Pieces of Us (Missing Pieces #3) - N.R. Walker Page 0,38

So,” I said, looking right at him. “Davo, first choice is yours. If you want to be the office manager here, the job’s yours.”

He shot me a stunned look. “Like, in your office and not out there working on bikes and stuff?”

“Well, yeah.”

He made a face. “Um, well, thanks for the offer, and I don’t mind helping out when you need it, but Dallas, I wanna be working on bikes too. It’s what we do, right?”

Sparra put his hands up in surrender. “Jesus, don’t look at me next. I don’t want it.”

I sighed with relief. “Oh, thank fuck,” I said with a laugh. “I mean, I had to offer it to ya, but damn, I’d be well and truly screwed trying to replace either of you guys on the floor.”

Davo smiled. “So you’re gonna put someone on the phones? Can’t say I’m sad about that.”

“Yeah, I know. Me either. I should’ve done it years ago. When I first started, I just did it all. Then you guys came along and helped out on the floor so I could do more stuff in the office, and that was great, but it was never my strong point. It’s just not me. I love my business, and I certainly don’t want to lose it, so I should start running it like . . . well, a business.”

I sipped my coffee, ignoring the lack of sleep from last night. “That’ll let you guys do your jobs with no interruptions, and it will let me do mine. I can be on the floor when I need to be, or I can go to doctor appointments without worrying that you guys are left with everything. And all things going well, it means we can book in more jobs because we’re not stopping every five minutes to answer phones and take bookings or chase parts or orders.”

“Sounds good,” Davo said. “But Dallas, you know we don’t mind, right?”

“I know, but I do. I put too much on you both. Oh,” I added. “I’ve got the rep for those hoists coming by next week.”

Sparra clapped his hands together and grinned. “We gonna be fancy!”

I laughed and let out a long breath. “Well, enough of the bullshit. I’m gonna go call an employment place and get the ball rolling then I can help both of you on the bikes.”

“Hey, beautiful,” I said, kissing Juss’ forehead. He was on the couch when I finally called it a day and went upstairs. He was dozy and had slept on and off all day, but he smiled.

“Hey.”

I slumped onto the couch beside him and put my head on his lap. I looked up at him. “I was thinking omelettes for dinner.”

His fingers found my hair and he was still smiling at me. “Sounds good.”

Well, I wasn’t sure about good. But they were quick and easy and required minimal effort to eat with no loud crunching or heavy chewing for Juss.

“But I could just lie here for a bit first,” I said. “And you could keep running your fingers through my hair.”

He chuckled. “I could.” He put one hand to work on my hair but his other hand sat on my chest, and I took that hand in mine, holding it tight. There was some surfing championship on the TV, the volume and brightness were low, but it was relaxing to watch. “This is nice,” he whispered.

“Being here with you like this is the best.”

He hummed and played with my hair for a bit. “How was work?” His question was slow, so he was still tired, but he wasn’t nodding off.

“Yeah, we got it all done,” I said. “I’m gonna hire someone for the office, Juss. Someone to answer the phones and organise the booking sheets and do some paperwork and ordering for me. That way I can get more work done in the shop.”

His hand stilled in my hair. “Is that because of me?”

“Not at all, baby. It’s long overdue, and having to stop halfway through a job to take a phone call is a pain for everyone. I want you and me and Davo and Sparra to be able to get our work done. Especially if you and I are away, then poor Davo is trying to do too much.”

Juss nodded and took some time to think about all that. “Sorry I can’t do more.”

“Don’t be sorry, Juss. It is what it is. You need to rest first, then you can worry about that. You’ll be back to work soon enough.