Call Me Lydia

by MaryAnn Myers

  “Speaking of which,” Lydia said. “What do you think of the accounting situation?”

  “I’m not pleased with the balance sheet, if that’s what you mean.”

  “No, I mean the department itself.”

  Reed shook his head, looking puzzled. “The people?”

  “The people, the files, or actually, lack of them. However you want to look at it. Take your pick.”

  Reed rose to his feet. “In all due respect, Lydia, I think for the short time you’ve been here…”

  “Wait a minute,” Lydia said. “We need to clear something up here. I haven’t been here a short time, I’ve been away a short time. There’s a difference.”

  Reed drew a deep breath and sat back down. John had been much easier to get along with. “What I was going to say was…”

  Lydia held up her hand. She didn’t want to hear it and moved right along. “Who hired Dan Morris?”

  Reed couldn’t have felt more frustrated if he tried. “Again, that was done before my time.”

  “The man hasn’t worked in years. Why would he come out of retirement for this? Would you? Think about it. And even then, is he at his best? Is he what we need?”

  “I told you, I didn’t hire him. Your father did. I don’t know any more about him then you do.”

  “And you never asked?”

  “No, I didn’t. I was in no position to. I came in with specific areas of responsibility, and accounting wasn’t one of them.”

  Lydia just looked at him, then reached for the next folder. “Even the people who appear to be on the ball have holes in them. Take Bill Shoop.”

  “All right, now him I hired.”

  “Good, then maybe you can tell me why he came to work for us. I mean, we have to be a definite step or two down for him, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Yes. But I didn’t question that. I just knew we needed him.”

  “What’s his story?”

  “His story? He’s a good worker. Where does it say that he has to have a story?”

  “Here,” Lydia said. “Right here.” She looked through Bill’s folder for his attendance card and handed it over. “Why so many absences? He averages at least a day a week.”

  Reed didn’t know what to say. “I wasn’t aware. I’ll check into it.”

  “Don’t bother,” Lydia said. “I’ll do it.”

  Reed sat back and exhaled deeply. “Is there anyone else under fire?”

  “Yes.” She opened Tony Armato’s folder and edged it toward him. “Who hired him?”

  “I did.”

  “When?”

  “About two months ago.”

  “Off that?”

  Reed stared down at the application, then turned it over, and you could see the blood drain from his face. “Uh…I, uh…I never saw this.”

  “But you did hire him?”

  Reed closed the folder slowly, very slowly. “Yes.”

  Lydia motioned for an explanation, and he began what sounded like a deathbed confession. “It was on a day when nothing was going right. We had an order misrouted and consequently, it had to be reworked.”

  Lydia lit a cigarette and sat back.

  “In the midst of all of this, the lead foreman from that shift quit. Walked right off the job.” He paused, as if he were remembering it. “Then the Mayfran went down, the main one. And that’s when I got word that…uh…there was an applicant in the lobby. I asked to have him wait, but he had another appointment and I didn’t want to pass on him in case he was the caliber of person we’d be looking for, so I had him shown out to the shop.”

  “Oh, I get it now. You had to interview him in the middle of a crisis, so his application seemed unnecessary.”

  Reed drew a breath and sighed. “You make it sound petty bad, but essentially, yes, that’s it in a nutshell. I sort of interviewed him as he fixed the Mayfran.”

  Lydia rolled her eyes. “And did everyone applaud when he got it back on line?”

  Reed hesitated. “No. But I did get a chance to see how much he knew and to see his rapport with the workers and…”

  Lydia propped her elbows on the table and covered her eyes. She’d heard enough.

  “And since then, as I said yesterday, he’s turned out to be our best employee.”

  Lydia shook her head, mumbling to herself, and Reed sat back, exasperated. “I can’t believe I’m defending him. Most women find him so…”

  “Hey!” Lydia said, coming to life. “I’ve no doubt what most women probably think about him. And while I do happen to have periods, which everyone in the whole goddamned shop seems informed of, here I’m not a woman! It’s not an issue.”

