Sweet Carolina(18)

She'd disappeared while he was on the phone with the hotel where the pit crew would be staying in Arizona. He checked the other offices, ones he remembered being staffed back in the day. He found her in the garage, dressed in a pair of clean coveralls, arguing about an adjustment on the new fuel injection system now in use. Dell stood back and listened as she patiently, but firmly told the engineer what she wanted done, and why.

“He didn't have enough power to win last week, Charlie. If you make the adjustment, the engine will run better, and Dell might have a chance of winning in Phoenix.”

“But, Ms. Hawkins –”

“Just do it, Charlie. I know what I’m talking about, and if it doesn't work, feel free to tell everyone it was my idea and you were only following orders.”

“Yes, ma'am,” he said.

“Good. I want this engine in the car and the test run done before we close up today. It has to be on the road tomorrow morning.”

“Yes, ma'am, I'm aware of the time constraint.”

Caro turned and saw him standing in the doorway. She raised one eyebrow at him.

Dell raised his hands in defense. “Hey, don't look at me. I'm all for anything that will squeeze more RPM out of an engine.”

“You should be.” She pushed past him and Dell moved a bit to let her pass. “I expect you to win in Phoenix.”

“And I plan to. I always race to win,” he said to her back as he followed her down the hall, watching her ponytail swish side-to-side. He was imagining it doing the same thing while she rode him, naked and flushed with passion.

“That's why I hired you.”

“Will he make the adjustment?” Dell asked.

Caro stopped and turned to him. She fisted her hands on her hips and glared at him. “I have no idea. I could stand over him and watch, but there's no guarantee he wouldn't change it back as soon as I left anyway, so you'll have to tell me after your practice runs. If he made the adjustment, you should have more power: if not, this engine will be identical to the one you ran last week. Even if you hadn't wrecked, you wouldn't have won. The car wasn't a winner, even on a short track. You've got to have more power to be competitive at Phoenix.”

“I agree, but so you know, I race to win, even if I don't have a prayer.”

“Well, if Charlie makes the adjustment I asked for, you'll have a prayer in Phoenix.” She turned and walked away. Dell watched her backside sway side-to-side, wondering when he'd found coveralls so enticing. Never, was the answer. Of course, he'd never seen a pair filled out so nicely either. And he was dying to get his hands on her hair. He imagined some kind of secret pin hidden in there, and if a man were to find it, and pull…a cascade of silky blonde hair would come tumbling down….

He shook his head to clear it. Damn, he shouldn't be daydreaming about taking her hair down, or how those hips of hers would feel swaying against his, or how much fun it would be to peel the zipper down on those coveralls and kiss every inch of bared skin. He was pretty sure she wore them over her office clothes, but what if…? His little brain filled in the missing image of soft, pale skin, creamy breasts covered in something lacy and utterly feminine, something that matched the scrap of panties he'd have to slide his hand inside her coveralls to get to. Footsteps behind him snapped him out of his erotic, and completely inappropriate daydream.

Dell slipped into the first open door he found and leaned against the wall of the supply closet, closing his eyes and taking deep breaths. Caro had enough troubles without everyone in the place knowing her driver sported a hard-on for her. Pine cleaner and musty mop odor worked surprisingly well as an antidote to lust, and after a few minutes, Dell left the closet. He grabbed the travel folder Caro had given him and returned it to her office where she was, once again, in her prim Junior. League outfit, hunched over her desk. Not that she wasn't sexy as hell in that get-up, but in those coveralls…

Dell caught a glimpse of them hanging on a coat rack in the corner and quickly shifted his gaze back to the woman behind the desk before his mind filled in the details again. He dropped the folder on her desk. “I confirmed everything.”

“Thanks, Dell. I appreciate it.”

“No problem, but is there a reason we don't have return plane tickets from Phoenix?”

“Oh!” she said. She pawed through another stack of papers and came up with another folder. “I forgot to tell you – we're going straight to Las Vegas from Phoenix. It will give us a few extra days to test the new car before practice begins for the race the following week. I've already made arrangements to get the new car there.”

“What's to test?” he asked.