Never Again – 29

 

"Hey, Joe, can you come back here and take a look at this?"

Joseph turned to see who was calling him, frowning when he saw it was Dan. The man had spent the last three days at the site going out of his way to make Joseph's life difficult and he couldn't figure out why. Dan had to be a good worker or Cal wouldn't have chosen him for the team, and yet he seemed bent and determined to push all the hard jobs off on Joseph.

Walking around behind the apartment building, Joseph saw Dan standing there with two men who had just joined the team that morning. They were looking at a pile of mold-covered Sheetrock that had obviously been torn out and should have been put in the large industrial dumpster a few yards away.

Pulling his respirator down over his face, Joseph went to join them, asking "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah, you're the problem, Mr. High-and-Mighty," Dan replied. "I heard all about you from some of the other guys. Mister money man, trying to show us all up. Taking a job away from someone who really needs it." Dan was in Joseph's face now, his voice low and threatening. "How 'bout you get your wealthy ass out of here before we make you wish you had."

Joseph's hands tightened into fists. Finger by finger he uncurled them in an attempt to defuse his rising anger. "I'm not taking anyone's job away, you asshole. I'm a volunteer, in case no one bothered to tell you."

"Not the way I heard it. Sucking up to Cal, getting the easy assignments while we get the crap work."

Joseph tensed again when the two other men sidled up to surround him, giving him no space to maneuver if he needed to. "Do what he says. Quit now," one of them growled.

About to reply, Joseph stopped in shock when Dan ripped his respirator off, giving him a shove toward the pile of Sheetrock. He barely managed to keep his feet under him as red rage suffused him. He swung at Dan, almost smiling in satisfaction when his fist hit the man's jaw just below his respirator, spinning him around before he stumbled and landed on his ass in the dirt.

"What the hell is going on here?" Cal's voice preceded him as he came into view around the corner of the building.

Before Joseph could answer, Dan shouted, "This bastard ordered us to put that crap in the dumpster. He knows it's not our job. He's been on my ass since the day we started, giving me all the crap jobs." He scrambled to his feet, throwing a punch at Joseph.

Seconds later Cal has his arms wrapped tightly around Dan. "Try that again and you're out of here. You and your 'friends'." He shot an angry look at the two other men. "I'll tell you here and now, Dan, I know Joseph well enough by now to know he wouldn't do what you're claiming. He works as hard, if not harder, than all three of you put together."

"Fuck he does," Dan growled, struggling to get out of Cal's hold.

Cal released him, keeping a grip on his arm. "Turn in your gear and get off the site."

"Why me? That bastard's the one—"

"Look," Joseph broke in, "if my being here is upsetting the other men then I'm willing to leave. This job is too important."

Without replying except to give a sharp nod for the others to follow, Cal started back around the building, still keeping a tight hold on Dan's arm. When they got around to the parking lot, Cal let out a shrill whistle. Soon everyone on the team joined them. Cal explained what had happened and what Dan had said.

"Fuck that," George spat out. "Dan's been trying to instigate something since the first day. I don't know what his problem is, but he's got it in for Joe."

"I agree," Lars said. He turned to look at Dan. "Joe works just as hard as the rest of us. Hell, he works twice as hard as you. If anyone should quit, it should be you."

Cal's gaze landed on the two men who had been backing up Dan. "How did you get involved in all this? You just started this morning."

One of the looked down, mumbling, "He told us Joe there was a phony and a lazy bastard who insisted on throwing his weight around when you weren't watching. Hell—" he looked up again, "—we didn't know different. He said he just wanted to teach him a lesson and wanted us to be there, in case Joe started anything."

Cal's frown deepened. "Okay, here's what's going to happen. Dan, you're out of here. You two—" he looked pointedly at the two men, "—are on warning. Anything else happens and you're out, too. And from now on, anyone has a complaint, you come to me. Understand? I catch any of you fighting and that's it. End of story." He released his hold on Dan, nodding to the gate. "Out."

Dan growled angrily but did as he'd been ordered after stripping off his gear, dropping it where he stood. Once he was gone, the other men started back to what they'd been doing, Lars stopping just long enough to pat Joseph on the shoulder. "You're good people, man. I'm glad you're on the team."

"Thanks," Joseph replied quietly, taking a deep breath as he finally relaxed.

"You okay?" Cal asked softly.

"I will be. Thanks for showing up when you did. I might have been able to handle things but—" He shrugged. He knew he could have, being what he was, but he was glad it hadn't come down to that. It would have been hard to explain how one man could take out three burly construction workers and come out on top.

"No thanks needed. If I'd known that's what he was like…" Cal shook his head. "But he did damned good work at the houses."

"Who knows what got in his craw." Joseph chuckled. "I think I'm going to be good and ready to get away for our fishing trip."

"You and me both. Now let's get back to it and hope we have no more personal problems crop up. The job ones I expect, but not the other."

"The joys of being the boss," Joseph replied with a smile before he went over to get a new respirator and head back inside to work.