Chapter 45 Time to Work
The moment Iris left, everyone started freaking out.
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“Holy crap! I’ve never met anyone like her! She seriously wants us to pay her back for this!”
“We’re in the middle of an apocalypse and food is scarce everywhere. We’re complete strangers to her, so why would she just give us food for free?”
“We didn’t even eat her food!”
“You guys ate her ribs though, and you used her medical supplies.” Logan pointed out. He pulled his gaze away from where Iris had disappeared, his expression thoughtful.
Iris had come out here to let him know that she’d seen everything he’d done. But she hadn’t confronted him about it or scolded him for it, which proved she wasn’t actually as petty and calculating as she seemed. Otherwise she never would’ve let him get away with this so many times.
Everything she’d done was actually a favor, and she’d extended that favor to his brothers through him. His squad just hadn’t realized it yet.
“Iris is actually a good person. You guys have her completely wrong.”
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“Logan, quit taking her side already!”
“Look, Logan, no matter what, we’re not joining up with her. You can do whatever you want, but once the captain wakes up, the rest of us are heading back to base.”
“My mom’s still at Base K1. I have to go back for her.”
“Same here. I’ve gotta get back no matter what.”
Iris watched the whole scene play out through the security cameras inside the bunker. She grabbed the mic and spoke directly through the outdoor speakers.
“I don’t give a damn what you want or how you feel about it. As long as you’re on my property, you’re gonna work for your keep! Tonight, all of you are pulling guard duty, and if you don’t like it, you can get the hell out!”
Everyone outside went dead silent.
After giving her orders, Iris turned around and headed back to her own bed. She’d take this one step at a time and there was no need to rush things. But the bottom line was simple. If they ate her food, they worked for it.
She headed downstairs to her sleeping area, and on the way, she passed Damon still lying on the floor. After she’d given him
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the emergency pill and hit him with the first aid injector, his life was definitely no longer in danger. Right now, he was recovering steadily and getting better by the hour.
Iris glanced down at him, stepped right over his head, and climbed into her own bed to sleep.
When Iris woke up the next morning, everything outside the bunker was organized and running smoothly again.
Those annoying guys still refused to pledge loyalty to her, but they’d done all the work anyway.
Someone had been harvesting vegetables from her garden regularly, the chickens and ducks and sheep had all been fed, and when she went outside, she noticed they’d even expanded her fish pond.
Looking at all this, Iris couldn’t help thinking to herself that having a few extra hands around really did make a difference. It was about time someone helped her handle all these chores.
“Iris, where should I put these greens?”
“Come here.”
Iris led Logan into the bunker and had him stack all the
vegetables by the big metal door. She’d move them into storage
herself later.
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Power and responsibility had to match up. She hadn’t assigned Logan any truly critical tasks yet, so he didn’t deserve access to her warehouse. This arrangement was better for both of them.
Managing people required gradual control. You couldn’t hand over the reins until you had them completely under your thumb.
Iris programmed Logan’s fingerprint into the bunker door access system and told him that from now on, after he harvested the vegetables, he should just leave them by the storage entrance and she’d handle the rest herself.
Logan didn’t question it for a second. He just nodded and accepted her orders without hesitation.
After Iris finished sorting through the day’s vegetables, she heard a voice calling from outside.
“I’m here to drop off supplies for Ms. Hale!”
A soft voice called out from the doorway. Sophie showed up with today’s delivery like usual, but when she got there, she froze at the sight of all these unfamiliar faces standing around.
She hesitated nervously by the door.
“Oh, you’re here?” Iris looked up.
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“Ms. Hale!” Sophie’s face lit up immediately.
She felt naturally drawn to Iris, and honestly, everyone under Iris‘ protection felt the same way.
Even Logan had developed this instinctive trust after agreeing
to work for her.
He saw Iris through rose–colored glasses now, so when his buddies talked trash about her, he genuinely couldn’t understand it. How could they not see what a good person she
was?
“Ms. Hale, I gave my dad those seeds you asked for yesterday. He said he’ll have them ready in about a week, so please be patient.”
“Sounds good. You guys haven’t run through all the supplies I gave you yet, right?”
“Not even close! My dad actually said you don’t need to give us anything else for now because we’re running out of storage space. Can we come trade with you again in a couple weeks?”
“Sure thing.”
Iris nodded and turned around. She’d been about to call for the dogs, but then she spotted those guys just standing there doing
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nothing. “Two of you, get over here and walk her home.”
Everyone just stared at her.
Two guys reluctantly stepped forward and escorted Sophie back to her place. After they left, Iris looked at the remaining men. “The rest of you, quit standing around. I’ve got work for you.”
More awkward silence.
They’d barely gotten a whiff of that barbecue and now she was putting them to work like pack mules.
Iris handed Logan a map and a stack of wooden signs. “Take them out and expand my territory.”
“Expand your territory?” Derek looked at her like she’d lost her mind. Why would anyone need to expand territory right now? The whole world was basically empty wasteland. Wasn’t every piece of land just sitting there for the taking?
Iris shot him a look. “I told you to do it, so do it. I want at least ten acres marked off before the end of the day.
“Put up signs with my name on every piece of open land you find.”
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“Yes ma’am!” Logan said firmly.
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πr Gifts
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Sara Lili is a daring romance writer who turns icy landscapes into scenes of fiery passion. She loves crafting hot love stories while embracing the chill of Iceland’s breathtaking cold.
