“I’m glad I asked,” he said, opening a plastic garbage bag for her. She stuffed in the used paper plates she’d collected. “Any interest in working here?”
She frowned, unsure if she’d heard him correctly. “At Reckless?”
“I really need someone to fill in for Mel until she comes back from maternity leave. I was going to call a temp service, but I’d rather not bring in someone I don’t know or trust. I ran it past Asher and he’s fine with it. If you’re interested, the job is yours.”
She looked around and thought about what it would be like to work here. From here she could see various parts and tools stacked neatly on shelves and hanging from wall hooks. Although the place seemed pretty clean and neat for a garage, it was still, well, a garage. She’d always worked in offices or restaurants and had once dreamed of working in a medical clinic, but never had she thought about working in a place like this. Vince would’ve loved it, and her father as well. They were always tinkering with small engines out in their garage when she was growing up. But not her.
“I know nothing about dirt bikes, motorcycles, or cars, for that matter. And if I’m being perfectly honest, loud engine noises kind of freak me out.” Vince used to chase her around the backyard with the leaf blower.
Rand smiled. “I’m not asking you to be a mechanic or take a bike for a test ride, darlin’, just do some office work. Answer the phone, schedule hours, make appointments, some light bookkeeping. It would really help me out. If Asher trusts you enough to bring you here, that’s good enough for me.”
Trust was something she hadn’t had much experience with in her relationships lately.
Rand rubbed the back of his neck, looking almost sheepish, like a kid who’d just been caught stealing cookies. “There is one thing you need to understand, though.”
Okay, here it was. The bombshell to blow up an otherwise perfect situation.
“My side business is parting out vehicles that have...uh…come into my possession.”
“You mean a chop shop?”
He shrugged, a hint of a smile on his lips. “More or less.”
She tried not to look disappointed, but she couldn’t work for an outfit doing something so blatantly illegal. “Do you steal them, too?”
“Not exactly. We acquire them from those who steal them from the army. Although that’s not to say I wouldn’t, if given the opportunity.”
The vehicles he was parting out had been stolen from the army? She brightened. Now that might be something she’d be willing to discard her moral compass for.
She considered her options. It would be awesome not to worry about finding a job right away. Reckless was far from the city and rent shouldn’t be any more expensive here than at her apartment on the peninsula, maybe even a little less. By the time Mel came back, Olivia would hopefully have found a new apartment and job. Besides, actively foiling the army, rather than being on the run from them, sounded pretty damn appealing.
“Would I be able to look for another, more permanent job situation while I’m working here?”
“Of course. In fact, if you want, you can stay in the RV out back till you find a new place.” He pointed over his shoulder with a frosting-coated plastic fork. She remembered seeing a white RV, the kind with slide-outs, parked near the dirt road into the motocross park. “Except for food, it’s pretty much ready to go. And just so you know, the guys who work here are tough but decent. I wouldn’t allow them to step foot on the premises and be around my daughter if they weren’t.”
As she consolidated the leftover juice from all the cups, she thought about the guys she’d met so far. There was Shane and his unruly black hair. Tall Paul who had terrible posture, making it clear he didn’t like being so tall. Arlo chewed bubblegum like a waitress working in a fifties dinner, so she guessed he was probably trying to quit smoking. And then there was Camps, who’d shown her pictures of his grandkids. Except for James, who hadn’t said more than two words to her, they all seemed decent. Rough, sure, but that was okay. The fact that they didn’t ask prying questions was a plus.
“They’ll leave you alone. They know you’re off-limits.”
“Just so we’re clear, there is no us between Asher and me, but I can understand why they’d make that assumption. After this week is over, that’s it.” She tried to keep her tone even and unemotional, even though it was painful to say the words. “I just need to make sure he won’t think it’s weird if I’m working here.”
“Weird? It’s obvious he’s crazy about you.” He turned away abruptly and shoved a paper plate into the garbage bag.