Winter in Mason Valley

by Eliza Bennetts

  Just after four p.m. a call came through from head office. It was Maria from accounts payable.

  ‘Maria! It’s so nice to finally put a voice to the name.’

  ‘I know. You sound heaps younger than I thought you’d be.’ Maria’s voice was deep and clipped and Dee could instantly sense she was a no-nonsense kind of gal.

  ‘How old are you?’ Maria asked.

  Wow, okay. A straight-to-the-point kind of gal too.

  ‘I’m forty,’ Dee said. She’d never been coy about her age. It was what it was, and there was no way in hell she’d choose to be twenty again, even if she could be. Youth came with its own problems, like financial woes and general cluelessness.

  ‘I’m forty-three,’ Maria said. ‘You got kids, a husband?’

  ‘No and no,’ Dee replied.

  ‘Me either. My family treats me like a leper because of it. Yours?’

  Dee couldn’t help laughing at Maria’s candour. ‘My family wants me to be successful. In other words, rich. They don’t care whether or not I have kids.’

  ‘Huh, let me guess. Your family is Anglo, right? Mine is Italian. The day I got my period, my mum started talking to me about when I have a family. Dee, that’s thirty years of when you have bambini this and when you cook for your husband that. Seriously, they break my balls with that stuff.’

  ‘The world wants a lot from women these days, that’s for sure,’ Dee said.

  ‘I know, right. They want us to be hot, have kids and a husband, be ball-busting career women, and all before the age of forty. After that … bah, bah, bah, they wash their hands … and done. Nobody cares.’

  Dee winced. It was a bleak worldview, but not entirely untrue. Society had come to expect so much of women. It was hard not to feel like a failure on some fronts, if not all of them.

  ‘Anyway, Dee, I’ll get off my bloody soapbox now. I actually rang about that email I sent you.’

  ‘Yes, thanks so much for sending me that, and on a Saturday, too. I really appreciate it.’

  ‘No problem at all. Did you open it?’

  Dee winced again. It had been high on her to-do list, but her mind had taken another direction after her conversation with Vince. ‘I actually haven’t yet.’

  ‘Oh, I see. You just get us single, lonely plebs in head office to do random jobs for you, then you don’t even bloody bother to look at it.’

  Dee froze.

  ‘Only joking!’ Maria cried. ‘Listen, I just wanted to bring something to your attention about the document.’

  ‘Yes, okay. Let me just bring it up.’ Dee hurriedly clicked at her screen, desperate not to waste any more of Maria’s time. She opened the attachment—the contractual arrangement with JP Logistics.

  ‘I’ve got it,’ she said.

  ‘Okay, so that document looks pretty standard,’ Maria began. ‘There are three movements per week available to the company under the conditions of the contract. It all looks fine.’

  ‘That’s right,’ Dee said. ‘We have three shipments a week that go to Melbourne.’

  ‘Correct. Except, in front of me, I have the itemised invoices from JP Logistics, the ones that I pay each month. Now, keep in mind that I know we sometimes need to do extra shipments in addition to the agreed three. You with me?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘So, sometimes we pay for an extra two or three shipments per week.’

  ‘Okay, that all sounds fine,’ Dee said.

  ‘Yeah, so after you requested the contract, I contacted JP Logistics. Not accounts receivable, but the scheduling people.’

  ‘Okay.’ Dee still wasn’t sure where all this was heading.

  ‘I requested details about their drivers’ movements. Like, as in, each individual driver’s log, how many kilometres they’re doing, that sort of stuff.’

  ‘They gave that to you?’

  ‘They did. I can be pretty convincing.’

  ‘So, what did you find?’

  ‘Dee, did you know there are shipments coming out of your factory as late as nine o’clock at night?’

  ‘Nine o’clock at night? No. No I did not.’

  ‘Yeah, well, someone is shipping something from your warehouse to the JP depot in Melbourne, and it’s happening late at night. Weird, huh? I just thought you should know.’

  ‘Thank you, Maria. Thanks so much. I’m just wondering. Are we paying JP for these extra late night shipments?’

