Free Digging Deeper: An Adventure Novel (Sam Harris Series Book 1) by PJ Skinner Page B

drunken visit to her house.  She had not been welcoming but then he had not been forthcoming either.  She would find an opportunity to ask him.
    The other members of the management team still shunned her, so she was surprised when she was invited to join them for a drink in the bar one night.  She did not like beer or enjoy drinking in the bar, but she did understand that drinking was an important part of life for these men and in order to fit in, she had to drink, too.  She felt content walking over to the bar.  She hoped that maybe the ice was melting after her frosty reception.  She arrived to find the whole crew had got there before her. They were standing and chatting in a big group. 
    ‘Get yourself a beer,’ someone suggested.
    She went to the bar and signed a voucher.  She turned around smiling and approached the group.  Almost imperceptibly, they moved together forming a tight circle.  She stopped about two metres away, her smile frozen on her face.  She stepped forward, and they shuffled closer together.  Nobody looked at her.  She stood there with the cold beer in her hand, condensation dripping onto the floor, trying not to get upset.
    A couple of metallurgists, who were not in the group, looked up from their table and looked back down again.  She went back to the bar and sat down on a stool with her back to the group.  She was stunned by their nastiness.  She gulped back a sob.  The barman looked like he might be about to say something, but she gave him a shake of the head.  She forced herself to drink the freezing liquid and put her glass down on the bar. 
    ‘Thanks,' she said. ‘Enjoy your evening.’  She walked out as slowly as she could bear. 
    She felt the rush of gloating laughter follow her out of the bar and she heard jeering as she stumbled down the steps.  By the time she turned onto the road, tears were streaming down her face.  She felt herself drowning in the misery of the rejection implied by this ambush.  She ran home and struggled with the padlock on the outer door, swearing and crying and kicking it.  She got through the two doors into her house and sat down in the dark, swallowing hard to muffle her sobs.  She stayed like that for a long time.
    ***
    Back in the bar, the men were all congratulating each other on the success of their plan. 
    ‘That’ll teach the stupid bitch,’ said Brian. ‘Who the fuck does she think she is anyway?  Did she really imagine we wanted to have a drink with her?’
    ‘Black did it on purpose,’ said Bob.  He shouldn’t have sent a fucking woman in here to spy on us.’.
    ‘Fucking bitch,’ said one of the engineers.
    ‘We’ll break her soon; no one can take that for long,’ said Brian, who knew a thing or two from his army days about breaking new recruits.  ‘Let’s liven things up a bit.  Why don’t we take bets on her?’
    ‘On her leaving?'
    ‘No, she’ll be leaving soon, that’s too easy.  Let's bet on who will have her first.  She'll be looking for comfort after tonight.  Someone should cosy up to her and pretend to like her.  You can bet on someone else or on yourself.’
    ‘Brilliant.  I’m in.’
    ‘Me, too, but I’m betting on Dirk. I’m occupied,’ said Bob who was sure that Jean would not be happy if he was seen flirting with Sam.  Also he had a grudging respect for her but he would not have admitted that to any of these men.  He did not like to stand out from the crowd.
    ‘Me, too.’
    ‘Hmmm.  Dirk is a good bet,’ said Brian.  ‘Maybe we should all bet on Dirk and how long it will take him.  I’ve seen her look at him.  That’s not a work-related glance, lads,’ He prided himself on knowing all about women and their needs.
    ‘Fucking right.’
    ‘Okay, I’ll run the book.  You tell Dirk that he’s nominated.’
    ‘What if he won’t play ball?’
    ‘He’s new.  He’ll play ball if he wants to be one of the lads.’
    ‘Brilliant.  That'll be a bit of fun.  Whose