Independent Contractor (Book 2 of "The Consortium")

By Blair Erotica

She's the woman in charge...of a construction site on the border. It's rough and bawdy and she's brought in to get the project on schedule. An incompetent contractor and a resentful secretary won't make it easy, but she still gets to work and play with the hot guys. Meeting Tom, a smoking hot nomadic worker, changes the way she sees her life—and trouble on the site changes the opportunities.

~~~~~ PG Excerpt ~~~~~

Liz walked across the construction site, trying to take it all in. A factory project was a complex and sprawling creature, but she'd worked on bigger ones. She looked for the threads that linked the pieces together. The only problem with getting a handle on this one was finding any thread at all, any organization to the flow of work.

When she had reviewed the job on paper, in a nice office in Los Angeles, everything had looked good—not great, but fixable. The charts were neat and tidy. Now, watching the men worked, seeing how the job moved in starts and stops, proceeding with more jerks than flow, she wasn't so sure.

By her standards, the project was a mess. Oh, sure, it would get done, but time and energy were being wasted and the work lacked rhyme or reason.

She ran her fingers through her short blonde hair and put her hard hat back on, cursing herself for unconsciously showing how nervous the scene made her.

"So there it is. It isn't quite right." The man standing next to her wasn't asking a question, just thinking out loud. Although his words echoed her thoughts, she knew he didn't get how bad things really were.

"Seeing this has all the joy of watching a movie in a foreign language when they show it with the wrong subtitle track," she said to the man, trying to be honest without being too critical.

The man's name was Matt, and he was the site boss. He had brought the project to this sad point.

"Sure, a few things are screwed up. That's why you're here—to fix them. That's why I hired you," Matt said. "You've got a reputation for being able to troubleshoot sites like this."

Of course, Matt hadn't wanted to hire her—the investors, the people who put up the money to build the project made him bring her in. From the look of things, she was certain that Matt wasn't thrilled to have her there.

She was there to look over his shoulder and correct his mistakes. Who liked that?

Despite that misconception, she didn't correct him. Regardless of whose decision it was, now they were supposed to be on the same team and working toward the goal of getting the project on schedule and on budget. Still, she could see that, from his point of view, she was an intruder. Everything she fixed was a reminder that he'd screwed up.

Inevitably, Matt would resent Liz as a pain in the butt and an extra cost that he incurred simply to calm worried investors who were breathing down his neck.

"You can't control all the elements," Matt said. "I can't do it all by myself."

Liz bit her tongue. Doing it all, controlling all the elements, or compensating for elements like weather that screwed you up, was exactly what Matt got paid to do. She knew he'd never understand that. No wonder that even though he was ambitious he'd spent his career in these border jobs that were marginal. He'd never get a high-profile job with his attitude, but that was no concern of hers.

"How do we go ahead?"

His question surprised her. How could Matt have no idea? "Kick things into gear."

"What exactly is it you are going to do?"

Liz showed him her clipboard. "I'll review the scheduling, your projected timeline, and manpower. I'll identify ways to move us toward being back on schedule. I'll review the crew assignments. Some of these guys might be placed in better slots. I'll look at the material orders and ensure that everything we need to actually do the work is going to arrive in a timely fashion."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Boruma Publishing, LLC
• Release date: Oct 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463449493

Book preview

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR

BLAIR EROTICA

The Consortium:

Book Two

Copyright © 2014 Blair Erotica

This is a work of fiction intended for adults; the people are not actual people, but they act like them and a reader would be forgiven for thinking that they were real people. The places are fictional, but the author has been in places quite similar. Finally, the story contains graphic depictions of sexual acts among consenting adults over 18 and is not suitable for children or those who find sex offensive.

Consortium: an association of two or more individuals, companies or organizations with the intention of achieving a common goal.

THE NEW KID IN TOWN

Liz walked across the construction site, trying to take it all in. A factory project was a complex and sprawling creature, but she'd worked on bigger ones. She looked for the threads that linked the pieces together. The only problem with getting a handle on this one was finding any thread at all, any organization to the flow of work.

