The Girl in Steel-Capped Boots (14 page)

Lena’s trademark curiosity was piqued. ‘Is he an engineer?’

He paused. ‘He was.’

‘Okay.’ She nodded and waited for something extra but his expression was blank. She guessed that was as close to ‘I’m sorry’ as she was going to get.

‘Well, I think I was a bit harsh with you too,’ she offered. ‘You’re not a totally bad manager.’

‘Is that an apology?’

Her jaw dropped at his audacity and she gave him the best ‘You wish’ expression in her repertoire. ‘Nup.’

His lips kicked in one corner as he picked up his hard hat, turning it over in his hands. ‘When are you going back to the office?’

‘Well, I thought I might check out the piling and decking progress while I wait for the next bus run back,’ she told him.

‘Well, I brought my ute, so I’m going back now. You should take my hat.’ Before waiting for her assent he put it on her head, his hands grazing the sides of her face on their way down. Suddenly, they were standing too close for comfort and she felt her chest tighten in anticipation as she looked up at him.

‘Oh,’ she said breathlessly. ‘That’s okay. It’s really not necessary.’ She lowered her head and put her hand up to catch the front rim. But he intervened with a warm hand under her chin to force her face back up.

‘You be careful.’

She didn’t know whether to be indignant or touched by his order. While she was still deciding, he left, her chin tingling in his wake.

Outside Lena watched the hammer for a while, until Sharon approached her to let her know the bus was leaving for shore.

The bus driver’s eyes flicked up to the TCN emblem on her hat and frowned. ‘Something you want to tell me?’

‘Not really.’

‘Come on, Lena. You’re wearing his hat? Not to mention the fact that he’s already seen you in your unmentionables.’

‘Sssshh!’ She followed Sharon back to the bus. Carl and Gavin were chatting in front of it when they got there. Carl’s eyes flicked to her hat also.

‘I see Bulldog couldn’t let you go without a hat for fuckin’ five seconds.’ He shrugged. ‘Just as well, I suppose. We don’t need more fuckin’ trouble on our hands. I’ve been looking into the night shift. Fuckin’ nightmare.’ He sighed and looked at Gavin who was nodding and a thought seemed to suddenly
occur to him. ‘Hey, aren’t you organising some big shindig at Point Samson tomorrow?’

Gavin started. ‘No, that’s not –’ He sighed with resignation. ‘Do you want to come?’

Carl looked at Sharon. ‘You birds goin’?’

‘Sure.’ Sharon licked her lips nervously. Lena had already told her about the plan and she was looking forward to it, if somewhat uncertainly.

‘Fuck, I need a night on the piss,’ Carl sighed and then looked at Lena as another thought brightened his face. ‘Fuck, I just thought of something. If everyone’s fuckin’ going –’

‘Not everyone’s going,’ Gavin made haste to insert. ‘At least, they’re not supposed to be. I –’

But Carl wasn’t listening; he was rubbing his chin thoughtfully. ‘The bullshit flying around between us and the client is getting fuckin’ worse. I might tell Bulldog to tell his people about it. Fuck, let’s invite ’em. Bit of a peace offering, so to speak. Build some better client relations. I’ll even set up a bar tab.’ He slapped Gavin on the back. ‘Well done, mate. Best fuckin’ idea anyone’s had in a while.’

Gavin choked. ‘But –’

Carl was already half walking away. ‘I’ll leave you to organise it,’ he threw over his shoulder.

Friday passed uneventfully. Lena realised that everyone was too keyed up for Gavin’s big party to raise any big issues. It was like they were all just pushing through the hours to get to the good stuff.

It was pathetic how excited they were. After all, when she thought about it, it was just a pub. But they were treating it like Elvis was in town for one show only. Personally, she was excited for many different reasons. One of them, trivial or not, was that she was finally going to be able to wear something other than her gym clothes or her site uniform. This was a very
special treat, especially considering she had three suitcases of clothes to choose from.

Point Samson was a tiny fishing town about nine kilometres north. It was supposed to be much more touristy than Wickham, with beautiful sandy beaches that offered safe swimming and snorkelling all year round. Its central pub allegedly did the best garlic prawns on the Pilbara. She figured there would be other non-project women at the Point Samson pub – plenty of females to take the attention off her and Sharon. So it should be okay to dress pretty.

In the end, she chose a little red camisole top that tied at the back and really dressed up her dark blue jeans. She wore a red pendant to match and left her hair out and curly.

