Under Her Hood (Blue Collar Alphas #2)
Chapter One
SADIE
“Sadie fucking McGuire!” My best friend whipped around, eyes leveled on me. “You didn’t tell me your boss was all kinds of fuck-hot!”
“Well, considering he’s an asshole, I guess I wouldn’t say that.” I climbed out of the car and gave her a small wave. “Thanks for the ride to work. I swear I’ll have my car fixed today, then no more rides.”
“It’s okay.” She winked. “I like the eye candy around here.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure when I’ll be home. If you can’t find me, you know I’ll be here working on Lucy.”
“Think you can score me the boss’ number, too?” She leered.
I laughed with a shake of my head. “I’ll do my best.”
“Grow your hair out, put on some lip gloss—men like lip gloss. Makes them think about kissing you.”
“I don’t want him kissing me!” The truth was, I had thought about Jackson Fox kissing me, a lot. My hand involuntarily reached up to my short blond bob, fussing with it like I always did when I was uncomfortable. I’d never wanted long hair, short and sassy matched my style, but more importantly it was convenient. Suddenly I was thinking about Jackson’s strong hands tugging on my hair as he bruised my lips with strong, soft kisses.
“Whatever. Prude.” Ashley blew me a kiss as she backed out of the parking space. “Love you!”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved her off before turning to go into the office.
I’d only been working at Fox Motors for a few weeks. I’d had to cajole the owner and boss, Jackson Fox, to give me the job. It wasn’t every day that a twenty-four-year-old woman walked into an auto body garage looking for work. But I was good at working on cars. I’d been doing it for years alongside my daddy, and I knew damn well I could show these guys a thing or two.
My mom hadn’t been very pleased when I’d told her what I wanted to do. She’d said she didn’t want a grease monkey for a daughter, but I didn’t give a shit. I loved cars, I loved the sense of accomplishment in fixing something and bringing it back to life.
And after Daddy had died suddenly from a massive heart attack, it was the only thing I could bring myself to do. It felt like he was still with me. Being around cars was what my father and I had, and I never wanted to lose that. If I didn’t have my head under a car’s hood, I’d be hiding out in my room, depressed and dwelling on the loss of the only man I’d ever loved, the only man who’d ever cared for and protected me.
“Mornin’, Sadie.” Lowell, one of the other mechanics, greeted me.
“Morning.” I smiled. “Get that Charger purrin’ yesterday?”
“Purrin’ like a kitten. Manifold needed work. Took me a while to figure it out, but man it was worth it to hear her sing.”
“I bet.” I grinned, glancing at the cobalt-blue beauty parked in the front lot.
“Sadie.” My boss, Jackson Fox, nodded as he came into the office.
“Hi.” I looked away, feeling the intense dark eyes eating me up. Jackson had that way about him…that thing that drew women in like flies, had them flipping their hair and dropping their panties with just one crooked twitch of his sinful lips.
No wonder Ashley wanted his number. If I were a different girl, I would, too. But I wasn’t the kind of girl men like Jackson went for. I avoided makeup most days, wore torn jeans, and kept my head down. Being a female in the auto industry meant I had something to prove. No way would I be the girl that dates the boss. I could just picture the guys snickering and saying how I fucked my way into a job, never mind that I was dedicated and amazing at it .
Not my style.
Chrome and leather, the smell of oil, and the weight of a wrench in my hand were my style. I knew I needed to work twice as hard to show these guys that I was the real deal.
“Slow day today.” Jackson’s voice vibrated with a deep timber. “Frank, can you take the oil changes? Got a chassis rebuild I want Sadie to work on with me.”
“A rebuild? Me? What?” I asked, shocked. I’d helped my dad on a few engine rebuilds over the years, but never a chassis.
“Time you flex those muscles. Said you had experience, right?” Jackson’s eyes cut to mine, holding me suspended in his intense gaze. How the hell would I get anything done working alongside him?
“Yeah, I just haven’t worked on the chassis before.”
“It shouldn't take more than a few hours,” Jackson murmured, tossing a pile of paperwork on his desk before turning to the crew. “Sadie and I will be in the back garage if you need me, guys.”
