts full of emotion. They spoiled and indulged, whereas Alex expressed his doggie devotion differently.
One coin—two sides.
Completely different perspectives —both of value—both leading to the same place. A tailor-made definition of men and women.
Becca gulped the icy tea to bring her back to the moment.
Zeus demanded a second chunk of ice. In a tender display, Alex revealed his inner softie by showering the large dog with affection. Following some head and belly scritches, many kisses were exchanged.
”Off with you, ya”devious beggar!”Alex playfully exclaimed. He pointed to the house. For a few seconds, Zeus eyed him.
It was funny watching the big man attempt to command the obstinate pet. For all his wealth and power, Alex Marquez was just like everybody else—a dog dad praying his furry kid behaved in front of people.
Swishing her tail side to side, the dog ambled away.
”Okay,”Alex said. ”Now, tell me about this calamity.”
Clearing her throat, Becca stepped up without hesitation. Knowing the Major”s preference for twenty words instead of a hundred and fifty, she identified the situation and pointed out the problems as she saw them.
He asked no questions beyond who was involved at stages along the way.
”I believe I have the picture,”he murmured.”Let me ask this—when the solar installers decided without consultation to alter the design, what would you have done had you been there?”
The question wasn”t what she expected. Straightening her shoulders, Becca glanced around the patio to gather her thoughts and give her best answer.
”I would have fired them outright.”
His shoulders shook when he chuckled. ”And that, Mrs. Tate, is why you run the place.”
She heard praise in the big man”s voice.
Then, he shifted gears. His brows rose slightly, and in a gently mocking tone, he said, ”In the matter of Mr. Santiago and Mr. Yeager, let”s come at it straight on. Sammy needs a new title. It”s time to pass the authority baton to your second. He wouldn”t have taken a passive role if he was in charge.”
She bit her lip.
”Take a deep breath, Becca.”
Her eyes lifted to his.
”Giving Sammy more responsibility does not take away from you. First, he doesn”t want your job. Second, his abuela raised him right. You can count on him to react forcefully should sexism or misogyny raise a head amongst the rancheros.”
”Oh lord. Am I that easy to read? I sound pathetic.”
”No, not at all. When it comes to leadership, I see things others may miss. The person in charge is always under fire. That”s just the way it goes. But when the guy in charge is a woman, the fire is more of a round-the-clock assault by land, sea, and air. I get it. You have to be harder, do more, stay rigid. And you do it very well. The bitch in charge giving Sammy his due sends a positive message.”
An involuntary snort of amusement ripped out of her. She”d been called worse.
”As for Dave Yeager, technically, he works for Drae—not Justice or the Villa— so when the installers got mouthy, I”m guessing he felt stuck in the middle.”
Alex was right. No surprise there.
Suddenly, it did not sit well with her that she”d ripped Jamie a new one when taking a step back would have been the smarter, more sensible, less hormonal response.
”As for Dr. Hunter”s faux pas, I suggest cutting him some slack.”
Her reaction to this suggestion was a blank stare.
It didn”t work.
Alex chuckled. ”You two looked more cozy than combative at Rafe and Domineau”s cookout.”
He held up a hand to prevent the denial on her tongue.
”Save it. I”ve been there—done that. My wife doesn”t want me to give relationship advice. Apparently, I”m too dumb for words, but this one time, I”m going to wade into the deep end.”
Alex Marquez weighing in on her and Jamie”s weird relationship was not how she imagined this meeting going.
”This advice, by the way, is word for word what I”d say to him, too.”
”Okay.”She nibbled her lip anxiously.
”What you see is not what you get.”
Her brows shot up. As advice, Alex”s words were more cryptic than helpful.
”Like my ego-twin, Tony Stark—I know things. Trust me,”he added with a hint of a smirk.