The Girl in the Hard Hat (14 page)

She returned his distrustful stare with a coy look of her own. ‘You
are
going to help me with the presentations, right? It’s practically your duty as the HR manager.’

He winced. ‘Really?’

‘Obviously if we’re both running a session at the same time we can get through more people faster.’ She paused, sensing she had to offer him something. ‘I’ll put donuts on the menu for morning tea.’

His whole face lit up. ‘Done.’

She laughed and wheeled her chair back to her desk. ‘I really gotta get these method statements finished.’

She had already spoken to Carl about them. After hearing the number of changes she wanted to make, he had advised her to ‘make the fuckin’ changes herself’ rather than passing on instructions for the engineers to do so. This had been working quite well so far, except now she was down to Anton’s method statements.

Anton seemed to run around doing all sorts of in-between jobs, like installing pipelines on the jetty, repairing existing wharf facilities and other miscellaneous stuff. Wendy had only met him a couple of times and was less than impressed with his cavalier attitude. But she supposed that’s why he hadn’t been given that much responsibility. His method statements needed quite a bit of work and she wanted to get started on them but Anton had gone on R and R and left the electronic files saved on his own hard drive. To access them, she needed his computer password. With the audit coming up, she couldn’t see any other way but to disturb him on his break. She asked Carl’s permission to call Anton and it was granted immediately. She knew that if Anton got mad about her calling, it was only going to make her reputation around site even worse. She could just hear the new rumours.
The Sergeant even tries to get you when you’re on holiday.

She bit her lip as she listened to the dial tone.

Anton’s voice sounded groggy when he picked up the phone. ‘H-hello.’

‘Hi, Anton, it’s Wendy Hopkins. How are you?’

‘Did I meet you at the club last night?’

She cleared her throat. ‘No, it’s Wendy Hopkins from Barnes Inc. I’m the safety manager at Cape Lambert. We’ve met a couple of times on site.’

She heard a mad scramble as though someone had knocked over a lamp as they jerked to a sitting position in bed.

‘Oh, right, yeah sorry. How can I help you?’

She smiled in relief. At least he seemed anxious to please rather than being angry.

‘Just a small thing. I’m adding some safety notes to your method statements. I need your computer password to access the files.’

‘Oh, er . . .’ There was a heavy pause. ‘Why don’t you just write the changes down and I’ll make them when I get back?’

Well, that’s very generous
, she thought. Since when did engineers make time like this for her?

‘That’s really great to hear, Anton. But, if it’s okay with you, I think I’ll do it myself this time. It’s just that we’re going to be audited in four weeks and I need to get these changes in the statement and redistributed as quickly as possible.’

‘Are you sure I can’t help you with it?’

Wow, this guy is great!

‘Positive.’ She smiled. ‘Now, if you don’t mind, can I have your password? I already have the log in box on my screen.’

‘I, er, oh . . .’

‘Anton?’

‘How about I spell it out for you?’

‘Okay.’

‘It’s all lower case. l-i-c-k-m-y-b-a-l-l-s. Did you, er . . . get all that?’

She bit her lip to stop the bubble of laughter in the back of her throat. ‘Yes. Thank you. Goodbye.’ She put the phone down. So much for being helpful! He just didn’t want to tell her his password.

‘What are you smiling about, little mate?’ Chub rumbled from his corner.

Wendy shook her head wryly. ‘Nothing much. Just another day in
this
office.’

Sunday morning finally arrived and, though Wendy didn’t want to admit it to herself, she couldn’t deny it any longer. She was looking forward to a day out with the girls. A day off from
Wendy Hopkins. Safety Manager. Keeper of the people. Protectress of the human workforce.

Royal pain in everyone’s arse.

Being treated like the town leper was starting to get really tiring. It was difficult to keep positive and friendly when everyone responded so negatively to her. It was hard keeping a reassuring smile on her face when she knew the man she was talking to was mentally reciting,
Die, woman, die.

But Sunday, there would be none of that. She could just relax and be Wendy.

She slept in late, which really only meant till seven am so she could still catch breakfast in the mess. She was sitting on her own, munching on a slice of Vegemite toast, when a tray of bacon and eggs slipped into her field of vision.

She looked up to find Gavin grinning down at her as he took a seat.

‘Hey, Sarge.’

‘Gavin,’ she returned drily, grimacing at his plate of oily fried food.