  “Oh, but it is,” Reed said. “It is.” He stood up and walked across the room. “Because you approach things like a woman.”

  “Oh really? And how’s that?”

  He looked at her. “You nitpick.”

  Lydia sort of nodded. “Hmph. I nitpick. And that’s a female trait?”

  If she meant to goad him on, it worked. He walked back and let her have it. “You come in here unannounced, expecting me and everyone else to drop what we’re doing and run to your aid and answer all your questions, which so far have been pretty petty as far as I’m concerned. And instead of looking into things that are important, you’re poking around in the personnel files like a private eye, insulting some of our key people and making a damned good secretary a nervous wreck!”

  Lydia looked at him. “Gee, did you run out of air?”

  Reed swallowed, taking on an expression of instant subordination. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I shouldn’t have spouted off like that.”

  Lydia shrugged. “Oh, I don’t know. Nitpicking and petty beat your usual corporate jargon.”

  Reed sat back down, still apologizing. “It’s just that this has been a difficult transition for all of us. I meant no disrespect.”

  Lydia snuffed out her cigarette and reached for another. “Forget it. The only way we’re gonna get along is to be up front with each other. Now getting back to the people and their functions…”

  Reed looked at her. He’d hoped their confrontation had sidetracked this. “You still want to pursue…”

  “Yes, dammit! I do! Come on! How can I figure out what to do if I don’t know what went wrong?” Reed started to say something, but she raised her hand. “Unless you’re about to come up with some answers of your own,” she said, “forget it!”

  When Reed remained quiet, Lydia nodded. “My point exactly. Now I want a list of who reports to whom, and…”

  The intercom buzzed, interrupting them. She answered it with, “What?”

  “I’m sorry, Miss Merchant,” Jan said meekly. “But your father’s on line four and wishes to speak to you.”

  Lydia switched over without another word. “Yes, Dad?”

  “How are things going, dear?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Great, just great. Couldn’t be better.”

  “Good. I just wanted to check in with you.”

  “Aren’t you coming in?”

  “No, dear, not today. Not unless you need something.”

  Lydia stared down at the file folders; she needed answers. “No, that’s okay. But tell me, when you hired Reed, what did you expect him to do?”

  Silence…

  “Dad?”

  “I’m trying to remember.”

  Lydia’s throat tightened. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m sorry, dear. I just can’t recall. Why? Isn’t he doing a good job?”

  Lydia was oblivious to Reed’s glare, nothing more important now than how helpless her father sounded. “Oh, I’m sure he is. Don’t worry about it.” Then, in an effort to cheer him up, she added, “Why don’t you call me the next time Betty makes spaghetti and meatballs, and I’ll come for dinner.”

  “That sounds good. You know how we love having you home.”

  Lydia knew by “we” he meant her mother as well and felt like crying. “I’ll talk to you later, Dad.”
/>
  “Good-bye, dear.”

  Lydia hung up, looked down at the phone, then stood and walked over to the window overlooking the shop and stared out. “You know, I’ll bet there isn’t a single person down there who’d care if he died tomorrow.”

  Reed’s glare lost all intensity.

  “He worked so hard to build this place up, and now he doesn’t even care.”

  If ever in Reed’s life he wanted to put his arms around someone and comfort them, it was now. “It doesn’t make much sense, does it?”

  Lydia shook her head. Nothing seemed to anymore. “But I’m going to make some sense of it. I have to. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let him think his life was a waste.” She drew a breath and sighed. “And while my methods may seem…”

  Reed raised a hand in support. She’d made her point. “I’ll get Jan started on the who’s who so I can concentrate on the Mago bid. In the meantime, what are you going to do?”

  Lydia looked at him. “I’m going to stay right here until Tony Armato comes in, and then I’m going to fire him.”

  Reed’s mouth dropped. Knowing she’d get that kind of reaction, she laughed. “Just kidding. I was just kidding.”