  ‘No probs, but that’s the other weird thing. We are paying for them but at the day rate. That’s why it’s never raised a flag for me before. Your finance guy should’ve picked this up, though. And the guy who was in there before you. They should’ve seen that we were being billed for day shipments that weren’t actually happening.’

  Dee frowned. ‘I just don’t understand. Why wouldn’t Vince look into this?’

  ‘Vince is a lazy shit,’ Maria shot out. ‘Sorry. I don’t know him that well, only through work, but he isn’t thorough at all. It pisses me off. Blokes like him get paid a decent wage. Plus, he’s Italian, so he’s probably dodgy!’

  She laughed.

  ‘But seriously, Dee. He should’ve picked it up. I’m sorry I didn’t catch it sooner, but it’s not really my job. Vince has filled out purchase orders for the deliveries on the system and everything, so they look legit.’

  Dee shook her head. None of what Maria was saying fit with what she knew of Vince. None of it made any sense at all.

  20

  Travis had laid chips and dip out on the coffee table and was opening a bottle of wine when Dee walked in.

  ‘Dee! Pete and Chloe are coming!’ Annie called out.

  ‘Awesome,’ Dee said. ‘Just let me put my things away and get changed and I’ll be right out.’

  Travis thought she looked and sounded exasperated.

  Not twenty seconds later, there was a knock on the front door.

  ‘They’re here!’ Annie shouted.

  ‘Calm down, sunshine,’ Travis said.

  Annie always got overexcited when guests came. Perhaps it was because they didn’t have a lot of guests come over. Just Chloe and Pete, his mum, and now Dee.

  Travis pulled open the door and the cold burst through.

  ‘It’s bloody cold!’ Pete had his arm slung around Chloe.

  Travis ushered them in. If Pete was his best mate, then Chloe was as close to a sister as Travis was ever likely to get. He’d known them both for as long as he could remember and loved them like family. Unease traced the edges of his nerves, though. Tonight was like any other night they’d come over, except they’d be hanging out with Dee. He hoped they liked her and that she liked them. Perhaps it shouldn’t have mattered to him, but it did.

  ‘No wine for you, Chlo,’ he whispered.

  ‘No,’ she said excitedly. ‘No wine for me for at least a year.’

  ‘Congratulations,’ Travis told her. ‘You’re going to be an amazing mother.’

  ‘Thanks, Trav. I hope our little one is as great as Annie.’

  ‘Who’s as great as me?’ Annie was up on the sofa, jumping as if it were a trampoline.

  ‘Mind your own beeswax,’ Travis growled. ‘And stop jumping on the furniture.’

  Annie clambered down and they all settled in front of the coffee table as Dee entered the room.

  ‘Hi everyone,’ she said.

  She’d changed into a pair of tight black sports leggings and a long-necked black top. The outfit was casual, but it hugged her in all the right places. Trav felt his blood stir. In truth, he couldn’t blame the outfit. He’d seen Dee in a pair of unicorn PJs and she’d still driven him wild. Dee making him crazy had become a regular part of his day, like the sun rising, or his need for coffee in the mornings.

  ‘Dee, this is Chloe. Chloe, this is Dee. She works at the factory with Pete and me, and she’s staying here until she can find somewhere better.’

  Chloe and Dee shook hands. ‘Well, if you’re thinking of staying at the hotel, trust me, here is better.’r />
  Dee made a face. ‘Tell me about it. I stayed there my first night in Mason Valley. I think I’d rather sleep on a park bench.’

  Chloe laughed. ‘I hear that. My aunt and uncle stayed there once during their summer holiday. They’ve never come back to the valley.’

  Pete offered Dee his spot on the couch, but she declined.

  ‘I’m happy on the floor,’ she said, kneeling down and curling her legs under her.

  Chloe took a seat on the couch near her and Travis felt pleased that the two of them seemed to be getting along.

  ‘So what do you do?’ Dee asked.

  ‘I work at a restaurant in the hills.’

  ‘The Hill Above?’

  ‘Yes! Have you heard of it?’

  ‘Actually, I’ve been there,’ Dee said. ‘It’s amazing.’

