“Quinn, you just sold the garage.”
“Yes,” I say, looking into his eyes. “And my father is an alcoholic. He ran us dry, Jace. The bills took a massive portion of that. It won’t last forever and I don’t want to get stuck when it runs out.”
He nods. “I understand.”
“Quinn?”
The sound of my dad’s pained cry jerks me off the bed. Jace gets up behind me. Dad was out when Jace came to hang with me, but he must be home and by the sounds of it he isn’t doing so well. I rush out of the room and down the hall, skidding to a halt when I see my father hanging off the kitchen counter, barely holding on. He’s covered in vomit, his shirt is torn and he has grazed and bleeding knees. He obviously fell a few times.
My shoulders slump and I turn to Jace. “You should go.”
Jace stares at my father, the expression on his face a little broken and a lot horrified.
“Quinn,” he whispers. “I didn’t realize…”
“Jace, just go.”
He snaps out of it. “No, no way.”
He strides towards my dad before I can, and hauls him up straight. “Right, Robbo, takin’ you to the shower.”
“Jace?” Dad mumbles, blinking up at him.
“Yeah, it’s me. Come on.”
“Jace,” I say but he gives me a hard look.
“No, Quinn. Let me help. You clean up the mess.”
He nods towards the front door and I turn to see a pile of vomit on the floor. Great. Jace disappears into the bathroom with Dad, and I gather up my disinfectant and bucket, then I get to work scrubbing the carpet. My phone rings midway through. I push to my feet with a weary sigh and wash my hands, then I pull it out of my pocket and am surprised to see Tazen’s number on my screen.
Why is he calling me?
I press the green button and put it to my ear. “What?”
“That’s not a nice way to speak to your boss, Quinn.”
I sigh. “I’m not in the mood right now, Tazen. Why are you calling?”
He’s silent for a minute. “Everything okay?”
“Don’t pretend you care. What. Do. You. Want?”
“I can’t find my recent projects folder.”
“You’re in the garage?” I ask, surprised.
He laughs softly. “I don’t stop working, angel.”
“Right,” I mumble.
“Quinnie!” I hear shrieked from the bathroom and my back snaps straight.
“Tazen, hang on.”
“Quinn?” Tazen asks, concern etched in his voice. “What the fuck was that?”
“Just … I’ll call you back okay?”
“Quinn…”
“I’ll call you—”
My sentence is cut off when my father comes charging out of the bathroom, stark naked. I scream and spin around, horrified. “Jesus fuck!”
“Quinn!” Tazen barks.
I hang up quickly and drop the phone, calling out, “Jace?”
“Sorry, Quinn,” Jace says, rushing out behind him, his voice sympathetic. “I was showering the old man and he freaked out on me.”
“Quinnie,” Dad protests. “What the fuck?”
Anger bubbles in my chest, but I keep my back to him and my mouth closed.
“Come on, Robbo.” Jace tries for calm. “Get yourself dressed and go sleep it off.”
“Fuck you, Jace,” Dad barks and I flinch.
This is something I’ve noticed has been happening more and more lately. Dad is getting angrier, more short-tempered. This worries me.
“Relax,” Jace warns. “It’s time for bed.”
“You don’t tell me when I go to bed,” Dad slurs. “Who the hell do you think you are? Bring it on, boy.”
“Dad,” I yell, finally losing my hold on the anger bubbling up. “Get dressed and get into bed. I can’t take this anymore. If you’re going to act like a child, that’s how we’re going to treat you.”
“Quinnie…” Dad whispers, hurt.
My shoulders slump and tears burn under my eyelids. “Just,” I whisper, “go to sleep.”
There’s shuffling sounds, and a moment later a door closes. I slowly turn to see I’m alone in the room again. I glance down at the mess only half cleaned on the floor and the phone beside it that is flashing with another phone call. Tazen. Fuck. I reach down and snatch it up, pressing it to my ear.
“Tazen.”
“What the hell, Quinn?” he yells. “I’m coming over.”
He’s … what?
“No, you can’t come over,” I cry.
