"It's ok. What do you call that one?" Jillian pointed to the sky as the quiet enveloped them again. Junior turned out to be quite knowledgeable when it came to the night sky and charming in a weird sort of way. Jillian found she could have sat there and listened to her for hours. By the second formation Junior pointed out, Jillian had rested her head on the shoulder next to her. If Junior minded she never said anything however when Jillian tried to hide a yawn the lecture came to an end, but Jillian felt the beginning of something else when Junior smiled at her. Maybe the woman sitting next to her maybe wasn't the rough neck Jillian made her out to be.
"Please enjoy the sky for as long as you want, Ms. Sterling, I have to go and pack up if I want to be back in New Orleans early tomorrow. I'm sorry I went on like that, I didn't mean to bore you."
"You didn't bore me at all. If I'm assigned to come out here again we have a date right here so you can pick up where you left off." Oh my god, I can't believe I just said that. Jillian rushed on so Junior wouldn't think she was flirting with her. "Is there anyway to catch a ride in with you. Not that the hospitality isn't good but I don't know how long Tony is going to be." The cigar that wasn't as nasty as Jillian first thought was stubbed out in an ashtray next to Junior before the long body stood up and towered over her. I thought she would have thrown it in the water, and does this woman ever wear shoes?
"No problem, meet me in the mess at seven tomorrow morning. Good night, ma'am."
"Good night."
At seven the next morning Jillian was sitting in the mess hall waiting for her traveling companion and talking with Possum about the report she was going to submit. "Ma'am, I'm not trying to tell you how to do your business, but you might not want to talk about this with Junior on the way back. You are kinda cute and I would hate for her to throw you out of the helicopter miles from land."
"Thanks for the heads up." They both got up when they heard the helicopter touching down outside and Junior stepped in and motioned for Jillian to get moving. Before they left one of the cooks came out and handed Junior a traveling mug, waiting for her to take a sip to see if there was anything else he needed to add.
"Perfect, thanks. Ms. Sterling, would you like a cup of coffee to go?" Junior toasted her with the mug in her hand.
Jillian shook her head and said sheepishly, "I know this is going to sound snobby, but I only drink Starbucks Breakfast Blend."
"Your in luck, ma'am, how do you take it?" The cook pulled out another mug and filled it with the coffee Junior supplied whenever she was working on the rig. The guys liked it so much that on the next supply run it was going to become one of their staples.
"A stargazer and gourmet coffee drinker, I may have misjudged you," said Jillian as she pointed to the pot of steamed milk the man had made for Junior's coffee. Junior's smile was infectious as Jillian mirrored it. Jillie, oilfield workers are not your type.
The helicopter ride was uneventful and Jillian was surprised when they landed, not in New Orleans, but in the small town of Morgan City. Two men came out to meet the Baxter chopper when it touched down on one of the company's field office helipads. Jillian followed Junior into the main building, hoping she wasn't going to have to take a cab for the eighty-mile trek back into the city if the Baxter employee wasn't going any further.
"I'll just be a minute. If you want, you can wait here or out in the car. The boys should be finished loading our stuff and bringing it around to the front." Junior pointed to the waiting room that housed one dusty potted plant and every oilfield magazine printed. Along the walls were pictures of all the offshore rigs they had put into commission over the years, and one of Baxter Oil Company's owner.
Avery Leland Baxter, Sr. had started his career as a wildcatter in Texas back in the fifties. Those in the industry back then said the man had a nose for crude like he was part bloodhound. Through his years of drilling he had moved the industry forward like few before or after him. The picture the company hung in the lobby was one of a young man surrounded by three other young men in front of a gushing well in the background. It was in black and white, but there was something about the man's smile and build that seemed familiar to Jillian as she studied it. In fact all four of the young men looked like people she should know.
"Ma'am, Junior's car is out front if you want to go out and wait, or if you want we can get you some coffee or something." She recognized him as one of the guys that had unloaded their bags and shook hands with Junior. Jillian smiled at him and followed him outside to find the oldest and rustiest looking pickup truck she had ever seen. The company logo was barely visible on the side it was so faded, and the windshield had more cracks than she thought looked safe to take on the road.
Figures, was her only thought as Jillian opened the passenger door grimacing at the groan the vehicle let out when she did. In a way it fit the shorts and sandal-wearing employee she had flown in with, and it was only eighty miles. The laugh she had the pleasure of hearing the night before was back and right outside the window making Jillian open her eyes to see what was so funny.
"I'm sure Gator will give you a ride back into the city if you want, but if you want to come with me, I'm parked over here." Junior pointed to a black BMW 745 Li sedan parked on the other side of the truck, getting the woman in the truck to blush at her assumption.
Jillian put her shoulder into the door trying to get it to open, adding to her embarrassment when she couldn't get it to budge and Junior had to open it from the outside. Instead of giving her grief over her mistake, Junior turned her attention to the man she had called Gator giving him orders to get the door fixed. With a sigh of relief at the sight of leather seats and sparkling windshield, Jillian smiled up at Junior as the woman held the door open for her.
They hadn't made it to the front gate when Junior's car phone started ringing. "Junior, where are you?" The question was asked as soon as a long finger pressed the talk button.
"Hello, Sally, I'm doing fine. The flight in was great and the weather for the drive is looking good." Junior wiggled her eyebrows at Jillian getting her to smile before she continued to torment her assistant. "I just got in the car, Sally, take deep breaths and calm down. We should be in town in about an hour and fifteen minutes."
"We?"
"I'm giving Ms. Jillian Sterling a ride back into town, so I'm sure whatever you have can wait until then." From her office in New Orleans, Sally Breaux almost dropped the phone when she heard who was in her boss's car.
"You're giving Ms. Sterling a ride back into town?" The tone she used let Junior know she thought it was highly unlikely the inspector was in the car.
"Is there something wrong with the connection?" Jillian continued to smile at Junior while listening to the conversation coming over the speakerphone.
"No, it's just that doing that sounds mighty generous after the woman wrote you up for over one hundred and twenty thousand dollars worth of infractions." It was Junior's turn to smile at her passenger and wonder what would happen to the woman if she threw her out of the car going ninety.