2. Adele
Adele
Blood still boiling, I waited for the door to close. Thankfully, Henri had finally sent Finn down to wait at reception. I closed my eyes and breathed in for four and out for four before facing down my eldest brother.
“What the fuck are you thinking?”
We were building this business together. Yes, Henri was CEO, but we were a team. Henri, Paz, and me. The pillars of this company. Remy helped when we needed him to, but these days, he was mostly focused on his athletic career and endorsements.
But the three of us? We consulted each other. We commiserated when things were bad. And most of all, we led with respect. For one another and for our employees.
So this?
This was too much, too soon.
“Why him?”
Henri might have been surly, but he kept his tone even. “Because he owns a plane.”
I squeezed my hands into fists and gritted my teeth. “Hebert Timber owns the plane.”
“Nope.” Henri shook his head. “It’s in his name. His daddy bought it for him.”
I rolled my eyes.
“Didn’t buy it outright, though. Only made the down payment. Now his son is stuck making them.” Henri took a step closer, still far too casual about all of this. “He’ll consult for us, help with planning prep and research. And he’ll fly when we need him to. In return, he won’t lose his plane.”
That set me back a bit. As much as I knew about our machinery, bush planes were a completely different animal. I did, however, know that they cost as much as a house, if not more, and that they were a bitch to maintain. That was a pretty big debt to be saddled with.
I stared at my brother, squeezing my fists and releasing, over and over, desperate to punch something. The rage was pooling inside me, scalding every organ it touched, and no number of breathing exercises would relieve the emotions consuming me. I felt overwhelmed and powerless and scared.
“I know you’ve had a really… a really hard time.
” Henri’s voice was tentative, low. “And I know this has probably thrown you for a loop, but it’ll benefit our business.
He’s a qualified pilot who is trained in drone surveying.
Skills like that don’t exist anywhere else around Lovewell.
Hell, we’d be hard pressed to find someone with training as extensive as his in the whole state of Maine. ”
My eye twitched and fury still burned in my chest. Dammit, why did Henri have to be so rational?
Sometimes I missed the grumpy bear who used to tear through this place in a huff.
Alice and the kids had softened him, and while I was thrilled that he’d found so much happiness with them, the old Henri would have kicked Finn’s ass into the goddamn forest.
He took off his hat and ran a hand through his hair.
“We’re expanding; we’re growing. We’ve got all this new land to plan and survey.
The forestry consultants will be here in a few weeks.
We need photos and maps and a plan before then.
And the fastest way to get where we need to be is by air. You know that.”
Though I was loath to admit it, that was true. The terrain up here was unforgiving and treacherous at times. It was little more than limited roads, wild weather, and over twelve hundred square miles of wilderness. A properly outfitted bush plane could be a huge asset to us.
Especially since we’d purchased another one hundred square miles of land from the Heberts and expanded our territory.
We were looking at more crews and more roads to maintain.
Not to mention building camps, workshops, and other necessary infrastructure to support the expansion.
These were good problems to have, especially after the way we’d struggled after Dad died.
It made sense to have a pilot at our disposal. And if he could legitimately do survey work with his drones, then having him on our payroll would save us a ton of time and money in the long run. But this decision didn’t sit right in my stomach.
I hated Finn. And honestly, he’d be a damn distraction. The guy couldn’t blend in to save his life. He was like seven feet tall and looked like an extra from one of those hot Viking shows on Netflix. His shoulders could barely fit through a standard-size doorway.
He’d be in my space, in my way. And the thought made my skin crawl.
“We owe him,” Henri said, raising one brow in challenge.
And there it was. The reason I wouldn’t punch Finn Hebert on sight, despite his last name.
Because when shit had hit the fan and my family had been in danger, he’d jumped right in to help. Even though it meant defying his father.
I had some respect for the man. I couldn’t deny that. But that didn’t mean I wanted to spend time with him.
“But Dad…” I said weakly. I was grasping at straws and spinning out. My eight-year-old niece, Goldie, would probably be a better negotiator than I was right now.
“Listen,” Henri said, situating his hat on his head again. “Mitch Hebert killed Dad. Finn had nothing to do with it. He was serving overseas when Dad died, for God’s sake. Cut the man some slack.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and willed the ache in my chest to recede. There was no way I was winning this argument.
“Fine.”
“Great. Because you’ll be his supervisor.”
My stomach dropped and I scoffed. “You must be joking.”
My oldest brother shook his head and shrugged a shoulder. “Paz is wrapped up in the financials and dealing with the lawyers. I’m supervising the largest crew we’ve ever had while also overseeing the planting, road repairs, and expansion. And Remy’s on the competition circuit all summer.”
I glared at him, my blood running hot once more. But before I could drum up an argument against the arrangement, my brother continued.
“Plus, you have that empty office down in the shop. Set him up in there. I’ll have Ellen get him a computer, and he can get to work on the surveying project.”
I said nothing. I was too far gone. If I opened my mouth now, I’d probably breathe fire and singe my brother’s bushy beard.
“You can shoot all the daggers you want. We both know this is a good call, so share your fucking sandbox and play nice.”
I stomped out of Henri’s office and slammed the door behind me for good measure. Just because he had logic on his side didn’t mean I’d let him off the hook anytime soon.
And as I whipped around to stomp down the hall, I barely avoided smacking full-on into Lucifer himself.
Side-stepping him, I grunted in annoyance and strode toward the stairs that led down to my office.