“I fucking can. You were screaming. Are you hurt? Fuck, angel, are you hurt?”
He’s … worried for me. My heart swells.
“I’m okay,” I say softly. “It was just … a friend stayed the night and he was drunk. It’s a long story but I’m fine, don’t come over.”
Tazen is silent a minute. “You’re lying to me.”
I close my eyes. “I’m your employee, Tazen. You’ve made that horribly clear. I’m no more. What happens here is none of your concern. You rang about a file, it’s under new builds in the second filing cabinet. I’ll see you Monday.”
“Angel,” he starts, but I click the phone off.
I drop my head and let one silent tear run down my cheek.
* * *
By Monday morning, I’m ready for work again. My weekend was slow after Dad’s drunken meltdown, and I spent most of it making sure it didn’t happen again. Jace came over to check on me a few times and Lenny showed up once and kept an eye on Dad for a few hours so I could go to the store and stock the fridge. I know Jace told Lenny what happened, and I know they’re both looking out for me.
But I’m tired.
So damned tired.
I get into the garage before Tazen and the guys, so I get some serious invoicing done. By the time nine rolls around, I’m on top of most of the work for the day. This work is boring the hell out of me, and I honestly don’t know how I’m going to keep on top of it when all I want to do is go out into that garage. Maybe Jace is right, maybe I need to let it go and get another job.
“Hey.”
I turn to see Tazen standing in the doorway to the office.
“Ah, hey.”
He tilts his head to the side and studies me. “How was your weekend?”
I stand. “Fine. I have done all the work for the day already. I think I’m going to take the rest of the day to look for work. I’m not cut out for this.”
Tazen’s eyes narrow. “I thought you would do anything not to have to leave this place?”
I cross my arms. “Yes, Tazen, you’re right but it’s clear you’re never going to give me even a slight chance to work as a mechanic so I’ll find someone who will. Now, unless there is something else you need me to do, I’m going to head out.”
He studies me for a long, long moment before he finally speaks. “You want a job in the garage?”
“Is that a stupid question?” I mutter.
He smirks at me.
“Answer my question, angel.”
“Yes, Tazen, I want a job in the garage.”
“Fine,” he says, crossing his arms. “It turns out I might have some work for you there. But there are conditions.”
I roll my eyes to the ceiling, then back, muttering, “Of course there are.”
“You don’t touch my builds.”
I blink. “So you want me to do what then?”
“We have a fuck load that come back in for services, replacement bits, things like that. You can help out on those, it’s basic work but it’ll give you great experience. You’ll have free range with all that, but no one touches my builds except my trained men.”
Gosh, I hate him sometimes.
But he knows I’ll accept, because even doing basics on the cars that come back in is an amazing chance. It’s also a chance to prove just what I can do to Tazen arrogant Watts.
“Fine,” I say casually.
“You work the same hours, and you take
orders from me like the other guys. You’re not running this show anymore, Quinn. You do something without my permission, I fire you. These are the same rules all the men have.”
“Fine,” I say again.
“Good.” He steps out of the way. “Let’s see how well you really handle this man’s environment, because I can tell you now, my guys won’t be happy about having a woman on the team.”
“Your guys can suck it.” I smile coldly. “Now, can I start?”
He waves a hand again. “Let’s see what you’ve got, angel.”
Challenge accepted.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
He isn’t kidding.
The guys don’t say it out loud, but it’s clear that I’m not an accepted part of their boys’ club. They treat me like I’m invisible and only give me the easiest jobs. I keep my shit together and do my job efficiently. That is, at least, until their little pranks. “This isn’t funny!” I yell, throwing my oily rag toward Tazen who is standing in his office laughing.
I stare down at my coveralls and inwardly screech. The men thought it would be funny to cut holes where my breasts and ass are meant to go. I don’t have anything else to wear, and the skirt I was in is hardly acceptable. I want to smack him for laughing. That’s the last thing I wanted to do when I was changing into my coveralls in the female restroom.
