La Novels
Chapter 521
"You know it's blowing a gale and pouring buckets out here. Kicking off work at this time, are you lot out of your minds?"
Sophia barked the question, her voice nearly snatched away by the howling wind and rain. She mustered all her strength and shouted at Tomas, "Get everyone back now; we can't work tonight!"
Tomas, who had never seen Sophia so fierce before, was momentarily stunned and hesitant, but soon his resolve hardened. He yelled back at Sophia through the storm, "No can do! Everything's set; crew and materials are all prepped, just waiting for the auspicious moment to get started. Don't worry, we're just pouring one beam and column; won't take too long. Everyone can tough it out for a bit."
"Mr. Crawley has already made it clear, forget the auspicious timing; safety comes first."
The dialogue was strained against the storm, and Sophia roared once more at Tomas, "I said now, everybody get back!"
Tomas, intimidated by Sophia's forcefulness, glanced over at Jerry, who spoke up for Tomas, "We're just minutes away from starting, and everyone's been here getting soaked to the bone all night long. You expect us to just pack up and leave? All that rain for nothing? No way!"
With that, he turned and instructed the workers still bustling about, "Keep an eye on the clock, get ready, don't miss the right moment." Tomas, swayed by Jerry's words but with a softer approach, tried to persuade Sophia, "Yeah, Jerry's right. Everyone's been out in the downpour all night to help the company start at the right time. Sending them home now would not only be a waste of effort, but it would also dishearten everyone."
"We appreciate their dedication." Sophia tried to soften her tone, too, "But with the storm raging like this, it's not safe to work. Jerry, send everyone home now, and I'll take the heat for it."
Jerry chuckled dismissively, "What's there for you to take the heat for?"
His voice was soft, and the wind and rain almost completely drowned it out. Sophia couldn't make out his words clearly, but she could guess most of it from his expression and lip movements.
She was just the chief designer on this project, with no real power over the construction side of things, so it was normal for Jerry to ignore her. Sophia didn't waste time arguing nonsense with him. She pulled out her phone and tried to call Brandon to get him to stop Tomas and the others. But to her surprise, the phone was silent for a long moment, unable to make the call. Anxious, Sophia quickly tried calling Kent instead, only to be met with a long silence and then a busy tone, followed by an automatic return to the home screen.novelbin
Sophia frowned involuntarily and looked around for a spot with a better signal.
This wasn't her first time on the site; the call signal had been fine on her previous visits, including earlier that day before the wind and rain started. She wondered if the storm was interfering with the signal.
After a few unsuccessful attempts to make calls, her eyes desperately searched for a place that might have a signal.
Meanwhile, Jerry, paying no mind to Sophia, raised his hands and clapped to get the attention of the people in the storm; then took a megaphone handed to him by a subordinate and shouted, "The time to start work is upon us. Everyone get back to your posts and prepare for the pour."
The crowd in the storm began to bustle about.
Driven by urgency, Sophia could no longer hold back. She yelled to the crowd, "Head office says to halt construction for tonight; please everyone head back and rest."
The bustling crowd paused, hesitating as they looked back at Sophia, and then turned to Jerry. His face turned cold, "What are you all looking at? Hurry up and get ready! Who's gonna take the fall if we miss the window?"