“Hurry up,” I said.
He followed me silently. Down the stairs from the office area to the open bullpen, past the desks, the massive job boards, and the administrative staff, out the side door, and into my shop. My kingdom.
More than anything, I wanted to create a world different from the one I’d grown up in. Where Goldie and the women who come after me would be respected and treated like equals, regardless of the profession. That was why I’d gone to such great lengths to recruit, train, and hire women in my shop.
At U Maine, I was one of only a handful of women in the engineering program.
That, coupled with my height and resting bitch face, made college a less than amazing experience.
Everyone always wanted to know why I did what I did.
Why I didn’t go for my PhD after my master’s and why I didn’t pursue mechanical engineering, instead going to work for my family business.
The short answer? I’d always loved the work. I’d wanted to be part of this world since I was a little kid. My whole life, I’d worshipped my dad and my grandpa. I’d been intrigued and entranced by the stories they told about the family business and life in the woods.
But from a very early age, I knew that all those stories were about men. The women were at home or in the kitchens at camp, cooking for the men who worked hard cutting down trees every day.
And it made me want more. A seat at the table. Not that my dad or any of my brothers had ever stood in my way. From the moment I expressed interest, they made room for me.
But there were not nearly enough women in this business. Or most businesses in general.
So, in my little corner of the universe, I did my best to keep the door open for the women and girls who would come after me.
From childhood, I set my sights high. I didn’t want to be anyone’s secretary or assistant. I wanted to rise above the place where I would have to prove that I was as smart and capable, if not more so, than my male coworkers every single day.
I’d done that already, in college and grad school, and it was exhausting.
Here, I was queen of this kingdom. And although the hours could be long, and I’d certainly never get rich, I could be myself.
I ran my team the way I wanted. I swore like a sailor and wore grease-stained coveralls with jewelry.
My team was loyal and supportive, and I went out of my way to recruit and mentor women for this line of work.
Together, we’d built something special. We kept hundreds of people safe and kept this business running by collaborating with one another as well as the other teams at Gagnon Lumber.
By staying organized and playing all the girlie pop music we wanted. And I was damn proud of that.
Finn followed me as I entered the building. As we passed, Jenna, Charlie, and Estrella popped up, wide-eyed. I shot them all looks, and that’s all it took for them to get back to work.
This was our sanctuary, and very few people ventured in here. Paz braved it once a quarter to talk about budgets, but most people avoided this place. Mainly because I scared them.
It was a tactic I employed because I couldn’t have people messing around with my machines and tools. Especially clueless men who couldn’t tell a torque wrench from a hex key. And I only hired people I trusted.
Estrella made her way across the open area and scanned the steel shelves that held screws.
It only took her a moment to find what she needed, because each size was stored in a carefully labeled plastic box.
Efficiency and precision were essential here.
If we made mistakes, people could die. That was a reality I was all too aware of.
I led Finn to the far end of the shop, across from the massive garage doors where we loaded equipment, to a small, windowless office. Inside was an old steel desk and a chair that had seen better days.
“This is you,” I said. “Ellen will get you a computer and any of the tech you need to play with your toys.”
He laughed.
“Something funny?” I shifted, putting my hands on my hips. I didn’t care that he towered over me. I would not be disrespected in my shop.
“I’m not here to offend you,” he said with a shake of his head.
My eye twitched, and the anger that had slowed to a simmer in my gut heated a fraction. I did not have time for this shit.
“Take a look around,” I said, holding one arm out. “This is my shop, my team, my equipment. Touch anything, move anything, or even look at any of it the wrong way, and I will break all of your fingers. Understood?”
He nodded, pressing his lips together. “What a warm welcome.”
I was in no mood for sarcasm from the hot guy who no doubt hadn’t had to work for much in his life because of his good looks and his rich criminal daddy.
“I don’t want you here. I don’t trust you or your shit-for-brains corrupt family. But this is business. So in the spirit of business, get in my way and you’re done. I don’t care what my softie brother says. Do your thing and then get out.”
“Yes, your majesty.” The asshole actually bowed his head.
“I’m watching you, Hebert.”
I turned on my heel and left him in the dingy room, then headed across the open area to the boards. On the far wall, six whiteboards tracked what was coming in and out and who was assigned to which jobs.
He-Man trotted over to me and brushed up against my leg.
I bent down to pick him up, my heart calming the moment he brought his nose to the crook of my neck and gave me a good sniff.
I’d found him, skinny, matted, and terrified, hidden under a truck last year, and I’d fell in love instantly.
Scratching behind his ear, I hugged him close, feeling his body relax in my arms. His proximity calmed me as effectively, and right now I needed to be calm. I needed to be in control.
Estrella, my number two, sauntered up beside me. She had come to me from the regional tech school after being harassed by a bunch of sexist pricks during the final internship needed to complete her program. The men were threatened by her skills and her lack of a Y chromosome and took it out on her.
She was tiny and tough and was driven to learn all she could. So I’d offered her a job after graduation, and she’d been here for five years.
“We’re a day ahead on feller four,” she said, peering over at the office where I had left Finn and raised a brow.
“I’m not talking about it,” I said.
She nodded. “Understood. How much do we hate him, boss?”
I smiled at her, grateful for her loyalty. “I despise that motherfucker.”
She rubbed her hands together and shot me a menacing smile. “Then we’ll haze the shit out of him.”
With a laugh, I gave He-Man’s chin a good scratch and headed back to my office. God, I loved my job.