As I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw that my leopard-print bra was poking through the two messily cut holes. I turned and stared at my ass, and my cheeks flushed. I’m wearing a G-string, because I hadn’t done the washing and it was all I had left. My butt cheeks are poking out the holes cut there. I was so angry I stormed into Tazen’s office, not even caring if anyone got a glimpse of my ass.
“How is this funny?” I yell. “This is wildly inappropriate and offensive on so many levels.”
He stops laughing. Then his eyes grow a little more serious. Clearly he can see this has upset me.
“Listen, Quinn,” he says. “The guys are testing you, seeing how much of their bullshit you can handle. They do it to the new guys, too. I can go out there and rip them a new one, if you’re upset, and believe me I will. It’s up to you. How do you want this handled?”
He’s being serious. He laughed at first, but now his eyes are scanning my face and I know, even though he’s arrogant at times, that Tazen will defend me if I ask him to. But … he’s right. They are testing me and I can handle it. I will handle it. I am trying to prove I belong in this world, and so running to the boss isn’t exactly going to help my cause.
“No, I’ve got this.”
He nods and hands me a roll of duct tape. “Now patch up those holes and get back out there. Show them they can’t faze you.”
I take the tape from his hand. He grins.
“But before you do,” he says, his eyes dancing with amusement. “Turn around one more time so I can enjoy the view.”
“Careful, Tazen.” I grin at him. “Revenge is coming, and you aren’t safe from it.”
“I look forward to it, baby.”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The next few days at work are crazy. Tazen gets the car out and then a new job comes in, so it’s right back to square one. I’m busy helping out where I can, but I so desperately want to work on those cars with him. When the new job comes in, things slow slightly because we have time to move with it, so Tazen calms down. It’s then I get my revenge.
He purchased a whole heap of nuts for the guys, which he puts out during the day for them to nibble on. He’s been doing this since I’ve been there, but today they’re getting a whole new level of snacking. When they’re busy, I go in and swing the cupboard open, pulling out all the nuts. I bring them into the men’s room, lock the door, and drop them all in the toilet, which is in need of a good cleaning. Then I dredge them out and put them in a bowl. I have my phone held out in front of me as I’m doing this, filming the entire thing.
I may or may not do this laughing like a hyena. I shuffle the nuts in the bowl, and they look perfect, like nothing sinister has happened to them. Wiping my smirk off my face, I carry the bowl out to the guys.
“Hey, nuts are up.”
As always, the guys don’t hesitate. They’re in the middle of their lunch breaks, so all of them take a good handful of nuts. Tazen included. I watch with bubbling laughter as they throw them into their mouths, chewing happily. Poor, helpless males.
“How’re your nuts?” I ask, making a choked, laughing sound.
Tazen has just thrown a few into his mouth and is chewing, but at my words he stops. His eyes flick to the guys, who seem oblivious to my little outburst.
“They don’t seem as salty,” Kellan says, chewing. “Did you get the unsalted ones in an attempt to keep us healthy?” He pats his belly.
I burst out laughing, I can’t hold it back. Tazen leans forward and spits the nuts onto the ground. All the guys stare in horror at Tazen’s chewed-up nuts and then their eyes flick to me. With hysterical laughter rising from my throat, I open my phone and pull up the video, turning it towards them. As they realize what I did, they start spitting their nuts out. Some even get up and charge to the bathroom.
I’m laughing so hard my belly hurts.
“That’ll teach all of you for being assholes and pranking me!”
I’m laughing and hiccupping and laughing some more. I double over, wrapping my arms around my belly.
“You’re seriously evil,” Tazen grunts.
“I told you I’d get you back. Now if you don’t start treating me like an equal, my next prank will be much worse. Got it?”
The guys’ reactions range from grunts, to chuckles, to nods. I have come to get to know their names and their roles now. There is Rick, who is Tazen’s second in command, Kellan and Toby who are Tazen’s apprentices, Drasco and Kyle who are his painters and detailers, then Lloyd and Michael who are seriously amazing mechanics that do all the engine work with Tazen. I haven’t had a chance to talk to many of them, because I really only work with Kellan and Toby on the easy jobs. Kellan is coming around, but Toby is an angry dude.