  ‘Yeah, it’s really the only decent place to eat in town. There’s the pub, Tammy’s and the Chinese restaurant in Cleeve Gully, but that’s about it.’

  ‘I came from a town called Blaxland Falls. It used to be a bit like Mason. Small and simple. But eventually investors move in and people start businesses. Slowly, progress breathes life into a town. When I left, the town was considered a boutique village.’

  ‘Jeez!’ Chloe’s eyes looked like they were dancing at the thought. ‘That’d be amazing.’

  Travis didn’t know if he wanted the valley to become a trendy tourist town. He’d prefer it stayed as it was rather than become something overblown and inauthentic.

  ‘I hate to change the subject to work,’ Dee said, looking between Pete and Travis. ‘But there’s something I wanted to ask the two of you.’

  ‘Really? Come on, boss. This is meant to be our down time,’ Pete said, but Trav could tell he was joking.

  ‘It’s just one question,’ Dee promised. ‘It’s about dispatch.’

  ‘Ask away,’ Pete said. ‘We might not know the answer, though. We’re more involved in production.’

  ‘Have you ever heard about or seen shipments leaving the factory late?’

  Pete shrugged and looked at Trav. ‘They leave late sometimes. But we try to keep to the schedule.’

  ‘I don’t mean just a little bit late. I mean late at night, like, after everything is closed up.’

  Travis baulked at this. It sounded like nonsense. Sometimes, he was the last to leave, and that was never any later than five.

  ‘How late are we talking?’ he asked.

  Dee’s expression was serious. ‘Nine p.m.’

  Pete and Travis both scoffed. ‘No way,’ they said in unison.

  ‘That’s the problem.’ Her mouth formed a thin line. ‘We have proof. The accounts payable lady in Melbourne has found movement details that say trucks are leaving our factory as late as nine o’clock at night.’

  ‘That’s madness,’ Pete said. ‘Those movement thingos must be wrong. Who on earth is loading trucks with paper at nine o’clock?’

  Travis felt uneasy. Something about this seemed really, really wrong. ‘Did you check with HR? To see if the overtime hours match those later dispatch hours?’

  Dee’s eyes brightened. ‘I haven’t, but that’s an excellent idea.’

  ‘What do you think is happening?’ Chloe asked.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Dee said. ‘But whatever it is, I need to find out.’

  Dee helped Travis clean up at the end of the night.

  ‘I thought you’d be good at Scrabble,’ Travis mused. ‘Smart people usually are.’

  Dee shook her head as she carried the coffee cups into the kitchen. ‘I’m borderline incompetent at every board game that’s ever been invented,’ she confessed. ‘I did warn you not to be my partner.’

  ‘I won’t make the same mistake again. In fact, next time I think I’ll probably wake up Annie and get her to be my partner.’

  Dee laughed and began washing the cups.

  Travis yawned. ‘Leave them. I’ll do them in the morning.’

  ‘It’ll only take a second.’

  She scrubbed the first cup and rinsed it clean before leaving it in the dish rack to dry.

  ‘I like your friends,’ she said. ‘They seem like good people. And Chloe is gorgeous. I could’ve chatted to her for hours. Thanks so much for including me. I’m in dire need of some friends in this town.’

  Travis had been about to take out the recycling, but he paused. Knowing that Dee was in need of friendship tugged at his chest. She presented so confident and capable that he hadn’t considered she might feel alone or unsure, or in need of a friend.

  ‘No problem,’ he said. ‘Chloe seemed to like you as well.’

  Dee turned from the sink and smiled, seeming pleased. ‘That’s really good,’ she said.

  ‘She’ll be your friend,’ he told her.

  He juggled the bottles and boxes as he kicked open the back door. When he turned to her, she was still smiling, and he smiled back. ‘I’ll be your friend, too.’

  21

  Dee waved Vince over to her desk. She wanted to talk to him about what she’d learned from Maria, but something had been holding her back all day. Part of her sensed she needed more information before she spoke to Vince about the late-night deliveries. She also sensed Vince was the type to wave away any concerns until there was hard evidence to support it. She figured they’d have their catch up about the cost-cutting, and she’d tell him about the night deliveries if it felt right.

