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James smiles and hands me an ink pen and a slab of documents to sign, making my inheritance final.I feel like I’m signing my life away. Rising from my chair, I shake James’ hand and thank him for his time. Savannah and Josh follow suit.He walks us out of his office and wishes me good luck as the new CEO of Simon Energy. CEO. I walk to my car and take a second to calm the frozen fear that is lurking in my chest. CEO.
What the hell just happened in there?
Chapter 5
Carly
I took a few days to tie up the loose ends of my life in South Carolina. With hesitance, I resigned from my position at the hotel. I may have the power of coal giant CEO scrolled behind my name on a door back in Kentucky, but that isn’t what I want. I want my peaceful life at the beach.
I boxed up the small remnants of my life, then spent two days lounging on the beach. The ocean has always been my oasis. When I couldn’t sleep at night, I found myself jogging the three blocks to the beach. I would sink my toes down into the cool, damp sand and lay back, gazing up at the black star-filled sky. The sound of the waves crashing against the shore was my lullaby, soothing me from the hell I often lived. Leaving all that behind, I’m forced to find a new comfort for my aching heart.
Today is my first day at the office at Simon Energy. I officially have my Underground and Surface Mining cards for Kentucky and West Virginia. The mandatory three-week class could have been as simple as walking into the training facility and dropping my name, according to James. He said the certification is just a legality in case I need to go underground, but if I’m gonna run the mines the way Daddy intended, I’m gonna do it the right way.
So for the last three weeks, I’ve sat in a class full of men learning safety procedures, the different equipment used for surface and underground mining, etc. God, I hate the thoughts of ever having to go underground. Hell, I don’t even want to work at the damn office. The coal dust cakes all over everything, and the disgusting smell of sulfur turns my stomach just thinking about it.
I walk into the office and am immediately greeted by Shelly, who is quickly on my heels with a cup of coffee in one hand while balancing a notepad and pen in the other.
“Good Morning, Ms. Simon. Glad to see you in the office bright and early,” Shelly says with her usual chipper tone.
“Good Morning, Shelly, how are you? I must say I’m happy to see a familiar face. God, I haven’t been in this office in so many years; I’m nervous as hell.”
Shelly laughs. “Oh no worries, Ms. Simon. I’m sure you will run the company as smoothly as your father. He made a wise decision in handing Simon Energy down to you. Now … you have a meeting this morning with your foremen and supervisors. They should all be in by eight o’clock. Day shift just went underground, so once the bosses make their rounds, they’ll be out. This spreadsheet is your employee records, listed by mines of employment. It may take you a while to learn everyone, but as long as you know your foremen and supervisors, they can handle everyone else for you.” Taking the documents from Shelly’s hand, I thank her for her time and walk into Daddy’s office. My office.
Closing the door, I take a deep breath and look around. The feeling is absolutely sorrowful. I miss Daddy terribly, but I don’t want to be here, in this office, or in Kentucky for that matter. I miss South Carolina. I miss the ocean breeze, I miss the simplicity that my life was before I found out that he was dying. But all of that is behind me. Now, I’m the CEO of Simon Energy, and although starting my life over isn’t ideal, I’ll make the best of it. One day at a time. Baby steps. It won’t be easy, but I’ve learned over the last seven years that there isn’t a moment in life that will come easy.
I jump right into work, preparing for my first meeting. I sit at my desk and power on the laptop. The IT department already forwarded all of Daddy’s emails over to my new company email, so I start there first.
After an hour of reading through month-old emails, I lift my tired eyes from the computer screen to check the time. It’s almost eight o’clock. Shit! I completely forgot to go over the employee file Shelly gave me. Guess I’m going into this meeting a little blind. Hope I see at least a couple familiar faces.
Standing from my desk, I straighten my suit and grab my messenger bag before I head out of my office. Shelly directs me to the conference room as if I’ve never been here before. Around the table sits ten of the finest miners Simon Energy has. I glance quickly from face to face, giving each a friendly smile, when the one I least expected to be here—in this damn room, hell, even at this damn mines—sits back in his chair and tosses a cocky grin back at me. Colton Weston. What the hell! Hoping nobody notices the anxiety I feel constrict my chest, I quickly sit at the head chair and begin the meeting.
“Good Morning, y’all. I’m sure most of you know me. I’m Big John’s daughter, Carly, the new CEO of Simon Energy. I will run this company just as my daddy did. You know my expectations, as they are the same as Big John’s. Don’t disappoint me, don’t lie to me, don’t piss me off, and we’ll be peachy keen. Got it? Now let’s get started.”
The supervisors each give me the report for their mines. Two hours of productivity, safety, and breakdown reports is more than any woman can handle. Damn, this shit is boring!
As I sit and listen intently, I feel his eyes piercing through me. I try to ignore his glare, but the tension between Colton and me is fierce. Finally, our eyes lock. Looking deep into his dark brown eyes, I see the raw pain and desire. Quickly, I look away, trying to ignore his seductive eyes.
As the meeting comes to an end, the men all file out of the room. Gathering all my paperwork, I stuff it in my bag and stand to leave. Colton steps in front of me, stopping me from my escape. “Carly Jo, I see you’ll be in town a little longer than expected, huh?” he teases.
“Hey, Colton, busy day,” I say quickly, trying to step around him.
“Listen, we have a lot to talk about. I don’t want us workin’ together with all of this shit flyin’ in the air. Let’s have dinner, tonight maybe?”
Rolling my eyes, I take a deep breath and try to think of the nicest, most professional way to approach the only man I have ever loved, without being too big of a bitch. Yeah, impossible.
“Colton, listen, I don’t have a damn clue what it is that you think we need to discuss. I’m your boss, you’re my employee. We will carry on that same relationship until I fire your ass, or you fall off the face of the earth. Whichever one comes first, I’ll be grateful for. Until then, just do your friggin’ job and stay the hell out of my way.” Stepping around him, he chuckles. Son of bitch will think it’s real damn funny when his ass is standing in the unemployment line.
I walk to my office feeling so much better than when I first laid eyes on him earlier today.
The rest of the day is smooth sailing. I work diligently, catching up on untouched paperwork. Around five-thirty, my eyes have blurred from looking at the computer for so long, so I call it a day.
Chapter 6
Carly
It feels so good to finally be home. I’m used to working eight-hour shifts at the hotel, so nearly twelve hours at the mines has me totally busted. Climbing the stairs to my bedroom, I place my phone on the dock and press play. Trudging to the bathroom, I turn the shower to hot as hell and begin to undress.
I pull off the stiff suit I’ve been sporting, and soot sprinkles the floor. Maybe a suit isn’t the best attire for the mines. I climb into the steaming hot shower, letting the water cascade over me. It soothes my achy muscles, tired from sitting at a desk all day. At least working at the hotel I was constantly up on my feet doing something. I may go stir crazy trapped in that office.