“Well,” I say, doing a graceful bow. “That’s me for the day!”
I turn, still laughing, and get back to work. I realize only after I’m midway through my afternoon jobs, that it’s the first time I’ve truly felt at ease for a long, long time. I never thought that would happen when I lost the garage, but I’m slowly coming to terms with all the changes. They’re more challenging than I could ever have bargained for, and that isn’t a bad thing.
I think I might just like it here.
* * *
Yawning, I stretch and take lazy steps as I head into the garage. It’s just about 7 a.m., but no one is here yet, which is strange. It’s Friday and Tazen told me to be in earlier for a job that needed to go out by closing of business today. I pushed my ass out of bed and made it in on time, but no one is here. I figure I can get started anyway, so unlock the front door and step in.
I don’t see it coming, because obviously no one sees a giant paint tin swinging towards their face coming. I open my mouth to scream but it hits me straight in the forehead. I stumble backwards as a sharp pain radiates through my head. I topple to the ground as I lose my balance. I crash down with a cry, trying to steady my fall with my hands but not succeeding.
I land flat on my back.
Agony.
Something warm is gushing down my forehead and I realize it’s blood. Tears burst to my eyelids and I try to push up, but my head is spinning so I stay down. I hiccup and a sob tears from my lips. This was a prank, obviously, but it was a cruel, heartless one. He could have killed me. A mix of anger and pain swirl in my chest and my tears flow harder.
I press my hand to my forehead to stop the blood flow, but do no more because I can’t control the tears.
I don’t know how long I lay like that, clutching my head, but I hear a shouted, “Fuck,” and then Tazen is kneeling over me, his hands on my face.
“Y-y-y-you,” I croak. “Pie
ce of shit.”
“Baby,” he whispers, his voice pained. “I didn’t…”
“Do you think it was funny?” I sob. “You could have killed me.”
“Shit, it wasn’t meant to … it was meant to just spill.”
“Yeah,” I laugh brokenly. “Well clearly it didn’t.”
He leans down, scooping me into his arms. “I’m so sorry, angel.”
“You’re not sorry, you’ve wanted to hurt me like this from the start.”
“No,” he says, striding towards the bathrooms. “No I didn’t.”
He sounds truly pained, and I know he didn’t mean for it to go like this. I can tell just by his reaction, but I’m hurting and I’m embarrassed. I squirm in his arms, but he holds me tighter. “Hold still, you’re covered in blood. Fuck. Where are you hurt?”
“My, ah, head.”
I blink as I feel a bit light-headed. “Tazen,” I whisper. “I’m dizzy.”
“Shit,” he says, kicking the door to the office open. “Do you want me to call an ambulance?”
“I don’t … ah … know.”
“Sit, let me see.”
He places me down on the desk and rushes towards the cabinets to pull out the first-aid kit. He doesn’t speak as he starts wiping my head, and getting the blood away so he can see the gash. I stop feeling dizzy as he works and when I’m cleaned up, he leans in close to inspect the gash. I don’t know what comes over me, but the sudden urge to taste him, to feel him, overwhelms me. I try to push it back as I whisper, “Tazen?”
His eyes dart down to mine. “Yeah, angel?”
“We took it too far.”
He closes his eyes for a moment and nods sharply. “Yeah, baby, we did.”
“I’m sorry.”
His eyes shoot open and he stares at me in shock. “No, don’t you say that. I’ve been a fucking dick to you.”
“And I’ve been a royal pain in the ass.”
His eyes go back to my gash. “I hurt you.”
I reach up before thinking, and place my fingers against his cheek. His eyes find mine and everything just seems to move quickly from there. He leans down and captures my lips with his, and before I know it, we’re kissing. It isn’t a deep kiss, but it’s long and it’s sweet. His lips explore mine with no tongue for a while, then he snakes an arm around my hip and pulls me closer to him, forcing my legs apart so he’s standing between them.