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“Exactly. You know, he, Gus and Wayne should get together, I’m sure they could have a good old time cursing me out,” she said giving her old team a wink.
“Oh Wayne’s done that plenty without anyone else,” Hillary stated.
“Your old boyfriend doesn’t seem to like you too much there Paige. What’s the story?” Jerry asked.
“No story…he was mad when I left the team.”
“He was mad long before that,” Rabbit stated.
“Well, he did seem to have some nasty things to say to you…but it’d probably be best if we don’t repeat them seeing as how the men up here would probably going tearing after him if we did,” Bobby said.
“Who exactly is this Wayne?” Joel inquired sending her a look that was full of questions as to why she’d never spoken of him before.
“Wayne’s the supervisor of the team. He thinks he’s god’s gift to everything and everyone,” Hillary answered for her.
“Except to Paige, he never did like the fact that she wouldn’t actuallygo out, go out with him,” Jesse added, and she could have screamed.
“You were dating your supervisor?” Sam asked in amazement.
“No, we went out casually. It’s not my fault he wanted something that was never going to happen and that’s all I’m going to say on the subject. Although if he’s ever at the bottom of a dog pile again you all must take pictures of it for me,” she said with a smirk that lit her eyes.
“Dog pile?” Joel questioned raising an eyebrow her way.
“Let’s just say Wayne made the wrong comment that some of the guys around here didn’t take too kindly,” Craig stated.
“What sort of comment?” Cord asked.
“One he’d have no actual knowledge regarding,” Paige said hoping to move away from the subject. She didn’t want the conversation coming around to her sex life and letting it slip that she’d only been with Joel. The fact still bugged her but there was nothing she could do about it right now.
“I suggest you tell us exactly what happened, Paige,” Joel warned. “Unless you want me to go down into the mine and ask them.”
“Nothing happened,” she sighed.
“And that’s Wayne’s problem,” Moose said wiggling his eyebrows suggestively letting the others in on the topic.
“What’d he say Bobby?” Joel asked the other man.
“Well, I can’t right say…I wasn’t there,” he hedged.
“Oh, good lord…fine…he was being a jerk and Tom defended me prompting Wayne to ask if I had a new lap dog. He also added a snark about him obviously not being in my bed yet because he’d know it would be a letdown, is that what you wanted to know?” Paige asked turning to Joel who was looking murderous.
“That’s when they jumped him and then two guys escorted him off the property,” Jesse said seeing the flush that appeared on her neck. “So, what else have you planned for this place Paige?” he added trying to move the subject beyond their current spot for her sake.
“Yes, Paige what other brilliant ideas are laying in that head of yours?” Joel asked folding his arms across his chest in what she could tell was annoyance, though why she didn’t know.
“And where did this come from in the first place?” Cord added. “All you ever talked about was the mine and helping run it so how did that turn into this?”
“This is what it’s always been about Dad. I swear none of you ever listened, did you? So let me spell it out as plainly as I can. I don’t and have never been interested in being down in the mine picking coal out of the rocks or anything else like that. I didn’t want to lug around things, and I didn’t want to overrule the decisions regarding the digging. I wanted to help make decisions, plan new lines, help get them built. I didn’t want to be your secretary or run payroll but that’s all you would have let me do because you wouldn’tlisten,” she said slamming a binder against the table between her father and Joel.
“Paige, what is this?” Cord asked opening it.
“That’s what I went to school for, why I was pursing what I was.That’swhat I wanted to contribute to this place but since neither of you would listen…what’s the point?” she said moving back to the computer and outlining her plan before sitting down and waiting for them to speak.
“I’d say we have a really great opportunity here boss,” Harry said shaking his head in admiration. “That little girl of yours has a brilliant mind.”
“That she does,” Cord agreed, “and it seems she always has. Paige honey, I’m sorry…”
“So, am I Dad…more than you’ll ever know but it doesn’t really matter, does it? We can’t change the past, so we go forward. That’s what I learnt working the sites we did. Looking back will only drive you crazy, wondering where you went wrong. People always said my ideas were insane, until they worked and then it was genius.”