When she had reviewed the job on paper, in a nice office in Los Angeles, everything had looked good—not great, but fixable. The charts were neat and tidy. Now, watching the men worked, seeing how the job moved in starts and stops, proceeding with more jerks than flow, she wasn't so sure.

By her standards, the project was a mess. Oh, sure, it would get done, but time and energy were being wasted and the work lacked rhyme or reason.

She ran her fingers through her short blonde hair and put her hard hat back on, cursing herself for unconsciously showing how nervous the scene made her.

So there it is. It isn't quite right. The man standing next to her wasn't asking a question, just thinking out loud. Although his words echoed her thoughts, she knew he didn't get how bad things really were.

Seeing this has all the joy of watching a movie in a foreign language when they show it with the wrong subtitle track, she said to the man, trying to be honest without being too critical.

The man's name was Matt, and he was the site boss. He had brought the project to this sad point.

Sure, a few things are fucked up. That's why you're here—to fix them. That's why I hired you, Matt said. You've got a reputation for being able to troubleshoot sites like this.

Of course, Matt hadn't wanted to hire her—the investors, the people who put up the money to build the project made him bring her in. From the look of things, she was certain that Matt wasn't thrilled to have her there.

She was there to look over his shoulder and correct his mistakes. Who liked that?

Despite that misconception, she didn't correct him. Regardless of whose decision it was, now they were supposed to be on the same team and working toward the goal of getting the project on schedule and on budget. Still, she could see that, from his point of view, she was an intruder. Everything she fixed was a reminder that he'd fucked up.

Inevitably, Matt would resent Liz as a pain in the ass and an extra cost that he incurred simply to calm worried investors who were breathing down his neck.

You can't control all the elements, Matt said. I can't do it all by myself.

Liz bit her tongue. Doing it all, controlling all the elements, or compensating for elements like weather that screwed you up, was exactly what Matt got paid to do. She knew he'd never understand that. No wonder that even though he was ambitious he'd spent his career in these border jobs that were marginal. He'd never get a high-profile job with his attitude, but that was no concern of hers.

How do we go ahead?

His question surprised her. How could Matt have no idea? Kick things into gear.

What exactly is it you are going to do?

Liz showed him her clipboard. I'll review the scheduling, your projected timeline, and manpower. I'll identify ways to move us toward being back on schedule. I'll review the crew assignments. Some of these guys might be placed in better slots. I'll look at the material orders and ensure that everything we need to actually do the work is going to arrive in a timely fashion.

Of course.

Well, from what I've seen already, we are supposed to start pouring the slab now.

Yes.

I don't see nearly enough material on the site.

The vendors want a premium to deliver sooner, Matt said. I'm juggling a tight budget and an absurd schedule.

Liz sighed. In one way, Matt was right. It just seemed odd that somehow, he'd managed to avoid making that important point to his boss. Back at the home office, they had no idea that the way things were, they would have to make a choice between meeting the schedule and being on budget.

Now she'd have to be the one to tell them and, in this business, messengers frequently got shot. But that was part of what she got paid for too.

She looked around at the clusters of workers and the hive of activity that should be moving more in one direction and sighed.

So here you are, cleaning up other people's messes again.

Although she was good at it, this wasn't the reputation or the job she wanted. Getting known as a troubleshooter had seemed like a good idea. After all, if you could fix other people's messes, then maybe you'd be a good choice to run a job.

Instead, it turned out that she fixed the problems for screwups and they got the credit for the work getting done.

Sure, people in the industry knew about her, but somehow that never led to decent long-term jobs that let her prove she knew your shit. Architects and investors only saw the end results and only knew the name of the prime contractor.

In this case, that was Matt.

There was an undercurrent here, and not a new one. She sensed that Matt resented having a woman being the one that was looking over his shoulder. Again, that wasn't her problem.

I've fixed worse than this, she said. At first blush, I don't see any major problems, just a lot of little things that are costing you time.

I know a lot of them, he said.

