Page 14 of Possess

Her office phone ringing caused her to jump. “This is Allyson.”

“Allyson, Henry from closing permit office here. I was reviewing one of the jobs you submitted. Did you accidently hit disapprove instead of approve?”

She frowned. “Give me the job number.” He did, and she pulled it up. “I don’t know what happened. I know I approved it. Can you reject it, and I’ll fix it?”

“Sure.”

“Thanks for catching the issue.”

“No problem. I know how closely you work with the general contractors and site supervisors, so your jobs almost always finish without problems. That’s why this caught my attention.”

Allyson hung up and waited until the job popped up as rejected. This was so odd. She pulled out her paper planner where she jotted down all the jobs she’d worked on in the last few weeks.

By noon she had checked every job she’d input in the last week. Several of them had changes she didn’t make, others didn’t. Something wasn’t right. She had to meet with Zeke at one, so she’d talk to Wes when she got back.

Pulling out the file with the complaint in it, she locked up her laptop and put the file in her bag. Her stomach rumbled as she climbed into her truck. Thank goodness she kept a goody bag in her vehicle.

She grabbed a protein bar out of the bag and ate it as she drove. When she got to the site, she passed the gates, surprised to find protesters marching up and down the cleared lot. She found a parking spot a block away. Before she exited her truck, she looked at the complaint once again.

Environmental concerns. That was all it said. Maybe Zeke would know what was going on. Allyson put the file back in her bag and grabbed her hard hat. As she got closer, she was able to read the signs.

“Stop the thief of our green spaces,” one read. Another said, “Natural resources can’t be replaced.” She bit her lip. Okay, environmental concerns. She knew this had to have been addressed when the plans first came through. Pleasant Valley was very strict about green space.

When there was a small break in the protesters’ line, she slipped past them and onto the site. She saw Zeke talking with a group of men, but as she got closer, she realized they were arguing. Not good.

Zeke looked up and saw her. He motioned for her to wait, so she halted and waited for him. Within a few minutes, he walked over. He pulled his hard hat off and dragged his hand though his hair before putting the hard hat back on.

“Sorry about that,” he said. “My guys aren’t happy with the protesters.” The crowd was now chanting after the silence when Allyson had walked through. “Let’s go into the office.”

Zeke took her by the arm and led her to the trailer that was their site office. Once inside, the sound of the chanting faded a bit.

“I don’t know what to do about the protesters,” he said as he took off his hard hat and hung it on the peg on the wall. “Have a seat.”

“Why don’t we go over what you’re doing? I think there is some miscommunication going on.” She took off her hard hat and set it in the empty chair. “You know about the complaint?” He should have received a copy.

“Yeah. I thought it was a mistake until I saw the appointment.” He unrolled the plans over the large desk. “As you can see, I’m replacing all the trees, and there is going to be a big grassy area for the public.” He pointed everything out on the plans.

Allyson looked them over. He was right. Something wasn’t adding up. As she opened her mouth to ask a question, an awful noise filled the air, and the trailer shuddered.

“Stay here.” Zeke didn’t hesitate. He grabbed his hard hat and sprinted out of the trailer. Allyson ignored his order and grabbed her hard hat. She reached the landing of the trailer, and her heart lodged in her throat.

One of the large backhoes had turned over into a hole. Oh crap. Allyson pulled her phone out of her pocket and called for first responders. Zeke was gesturing for his men to move back as he stared at the backhoe. Then he moved closer.

Allyson gripped the railing on the trailer steps as Zeke climbed up onto the overturned equipment. What the hell was he doing? She wanted to yell at him to get down but was afraid of startling him and causing him to fall.

Sirens sounded. The backhoe shifted, and she barely stifled a cry of alarm. But Zeke adjusted his position and then reached inside the cab. He leaned back as he pulled the worker from the cab.

She held her breath until both men were safely on the ground. Zeke’s men ran over to them, and guided them both away from the mess. The man Zeke had pulled out was limping, but otherwise looked unhurt.

“Really, boss, I’m all right.” The man’s voice carried in the quiet. She realized the sirens had been turned off, and the protesters were silent.

“I’m sure you are, but it’s protocol.” Zeke’s voice was loud and clear as the first responders rushed up to them. “Once they check you out and you’re cleared, Lyle will take you home.”

“Yes, boss.” The man bowed his head as if he knew not to argue with Zeke.

Zeke glanced up and frowned when his gaze found her, but he nodded as if to tell her he was okay.

The men stepped back and allowed the EMTs to do their job. Zeke stayed close by until they were finished and left.

---