Carl had offered up his five-seater ute for transport if either she or Sharon drove. He wanted to drink. Lena volunteered her services as skipper because she thought Sharon would need the Dutch courage more than she would, especially if Gavin made his move. At six-thirty, the two friends met Carl in the parking lot next to his vehicle.

Sharon looked fantastic and Lena could see by the surprise on Carl’s face that he thought so too. She’d clearly taken a curling wand to her short red bob, which looked great with the black halter-neck top she was wearing.

‘You look awesome!’ Lena beamed and, when Gavin turned up shortly after, she immediately scanned his face for a reaction. ‘Doesn’t she look great, Gavin?’

He paused to give Sharon the once-over. ‘Yep.’

Sharon blushed. ‘Thanks.’

He turned to Lena. ‘And so do you.’

Lena waved the compliment aside: he didn’t need to worry about her feeling left out. Tonight was their night.

‘Fuck, I’m thirsty.’ Carl rubbed his hands together. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt, which he later told Lena was his ‘drinking shirt’, and a pair of blue shorts. She’d never seen him more set to party. Just as she was about to ask what they were
waiting for, Fish turned up, also wearing a Hawaiian ‘drinking shirt’. She had been told that he and Carl had a history but up until this point hadn’t been able to see what they had in common – Carl wasn’t into fishing and Fish didn’t seem to be into anything else. She figured it out as they made matey fun of each other during the drive to Point Samson. She learned that they had first met at a pub over more than a few drinks. Apparently, they had quite a number of party stories to share on the way to their next crime scene.

When they finally did arrive, Lena noticed there were other women at the pub but not enough to make a dent in her and Sharon’s minority. She realised in dismay that half the project workforce was crammed into that little pub at Point Samson.

Overall, however, it was a great set-up. It had a huge balcony area that overlooked the beach with a long bar servicing the crowd. The majority of people were standing as most of the tables were inside where meals were served. When Lena’s party arrived, the festivities were well and truly under way. Some of the guys had not bothered to change out of their site uniforms and had just come straight from work. There was a quiet group of client personnel drinking by themselves in one corner and before she could stop herself she was searching for Dan’s face among them.

He was leaning against the wall in a TCN shirt, which probably meant he’d come straight from work that night too. With a beer in hand, he was talking to not one, but
two
women. Lena was momentarily struck. Until then she hadn’t credited Dan with any ability to be socially charming. Her eyes narrowed stubbornly. There was still no proof, really. The women could be his administrative staff, being criticised for late typing submissions. The brunette, a rather good-looking one too, threw back her head and laughed at something Dan had said. Lena eyed them both crossly.

As though feeling an arrow of disapproval hit the wall above his head, Dan looked up and met her gaze across the
room. Heat crept up her neck and Lena tore her face away. How embarrassing. She needed to steer all her thoughts as far from Dan as possible. Lately, she couldn’t seem to trust either her body or her brain whenever he was around. She seemed to lose all aptitude for reasonable behaviour.

Instead, she turned her attention to Carl and Fish, who were anxious to get started. They headed straight for the bar. Apparently pre-dinner drinks were a must. The food would come later. This was fine with her, as she was eager for a chance to scope out the scene. There were a couple of secluded areas on the balcony, where a couple might move away to catch a private moment if they so desired. One of them was a selection of large pot plants on her far left, the other an isolated table on her right. Keeping these two areas in mind, she turned to see where Gavin was and watched him get hailed by one of his men. Before she knew it, he had also been dragged away. She clicked her tongue in frustration, wondering how she was going to get him and Sharon alone. Sharon recalled her attention by shoving a glass of house white into her hand.

‘Penny for your thoughts.’

Lena turned a cheeky smile on her. ‘It’ll cost you way more than that.’

Sharon laughed and clinked her glass to Lena’s. ‘To good times.’

‘To good times.’ They drank. As the cool woody flavour hit her tastebuds, she sighed. When it was all said and done, it was just nice to be out, relaxing with friends, totally dust-free.

‘You know,’ she said to Sharon, ‘I don’t know what I’d do without you.’

Sharon winked. ‘Right back at ya.’

Half a glass and fifteen minutes later, they’d been chatted up by at least five guys.

‘Hello, ladies.’ Lucky Mr Six wiggled his eyebrows at them as he walked by. ‘I’ll be back soon.’ Sharon shifted uncomfortably beside Lena.

‘Don’t they ever give up?’ she muttered under her breath.

