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“You know that if we’re walkin’ into a shitstorm, you need to give me a heads-up, right?” I ask, as concerned as I possibly can sound. Her eyes turn cold as she shoots daggers the short distance across the desk at me.
“Colton, don’t sit there with your damn sexy ass smirk and friggin’ condescendin’ tone. That has nothing to do with you. I have it all under control. If I need to inform you of any damn thing, I will.”
“Fine, just don’t want you takin’ all of this on, all on your own. It can be overwhelmin’. That’s all,” I reply, swirling my finger in the air.
“And what the hell is ‘this’, Colton?” she replies, mimicking me with her finger twirling in the air.
“Whatever the hell you’re hidin’! I’m your superintendent. You ain’t been on the damn job for more than three damn months. All I’m sayin’ is think about things before you try to be a damn hero.”
“Be the hero for what exactly? I’m Carly Jo Simon, the damn CEO of this frickin’ company, and I’ll be damned if I will let anyone threaten that. I’m workin’ my ass off to run this damn empire as smoothly as Daddy did. If you don’t like the way I run things, friggin’ hit the bricks,” she shouts, her face flame red with heat.
“Whoa. Back it up. What are you talkin’ about? I come in here to see you because I missed you. I haven’t seen you since Wednesday, and if you’ll remember correctly, we’re supposed to be workin’ on us.” I exhale a deep, frustrated growl, and her eyes twist into slits. “Whatever I walked into has you more than stressed—it has you friggin’ terrified. I can’t help ya, darlin’, unless you stop the bitchin’, and once again, let me the hell in.” My growl is fiercer than I intend, but seeing Carly Jo obviously addled by something pisses me the hell off. I hate to raise my voice to her, but she needs to reel it in and calm her ass down.
She looks up at me with wide, fearful eyes, as she chews on the bottom of her lip. A clear sign that she’s upset with something more than our small argument. Moments pass, and not a word is exchanged. I crack my knuckles against the palms of my hands then stand to leave. I turn toward the door, and just as I grab the handle she speaks up. I hesitate and listen to her whispery words. “Sales. They’re bad, and thanks to Drew Varney, they may possibly get worse.”
Chapter 24
Carly
The first day back to the mines after Thanksgiving and I’m immediately faced with a shitstorm blowing hard enough we’ll smell it for weeks. As soon as I come in, Shelly tells me that Bill Weston is on the line, and it’s urgent. It takes me about five minutes to calm the frantic and highly pissed Bill. After he has stopped screaming, he explains that he needs a copy of the contract between Dalton Trucking Company and Simon Energy.
Bill and Daddy signed these contracts over twenty years ago and never looked back upon the written terms. They weren’t ever concerned with the legalities of their agreement. They had a verbal agreement that they stood in partnership—a unity—working together until one of the companies falter, meaning when coal supply dries up or a company bankrupts.
When Daddy died, Bill got a new co-partner in Dalton Trucking, Drew Varney. AKA-jackass of the year, AKA-my long-lost brother. From what I understand, Drew is taking advantage of those terms and his new partnership with Dalton Trucking. He’s trying to force Bill’s hand to signing a new exclusive contract to only haul coal for American Heritage Coal Company.
The contract between Simon Energy and Dalton Trucking is still very much viable, because both companies are thriving. Losing Dalton Trucking’s business could truly hurt our coal sales. If we lose the contract with Dalton Trucking, that’s fifteen trucks that won’t be making daily hauls of coal out of our mines. We have contracts with other companies, even the railroad, but losing fifteen coal trucks ain’t negotiable.
Bill is in fits because he understands the damage that this could do if he breaches contract with Simon Energy. He also would like nothing more than to wiggle out of the one partnership with Drew Varney, let alone diggin’ himself into another. I don’t blame him. Drew is a conniving bastard who can’t be trusted. Drew Varney is just like his daddy, Big John Simon. Daddy did everything for his own personal gain, in his business life and personal life. With each turn of the page, I see deeper into his twisted web of lies. The more I see, the more my love for my daddy turns to hate.
Colton comes into my office just as I’m ending the call with Bill. As soon as he hears his dad’s name slide off my tongue, his interest piques. He has been worrying about Bill’s business with Drew.
The few times that I’ve been there when Bill comes in for the evening, he’s always distressed and upset from his day at work. Business owners eat stress daily, but should never carry the burden of stress from the hands of their partner. Partners in any relationship are supposed to work together. From the way Bill talks, Drew fights him on every damn thing. Daddy was a bastard, but he and Bill were friends. Even when they didn’t see eye-to-eye on a matter, they always worked it out quickly.
But filling Colton in on the details of Drew’s plans to screw Simon Energy over is not my story to tell. I don’t know the specifics; all I know is that Bill is obviously upset over the plans that Drew hopes to set forth.