  Reed shook his head, smiling. “I don’t know if I’m ever going to get used to you.”

  “Oh, don’t worry, you will,” Lydia said, without a doubt. “It’s just a matter of time.”

  Reed’s smile widened, and as soon as he left, she sat down and picked up the phone. Since Dan Morris’s previous employer was no longer in business, she called the one prior to it, and after waiting on hold for at least ten minutes, she was told any request for information would have to be made in writing.

  She hung up; grumbling to herself about the long wait for nothing, then called Pantamanian and from them got a friendly response and all the information she wanted. They confirmed the years Reed worked there, his position, and his responsibilities. Although his reason for leaving was privileged, his file stated he’d left with a number nine rating, whatever that meant, making him eligible for rehire.

  Bill Shoop was next, and after being on hold for only a few minutes, she was surprised to be speaking to the vice president of the company, who couldn’t have been more cooperative.

  “Bill was an excellent employee,” he told her. “We hated to see him leave. It took two people to replace him, and they’re not doing the job as efficiently.” But when she asked why he’d left, his answer was evasive, and when she asked if he would be rehired, his reply gave her a chill. “No, I’m sorry. But I wish him well.”

  She hung up more puzzled than ever and at a standstill. There didn’t seem to be any reason to check on Jan’s previous employment. Tony’s didn’t have any information to begin with, and she didn’t feel it was right to call Jack Cox’s other employer without talking to him first. So she gathered up the files and took them back to personnel, then went looking for Bill.

  He was in the boiler room. She startled him when she walked in. “Sorry,” she shouted over the roar. “I didn’t mean to scare you!”

  Bill laughed, a little embarrassed. “No, that’s okay! I just didn’t hear you coming!”

  “That doesn’t surprise me! Who could hear anything in here?”

  Bill smiled, motioning to the main boiler as fondly as if he were admiring the Proud Mary. “She’s as good as new now!”

  Lydia wondered how he could tell. It seemed to her a freight train would make less noise. “Can we talk a minute?”

  Bill nodded and followed her into the office, closing the door behind them. “If it’s about the bookkeeping records, I haven’t had a chance to look yet. The boiler…”

  Lydia smiled. Talking to a man who wasn’t looking back at her as if she was a piece of candy was such a treat. “Well, I did want to know about that, but I have something else on my mind right now. When I was going through some of the personnel files, I came up with a few questions.”

  Bill glanced away, but not before she caught the sudden panic in his eyes.

  “And I thought you might be able to answer some of them for me.”

  Bill raised his shoulders, standing up taller. “What would you like to know?”

  Lydia hesitated, wishing now she hadn’t brought this up. The color was leaving his face, and he had that “I’m-about-to-be-sick look” again.

  Ponytail came around the corner just then, shouting. “One of the Bridgeports is fucked up!” Seeing Lydia, he stopped dead. “It’s…uh…jammed.”

  Lydia glanced at Bill. “Go ahead. I’ll talk to you later. It wasn’t that important anyway.”

  Bill nodded, walking out past her, and she followed them to the stairs, then went to see if Dan Morris was in.

  Jan stopped typing and started stammering as soon as she saw her coming down the hall. “I’ll get on that project Mr. Reed gave me as soon as I finish…”

  “Christ, Jan. Do you think all I do is check up on you?”

  “No…I’m sorry…I just…”

  Lydia waved and walked on, rolling her eyes. “I’ll be in accounting.”

  Dan was on the phone with his back to the door, so Lydia sat down across from his desk to wait politely. But then she heard him say, “No one’ll ever find out, darlin’, not unless…” And she didn’t know if she should clear her throat to get his attention, or just leave as quietly as she came in. She decided to leave, but Dan heard her get up and swung around with a look surely meant for one of his “girls.” A look, that in the blink of an eye, he turned into a stiff smile.

  “I’ll be right with you, sweetie.”