A Barnes Inc welder sitting at the bar seemed to have overheard her comment and turned around. ‘Yeah, I’d watch out for Tim.’ He pointed after Mr Six. ‘He’s a real womaniser. But you can trust me.’ He held out his hand and Lena and Sharon shook it reluctantly. ‘I’m Brad.’

Lena noticed out of the corner of her eye that Gavin was watching. The schemer in her immediately jumped to high alert. Jealousy was a great motivator. She decided to encourage Sharon to add fuel to the fire.

‘Can I buy you ladies a drink?’ Brad was saying.

Lena polished off the rest of her wine and set her glass on the bar. ‘Sure, Brad, why not?’

Sharon’s eyes shifted curiously to Lena. She nodded reassuringly, so the bus driver also placed her empty glass on the counter. Delighted, Brad moved down the bar towards a waiter.

Just then Tim returned from wherever he had gone and joined them with a grin. ‘Saw you guys talking to Brad and thought I better give you a friendly warning.’ He lowered his voice as though confiding a secret. ‘He’s a bit of a ladies’ man.’ He rocked back on his heels and stuck out his hand. ‘But you can trust me, my name’s –’

‘Tim,’ Lena finished for him. ‘We know.’

His brow wrinkled in confusion as Brad returned with the drinks. Lena watched as the two men sized each other up before suddenly coming to an unspoken truce – they would share. One each, Lena supposed, torn between amusement and indignation.

It continued like that for another hour or so. Lena and Sharon collected a couple more glasses of free booze although Lena refrained from drinking hers as she was driving. The men around them continued to get drunker and drunker. Carl, Lena noticed, was leading the crowd.

Soon dinner was forgotten. The men were filling up on alcohol and seemed in no hurry to move inside for a feed.

‘Damn it,’ Lena told Sharon, ‘I think they’re all going to skip dinner.’

Sharon nodded hazily. ‘Nothing like drinking on an empty stomach to get you plastered real fast.’

‘So you want to go inside for a bite then?’ a voice whispered in Lena’s ear. She spun on her heel.

It was Gavin.

Why is he asking
me
?

Warning bells started to tingle in her head but she ignored them. Surely not. Gavin and Sharon would make the perfect couple! No other outcome would be permitted.

‘You know what, that sounds great. Why don’t you two go inside and find us a table?’

‘But –’

‘I’ll be in shortly.’ She looked meaningfully at Sharon. ‘Okay?’

‘You sure?’ Sharon’s eyes were a little wide, so she touched her arm reassuringly.

‘Yep, just save me a seat.’

The two of them headed inside and Lena pretended she was going to the toilet. She was delighted by her own ingenuity. It was the ideal plan. They’d go inside, order their food, get to talking and after a while forget she was even supposed to join them.

She moved towards Carl’s group at the bar. The man was definitely in his element, entertaining the guys with his repertoire of lewd jokes. He hadn’t seen her yet and was in the process of delivering the punchline of an incredibly filthy number when she cleared her throat. She grinned, as the guys laughed harder, more at Carl noticing her standing there than the end of his joke.

‘Come on, Carl, tell us another one.’ Fish slapped him on the back. ‘I know you’ve got more.’

To her surprise, he reddened and hid behind his beer. ‘No, no. Got fuckin’ told off the other day. No fuckin’ bullshit with the ladies present. I’ve already scared one of them off.’

His reference to Dan’s comments immediately made Lena’s back stiffen.

‘If you mean Sharon,’ she reassured him, ‘she’s just gone inside for a bite. Not scared at all.’

But Carl refused to budge, the liquor in him bringing out a stubborn streak. ‘No, no,’ he slurred. ‘’Bout time I became a fuckin’ gentleman. Been thinking about it since the other day: never been any good with the fuckin’ ladies. I’ll tell you what, got some clean jokes for ya.’

The men groaned loudly and booed him but Carl was determined. He raised his pint and began yelling at the top of his lungs.

‘Why did the leper meet with a car accident? Left his foot on the accelerator. What’s long, brown and sticky? A stick. Why do giraffes have such long necks? So their heads can connect to their bodies.’

He didn’t stop.

Lena didn’t know where he was pulling them all from but they were the worst jokes she’d ever heard in her life. Luckily, the men had enough alcohol in them to find anything funny. The laughter got louder and louder as each consecutive joke got worse and worse until everyone was choking on their beers. The noise was drawing the sober crowd too. So Carl kept going until he had tears in his eyes. In turn, Lena was laughing so hard she couldn’t talk and when she thought she couldn’t possibly laugh any more Carl shouted: ‘Confucius say, man who drop watch in toilet keeps shitty time.’