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“Yes, yes,” Zoe responded.
“Anyway, I’m glad you made some kind of human connection.” Izzie was relieved to hear Zoe hadn’t completely shut down on the idea of a relationship.
“I must admit, I did like him. But, such is life.”
Izzie contemplated for a moment. “And life is full of surprises. You never know what can happen.”
“True. I never thought I would be attracted to a man.” Zoe batted her eyelashes. “Not that I’m into women. But at one point I wondered if I was asexual, especially after Brian. There was nothing ringing my bells. I began to think I had no bells!” She chortled. “But then I met Mason Chapman.” She started to blush. “I know this sounds so cliché, but I felt something. Something electrical. And then I had an epiphany.”
Izzie looked at her with wide eyes. “Do tell!”
Zoe threw out her arms and boasted, “I have a libido!”
Izzie laughed so hard the fizz from the Pellegrino shot out of her nose. Zoe was next in line with her own nasal spray. It took several minutes before they could regain their composure.
“Whoo.” Zoe fanned her face. “I haven’t laughed that hard in a very long time.” She thought for a moment. “Not since I last saw Mason.” Zoe paused for a minute.
“I think you’re still a bit stuck on the lad.” Izzie pursed her lips.
“You could be right.”
“Don’t you have vacation time? Plan a little Anglo-Saxon trek?”
“We’ll see.” Zoe finished her lunch and brought the plate to the sink.
“Hang on. I’ll stick them in the dishwasher.” Izzie pushed her chair back and stepped over Rufus. She was giving Zoe a few minutes to gather her thoughts before she pounced on what was really bothering her. “Coffee?” she asked.
“Sure.”
“Decaf, regular, espresso?” Izzie asked as she refilled the coffeemaker.
“Oh, espresso. But maybe not. I don’t need the jitters.”
Izzie wiped her hands on a kitchen towel and turned. “You really need to tell me what is going on.”
Zoe looked down at the counter and sighed. “I think something unseemly is happening at my firm.”
Izzie stood with the coffee carafe in midair. “What do you mean?”
Zoe began. “You recall that condominium collapse in Florida?”
“Of course.”
“And the university pedestrian skywalk over Tamiami Trail?”
“Yes. Incredibly sad.” Izzie popped two capsules of decaffeinated into the machine and leaned against the counter.
Zoe was visibly shaken. “Sadly, there are more. In 2004 the roof at the Charles de Gaulle airport collapsed, killing four people.” She took a breath. “In the past twenty years over two thousand people have died globally due to the politics of expediency or personal financial gain.” She continued. “When buildings and bridges started collapsing in various parts of the world, I found a common thread: inferior foundation materials. Bridges were failing, people were dying. Buildings were crumbling. More people dying.”
Izzie furrowed her brow. “That is shocking—not the political or personal gains—but I suppose people don’t look at the cumulative statistics.” She placed a coffee cup in front of Zoe.
“Exactly.” Zoe sat tall. “I decided to do my own little covert investigation and started looking into some of our files.” She explained how she’d uncovered a horrendous scheme to save money by manufacturing an inferior product for commercial foundations. “I was concerned that the company I’m working for is one of the suppliers to some of those catastrophes. I called a meeting with Donald Walsh, the quality control manager, and asked a few questions about our manufacturing plant in the Dominican Republic. He implied he had everything under control, and we were compliant. He was also rather defensive and implied I was sticking my nose into places where it didn’t belong. He basically told me not to worry my pretty little head . . . in the most condescending manner.”
Izzie had a look of horror on her face. “Do you think REBAR is providing subpar materials?”
“It’s very possible.”
“What happened after your meeting? I know you, and you wouldn’t take his answer as truth.”