‘I’ve got good news to report.’ He opened his napkin and the gentle waft of his aftershave permeated her senses. She ignored it.

He picked up his fork. ‘I’ve found Yabber.’

Her heart jumped. ‘You have his address?’

‘I have his address.’ He cut off a piece of bacon and popped it in his mouth.

‘What is it?’

‘Ah,’ his eyes crinkled in the corners, ‘aren’t you forgetting something?’

‘Huh?’

‘We were going to dinner, remember?’

‘Yes, I know.’ She flushed. ‘I haven’t forgotten, I just –’

‘Have trouble having fun,’ he finished for her.

She glared at him. ‘I have a lot of fun, thank you very much.’

‘Oh.’ His voice remained casual. ‘So you’re not a workaholic who punched the last guy who asked you out in the face?’

Her cheeks infused with heat. ‘That was different. I thought you were going to attack me. Which you did, by the way.’

He moved his fork through his baked beans and said softly, without looking at her, ‘What’s got you so on edge you don’t trust anyone?’

‘Who cares?’ she retorted crossly.

He met her gaze unblinkingly. ‘I do.’

Her breath caught and it was an effort to push out her voice. ‘Look, I said I’d buy you dinner and I will. But I’ll take the address first. I need it.’

‘Why?’

‘It’s important I talk to Yabber.’

‘Why?’

She put down her own cutlery with a snap. ‘None of your business.’

‘All right, all right,’ he sighed. ‘I’ll give you the address at dinner.’

‘You’re going to make me wait?’

‘Not that long,’ he assured her, that delectable smile of his holding promises she desperately did not want to think about. ‘I just don’t want you to, you know, back out because you got what you wanted.’

Nobody does anything for nothing.

Her temper got the better of her. ‘I’m not going to double-cross you. I always keep my word.’

Another soft smile. ‘So do I.’

Her skin broke out in gooseflesh and she tore her gaze away. ‘Well good for you.’

He nodded as though the tension between them had been resolved. ‘So I was thinking, how about we go to dinner in Karratha or Point Samson? What’s your preference?’

She ground her teeth. ‘As soon as possible.’

He laughed. ‘Well, unfortunately this weekend is out. There’s a shortage of good restaurants in town, so you have to book early. How about next Saturday?’

‘A whole week away?’

‘Absence makes the heart grow fonder.’

She lifted her finger. ‘That saying was never used in this context. Besides, I’m supposed to be organising this dinner, aren’t I? I’m sure I can get us into some place sooner than that.’

His eyes widened. ‘
What
? You think I just want
some place
. Sorry, Sarge.’ He stood up and ruffled her hair as he walked past her. ‘I think it’ll be better for the both of us if you just leave it with me.’ The brief touch caused both rage and, she hated to admit it, arousal. He was an arrogant, incorrigible beast who now held the one piece of information she needed.

‘Hey, get back here!’ She swivelled in her chair but it was too late. He was already too far away to still be in earshot without her shouting and attracting even more attention than their shared breakfast probably already had. She turned back to their plates and noticed to her surprise that while her plate was still full, his was empty.

When had he eaten all that? And why did she suddenly not feel hungry? The problem was, she couldn’t keep her cool with Gavin. She just seemed to lose all sense of time and place. And worse, she over-reacted to everything. He was right. She was too much on edge. The day they’d met she’d hit him twice! He just seemed to push all the wrong buttons.

With a sigh, she shook her head and looked up, only to unwittingly catch the eye of the guy at the next table. He was winking at her.

‘So, Sargent, you got a date with Gav, have you?’

Oh crap.

She knew denying it would just make him ask more questions so, resolutely, she stood up, pushed her chair in and left. She hadn’t wanted that food anyway.

Thank goodness she was meeting the girls that morning. With her search for Hector at checkmate, she desperately needed to keep her mind off the futility of it all.

The girls met her in the car park at about ten am, both dressed in shorts and T-shirts with their bathers on underneath.

‘So where are we headed?’ she asked, infusing as much enthusiasm into her voice as she could muster.

Sharon grinned. ‘Honeymoon Cove in Point Samson.’

The girls piled into her Nissan. After a couple of turns of the key, the engine (thank God) choked to life and Sharon gave her directions. It was actually quite nice to have a car full of cheerful voices as opposed to silence. The day was warm, humid and frankly perfect for a sunbake and a swim.

