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Are you serious right now? Give me a break! We had engine trouble.
Hello? Are you not going to answer me?
“How does it feel?” she mumbled.
Don’t be a bitch!
The last one got to her. Even though she’d told herself she’d said all she was going to say, she responded, anyway.
Am I being a bitch? If so, feel free to prove me wrong. Send me a picture of anything that shows you’re no longer in Salt Lake. If you can do that in the next five minutes, you can keep your job—if you still want it.
I can’t, he wrote back.We broke down before we left Salt Lake.
She chuckled humorlessly. He’d already said he was “in the middle of nowhere.”
Sorry, Ben. I think it’s best that we go our separate ways.
I can’t believe this. I’ve been a good employee! I could’ve left you for your competition. Instead, I remained loyal. Now you don’t have any loyalty to me?
“You would’ve left if I hadn’t paid you to stay. That’s not loyalty,” she said but another text came in before she could clarify that he didn’t deserve credit for something he used to his benefit.
I’ll just go to Fettermans. I don’t need you. I’ll help them take back wells since you won’t be able to drill until you hire someone else.
Now he was after revenge? She could have informed him that Hendrix was no longer interested in hiring him. But she figured it would be smarter to stay out of it. If Fetterman Well Services wanted to hire Ben, they were more than welcome, especially now that she’d seen what he was like when he held a little power.
Good luck with that.
You’d better send me my check right away, or you’ll be sorry.
She rubbed her forehead before heading into the house. She seemed to be making enemies everywhere...
Fourteen
Ben’s call came in while Hendrix was trying to repair a generator he needed to test a pump. He paused to look down at his screen, almost ignored the interruption, then thought better of it. If Ellen’s driller understood that there was no other opportunity except the job he had with her, maybe he’d settle down.
He pressed the Talk button. “Hey, Ben. How are you?”
“Not so good,” he said, clearly upset.
Hendrix cringed. “What’s going on?”
“I’m done with Ellen. I can’t deal with her anymore. I’m ready to move on.”
Hendrix nearly groaned. What did he say now? “Um...listen, Ben... Whatever it is, I suggest you try to work it out with her.”
“I don’t want to work it out. I’d rather drill for you. I should’ve made the jump when you offered me a job that night when we saw each other at Hank’s.”
“Except...when you didn’t come over right away, I made other plans,” he said. “I’m sorry.” That wasn’t strictly true. He still hadn’t filled the position that would be empty when Randy Bettencourt left, but there was no way he could replace Randy with Ben. He’d promised Ellen he wouldn’t. He was just trying to let Ben down as easily as possible.
“That fast?” Ben sounded even more upset. “Who’d you hire?”
“No one. But Stuart and I are... Well, we’re thinking about holding off—in case it’s possible to get by without another employee.” That wasn’t strictly true, either, but it could take a while to find someone else so it could easily look that way. Even if Ben heard he was searching for someone or had hired another driller, it would mean Ben would probably have kept his job with Ellen or found another one by then.
“How are you going to do that?” he asked. “Summer’s the busiest time of year.”
He had a point, but Hendrix knew better than to try to defend his excuse. He’d only talk himself into a corner. He simply reiterated what he’d already said. “Why not stick with Ellen for the time being, and I’ll let you know if any opportunities develop on this end?”
“Ican’tstay with her! She’s being completely unreasonable,” he snapped and disconnected.