She bit her tongue to keep from asking why he hadn't fixed them. Well, finding ways to solve those problems is what I do.

Matt nodded. She looked at him, still trying to size him up. If he was stealing or shorting the investors, then he would definitely be trouble. If he was incompetent, he could either be an ally or a fierce enemy. With his experience, he would know how to fight for himself, his job. He'd be quick to throw her under the bus.

And as a man… except for a potbelly, Matt was okay looking. He dressed like a contractor, not for the job. He wore boss clothes—work boots, blue slacks, a short-sleeved dress shirt, and the bright yellow hardhat that told everyone he was a boss.

The clothes told her that the kind of man who ran the job from his office. When he did solve problems, he did it by looking at numbers and flow charts on his desk. He might be good at that, but she doubted he could watch a crew and tell if they were efficient or not, of they were working hard or fucking off and just looking busy..

One thing Liz knew was that they wouldn't be pals. That was fine. She didn't care much for office types or understand why anyone would hire a man like that to run a job.

She'd worked her way up, started by working with crews—doing the work. She liked the people and the work. Soon, however, she realized that she was brighter than the better-paid guys who carried clipboards around the site, offering unnecessary and ill-advised suggestions.

Other people saw that too. You could replace any of those jerks, was a phrase she heard often. And then, one day, a foreman crashed his motorcycle. From his hospital bed, he told the contractor he thought Liz should fill in for him.

And she was on her way.

Once she had the goal of running crews instead of being on them, she had put herself through school—still working full time with crews like this one. She did it all… roofing, hung sheetrock, poured concrete...there wasn't a lot she hadn't handled, except for specialty equipment.

The time she spent with a crew, working side by side with them and seeing the results of both good and decisions management made, had taught her more than anything she'd studied in school.

We have to get this job back on schedule, Matt said.

She nodded at the obvious comment. To make that happen you need to let me control the workflow.

Matt looked uncomfortable. Okay. Give me a list of what needs to be done and...

She shook her head. No. Me. I do it personally. All of it. I need to run the day-to-day tasks, starting with assigning the men.

Why?

The question baffled her. That's how I work. I get to know the crew, find their strengths, and weaknesses. I listen to their feedback and want them talking directly to my face. With a little encouragement, I'll get them telling me when they think I'm nuts and when something makes sense. That can lead to them making suggestions. Their suggestions can be pure gold.

Matt rubbed his chin and looked into the distance. I think this crew might have trouble taking orders from a woman.

She shrugged. Then we replace the ones who have a problem with me and work with the ones who understand they are hired to do a job, not to decide who gets to be the boss. I will be in charge, but that won't happen if they think they can go around me and get you to change or override my decisions.

I'm the site boss.

She tucked her clipboard under her arm. Either they work directly for me or I might as well leave now, because it won't work any other way.

Matt grinned. You are a tough bitch.

She shrugged off his comment. She was used to men trying to slap her down for having exactly the qualities they admired in other men. I'm tough when I need to be, she said. It will be hard enough doing it my way. You can't get a crew into shape without pissing some people off. That always means there is a little backlash.

Matt seemed pleased with the idea. Does that worry you?

No. And that's just my problem, not yours. The issue is you backing me up. You give me your word that you'll bring any disagreement with my policies to me directly and not argue about them in front of the crew. Otherwise, I'm fucking out of here.

You'd leave?

If you aren't going to support me, I can't make the necessary changes. So, decide here and now. If you have a problem with me throwing my weight around, doing things my way, say so.

And if I don't want to play it your way?

Then I walk away. I didn't take this gig to make a fool of myself. If my running the day to day work is a problem, then we should call up corporate and let them know that we can't work together. She watched him consider the option. I'll be glad to make the call.

He raised a hand. Don't get touchy, Liz.

Now that she'd delivered her ultimatum, she relaxed a bit. Getting the site boss on the right page was usually the hard part for a troubleshooter, and perhaps the most important thing she did. There could only be one boss.

Some people would cause trouble anyway, but that was true in any organization. And some guys did have problems taking orders from a woman. Typically, when a