His fight at breakfast was overmatched by the hive of chaos he encountered when he arrived at the metal fabrication plant. A tumbled stack of 20-foot-long, quarter-inch angle iron lay haphazardly across the welding platform, having slipped from the forks of an overturned forklift. Nearby, a huge and growing puddle of water expanded beneath a delivery truck that was partially crushed beneath a pile of sheet metal.
"Is everyone OK?" Juan cried, rushing forward to help lift corrugated metal off the hood. He regretted his lack of gloves. This steel could slice him in an instant. But there was no time to lose. He'd just have to be careful.
“He’d better be dead!” Richard Thompson, Juan’s boss, shouted back with a curse. He was also helping clear debris. His presence indicated the severity of the situation. Richard never came out of the office. “Because if he’s not, I’m going to kill him myself!”
~
It took hours to restack the steel, repair the broken water pipe, and rush the hapless employee to the emergency room. The kid was going to be all right. He’d suffered a mild concussion after backing the delivery truck into a support column. It was a rookie mistake, one that would cost plenty.
Back in the office, Richard offered Juan a cup of coffee.
“Sure,” Juan accepted eagerly. He’d missed his morning cup.
Richard poured himself a cup, then, from a drawer, produced a small metal flask. He dosed his coffee liberally and swirled it briefly before taking a sip.
“What happened?” The crisis had temporarily abated Juan’s anger over the PhoenixData job. But now that it was past, Juan needed some straight answers.
“New kid,” was all that Richard offered by way of explanation.
“What happened to Felipe?” Juan demanded, “Where’s our regular delivery crew? I didn’t see any of those guys.”
“They’re out on the PhoenixData Nexus job,” Richard took another swig from his coffee cup. “With all the new contracts, we’re short-handed.”
“That reminds me,” Juan hesitated just a bit too long. “Um, there’s something I need to ask you about.”
Richard glowered at him from beneath bushy gray eyebrows, “What?”
“I’m trying to get a couple days off next month,” Juan did his best to sound nonchalant.
He took another swig of coffee, “Why?”
Juan swallowed, “I got a business opportunity.”
“What kind of business opportunity?” Richard glared at Juan suspiciously. “Don’t you know that with the price of steel dropping, we’re going to make a lot more profit on all our existing contracts? I need you here.”
Juan slammed his cup, “You’re going to make a lot more profit!” He’d known Richard would object, but he’d earned vacation days and wouldn’t let Richard make him feel guilty about using them. “There’s a lot of big money out there right now, and I want to get some for me!”
Richard was taken aback by Juan’s outburst, “Hold on, take it easy!” They both knew that Juan was vital to operations at the metal fabrication plant. “I don’t want you thinking I’m taking advantage of you. It’s just that things don’t run smooth around here when you’re gone.”
The compliment mollified Juan, and he grinned sheepishly. “Sorry, I just haven’t been sleeping too good lately.”
“Hmm,” Richard harumphed. “I don’t know what’s getting into people these days… what kind of ‘business opportunity’ do you have, anyway?”
Juan refilled his coffee, “Nothing much, just running some deliveries for my uncle Pablo.”