SADIE
“Sadie fucking McGuire!” My best friend whipped around, eyes leveled on me. “You didn’t tell me your boss was all kinds of fuck-hot!”
“Well, considering he’s an asshole, I guess I wouldn’t say that.” I climbed out of the car and gave her a small wave. “Thanks for the ride to work. I swear I’ll have my car fixed today, then no more rides.”
“It’s okay.” She winked. “I like the eye candy around here.”
I rolled my eyes. “I’m not sure when I’ll be home. If you can’t find me, you know I’ll be here working on Lucy.”
“Think you can score me the boss’ number, too?” She leered.
I laughed with a shake of my head. “I’ll do my best.”
“Grow your hair out, put on some lip gloss—men like lip gloss. Makes them think about kissing you.”
“I don’t want him kissing me!” The truth was, I had thought about Jackson Fox kissing me, a lot. My hand involuntarily reached up to my short blond bob, fussing with it like I always did when I was uncomfortable. I’d never wanted long hair, short and sassy matched my style, but more importantly it was convenient. Suddenly I was thinking about Jackson’s strong hands tugging on my hair as he bruised my lips with strong, soft kisses.
“Whatever. Prude.” Ashley blew me a kiss as she backed out of the parking space. “Love you!”
“Yeah, yeah.” I waved her off before turning to go into the office.
I’d only been working at Fox Motors for a few weeks. I’d had to cajole the owner and boss, Jackson Fox, to give me the job. It wasn’t every day that a twenty-four-year-old woman walked into an auto body garage looking for work. But I was good at working on cars. I’d been doing it for years alongside my daddy, and I knew damn well I could show these guys a thing or two.
My mom hadn’t been very pleased when I’d told her what I wanted to do. She’d said she didn’t want a grease monkey for a daughter, but I didn’t give a shit. I loved cars, I loved the sense of accomplishment in fixing something and bringing it back to life.
And after Daddy had died suddenly from a massive heart attack, it was the only thing I could bring myself to do. It felt like he was still with me. Being around cars was what my father and I had, and I never wanted to lose that. If I didn’t have my head under a car’s hood, I’d be hiding out in my room, depressed and dwelling on the loss of the only man I’d ever loved, the only man who’d ever cared for and protected me.
“Mornin’, Sadie.” Lowell, one of the other mechanics, greeted me.
“Morning.” I smiled. “Get that Charger purrin’ yesterday?”
“Purrin’ like a kitten. Manifold needed work. Took me a while to figure it out, but man it was worth it to hear her sing.”
“I bet.” I grinned, glancing at the cobalt-blue beauty parked in the front lot.
“Sadie.” My boss, Jackson Fox, nodded as he came into the office.
“Hi.” I looked away, feeling the intense dark eyes eating me up. Jackson had that way about him…that thing that drew women in like flies, had them flipping their hair and dropping their panties with just one crooked twitch of his sinful lips.
No wonder Ashley wanted his number. If I were a different girl, I would, too. But I wasn’t the kind of girl men like Jackson went for. I avoided makeup most days, wore torn jeans, and kept my head down. Being a female in the auto industry meant I had something to prove. No way would I be the girl that dates the boss. I could just picture the guys snickering and saying how I fucked my way into a job, never mind that I was dedicated and amazing at it .
Not my style.
Chrome and leather, the smell of oil, and the weight of a wrench in my hand were my style. I knew I needed to work twice as hard to show these guys that I was the real deal.
“Slow day today.” Jackson’s voice vibrated with a deep timber. “Frank, can you take the oil changes? Got a chassis rebuild I want Sadie to work on with me.”
“A rebuild? Me? What?” I asked, shocked. I’d helped my dad on a few engine rebuilds over the years, but never a chassis.
“Time you flex those muscles. Said you had experience, right?” Jackson’s eyes cut to mine, holding me suspended in his intense gaze. How the hell would I get anything done working alongside him?
“Yeah, I just haven’t worked on the chassis before.”
“It shouldn't take more than a few hours,” Jackson murmured, tossing a pile of paperwork on his desk before turning to the crew. “Sadie and I will be in the back garage if you need me, guys.”