Crew
"Mary, go out there and ask them to quiet down. For goodness sake, some of us are trying to get work done."
"Yes, ma'am." Mary stood from her small clerk's desk, brushed her long dress into position, and walked to the office door. Her hand touched the cold brass knob when another loud bang shook the wall. She steeled herself by taking a deep breath and opened the door.
Outside the small accounting firm, the stairwell was filled with workmen. Tall and thin, short and broad. Each one is different from the other except for the one common thread. The starched white t-shirts and faded denim overalls they wore matched down to the button. She supposed it was their company policy to wear similar attire. Hadn't that been the way at Sloan and Horace since long before she was hired?
"There Larry. That landing. Check there next." The man's arm rose in front of her face. His hand was curled into a fist with one finger pointed at an untouched stair. Workmen hesitated, looked where he pointed, and shifted their positions without being told.
"Can I help you ma'am?" He spoke to her without glancing in her direction. She had thought herself invisible to the foreman and was glad to have been wrong. "No! You idiots. Right there. Go up two more steps. Good help these days, eh?" He asked as his broad face turned to greet her.
"Yes. I, uh. I suppose." The timid response was all she could muster. His eyes were piercing. His exposed arms and face were darkened by working outdoors. His chiseled chin supported a grin that lit up his eyes. Those eyes gathered her features up like a picker swiping hot peppers from the field.
THE END