Page 5 of Factory Reset

“Don’t lean over the machine like that, you’ll catch your vest.”

I sent George an annoyed look as he hovered behind me like a mother hen. Honestly the thing we’d bickered the most about was his apparent belief that I was one breath away from disaster at all times, even though I hadn’t broken or injured a single thing in my two days here. It was like he thought I was made of glass. Or a klutz. Or both.

“I know the safety protocols, George. It’s not my first day in a damn factory!”

Stalking away from him, I watched the flow of carburetor parts carefully, something pricking at the back of my mind.

“What if we swap these two pieces, putting this one in first, then that one?”

George made what I now thought of as his ‘thinking’ face. I could practically see him assembling the pieces in his head.

“I don’t know,” he said slowly. “It might not work.”

“I want to try it. I did something similar at a factory in Iowa and it changed the whole flow.”

“It’s worth a try I guess.”

Now that I’d thoroughly reviewed all the major processes from start to finish, I was going to make a process map and re-review everything, which was where I typically started finding redundancies and bottlenecks. Then I’d map out the same process with my proposed changes and see how they flowed.

If I could concentrate on my job that is. George Jeffers was deceptively charming. The grumpy giant lacked the practiced charm of a more sophisticated or calculating guy, but below the surface there was an easy charm that sucked you in when you weren’t paying attention. He was definitely what the romance books would call a “cinnamon roll” – crusty on the outside, and soft and sweet in the middle.

I was rapidly becoming obsessed with him. There was this strange connection between us, this simmering attraction, that made it hard to concentrate on my work. But I needed to concentrate, both because I was a professional who took pride in my job, and because I needed to save this town.

“Hey Cassandra?” I looked up from my study of the gear production line to see David walking towards me. “Do you have a minute?”

“Sure.”

David gestured for me to follow him to the hallway that led to a row of conference rooms.

“How’s it going?” he asked as we stopped into one of the small rooms.

“Pretty good so far. How are you, David?”

I was curious why he’d pulled me aside. Other than my weekly reporting meetings, I typically didn’t interact with the office teams unless I needed something from them.

“I’m fine, thank you. I don’t want to pry or anything, but I heard last night that you were staying at the Value Inn out by the Interstate. Is that right?”

I wondered idly how he’d heard but then I realized it was an easy guess.

“Yeah, the Value Inn is the only hotel within fifty miles of here.”

I didn’t add that the place was a total dump. Presumably he knew that. If I wanted to stay some place decent, I’d likely need to go all the way to Houston.

“Since you’re going to be here for a few weeks, I wanted to let you know that my wife has a rental that you might like better. It’s a sweet little house a few miles from here, right next door to where we live in fact. She rents it out on Airbnb, but she doesn’t have any guests scheduled for a while.”

“Really?”

It would be nice not to worry about roaches or being murdered in my sleep. Or being murdered by roaches in my sleep.

He nodded. “Trust me when I say it’s much nicer than the roach motel you’re staying in. Not that it’s a big bar to meet. And Josie – that’s my wife—said she’ll rent it to you for the same price so you don’t have any issues with the Big Wigs at Headquarters.”

“Seriously?”

He nodded.

I didn’t even need to look at the place or think about it. There was absolutely no way that David’s wife’s house could be crappier than the Value Inn, unless it was a falling down shack surrounded by wild boars or something.

“Thank you so much for your kind offer, David. I’d love to take you up on that. What time can I move in?”