Redemption of the Cube Dweller by Joanne Fox Phillips

Author:Joanne Fox Phillips
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: River Grove Books

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Thursday Morning

When we arrive at the office, Sandy again realizes she has left her guest badge in her other purse and has to have Connie issue another. For an otherwise organized person, her inability to keep track of her badge seems a bit out of character. I decide not to point out that this is yet another complication of overpacking for trips.

Once in the conference room, I find a present waiting for me. Is it from Marshall? I untie the blue satin bow from around the small box and loosen the transparent tape holding down the side flap. Inside is a coffee mug with a red dragon, the word Wales running in gold script along the bottom. I smile. Ted. How nice. Aww. I make my way to the coffee bar, return the chipped loaner to the lower cabinet, and start a pot for my mug’s maiden voyage.

While I wait for the coffee to brew, I decide to hunt down Ted and deliver a personal thank you. His office is on the west side of the floor, just past a small, uninhabited cube farm. I knock on the doorframe, and Ted looks up, a bit surprised but smiling.

“Thanks, Ted! This is really sweet of you.” I hold up the mug. “What did you say the other day?”

“Iechyd da!” Ted raises his empty mug in a toast, and then he gets up to follow me back to the coffee bar.

“So, what kind of consulting engagement are you involved in?” I ask as Ted fills his cup with hot water.

“I work for a European consulting firm that specializes in wind turbine design,” he says. “We’ve been engaged by Zurich, Westwind’s insurance carrier.” He reaches in his breast pocket and hands me a business card. “Westwind has encountered some malfunctions at their Mojave facility. Throwing blades, mostly.”

“Throwing blades?” I ask as I pour my coffee.

“Sometimes wind turbines get caught in high winds and rotate faster than their intended design,” he explains. “It can send blades sailing through the air.”

“I’ve never heard about this.”

“It is rare,” says Ted, “but it does happen.”

We make our way back to Ted’s office. I sit down in the guest chair across from him, blowing on my coffee. Ted removes his metal-framed glasses and slowly cleans them as he continues the lesson on blade throwing. “Such malfunctions have particularly happened in Europe. Sometimes they can be attributed to poor design or substandard materials. It’s my job to investigate just what the cause is. I was out at the site last week, and I’m talking with the lead engineers here this week.”

“Why isn’t the manufacturer liable?” I ask, taking a sip of coffee.

“Often they are, but it depends upon the contract. Warranty periods vary.”

“But if the parts are defective—”

“It’s not always black-and-white, you see. The technology is always changing.”

“Do we know if any of Westwind’s parts are defective?”

“So far, we can’t tell. It’s a mystery.” He puts his glasses back on and peers at me. “Now, Tanzie—did you tell me the other day that you’re an auditor?”

“Yes.

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