He shrugged and waved her off. “It’s actually been fun to work on it. Since Mia’s husband Carter owns W Motors, all the cars around here are either in pristine shape or electric. I’ve loved getting my hands messy in an engine again.”
Immediately, Bonnie’s mind took the phrase to a dirty place. She would like him to get messy with her engine. If he could make her car purr, she could only imagine what he could do with her body.
“I really appreciate it,” she repeated, forcing the sexual thoughts from her mind.
He opened up the passenger-side door for her to get in. If the cherry red sleek exterior was nice, the inside was even better. Everything was smooth lines and leather. It smelled like new car and felt like she was in the most comfortable chair of her life. It was hard to believe this was a car.
“Wow,” she whispered, running her hand along the dash. “What kind of car is this?”
“Ferrari,” he replied, putting on his seat-belt.
Bonnie’s eyes bugged out a little bit. “I’ve never even seen a real Ferrari. How do you have a Ferrari?”
“I told you,” he said with a shrug. “I stole it.”
She gave him a stern look as he started the engine. It hummed like a musical instrument. He pumped the gas, making it roar for a second, and she grinned.
“Seriously, how do you have this car?” she asked, looking around. “How does a ranch hand at a non-profit ranch for foster kids afford something like this? I’m guessing Mia doesn’t give them out as bonus perks.”
He laughed and revved the engine again before pulling out onto the dirt road leading out of the ranch. He went slow, keeping an eye out for kids. Even on the uneven gravel, the car sailed like she was floating.
“I wasn’t always a ranch hand,” he told her.
“Okay.” She smiled at him. He was enjoying having her have to figure him out. “So, what did you do before?”
“I owned a company.”
She looked around at the very fancy car. “Must have been some company. Why’d you quit? You must have been good at whatever you did.”
“I hated it,” he replied, pulling onto the highway. The car sped up, and she fell back in her seat with the momentum of it. She’d never been in a car that accelerated like this. She wondered for a moment if this was what astronauts felt like when they went up into space.
The engine hummed like it was singing with joy as they zipped along the mountain road. She remembered her own engine sounding far less happy.
“I was constantly working,” he continued once the car got up to speed. “Yeah, I made a lot of money, but I had no life. I woke up, got on my computer, ate on my computer, worked out on my computer, and then barely slept because I was thinking about my computer. It wasn’t living.”
“I’m sorry,” Bonnie said softly. She thought about reaching out and taking his hand but didn’t. She wasn’t supposed to get attached to the people here.
“Don’t be.” He guided the car around a turn without having to slow down. The car took the turn with graceful ease. “I sold my company, and I haven’t touched a computer for anything other than emailing my mom. It’s fantastic.”
“I’m sure your mom appreciates that,” she said with a chuckle. She looked at the car again. “What company was it?”
He turned and grinned at her, his dark eyes sparkling. “You really want to know?”
“I do now.” Her curiosity piqued. What kind of business could he have had to be able to buy a Ferrari?
“FirmHard Tech.” He said it and then waited for her response to the name.
It sounded familiar. She rolled the name on her tongue for a moment before it hit her where she recognized it. Three months ago, the sale was the only the only thing the news seemed capable of talking about.
“You’re the owner of FirmHard Tech? The one Google bought for one point three billion dollars?” She remembered the newscasters saying how the company was going to bring in even more money for Google, but that the CEO wasn’t part of the purchase price.
“That’s me.” He grinned at her.
“No way,” she said after a moment. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Well, if the Ferrari doesn’t do it for you, feel free to look me up.” He nodded to her phone in her lap. “Dylan Abbott. Two B’s, two T’s.”
She narrowed her eyes but pulled up the search function on her phone and typed in his name. Immediately a list of news reports with his name and FirmHard Tech popped up. She clicked on the first one that had an image.