When the alarm went off, I dug my phone out from under my pillow and stared at it. The snooze button tempted me. I could hit it and sink back into the pillow for a few more minutes. But it was my first day of work and that might make me late, which wasn’t an option. It wasn’t lost on me how big of a deal it was that I’d even landed the position with Freeman Racing. Curiosity led me down the rabbit hole of an internet search the day before, and I’d discovered there wasn’t a single female mechanic on any of the racing teams in the area. Not one. Gus and Quentin made a bold choice when they agreed to hire me, and I didn’t want to jeopardize their trust in me or their confidence that they’d made the right decision. My goal was the same it had been since the day I did my interview: I would have to work harder, longer, and better than any other mechanic they’d ever had to make sure I proved myself every single day.
I didn’t just want them to think I was a good mechanic or to be happy I was around. I wanted them to think I was the best they had and feel like they wouldn’t be able to keep the company running without me. Possibly not the most realistic ambition considering the rest of their stable of mechanics had been with the company for many years and were exceptional at what they did. But a girl can dream.
Dragging myself reluctantly out of bed, I went into the bathroom for a shower I hoped would wake me up. By the time I got out, my usual morning energy was there, and I got ready quickly. Willa was still sound asleep when I crept into her room to kiss her goodbye. Flora was just arriving when I grabbed my bag and started for the door. I gave her a quick rundown of everything Willa needed to do during the day, reminded her again of my contact information while I was at work, and told her if she needed anything, to call me immediately. My daughter was where I drew the line of wanting to be totally professional. If she needed anything or something went wrong, I didn’t care who might be bothered by a phone call.
I got outside, took a deep breath, and headed toward the racing complex. I was far more nervous than I expected to be when I thought of seeing Darren again. Even though we’d agreed to be friends, in all honesty I wasn’t really sure I could manage that. I was the one who’d brought it up, who’d insisted on him agreeing that we would keep everything professional and focus only on being friends. But now I wondered if that was even feasible. Maybe I should haven’t mentioned it. Maybe I should have just kept my mouth closed after he said he wanted me to work at the complex. It was almost as though putting it out into the world that we needed to just be friends put extra pressure on me and gave my brain inspiration to remind me of what I actually felt about him.
As evidenced by the crazy sexy dreams I’d been having about him since I saw him. And the fact that his daughter was sleeping soundly at home.
I was still willing myself not to think about the dream from the night before when I got into the compound. When I walked into the main office building, Glenda, the receptionist, directed me to the HR office. That sounded very formal, and I was inexplicably intimidated until I got where she directed me and realized it was just Minette Freeman’s office. The elegant older woman sat at the desk deeply engrossed in something on her computer screen when I walked in.
“Good morning, Kelly!” she exclaimed when she noticed me. “Welcome.”
“Good morning, Minette. Thank you.”
“Please… Minnie,” she said. “Come on in and sit down. Let’s talk a bit before you head out to work.”
I nodded and sat in the chair across from her. The conversation was easy, and she made even potentially uncomfortable topics like confirming vacation time, paid time off, sick days, raise opportunities, and expectations casual and unintimidating. As we talked, I realized I really liked the older woman a lot, even if I was very aware she was Darren’s mother. And that she was doing everything she could to figure me out without me realizing it.
When we were finished talking, she stood and gestured for the door.
“You can head on down to the garage,” she said.
“Really?” I asked, not really meaning to, but so surprised I couldn’t hold it back.
“Of course,” she said. “Unless there’s something else you need to talk about.”
“No,” I told her, shaking my head. “I just figured someone would bring me down there or something.”
She laughed. “Did you forget how to get there?”
“No.”
“Then you don’t need anyone. We all think of this place as our second home, and that’s what it is for you now, too,” she told me.
The touching sentiment brought a smile to my face as I left the building and made my way through the lush green of the center of the complex and down to the garage. My heart trembled a bit when I saw Darren already inside, standing next to his father, as both men stared down at a bike they had partially dismantled. His grease-stained jeans and black tank top were hot as hell, and I had to wrench my eyes away from him to keep from drooling. Instead of letting myself get completely distracted by his sexiness, I didn’t hesitate and instead made my way right to the pieces of the bike. That was my job, after all, and I was going
