Chapter Seven
“I’ve got to get these to the Federal Express drop-off box before they pick up today,” Flo said as she paused by Heather’s desk.
“If he finishes what he’s doing—” she nodded her head toward the teenage boy filling out an employment application “—go ahead and take it from him, then have him wait until Jim gets back. Shouldn’t be more than a couple of minutes. ”
“No problem,” Heather told her.
Flo headed for the front door, slapped herself on the forehead, then turned to face Heather again. “Did you confirm the cake?”
“Yes. We’re all set.”
“You told me that an hour ago, didn’t you?” Flo sighed. “I swear, I’m becoming more forgetful with each passing minute. Soon I’ll need to wear a name tag just so I remember who I am. Back in a second.” With that, she pushed her way through the door.
It was tough to believe, but Heather had been working for Jim for five weeks.
Time was flying by. Jim liked to tease her that Diane would soon be driving.
While her baby was growing fast, Heather knew she had a little bit of time until extra car insurance was an issue in her life.
After all, Diane was only ten weeks old.
Ten weeks. Was that how long she’d known Jim?
It felt longer to her, but in a good way.
He’d accepted her into his business with a trust that made her want to work even harder than she normally did.
His employees were friendly and open; Flo had become a close friend.
The business was oddly like an extended family where everyone knew everyone else and cared about what happened.
There were some exceptions, of course. Charter pilots who breezed through on a regular basis didn’t always want to participate in the camaraderie.
Most of them were employed by companies who simply leased equipment from Valley Helicopter Services.
Heather had gotten to know a few of their names, but little else.
Yet with the regular employees, it was different.
She’d overheard conversations about helping a work buddy move, stock tips and offers of a ride home when required.
She’d also found out they all had something in common—at one time or another they’d needed help and Jim had been there.
Heather had come to grips with the fact that he’d seen her as just another stray who needed rescuing. Since their first meeting, they’d formed a friendship, but even he had admitted that his initial impression of her had been that of a brand-new mother who was unlikely to make it on her own.
At first his confession had annoyed her, and she’d taken great pains to inform him that she had been fine before she met him and she would still be fine if their paths had never crossed.
But then she’d remembered that this was Jim—he couldn’t help himself.
He was a born fixer by nature, and if he saw a problem he had to step in and do something about it.
As far as flaws went, it wasn’t a bad one.
So here she was, employed in an office of misfits. The irony was, of course, that instead of feeling out of place, she felt as if she’d found a second home. Frankly, she couldn’t think of a better place to work.
“Excuse me,” the young man said.
Heather glanced up and saw the teenager standing by her desk. “Yes?”
“I’ve finished my application.”
He was tall and very thin, with too long brown hair and big brown eyes.
He wore a button-down shirt with freshly pressed khakis.
Probably the best clothing he owned, Heather thought as she glanced at the sheet of paper in front of her.
“Thanks—” she looked at the name on the application “—thanks, Brian. Have a seat in the waiting area. Jim should be back in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” The kid tried to smile but failed. He also didn’t move from the side of her desk. “I’m only seventeen,” he said. “My birthday was last week. I came here when I turned sixteen, but Mr. Dyer said I had to wait another year. So I’m back.”
“You must really want to work here,” Heather said.
Brian nodded so hard his bangs fell across his forehead and into his eyes. He pushed them back in an impatient gesture. “I want to learn to fly helicopters. I know that’s not part of the job,” he added hastily, “but I want to learn about ’em, be close to ’em, you know?”
“I think I understand.” He was so young and so earnest, Heather thought.
“I mostly need the money, but I thought maybe by working here I could learn something useful for later.” His eager expression clouded. “But there’s probably a ton of guys waiting to work here and I guess they have more experience than me. I don’t guess Mr. Dyer is going to want to hire me.”
Heather wasn’t so sure, but she didn’t want to say anything to get Brian’s hopes up. She hadn’t even known that Jim was looking to hire someone, so she didn’t know about the other applicants.
Before she could think of an appropriate response, Diane started to cry. Heather excused herself and went into the nursery to collect her daughter. Diane quieted as soon as she saw her. Heather scooped her up, then felt her diaper.
“You’re just a faker,” she said softly. “You’re dry, and you ate less than an hour ago, so I know you’re not hungry. You want some attention, don’t you?”