When they eventually arrived at the beach, Wendy thanked herself for taking this break.

It was perfect.

The crescent-shaped cove surprisingly sported golden sand as opposed to the red dirt she was used to seeing. It looked like the perfect texture to just melt your toes into. Both sides of the lonely stretch were framed by jagged rocks, black, red and grey rising up out of the ground in shards, as though they were defending this private little landing from invasion by the rest of the Pilbara. Gentle waves lapped the bank and she sighed with pure enjoyment of it all.

‘The cove is protected by the coral reef,’ Sharon told her. ‘So it doesn’t get rough here.’

Lena kicked off her thongs, picked them up and ran off down to the water’s edge in bare feet. Wendy and Sharon laughed, following suit. They laid their towels out on the beach and then stripped off to enjoy a quick dip. The water was cool and refreshing. Wendy felt like she was washing off the last two weeks as she waded into what seemed like liquid sunshine, with the sun sparkling on the surface of the waves.

After fifteen minutes, they all got out and without drying themselves simply lay down on their towels.

Lena closed her eyes. ‘This is the life.’

‘What? The sand flies aren’t bothering you?’ Sharon teased.

‘I got my sun cream and repellent on.’ Lena flicked her hands up over her head. ‘Besides there doesn’t seem to be that many today.’

‘It’s the breeze,’ Sharon informed her. ‘A little too windy for them.’

‘Feels perfect to me,’ Wendy sighed.

‘Doesn’t it just?’ Lena was silent for a moment. ‘So what’s this I hear about you and Gavin?’

Wendy’s eyes, which had just started to close, flew open. She couldn’t have heard about that
already
. Surely.

‘Got a date in Karratha or something,’ Lena continued unperturbed. ‘When did he ask you out?’

Sharon sat up. ‘You’re kidding me.’

Wendy groaned inwardly. ‘It’s not really a date.’

‘Then what is it?’ Lena inquired.

Wendy searched the clouds for answers but they were singularly unhelpful. She couldn’t prove the unromantic nature of her meeting with Gavin without revealing her search for her father. And as much as she liked these girls, she didn’t want to put her emotional baggage on them. ‘We’re just friends,’ she finished lamely.

‘Not to him you’re not,’ Lena warned her. ‘Trust me, Gavin’s got a bit of a reputation. As long as you tug his line he’ll chase you.’

‘Really?’ Wendy noticed to her chagrin that her voice sounded both small and disappointed. ‘Have you seen him with a lot of other women?’

‘Well, to be honest,’ Lena sighed, ‘he was after both of us at one stage. Don’t get me wrong, he’s very good looking and –’

‘
And
I did fancy him like mad at one stage,’ Sharon interrupted Lena, and Wendy’s gaze immediately shot to her instead. Sharon’s brow wrinkled. ‘The problem with Gavin is, once you get to know him, you realise the only person he cares about is himself.’

‘That’s not true.’ Defence jumped from Wendy’s throat before she could stop it.

Lena sat up, folding her arms across her knees as she looked at her. ‘Do you know something we don’t know?’

The blue-tongue.

Craig’s wife.

But she couldn’t say it. These had both been private moments for Gavin. Even she was not supposed to have witnessed them. So she said nothing.

‘I’m sorry,’ Lena apologised. ‘I didn’t mean to offend you. I’m just trying to warn you, actually. I don’t want to see you get hurt.’

Wendy averted her eyes. ‘No need to worry about that. I’m not into Gavin that way.’

At least not most of the time. Luckily the conversation was interrupted as a wrinkled woman, possibly in her late sixties, wandered past them and then spread a towel nearby. As she left the towel and hobbled down to the water’s edge for a swim, Sharon started the conversation again. ‘So, Carl asked me to move in with him.’

It was a well-known fact that, unlike Dan, Carl chose not to live in the camp. It was thought that he wanted to give his men a bit of a breather from his presence. Dan, on the other hand, in true TCN style, wanted to keep his eye on his troops
even
when they were sleeping.

Lena turned to her quickly. ‘Wow! What did you say?’

Sharon clasped her hands together. ‘I said yes! Of course.’

‘Oh shoot.’ Lena stretched out her hand and squeezed Sharon’s arm. ‘I’m going to miss having you around.’