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He broke away with a muttered, “Come find me after you’re done,” when we spotted Cheryl.
“Will do.”
Walking over to the woman, I barely held back a sigh at her lukewarm greeting. “Oh, you’re still in town?”
“Yes, and I’ll be here for several days to help smooth over the mess that turned yesterday’s site inspection into a disaster.”
Cheryl snorted and rolled her eyes. “It wasn’t that bad. I’m sure James and I can get everything back on track in no time at all without your help.”
I didn’t know what I’d done to make her dislike me, but it didn’t really matter since she wouldn’t be around after we talked. “That’s actually what I needed to speak with you about.”
She perked up. “Your plan to leave soon?”
I glanced around at the workers and suggested, “Let’s talk in the office.”
“Whatever,” she muttered, turning on her heel to march toward the job site trailer.
As soon as the door shut behind us, I blurted, “I’m sorry, but you’re not going to have the chance to get everything back on track with this project.”
Her brows drew together. “Landon is moving me to a different site? Where? I don’t want to leave Chicago. I like it here.”
I shook my head. “You’re fired from Heath Construction. There won’t be any more assignments for you with us in Chicago or any other city.”
“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” she growled, eyes narrowing and practically spitting fire at me. “The inspection wasn’t great, but it wasn’t bad enough to fire me. What the hell did you tell your brother? Did you exaggerate the situation so you could look semi-competent when everything is fixed in a short amount of time, taking credit for other people’s work? Or are you trying to impress James? He won’t fall for it.”
Choosing to ignore her verbal jabs at me, I focused on the facts at hand. “This situation is absolutely cause to fire you. We’ve never had such an extensive list of violations in all the years Heath Construction has been in business. Let alone one with so many serious safety issues. And even worse, it happened on an important project for one of our biggest clients.”
“You should’ve kept that last part in mind before firing me because there’s no way James wants me replaced on this job.” Cheryl planted her fists on her hips. “Did Landon even bother speaking to him about it before telling you to give me my walking papers?”
I wasn’t sure what the guys had said when they talked because James had been vague, but I didn’t owe this woman an explanation beyond what I’d already said. “Mr. Bardot is aware that I’m firing you this morning. He has no issues with the plan we’ve put into place moving forward on this project.”
“I knew you were a spoiled bitch,” she hissed, her gaze darting around the site as she pressed her lips together. “But this is a new low. You don’t even care that you’re ruining my life, do you?”
“I’m sorry you feel that way.” I wasn’t really, but I was desperately trying to hold on to my temper after she’d made the situation personal. “Please clear out any personal items. Immediately. You’re done here, and your final check will be processed with the payroll run next Friday.”
Cheryl looked as though she’d like nothing more than to throttle me, but she couldn’t exactly act on that impulse without risking serious consequences for her actions. Instead, she muttered to herself as she stomped over to the desk and slammed one of the drawers open.
The air was thick with tension between us, so I wandered out of the trailer to give her a little privacy. I kept an eye out for her as I walked the site, introducing myself to the crew and filling them in on the plan for the next few days until the new foreman arrived.
When I finished making my rounds, Cheryl had stalked in and out of the trailer several times, tossing stuff into the back of a pickup truck parked near the office. I kept my distance from her as she headed over to the other side of the job site, presumably to grab something else of hers. But then I lost sight of her for a few minutes while one of the guys asked me a few questions. Luckily, she appeared again just as I was going to look for her.
I watched Cheryl trudge back to her vehicle, shaking my head when she tossed me a venomous look over her shoulder before climbing inside. She zoomed out of the parking lot so quickly that she kicked up gravel behind her wheels.
“Good riddance,” I muttered.
“You can say that again,” one of the guys agreed.
“Samantha! Watch out!” James yelled, appearing out of what seemed to be nowhere to race toward me. I didn’t figure out what he was warning me about until a ladder propped against a nearby wall crashed at my feet, clipping me on my right ankle.
It all happened in the blink of an eye, and then I was down on the ground, gripping my leg. “Crap! Ouch!”
“Fuck! Are you okay, baby?” James skidded to a stop in front of me, shoving the ladder out of the way to crouch near my feet.
“I think so,” I breathed, pressing my hand to my chest. “But that scared the crap out of me.”
“It took a fuck ton of years off my life, too,” he grumbled, gently wrapping his fingers around my ankle as he peered down. “I thought that damn ladder was going to crash right into your head. Whoever the hell left it in such a precarious position is about to get their ass handed to them.”
The guy closest to us grimaced. “Too late. It was Cheryl, and she’s already gone.”