Colton can get pissy all he wants, but he’ll get over it. As soon as he’s done with his little sissy tantrum, I pick up the phone and call James McCoy. Alisa makes no delay in forwarding my call to James. I inform him that I need a hard copy of all of Simon Energy’s company contracts sent over by a courier, as well as sent to my email by the end of business today. James agrees and disconnects immediately.
I don’t full-heartedly trust James, so I call downstairs to the records retention department to see if we have another copy of the contract in house. Daddy always kept important documents like that in this office, so why they aren’t here now is beyond me, but I can’t find any of our company contracts.
Finally after battling with this since I stepped foot through the door, I can exhale. The office is quiet, the phones have stopped ringing, and Colton Weston has finally given up and has left me alone. I have just a slither of peace. I rest my head back against the cool leather chair, pinch the bridge of my nose, and try to push away the migraine that threatens to attack at any given moment. Colton has every reason to be concerned for the way I’m operating the company because I doubt myself. Don’t get me wrong, although sales aren’t steady, productivity is booming at all five mines; we have set the record with safety this quarter. I’ve operated Daddy’s coal company for three months and have managed not to send his damn empire up in flames.
My heart is a tangled mess of emotions, and I don’t know which way is up. When I was in Myrtle Beach, I had the strength each day to crawl out of bed and press forward because I had blocked the heartache of my past from my mind and was determined to live happily. But now, all the stress of running this mines, learning all of Daddy’s secrets, and having Colton Weston breathing his hot, sultry breath down my neck at every chance, leaves me feeling overwhelmed. I hate the feeling of doubt that has stained my confidence.
Everything changed when I came home to Kentucky. I feel like I’m drowning. I’m totally out of my element here. I have half the mind to leave work tonight and drive straight to Myrtle Beach, never looking back. Leave Simon Energy behind for someone else to battle with.
Damn, I’ll never be rid of my daddy’s control. Even from the grave, I realize there hasn’t been a moment in my life that he hasn’t had his foul claws dug deep into my life. It disgusts me that someone that I loved and trusted without question could be so manipulative and corrupt. But that was my daddy. That was Big John Simon.
A knock on the door interrupts my self-loathing, so I inhale a deep, cleansing breath and invite the visitor in. Shelly steps inside and informs me that McCoy Law Offices has called, and no contracts could be found. Surprising, right. I tell her to stay in contact with Natalie in the records retention department to see if any copies of the contracts are found. Shelly agrees, asking if I need anything else before leaving my office. I turn my attention back to the filing cabinets and begin going through each file with a fine-tooth comb.
After twenty minutes into my search, my office door swings open, then slams, rattling the pictures on the walls. Glancing over my shoulder, I see that it’s Colton. His face is red and full of anger. He stops in front of my desk and shoots daggers down at me as he runs his fingers through his hair in frustration.
“I know Emily Weston well enough to know that she taught you your manners. So please, tell me why you feel the need to piss me off further by invading my privacy and just walking the hell on in without knockin’?” I toss at him, without even looking his way. I’m too engrossed in finding this damn contract.
“You still can’t find the damn contract either?” he spits at me, his tongue sliced in anger. I glance up at him, raising my eyebrow in question. He knows without even hearing my words what the look on my face is expressing.
“Yeah, I called my old man. He told me what was goin’ on. What the hell was so damn hard about you tellin’ me yourself is beyond me, but you can fill me in on that shit when I’m done here, darlin’. Dad’s copy of the contract is missin’ too. I know what that bastard Drew Varney is tryin’ to do, Carly Jo. It makes sense; he’s a smart son of a bitch. Kinda reminds me of the same business sense Big John had. But regardless, we gotta find the contract. Drew is puttin’ some real heat on my old man to breach the contract with Simon Energy. Pops is torn, Carly Jo. He doesn’t know what to do,” Colton says, dropping down in the chair in front of the desk. He palms his face and lets out a grunted rumble from deep within his chest. His face is red with heat. Tension mares all over Colton’s body, as he cracks his knuckles, flexes his shoulders, and rolls his neck from left to right. I’ve seen Colton like this. Colton is fighting mad, and I’m willing to bet that if he got his hands on Drew right now, he’d strangle the breath from his putrid, filthy body. Drew Varney, come on down!
I walk around the desk and sit on the edge, right in front of Colton so that I have his undivided attention. The moment I’m within close proximity, he looks up at me, the anger still deep in his dark eyes. No matter how hard I try to distance myself from Colton and keep my heart beneath the steel cage it’s encased in, there is no denying the affect we have on each other. Our bodies are like magnets, pulling each other closer together at every contact.
