Fall into the Break

Chapter Five

That night, after he delivered the rest of Gran's boxes, Chase finally agreed to go out with his coworkers.

Now he sat, on a toilet, scrolling through his email, in the cleanest stall Dodge’s had to offer.

His breath stopped when he saw the unopened message from A&B Background Company. He had purchased a report on Graham after his first day, and here it was. Chase tapped it open. His eyes scanned the page rapidly.

“Gross Misdemeanor Assault 4” were the first words he registered. His breath grew shallow. He kept reading.

“Convicted … 365 days county correctional facility …” Chase swallowed hard. He re-read the report, looking at previous employment. No where did it show any construction experience.

Trish had claimed the report was clean and that Graham just needed time to adjust. She must not have seen this, Chase tried to reason.

He knew he needed to speak to Trish immediately. How could this have fallen through the cracks?
               
He left the restroom and quickly walked back to the rest of crew. When he got close enough to get Trish’s attention, he motioned for her. She excused herself and headed his way. Chase heard Gus bellow: “Another round, Lynn!”

Trish approached him with a look of concern. “Is everything okay?”

“Let’s talk out here,” Chase said. He led her around the corner that led to the bar’s entryway.

Once they were out of sight, Chase spoke more freely. “Did you read the background report on Graham?” He watched her face closely.

Trish looked startled. After a moment she looked down and opened her mouth. A few seconds passed.

“Trish, did you?”

Trish looked up and bit the inside of her lip. She shrugged. “Look, I know it looks bad.”

Chase quickly looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear what he was about to say. The coast was clear, but he lowered his voice anyway. “You knew about the assault?”

“Chase, it’s not as bad as you think.”

“How so?” Chase’s voice was quick.

Trish looked uncomfortable. “Okay,” She quieted her voice even more. “Specklin told me I could either hire Graham, or they’d put a new crew in charge of construction.”

“What? Why?”

Trish shook her head, brushing off his question. “I didn’t want my guys getting the boot over some corporate BS, so, I hired the guy. Who cares?”

Chase couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “He is a violent criminal.” He stared her down. “He’s also never worked a labor job in his life. I think that is something to care about.”

“Graham is Martin Specklin’s nephew,” Trish said slowly. Her mouth closed to a thin line. “He punched some guy a few years ago at his last job. Spent a year in jail. Hasn’t had work since.”

“and Specklin thought he could pawn him off on us,” Chase said, finishing her thought. He sighed. “The guy has no idea what he is doing.”

“I know,” Trish said. “But we were behind schedule. Specklin already had a new company ready to take over our slack if I didn’t agree to take him on.”

Chase exhaled through his nose. “Damn.”

“Don’t tell the guys,” Trish said. “They think Graham is doofy, but it could really screw up our jobs if they found out the truth.”
               
“Yeah, okay,” Chase said softly.
               
The two walked back to their table in silence. Ben was just finishing a story. His smile broadened when he saw Chase approach.