Covered in Coal (Buried Secrets 1)

“Baby girl, did seein’ Carly Jo make your night?”

“Yes Daddy, thank you so much.”

“Heidi Jo, why were you so sad about not gettin’ to see her tonight?” Heidi Jo falls silent. I look back in my rear view mirror and see that she is ponderin’ on what response to give. “Never mind, baby girl. You don’t have to talk about it right now if you don’t want to. Daddy loves you, Heidi Jo.”

Heidi Jo smiles back at me and says in her cute, squeaky little voice, “I love you too, Daddy.” Okay, two pieces of my shattered heart have fallen back into place.

Chapter 13

Carly

A loud piercing noise begins to stab my ear drums, waking me from my sleep. I press the pillow to my face, trying to drown out the noise. The piercing beep continues strongly, and I give up. Raising my weary head from the bed, I find the source of the noise, my cell phone, and embed it into the side of the wall. The beeping ceases, as I roll over, and try to fall back into a deep slumber.

Five minutes later, the piercing noise is back. Slinging the blanket back, I jump out of the bed, stomping over to grab my phone to see what the hell is going on. Ahhh, the alarm. Stretching my arms above my head, I groan deep like a zombie, as I trudge toward the bathroom, to get ready for work. After the unveiling of secrets, and the events of the last week, my mood is less than pleasant. But as CEO,I can only revolt for so long, without causing a stir at Simon Energy.

After a quick, hot shower, I tousle my hair lightly with my fingers, letting my curls fall naturally down my back. I swipe some mascara across my eye lashes. I pull on some dark jeans, a cami and a flannel, then rush downtairs and into the kitchen to start the Keurig. It’s gonna take a lot of caffeine to get me through this day. I gather my messenger bag, and find my boots, just as the smell of coffee envelops my senses. I fill my travel mug to the brim, then reach into the refrigerator to get the creamer, when I catch a glimpse of the picture that Heidi Jo brought to me last night.

Pulling the magnet from the portrait, I look closely at the drawing. The drawing is very colorful, displaying a cheerful yellow sun, with orange rays stretching along the blue sky. Mister Sunshine is adorning black sunglasses, and a happy smile, as he looks down at the little girl on the handmade tree swing, who is smiling back at a woman. Flowers lay lazily in the green shards of grass, colored brightly across the bottom of the portrait. A smile spreads across my face, as the memory of the surprise visit from Heidi

Jo last night flashes to mind.

Standing tall, in her pink sparkly tutu, and flip flops, a smile is shining brightly on her chunky cheeks, as she stands in pride with portrait in hand, on my front porch. She squeals her hello then wraps her arms tightly around my waist. We talk for a couple of minutes, as she explains that this portrait is of me and her. She continues to tell me that her and her daddy went for rocky rode ice cream, and her feelings were hurt that she didn’t get to share with me. She tells me that she couldn’t tell her daddy why she was sad, because then he would be even more sad. I hug her once more and tell her that she doesn’t need to be sad, and that we will share rocky road ice cream together real soon. Kissing her on top of the head, I tell her goodnight, and she bounces back down the driveway towards Colton. Heidi Jo’s visit was such a happy surprise, I couldn’t repress the urge to speak to Colton, expressing my gratitude towards this little gift Heidi Jo has given me. He smiles weakly in return. I can see the burden he’s carrying, because his smile never meets his eyes.

Flashing back in time to the week before, my heart stammers at the memory of Colton walking out on me the night we exposed our secrets to each other. A soft, warm tear trickles down my cheek. Wiping my face, I pull myself back to the present and gain my composure before I allow the sadness to pull me back down. Glancing at the clock, I cuss at the time as I’m running late. I grab my coffee, and keys, then hurry out to my car.

I drive the long, winding, country roads through the barren mountains to work. The mountains are always gorgeous, but look a sad lonely state, much like I feel. The hills are dying, as fall has taken over, laying bright, colorful, crisp leaves all over the ground.