  Lydia responded with a stiff smile of her own, not appreciating his euphemisms one bit, and sat back down, lighting a cigarette. Dan was off the phone in a flash. “Well now, sweetie. What can I do for you?”

  For starters, Lydia wanted to say, you can stop calling me sweetie. Instead, she said, “I’m here to go over that report with you. I have all day.”

  Dan frowned, as if this would be an inconvenience. “I’m really swamped. Do you think we can put it off until tomorrow?”

  Lydia shook her head. “No, I don’t.”

  With her tone leaving no doubt, Dan started talking fast. “Okay, but why don’t you give me about ten minutes, then I’ll come down to your office. I have to get a few more figures from my girls, I mean, uh…women, and then I’ll be down.”

  Lydia nodded and stood up, as if she were letting him off the hook, but had no intention of leaving. “All right, but since I don’t have anything to do in the meantime, maybe I can help.” She walked around to the file cabinet behind his desk. “Of course, you’ll have to tell me where everything is, since I was in here earlier looking, and…”

  Dan swiveled his chair to face her, wide-eyed. “You were in my files?”

  “No, Dan. I was in company files, and imagine my surprise when I found them all empty.”

  Dan’s eyes narrowed. “If you had a question…”

  “I’ve got lots of questions. And I’m trying to give you the benefit of the doubt here. I’m also trying to show some respect for your position, but I’m getting tired of your runaround and I want some straight answers.”

  Dan jumped up, grabbing a set of keys off his desk. “I’ll have everything back here in an hour. The report, the ledgers, everything.”

  Lydia backed out of his way before he bowled her over. “Where are they?”

  Dan stopped at the door, clutching his chest. “I took them home to work on them and left them there by mistake.”

  “Then why didn’t you just say that?”

  “I should’ve,” he said, hurrying out. “I’m sorry. I’ll be back in an hour.”

  Lydia just stood there a moment, staring blankly, then walked down to Reed’s office and tapped on the door. “Do you have a minute?”

  Reed nodded, waving his arms across the various forms and papers on his desk. “Sure.”

  Lydia smiled, glancing around as she walked over to sit down. “Love what you’ve done with the pl
ace. You’ll have to give me the name of her decorator.”

  Reed chuckled. All the offices were the same. As she lit a cigarette, he watched. “I really don’t know why I’m here,” she said. “Unless it’s to ask some questions out loud without feeling like I’m talking to myself. So don’t answer, just listen.”

  Reed smiled. “All right.”

  “I just went in to see Dan Morris, and even though each time I’ve met up with him, it’s been strange, this was by far the strangest yet.” She paused to reach for an ashtray. “I’ve been after him for a current financial report, but you’d swear I was asking for the moon. And now, just now, I pin him down and he says it’s at home. That he left it there by mistake. Oh, and I didn’t tell you, before all of this, in fact before I talked to you earlier, I was in accounting and the files are all empty. I can’t believe this! He took them all home. Everything! Does that make any sense to you?”

  Reed smiled. “You mean you want an answer? I thought I was only supposed to be listening?”

  Lydia laughed. “I changed my mind. So what do you think?”

  What did he think? He thought she was absolutely beautiful, having taken her preoccupation with Dan to admire her.

  “Well?”

  “No, it doesn’t make sense. And yes, it does.” He held his hand up, wanting to clarify this. “If he’s behind in his work, it makes sense for him to dodge you until he gets is done. But looking at it from your point of view, no, because it should’ve been done already.”

  Lydia gave him a look. “Are you sure you didn’t major in politics?”

  Reed smiled. “You caught us all off guard, Lydia. Why don’t you give him the benefit of the doubt?”

  “All right. I can see you think I’m making too much of this, but just let me go on, And this time don’t interrupt me.”

  Reed laughed.

  “Every time I’m around this guy, I get the feeling he’s hiding something. Yesterday, I know he came into my office and took that report back. Then, with this morning, and the way accounting was…”

  Reed couldn’t stop staring at her.

  “But you know what,” she said, pausing and looking off as if something just occurred to her.