Page 9 of Forged in Peril

Now, she found herself at a corner table in the company cafeteria downstairs, surrounded by several people whose names she’d already forgotten. The place was bright and pleasant, like everything else she’d seen at FBS, and she could see why so many of the employees seemed to stick around for lunch instead of going elsewhere.

Someone had ordered pizzas to celebrate the end of a job that had taken Reilly and Asher Forge to Alaska last week, and she was thankful that for the second time that day, she hadn’t had to pull out her wallet in order to eat. Especially considering that she’d left her sack lunch in her mother’s fridge by mistake that morning.

She nibbled at a pepperoni slice, listening to the chatter around her and making the occasional comment when Grace politely attempted to draw her into the conversation, but on the whole, she was already looking forward to going home for the day. New places and people always overwhelmed her, and this job was no exception. Her bandages and sweatpants didn’t help with fading into the background, either.

“So, Bristol,” one of her new coworkers was saying, giving her a friendly smile. He was a hispanic man who looked to be in his early fifties, and if she remembered correctly, he was one of the guards who usually handled the garage and basement areas. “How’d you come to join us here at Forge Brothers?”

She swallowed the bite of pizza she’d just taken, trying to think of a good answer that didn’t require her to share her life story with a bunch of strangers.

“Well, I’ve been looking to continue my paralegal career with the future goal of going back to law school. With my interest in criminal law specifically, it seemed like a perfect opportunity.”

The others surrounding the table nodded politely, most of them chewing their own pizza as she talked.

“You’re right about that,” Grace said. “Jaclyn sort of scares me, but there’s no doubt that she’s great at what she does.”

“I’m curious about you, Grace,” Bristol said, thankful for any excuse to direct the subject away from herself. “You seem to know the place inside out. How long have you been here?”

One of the other women at the table–she’d already forgotten what part of the office she worked in–chuckled. “Hinton’s been here forever. She knows the place better than the Forge boys.”

“Hardly. But I was one of their earliest hires. I dropped out of college sophomore year and spent a couple of years volunteering on mission trips. Eventually, I realized I’d have to actually make some of my own money, and my dad grew up with the matriarch of the Forge family.”

“May God rest her soul,” someone interjected, and Grace nodded.

“Amen. Anyway, I got in at the ground floor, as they say, starting out as an intern getting paid in free paper clips. And I sort of stuck around since then.”

Bristol looked over the woman’s polished outfit, including her expensive-looking jewelry and designer tote, unable to deny the feeling of annoyance that rushed through her.

It was clear that Grace couldn’t afford to dress the way she did on an office manager’s salary, and as admirable as it was that she’d spent time spreading the Gospel, it was a lot easier to do when you had family money to fall back on. For people like Grace Hinton, opportunity was offered at every turn. She only had to reach out and take it.

It must have been nice.

“I’m impressed with how big FBS has gotten so quickly,” Bristol said, hoping the smile she had forced back onto her face looked genuine. It wasn’t a lie–she was impressed–and despite her general dislike for the spoiled and privileged, Grace had been nothing but kind to her, and didn’t deserve Bristol’s ire simply for being born rich.

“You should have seen our first office,” another man cut in, fiddling with the straw that stuck out of his soda can. “Trust me, I’m glad we grew out of it fast. And had the money to hire a few cleaners.”

“It’s true,” Grace said, giggling. “Gabe could have afforded a better office from the start, obviously, but he wanted to do it on his own as much as possible. I can respect that.”

Gabriel was the eldest Forge brother, and though Bristol knew that he had been the one to officially found the company, she hadn’t realized that the company revenue was actually funding their current luxuries within just a few short years. Her respect for her wealthy childhood friends kicked up a notch or two.

“It took a little while for the rest of the brothers to come on board, though,” Grace continued. “I got here before everyone but Gabe and Asher.”

“Right,” the guy with the straw said. “It took a little while for the others to see the logic of Gabe’s plan. Cameron and Ben joined in year two, and Reilly–well, he’s a cousin, but he still counts–held out until we moved into this office.”

Bristol wished she could remember what the man’s role was, let alone his name, but clearly he’d been there nearly as long as Grace had.

“And Jacob still isn’t here, obviously,” Grace added. “But maybe he’ll complete the crew at some point.”

Bristol wasn’t surprised. Jacob was the second youngest after Cam, and he’d been getting into trouble with the law ever since they were in high school. She hoped he was doing better, but for the moment, she didn’t want to pry for any more details.

“How’s Forge & Sons doing?” she asked instead, taking a sip of her ice water. She’d have to ask Grace where she could get a green tea around here when lunch was over.

“Without the ‘Sons’?” the garage duty guard chimed in with a grin.

She smiled back. “Exactly. I can imagine things must have changed a bit with Gabriel poaching the entire family to go into the private security business.”

The Forge family had owned their multi-billion-dollar agricultural chemical and equipment business for over a century, and when they were kids, it had been always assumed that the brothers would eventually take over operations entirely. Clearly, the priorities of the younger generation had changed a lot since then.

“It’s still going strong,” Grace said, “but most of the day to day stuff is being handled by outside management. Of course, Gabriel Sr. is still the big boss.”

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