I pull into my space at Simon Energy, and make my way quickly into my office, trying to dodge contact with everyone. It’s early still, so I accomplish this mission with ease. At my desk, I power on my laptop, and sift through the hoard of mail that has been growing over the last week. Next, I check emails, then print the productivity reports for the last week. I thoroughly check the report for each mines and see that progress is well, but I’ll have each Supervisor break down the details in depth during the meeting. Finalizing my morning tasks, I realize it’s nearly time for the Supervisor meeting, so I prepare my paperwork. On my way to the conference room, I stop by Shelly’s desk, and ask her to contact my attorney, James McCoy, to set up an appointment for later today. With a pleasant smile, Shelly accepts my tasks, then tells me she will bring my coffee to the conference room.

As I enter the conference room, I keep my head held high, trying to keep up the appearance of the mean, bitchy boss, while inside I’m wilting like a dying flower. I scan the room, making count that all of the men are present, and I have to grasp onto the chair to gain my stability when my eyes graze Colton’s piercing, black as night eyes. A crashing wave of nausea rolls through my stomach as unsettled nerves attack me. I thought I was ready to move forward, but right now, I want to turn around and run out of this room, like a frightened little girl. Heat crawls up my neck, and curls around my face, staining my cheeks a cherry red. I take a deep inhale, trying to calm my nerves before settling at the head of the large rectangular table.

“Good Mornin’, y’all. Sorry I had to miss our last Productivity Meeting, I’ve been sick with the flu. I’ve read the weekly productivity reports, and everything looks to be running at a steady pace. Keep your productivity up, fellas! High productivity keeps this company above water, keeps our stocks high, and food in your family’s mouths. When was the last MSHA inspection?”

“Last Tuesday at Coal Branch Mines, and it was a bitch, Simon,” a husky voice from the far end of the table replies. Rolling my eyes up from the reports that I’m studying, I recognize the face, but I can’t place the name; Cooper maybe?

“What violations were we hit with?”

“A shit load. Hell of a lot more than we ever had when Big John was around.”

“Watch your damn mouth, Cooper.” Colton spits at the man, warning him about what he’s wanting to say.

“Thank you, Superintendent Weston, but it’s okay. I’m interested in hearing what he has to say,” I nod at Colton. “It’s Cooper, right? Go ahead, get it off your chest.” I reply with a coy smile, as I arch my right eye brow, willing this asshole to continue pissing in my direction. He nods, as he bucks out his chest, trying to intimidate me.

“Big John didn’t let prick inspectors come into his mines shittin’ all over his miners. This damn job is shitty enough without ‘em breathin’ down our damn backs every other week with dumbass violations that we’re gonna get over and over no matter how many times we try and fix ‘em.”

“So how do you suppose I resolve the issue with MSHA, Cooper?” I ask, leaning against the table, eager for his response. His no doubt, dumb… ass… response.

“Ya pay the sons of bitches off just like Big John did!” Yep, there it is. Dumb ass.

“Damn it, that’s enough, Cooper!” Colton yells as his fist comes crashing down to the top of the table. “I don’t give two shits whether you agree with the way Ms. Simon runs Simon Energy or not. YOU are HER damn employee, and I swear my hand to God if I hear you cuss at her again, I’ll knock you on your ass! You feel me?”

“Whoa, Weston, buddy, what the hell’s your problem? We all know what a pain in the ass it is to get violation after violation for shit we can only do quick fixes on, ‘cause we have to keep productivity up. Big John got that! That’s why he lined the inspector’s pockets each time they came knockin’. They went away with a smile on their face, and we kept minin’!”

“My damn problem is you’re bein’ a disrespectful asshole. Watch your tone with Ms. Simon or I’m writin’ you up on suspension.”

“Damn bro, you hittin’ that? That what gotcha all pissy? I’m bein’ mean to ya woman?” Cooper laughs. “Shit Weston, you of all people should know the damn headache I’m talkin’ ‘bout. Don’t act like you were innocent to pay offs. How many times have I seen you in that very office with inspectors and Big John, huh?” Cooper sneers at Colton.

Colton takes two strides towards Cooper, and makes good on his promise with a right hook, connecting to Cooper’s jaw, leaving him to crumple to the floor. Colton walks back to the conference table, and grabs his tablet, writing up a suspension slip, then tosses it on Cooper’s dazed body.