silence.
“Whatever, just get back here.”
Rick slams the phone down and glares at me. “You got any ideas?”
His question stuns me, and surprises me so much I open my mouth to answer but nothing comes out. Impatient, Rick shakes his head, clearly too frustrated to wait. Instead, he barks at the guys. “Toby, go and get the plans for this engine. Kellan, check everything again.”
“Give me a minute, I might be able to help,” I say, thinking hard about what the problem might be.
Rick is obviously finished giving me my chance. This pisses me off. Toby and Kellan rush off and Rick starts talking to Drasco, so I slip in behind him and study the engine. I run my fingers over all the pieces, checking to see if they’re connected right. I check the gas lines, and they seem to be correct. I look at all the fuses, and they seem fine. While Rick and Drasco are chatting, I slide underneath the engine, and mess around with the battery. Then, clear as day, I see the problem.
The starter connection is broken. With a snort, I slide out to see Drasco and Rick bickering about something, still not having noticed I’m under the engine. I find the correct tooling I need and slide back under the car to fix what is quite simple. I tinker carefully, not wanting to cause any more problems. I’m just about finished when I hear, “What the fuck?”
I ignore that and do the last adjustments on the connections, and then slide out to see Tazen, Rick, Drasco, Toby and Kellan all staring down at me. I stand up, slap my spanner into Tazen’s hand and then turn, flicking the engine over. It roars to life. I face them again with a smile. “You’re welcome.”
Then I walk off, but really, I want to skip.
I just showed them all up, and in front of their boss.
Finally.
* * *
I’m in the female restroom, washing my face and fixing my hair when I see Tazen appear in the mirror. He’s standing behind me, leaning against the door frame. I meet his eyes in the glass and he gives me a lazy, gorgeous half smile. “That was impressive what you did back there.”
“I told you,” I say, lifting my hair into a neater ponytail. “I know what I’m doing.”
“Just how experienced are you, angel?”
“I’ve been doing it since I was under five years old, Tazen. My dad before, ah, we lost my mom, was one of the best mechanics around. He taught me every single thing I know. I did an apprenticeship underneath him when I was fifteen for five years. Then I became a fully qualified mechanic.”
“Jesus,” he mutters.
“Yeah,” I say. “And you thought I was just a stupid girl.”
“Never thought that.”
I meet his eyes again. “Well, it’s beside the point now. You’ve seen for yourself what I can do.”
“Yeah I have, and it’s why I’m in here.”
I feel excitement bubble in my chest, but I keep my casual expression. “Oh?”
“I want you on my team.”
I want to scream inside, but I don’t.
“You … do?”
“Yeah,” he says, studying me. “I’ve been impressed with your work. Not just today but every day. It’s neater and more precise than any of the guys on my team. Men have heavy hands, but your work is delicate. In the business I’m running, that’s important. People want perfection. So, I’m offering you a full-time job as one of my mechanics.”
I’m inwardly screaming with joy.
“Will I get to help on the builds?”
He nods. “Yeah, you will.”
“And you won’t treat me like an idiot?”
He grins. “No, angel.”
“Then I accept.”
Happy dance. Happy dance. Happy dance.
“Good, then fix your hair and get back out there. You’re part of the team now.”
I let my hair go with a massive grin. I turn and his smile gets bigger when he sees how happy I am. He steps forward and his arm lashes out, curling around my waist. “I don’t fuck employees,” he murmurs, staring at my lips.
“I’d like to hope not,” I laugh softly. “They’re all men.”
He grunts, but he’s smiling. “Exactly. But this time, I think I’ll make an exception.”
“That might not be a good idea,” I say.
“It’s a great idea. There’s a fuck load of hoods to bend you over out there.”
My cheeks get pink.
“But,” he says, looking away. “We can’t make it known to the guys.”
“I get that.”
And I do get it. Relationships in a close-knit garage like this can cause everyone tension if they go wrong. Besides, right