  It was ten past two and they were supposed to meet at two. She had the paperwork she wanted to talk to him about either printed or sitting conveniently in an open tab on her screen.

  He’d been fussing about all day, in and out of the factory, up and down from his desk. He looked edgy. Dee hoped his nervous behaviour hadn’t been brought on by how he felt about her—or them. She wasn’t sure she even wanted there to be anything between them, but all that needed to be put aside. They needed to speak about work, specifically, about the numbers, and Vince was the numbers man, so she was going to need some comprehensive answers from him and they needed to develop a plan.

  Vince sat holding a bottle of chocolate milk he must have procured from the vending machine in the break room. He looked flustered, his brow moist with perspiration, and there were sweat patches under his arms.

  ‘What’s up, boss?’

  This question annoyed her. He should know what was up as this was a scheduled meeting. She’d even sent him an agenda.

  ‘We’re talking about the budget and investigating areas we can trim spending.’

  ‘Right, yes.’

  ‘Do you have the paperwork I asked you to bring?’

  ‘Um, yes. I’ll have it. What do you need?’

  Dee worked to keep the frustration from her voice. ‘In the email I sent you, I listed several documents I want to see.’

  ‘Righto, yep.’ Vince stood, bustled over to his desk, moved his mouse and began clicking away, obviously searching for the email. His eyes were trained on the computer screen.

  Dee sat back in her seat, crossed her legs and waited, outwardly patient, inwardly frustrated. Vince was disorganised and unfocused. She decided then not to talk to him about the night deliveries. She sensed if she did, she’d either encounter evasiveness or indifference. She’d need to find more information on her own.

  Once Vince had printed everything they needed, he sat with her at her desk and they began looking for patterns. There were a number of consistencies. Production costs had stayed level, sales had increased—not massively, an average of six percent growth every year for the past five years—and wages looked okay, but Dee wanted Vince to check them against the industry average. Distribution was definitely the issue.

  ‘I know the logistics company we’re using were the cheapest,’ Vince said. ‘Gary and I worked hard to get the best deal we could. We won’t be able to cut any costs there. I think, if we’re going to make cuts, they need to come from the factory floor.’

  Dee sighed. ‘I really don’t want to do that,’ she said. ‘From wha
t I’ve observed, the staff are really effective and hard-working. Production is good. I don’t want to rob Peter to pay Paul.’

  ‘It’s the only way to go,’ Vince said. ‘Distribution costs are as low as they can go. We already use recycled water for the pulp, and Gary cut costs in a lot of other areas. This is the last option.’

  Dee hated this, but being the boss meant making tough decisions. ‘If we cut back on staff, I want it to be in stock control. The skilled workers can come off the line or the machines to help with dispatch and packing if needed. What do you think?’

  Vince shifted in his seat. ‘Who are you thinking of cutting?’

  ‘I don’t know yet. I think we need to decide how many we have to make redundant and speak to head office about the process and costs involved. Then we can make some observations and speak to the foremen, maybe look at some old performance review documents.’

  Vince looked tentative. Strange, given that cutting staff had been his idea. ‘Okay, yep.’

  ‘Right, then. Let’s look at the numbers.’

  Once they were done, they’d drafted a plan that would see them make three team members redundant. The thought made Dee ill.

  ‘I wish there was another way,’ she said as she saved and closed the document. ‘This doesn’t feel right.’

  ‘It’ll be okay,’ Vince said, draining the remaining chocolate milk before tossing the empty bottle in the bin. ‘You free for dinner tomorrow night? We can talk more about it then.’

  Dee’s instinct was to say no, but she remembered Jo’s advice about taking a chance and pushing out of her comfort zone.

  ‘Sure,’ she said.

  Vince winked. ‘Great. I’ll pick you up? Six-thirty?’

  ‘Fine,’ she said.

  Vince donned his hard hat and vest and headed towards the double doors. Dee looked over their plan once more and racked her brain, searching for another way.

  Dee pulled her one and only little black dress from the chest of drawers in her bedroom. She let it hang from her fingers as she considered what it would mean to wear it tonight.