Big blue eyes stared at her face.
“Just as I thought,” Heather murmured. “It’s all about you, huh?” She laughed, then kissed her daughter’s forehead. “Fine. You can have as much attention as you want. Let’s go back to the office.”
Carrying Diane, she returned to her desk. Brian was still standing beside it. When he saw the baby, he smiled.
“My sister just had a boy. I’m going to teach him how to play baseball.”
“Probably not for a couple of weeks at least,” Heather teased.
Brian blushed. “No, ma’am. He’ll need to be a lot older than he is now. I wasn’t sure about having a baby around, but he’s pretty cool. I go visit him a lot.”
She liked this young man, Heather thought as she glanced out the window and saw Jim heading toward the office. He seemed intelligent and sincere.
The front door opened. Brian spun around, saw Jim and stiffened. “Hello, Mr. Dyer. I don’t know if you remember me. I’m Brian Johnson. I was here last year about a job and you said to wait until I was seventeen.”
Jim looked the teenager over. “When was your birthday?”
“Last week. But I had family commitments until this morning, so this is the soonest I could get here.”
Jim nodded, then gave Heather a wink. “Why don’t you grab your application, Brian? We’ll take a walk around the place while we talk about things.”
Brian turned back to her. “Thank you for listening to me, ma’am.”
“You’re welcome. Good luck.”
But Heather wasn’t sure the young man was going to need it. Jim had that look in his eye. The one that told her he was planning to give a seventeen-year-old kid a chance to make his dreams come true.
“Everything ready for the party?” Jim asked as Brian stepped outside.
“Of course,” Heather said. “You and Flo both worry too much.”
“At least I’m in good company.” He gave her a brief wave, then disappeared outside.
Fifteen minutes later, she had Diane strapped into her baby carrier and was helping Flo set out paper plates and napkins.
They were using part of the main hangar for their party.
One section at the side of the open space had been walled off and filled with tables and chairs.
Jim held his meetings with employees out here.
The plain room had been brightened with crepe paper and colorful balloons hanging from the low ceiling and tied to the backs of chairs.
“Harry’s bringing the ice,” Flo said as she pointed to the empty metal container on the floor. It looked big enough to serve as a tub for a Great Dane. “Jim says soft drinks only for this kind of party, and I’ve always agreed with him. Alcohol and helicopters don’t mix.”
As usual, Flo was dressed to inspire. Electric-blue slacks clung to round hips, while a black T-shirt emphasized her impressive bosom.
“Now where are the forks?” Flo searched through the cabinets lining the wall and finally found a large bag filled with plastic forks.
“We have plates, napkins, forks, a cutting knife and an ice-cream scoop.” She shuddered.
“I’ll let you handle the ice cream. Sodas are on their way along with the ice, so I think that’s everything. ”
“Why is Mark leaving?” Heather asked as she checked on her daughter. Diane clutched her small cloth bunny to her chest and occasionally chewed on its ear. “Every time we talked, he seemed very happy with his job.”
“Oh, he is.” Flo pulled out one of the metal folding chairs and plopped down. “But Jim got him a job with a bigger company—one that has room for advancement.”
That sounded familiar, Heather thought. “He did the same thing for Rick Martinez a few months back, didn’t he?”
Flo looked surprised. “How’d you hear about that?”
Heather told her about the young couple’s visit and all that Rick and Lupe had said about Jim.
“Well, it’s all true,” Flo told her. “He’s one of the few businesses in the area that’s willing to hire people directly out of a trade school.
It’s the old problem of needing experience to get a job and needing a job to get experience.
He gives them experience, then finds them better jobs.
Then a whole new batch of graduates comes through and he does the same for them. ”
Heather wasn’t sure how she felt about that. “But he has to do a lot of extra work that way,” she said. “All that training of new people. Who can he depend on?”
“A few of the guys stick around despite Jim’s attempts to move them somewhere else. He’s been trying to get rid of me for years, but I haven’t budged.”
None of this made sense to Heather. “I’m still confused. What does he get out of it?”
Flo’s expression was unreadable. “He likes to help people, but I also think…” Her voice trailed off. “Well, it’s just my theory. If you want to know, I guess you’ll have to ask him yourself.”
“How long have you worked here?”