“Come over here,” Jace said. “I want to make you a proposition.” He gestured to a desk at the end of the trailer.
She followed him through the narrow confines, and he offered her the chair behind the desk. By comparison, it made Billy’s desk look neat. It was covered with charts, maps, and diagrams. She could only guess at what they represented, but was curious as to the proposition he had mentioned.
He reached over her shoulder and picked up a sheet of paper. Katherine supposed that some sort of message could be deciphered from the bold, slanted scrawl. “I got this memo from Willoughby. He’s the owner of Sunglow. I’ve referred to him.” At her nod, he went on.
“It seems that Willoughby is concerned about the current reputation of the oil companies. Windfall profits and all that. He’s resolved to do something about Sunglow’s public image. He managed to swing a deal with several television stations in the larger markets of Texas and Oklahoma—Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, Oklahoma City among others. Sunglow will provide maintenance service and gasoline for all their news cars, mobile units, and the like in exchange for commercial time.”
He took a drink of his soda and asked, “Are you following? Feel free to interrupt. It took me a while to digest it.”
“Yes, I follow you, but—”
“Here comes the part that involves you. He needs someone to write the commercials. I recommended you.”
Katherine stared up at him stunned. “Me!” she shrieked. “Jace, I don’t know anything about—”
“Oil? You don’t have to. What Willoughby wants is public-service-type commercials taken from the consumer’s point of view. He wants to put forth the idea that Sunglow is concerned about the energy situation and is taking steps to rectify it and at the same time keep a tight rein on the price of gasoline. We need our reputation improved. You’ve had experience in public relations. You’ve written press releases. This’ll be a snap.”
“Is Sunglow really doing that though? I couldn’t lie.”
He looked almost pained before saying, “Katherine, I wouldn’t ask you to lie. Do you think I’d be affiliated with a company that was fleecing the public?”
She looked away from him. “No.” She gnawed the inside of her cheek, trying to think. It was such a fantastic opportunity! She could barely contain her excitement, yet, at the same time, there was so much to consider.
“I don’t think I could work here,” she mused aloud.
He laughed. “I should say not! I wouldn’t allow you to be ogled all day by that wild bunch out there! No way. I already have to face the fact that Cooper has the hots for you.” He moved to face her, leaning against the desk and crossing his ankles stretched out in front of him. By his wide smile she knew he was only teasing her about Jim.
“What I had in mind,” he continued, “was for you to work at home. I honestly feel that you should be at home with Allison during this critical time in her development. But I fully understand your need to work. You could set your own hours, work when you wanted to, but be there with her all day. How does that sound?”
“It would be wonderful, Jace. I worried about being away from her so much too, before… well, before we married.”
“Great. Then it’s all settled.”
“Wait! Let me think a minute.” In concentration she tapped her index finger against pursed lips. “Wouldn’t I have to work closely with the production crews?”
“Very good question. A television station in Houston is supplying us with production facilities. They’ll do all the dirty work after you turn over the scripts. If they should need you, they can always
call. Or if necessary, you could take the company plane down there for a day or two.”
“Oh, Jace, it sounds too good to be true.”
“It’s only a matter of your wanting to do it. I know you’re qualified.” He stroked her cheek gently and smiled at her confidently. “Shall I call Willoughby and tell him he’s got a new employee?”
She hesitated only an instant then clapped her hands. “Yes, Yes!”
* * *
Katherine and Jace agreed to stay and share lunch with the roughnecks. One of them had driven into town and bought hamburgers and french fries. After her noon bottle of milk, Allison seemed content to snooze in the crook of Billy’s arm. He was impervious to the ribbing he received from his cohorts.
The drill bit rumbled as it ate its way through earth and rock, and the throbbing motor that propelled it deep into the ground kept up a cadence that Katherine was sure would drive her mad if she had to listen to it for hours on end. But the roughnecks were oblivious to the noise as they rapidly consumed a tremendous amount of food.
They sat on the ground or in pick-up truck beds, or stood in small groups. There was much jocularity among them. Sometimes their language became ribald, but Katherine felt that it had been cleaned up considerably on her behalf.
When everyone was finished eating, Jace shouted above the noise, “What in the hell is going on here? Do you think because I’ve brought my wife to meet you that you can slough off the rest of the day? Everyone back to work. The picnic’s over.” His voice sounded stern, but he was smiling. There were grumbles and grimaces, but all of them ambled back to their jobs. Many of them saluted obsequiously or spoke shyly to Katherine as they passed her. Jim Cooper smiled broadly at her from under his hard hat, but hustled back to work when Jace glared at him through squinting eyes.
The Manning family left a short time later. When they were climbing the stairs to the front door of the apartment, Jace said, “You’ll get a package from Willoughby in the next few days. He’s going to send some material that you may find useful. It will include a lot of dry facts and figures, but some human interest stories too.”
“I’m anxious to get started.” She paused with her hand on the banister. “I almost forgot. I’ll have to notify someone at the college that I’m not coming back, won’t I?”