Chapter 18
England
Claire bounced down the hotel steps and spotted Noah sitting in his car in the guest drop-off area. She studied his face as he read something on his phone. It was a strong, masculine face. And could be quite expressive at times. This morning, it was closed off.
She opened the car door and plopped into the passenger seat. "Good morning!"
He clicked off the screen and shoved it into his pocket. "Morning," he said, without even a glance in her direction.
He looked over his shoulder and pulled out without waiting for her to finish clicking her seat belt. Okay, then. Mr. Grumpy Pants is back.
"So, you were totally right about crashing. Thanks for the heads-up."
He grunted, keeping his eyes on the road.
"Oh, and I ate at The Mill last night. Thanks for the suggestion. The hostess recommended the steak, and it was delicious."
At Noah's continued silence, Claire searched for something to talk about. She cocked her head at the music playing in the background. "What kind of music is this?"
He reached over and turned up the volume, effectively stopping further conversation. Maybe it was just his lack of caffeine. She perked up. Tomorrow, she'd bring a to-go cup from the hotel's coffee bar.
Claire jumped at the tap on her shoulder and blinked up at the man standing beside her desk. Yesterday, after all the introductions, they'd shown her to an empty workstation in the admin wing of the plant office. She'd liked the open floor plan immediately—being able to see people coming and going gave her a sense of control. No risk of someone sneaking up on her. Or so she'd thought. But once she'd slipped on her noise-canceling headphones and gotten lost in her work, the rest of the world had faded away. The trade-off for focus, apparently, was surprise visitors. She pulled off the headphones and turned to him. "Ben, right?"
"Excellent memory. Apologies for startling you. You ready for your plant tour?" He held up a hard hat marked "visitor" and a pair of safety glasses.
Claire clapped her hands together and grinned. "Yes! I was so excited when y'all offered it yesterday." The British employees had been welcoming and eager to show her around the office. When they mentioned a plant tour, she'd agreed right away. The overt friendliness was a pleasant surprise after riding to work with Noah. Both yesterday and today, she'd gotten a glimpse of exactly how grumpy the man was without his morning coffee. He'd thanked her for the coffee this morning, but maintained his austere demeanor. Stubborn man. If she weren't careful, his attitude might bleed over onto her, and she refused to be a grumpy person. On the ride home tonight, she planned to talk him into coming early tomorrow and eating breakfast with her. Maybe the secret was to get caffeine and actual food in his belly before the ride.
She locked her laptop screen and took the safety equipment from Ben, then followed him through a maze of cubicles and down a stairwell to a room stocked with more safety gear. It reminded her of the mudroom at her grandparents' house where her Gran made her grandfather change out of his dirty farmer's clothes before entering her clean kitchen.
"We need to get you a set of earplugs as well. I didn't have any at my desk." Ben reached into a bin and handed her a pair of disposable earplugs. "You'll need to put them in before we enter the plant. Also, stay within the yellow pathway, where it's safe to walk without steel-toed boots."
"Got it," she said, opening the package. She followed his lead and donned her gear. "Ready when you are!"
Ben made a wonderful tour guide. He explained the different areas of the plant, what each did, and what cost center they belonged to in the system, which was fantastic since that's how she organized them in her head. Being able to match the data she'd managed to the actual machinery and processes gave her a truer picture of what they did at Caprock.
Claire held the rail of the catwalk, looking down on the shop floor, while Ben explained how they integrated the diamond cutters into the drill bits at the station below them. A movement to the right caught her eye. The hard hat and safety glasses hid his face, but those shoulders and the way he moved? Noah was bent over a large piece of machinery, working beside several others.
"What's going on over there?" she asked. The group was having a lively discussion and pointing to various places within the equipment.
Following her gaze, Ben led her over to get a better view. "Looks like they're replacing a roller on the line."
"And Noah does that? I thought he was a production manager." Her breath caught when Noah's shirt tightened across his muscles as he forced a plate open on the machine. He said something to one of the other men, who jumped in and pulled out a twisted piece of metal. When the part came out, everyone cheered.
"Noah does everything. He's rarely in his office and usually out wandering the plant. And that particular line? He's been raising a fuss about it for months, telling everyone it's misaligned and eating through parts. I bet he gets someone's attention today." Ben grinned.
Claire studied Ben. "You admire him." She knew the project team respected Noah for his knowledge, but Ben's admiration seemed to go deeper.
"Who wouldn't? He knows every machine in the plant and can do most of these guys' jobs better than they can. He probably trained most of them. Anyway, the next station is right up here."
Claire followed Ben, but kept her eye on the floor below. Once the broken part was out, everyone scrambled to get a new one in and the line working again. Noah's face was smeared with grease and his shirt bore a few dirty hand prints from everyone slapping him on the back. They were all smiling, happy to be back in business.
When the tour ended, Ben stashed her safety gear back in the gear-up room and led her a different way back to her desk. As they walked through a long hallway, her steps slowed as she browsed the photos hanging on the wall. Realizing he lost her, Ben walked back to stand beside her.
"This is our hall of fame. Employee events and memorable occasions go up here." He pointed to one framed picture featuring a group of people who were all smiles. "That's Noah. We'd had a spectacular day at the company picnic."
Claire peered at the smiling man in the photo. "He looks so young. And he's filthy! Everyone is dirty." She laughed. "Just what exactly did y'all do at this company picnic?"
Ben's face lit up. "Tug o' war. Loser fell in the mud."
