while I got through the first meeting of the week.
I hated fucking meetings. I hated having to deal with other engineers who wanted to tell me how to do my job. I was here as a courtesy. I was brought in to help the company figure out what the hell they were doing wrong. No one liked to be told what they were doing wrong, especially arrogant engineers.
“Gentlemen,” I said as I walked into the conference room.
The owner of the ship company got to his feet. “Mr. Holland, I’m glad you could make it.”
No one else seemed glad. I shook his hand. “I hope I can be of help.”
What sounded an awful lot like a scoff came from one of the older gentlemen at the table. I knew his type. Old, set in his ways, and uninterested in hearing what a young buck like me had to say. I took a seat at the table and opened the binder that had been sitting at the open spot.
“We were just going over the latest design options for our fleet,” the owner explained. “We can’t seem to get a unanimous opinion on how to design the hull. We’ve got plenty of ideas, using some of the elements from your designs. We’d love to hear what you have to say.”
I scanned through the various specs and drawings that were in the binder. There were elements of my designs, but none were really exact duplicates, for obvious reasons. “What are you proposing to use for the skin?” I asked.
The older engineer sighed. “The skin isn’t the problem. It’s the hull. Reinforced steel is the best option.”
“It’s also the heaviest option,” I replied without looking at him. “Isn’t the goal to streamline your ships? Cut costs? Save fuel?”
“Yes,” the owner answered. “However, if the cost of production exceeds the cost of operation, I don’t see the benefit.”
His response triggered an argument. All the engineers began to talk at once. One of them got up to draw on the whiteboard in an attempt to get his point across. I wasn’t listening. Truthfully, I didn’t care all that much. I would let them have their say and then I would tell them the right answer. If they listened, great. If they refused to, so be it. It was no skin off my nose.
I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and quickly pulled it out. It was a text message from Evie.
Did you land safe and sound with all of your parts attached?
I smiled and quickly sent a reply. All the important parts are present and accounted for.
Good. There’s a particular part I was most concerned with.
I had to bite back my laugh. She could be saucy when she wanted to be. I loved playing the game. The men around me were arguing about something. I focused my attention on Evie.
Working? I texted.
Always. You?
I looked up, noticed no one was paying any attention to me, and returned to the text conversation that was far more interesting.
I’m sitting here, listening to men bicker back and forth about shit they don’t have a clue about. It’s riveting.
She replied with a series of laughing emojis. I found myself smiling. We exchanged a few more messages before I decided I better pay attention. They were paying me a lot of money for my opinion and advice. I had taken one look at their proposed designs and knew almost immediately what the problem was.
“Mr. Holland, is he wrong?” one of the engineers asked.
I looked up. “Is who wrong?”
“Carl suggests we increase the sheer,” he said.
I shook my head. “I would not advise increasing your sheer. I would suggest you consider a long span between the perpendiculars. The belly of the ship is too heavy. The weight needs to be more evenly distributed. Using the building materials I suggested last week would also be a huge benefit.”
“Steel is best,” the old guy shot back.
I shrugged. “In some cases, it is. In this particular case, it isn’t.”
The man shook his head. “You kids think you are so much smarter. I have history on my side.”
“I wouldn’t brag about that,” I muttered.
“All right,” the owner said, slapping his hands on the table. “I think that will be enough for today. Why don’t we meet back here tomorrow at ten? I have a couple of my ship captains coming in to offer their opinions.”
I inwardly groaned. Just what we needed, more opinions. I got up from the table and took the binder with me. I said