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I keep working on the engine, taking it one piece and one screw at a time until I’m able to get deeper into the Buick’s entrails. My mood is shifting downward, however, because I don’t like being lied to. I understood my brother’s desire to help this guy, but he’s causing me more work instead of less.
“I’m sorry, I really am,” Randy says with a trembling voice. “I’m just desperate to work, Fallon, I swear to you. I’ll do anything. I’ll learn everything there is to know about fixing cars. Believe me when I tell you that I’m a fast learner. You won’t even have to babysit me, I promise. I’ll read up on whatever manual you need me to read up on. I’ll clean the shop and hand you any tool you need. I’ll order parts and bring you customers if you need ‘em. I’ll do anything, just please don’t fire me.”
“Why’d you lie, then? You could’ve just said you didn’t know anything.”
“I needed to make sure you’d hire me. I’m desperate here. I’m hungry and living out of my car. I’m defaulting on my student loans and I can’t even get a job befitting the degree I got myself into student debt for in the first place,” Randy says, seemingly at his wit’s end. “I can’t live like this for much longer. I need a home, I need a roof over my head, a bed to sleep in, and I need food. How am I gonna build myself back up if nobody will give me a chance?”
I take a deep breath and step back from the Buick as I try to gather my thoughts. He’s pitiful, and I do my best to understand his situation. He doesn’t strike me as a bad guy, just a lost little southern boy in search of a better life. The whole of Lincoln County is known as one of the more prosperous parts of Nebraska, so I can’t exactly blame the guy for coming all the way up here looking for a job and a place to live. But I keep my own standards high, and there has been a breach of trust that I cannot simply ignore.
Yet I can’t kick him to the curb just yet, either. I’m not a monster. Not anymore.
“Please, Fallon, forgive me,” Randy adds, close to tears. “I’ll do anything…”
“You’ll stick to cleaning up, to opening and closing the shop, to welcoming customers and taking phone calls for me,” I decide. “You’ll tidy up after me, you’ll order whatever I need, and you will take every fixed car for a test drive around the block before we call the customers to come in and pick their vehicles up. You’ll also chase anybody who’s late on their bills.”
“I can do that!” Randy says, his eagerness resembling that of a child stepping into Disneyland for the first time. “I’m gonna keep this place clean. Spotless! I’ll do whatever you need me to do in order to make your life easier, I promise.”
“And no more lying.”
“No more lyin’, I swear.”
I look at him for a long, heavy moment. He seems so small and meek before me. Then again, everybody seems small and meek before me. I’m well aware of my intimidating size, though I’ve rarely had to consciously use it in order to get something out of a situation. I nod slowly and go back to fixing this marvelous old Buick, hoping I’ll be able to deliver it in perfect working condition once I’m done with it.
“Alright, then,” I mumble. “You can go ahead and clean the office, there’s no point in cleaning up the garage just yet.”
“Thank you, Fallon. Thank you.”
I listen to the sound of his footsteps receding into the back office and wonder if I’ve made the right choice. My heart feels good about giving this guy another chance. But if he fucks it up, he’s out of here. I don’t give second chances. I barely give one.
A few hours later, as the early winter evening begins to set over the town, I wrap up my work for the day and slip into the service shower before changing into my regular clothes. I’m stopping by Avery’s and my favorite diner to pick up a couple of slices of pecan pie for her. She’s dying for some of their signature crumble, and I’d be a fool not to delight my woman with such a small and precious pleasure of life.My woman. Is she, though? I don’t know.
But she is mine while she’s here, and that’s all that matters. Deep down, I dread the day I’ll have to watch Avery leave. Not today, though.
Once I’m out of the shower, I dress into clean jeans, a button up cotton shirt, and leather boots before heading into the back office to say goodbye to Randy. I find him organizing the file cabinet, taking each drawer at a time and throwing out the old stuff—he knows to only keep folders dated from last year onward. Everything else can go as we’re no longer required to save copies a year after the service was completed.
“How are you coming along?” I ask him.
“Oh, I’m good, Fallon. It’s going easier than I’d expected, but that’s because you have a good filing system,” Randy says with a bright smile. “I should be done before eight, I reckon.”
Since I keep no money in this office, I’m fine with letting him stay. “Cool. I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Lock up for me, will you?”
“Yes, sir!”
I can’t help but smile as I head out and get behind the wheel of my SUV. I’m excited to see Avery. She has already texted, kindly reminding me to not forget about the pie, and I’m eager to fulfill her wishes. I have her all to myself tonight and while I absolutely enjoy sharing her with Luke and Kellan, I do love the nights when it’s just the two of us. We get to do the dirtier and rougher stuff she loves. She gets to ride me like the wild thing that she truly is. There’s something about us that goes deep into the darker side of decadence, but I always make sure she’s enjoying it and comfortable.
My cock jumps with excitement.
I turn the key in the ignition, but the engine chokes.
“Shit,” I mumble, frowning as I turn the key again.
It won’t start.
That can’t be right. This car is less than a year out of the manufacturing plant. First owner. She was pristine when I got her, and I baby her. She runs smoothly, her engine purring like a loving kitty cat whenever it’s turned on. This isn’t supposed to happen.
I check my watch, realizing I’ve only got about half an hour before I’ll be late getting home, so I quickly check under the hood to try and figure out what’s wrong with my car. Cursing under my breath, I realize I have to do a full computer diagnosis, and that alone would take a couple of hours.
“Dammit,” I growl as I slap the hood down with a heavy thud.
