“The hell I did,” the man snapped angrily over the phone. “I’m looking at the business card right now and it matches the caller ID. Now you better send someone down immediately or I’m going to call the public housing and the news station and tell them how you’re treating your tenants. Do you hear me?!”
“Sir I can assure you that…”
“Don’t sir me. I want it fixed. Understand?” he said angrily.
Seth was going to be pissed, but there was no time to ask his advice. She’d pay the price if it was the wrong call to make. “If you’d be so kind as to give me your address and the time we can have a repairman come today, I’d be happy to send one over.”
“Today right? Not tomorrow or next week, but today?”
“Yes, I promise, someone will be there today,’ Charlene stated. Looking up she noticed Seth was standing in the doorway, arms crossed. He obviously was very interested in what she was committing to. She raised her finger letting him know she’d be with him in a moment. “Okay, I have your address and I’ll call back with the details once I have the repairman scheduled.
“I sure as hell hope so. Because you guys aren’t known for keeping your word. But you can count on the fact that I am. I’ll go straight to”
“Yes sir. I understand. I’ll call you back shortly.” When she ended the call, she looked back at Seth.
“What the hell did you get us into now?” Seth asked accusingly.
“Seth, you’re making it sound like I’m out looking for issues. Somehow they are coming to me. I would think you would want to find out why and how they are all getting my office number,” she said firmly, not backing down. It was out of character for her to be this way.
“I’ll have Sal look into that very thing. But this needs to stop. I don’t care if that means you don’t answer another call, you can’t continue getting us involved in these circumstances.”
“You don’t even know what the issue is this time,” she stated. “It’s not a major issue at all. Just a leaking refrigerator.”
Seth shook his head. “I assume your years as a repairman has prepared you to diagnose it over the phone?”
Smart ass.“How bad can it be? Maybe it just needs to be defrosted? Or it got unplugged. Or maybe…” She really had no clue, but it seemed a lot simpler before Seth asked.
“Or maybe it has leaked so much that it has damaged the floor. Or even worse, the ceiling of the people below them,” Seth stated.
“Oh. I hadn’t thought about that. Guess it’s time for me to hope for the best. Now, who do you suggest I call to get it repaired?”
“No one. Call him and tell him to call his landlord,” Seth ordered.
“He threatened to go to public housing and the news station.”
“Let him. We don’t own it,” Seth snarled.
“I assumed that from our conversation yesterday. But what if someone was intentionally giving them the number here just so they can ruin your reputation?”
Seth laughed. “You’re serious aren’t you? You really think someone is going to take down Lawson Steel with a broken refrigerator and plumbing issues?”
Charlene hadn’t actually thought like that until now. Seth was laughing, but he might actually be right. And the only thing that was interfering with their plans was her inability to say no to the people calling.
“I think it’s something you need to consider. Not that it’s my business but”
“You’re right. It’s not,” Seth said in a more serious tone. “Why can’t you just”
“Do what I was hired to do?” she asked. Seth nodded. “I’m not your average cookie cutter employee. Everyone else would go right and I’m the one standing there saying, take a chance, do something…different. I thought that is why I was hired. Because you wanted someone not so…predictable.”
“What makes you think I don’t enjoy…predictable?” he asked.
She arched her brows and tried to hold back her reply. But it slipped out anyway. “Because you’re not boring, even though you try like hell to appear to be.”
Seth stood there staring at her. The anger and frustration that once was there had vanished. Had she said something wrong? Or maybe she finally said something right. Charlene walked around her desk to stand directly in front of him. With her four inch heals she met his six foot two stature. Although they were eye to eye, his muscular build still made her feel…petite.
Don’t back down now Charlene.
Charlene said, “Seth, why don’t you like me?”