Miss Mechanic

“So, what’s your damn problem?” Pops snapped. “She paint her nails?”

I shot him a dark look. “Overconfident. She thinks she’s better than she is.”

“You hired her off a challenge. She obviously thinks she’s better than you.”

“She’s wrong.”

“And you criticize her for being overconfident.” He laughed.

“Criticize who?” my great aunt, Greta, asked as she hobbled into the room, clutching a vase in her hands. Her bright blue gaze darted between the two of us. “Well? Spit it out, boy.”

I fucking hated it when they called me that, but they were creatures of habit. Really fucking old ones.

“His new employee,” Pops said, watching the TV. “They’re doing that wrong.” He waved his finger.

“That took you long enough,” Greta said. “Where’d you find ‘em?”

“She walked into reception this morning,” I answered.

“Then proceeded to shut his ass up,” Pops chuckled. “I’m gonna need the CCTV of that.”

I gave him another dark look.

“Ooooh,” Greta trilled. She set down the vase and pointed at me. “She under your skin, boy.”

“I don’t know her,” I shot back. “But if by ‘her’ you mean her hideous confidence and sassy attitude, then sure, she is.”

She laughed. Loud and long. “Oh, look. You metcha match.”

I wished she would talk like a normal person.

“Don’t go there,” I warned.

“Hideous confidence and sassy attitude,” she mused, stroking her chin. “Gosh, Eddie, do we know anyone like that?”

Pops smirked, looking at me. “Sure don’t, Gretie.”

They were referring to my sister. The only woman who’d ever been able to kick me in the balls and keep the damn things tucked up in my stomach until she’d left.

I leaned back on the sofa and swigged my beer. “I don’t know why I come here for dinner.”

“’Cause you can’t cook,” Greta said, wiping her hands on her apron. “And you secretly like it when I torture you.”

Well, she was right on the first.

The second… Not so much.

Chapter Four – Jamie

“That,” Haley said, hand clasped around a bottle of water, “Is the stupidest thing you’ve ever done.”

I threw my hands in the air. “What did you expect me to do? Kow-tow to his fucked up sexism?”

“Politely thank him for his time and leave!”

I shook my head. “No. Honestly, Hales, I’ve never met such a fucking asshole in my life. He wasn’t worried about me being strong enough to do the job. He’s worried I’d show him up.”

“Has anyone ever told you that your confidence could be mistaken for arrogance?”

“Yes. You. All the time.” I huffed and hit the button on the treadmill to take the incline up a level. I wasn’t a runner, so I walked practically a ninety-degree angle to make up for it. “Seriously, it was all over him. Let’s face it—I’m more than qualified, and he’s so ass-backwards in his belief of where I belong as a poor little woman that it was unbearable.”

“So, your fix to that is to work with him? With your temper?” She raised her eyebrow and moved to a slow jog. “Do you really think it’s a good idea?”

“I never claimed it was a good idea,” I retorted. “I think it’s a terrible idea, but I have this insatiable need to prove him wrong.”

“Since when did you ever care about proving someone—much less a man—wrong?”

She had a point. “Well, yesterday morning.”

Haley rolled her eyes and took a sip of her water. “You don’t want this job, James. You’ve walked away from these interviews a hundred times before. This is ridiculous.”

I wished she’d stop talking sense. She was making me start to regret my choice.

“I know it’s ridiculous. You don’t have to keep telling me.” I huffed and swigged my water. “I just… There’s something about him that tells me he needs his smugness smacking off his face.”

“So, punch him instead of work for him.”

“No. It’ll be far more satisfying when I show him I’m not a delicate fucking flower.”

“Ah, yes. Let me send that to whoever is heading up the feminist movement these days. Sounds like you just gave them a new slogan.”

I shot her a withering look. “You’re such an asshole. Honestly, you should take your car into the garage and talk to him. I bet you’d see exactly what I mean.”

She slowed the treadmill to a walk. “Why would I take my car in there? You’re going on like he’s your sworn enemy, and now you’re telling me to take my custom to him!”

“You twist my words, Haley Allen.”

Her grin stretched across her entire face. “I know. I’m trying to catch you out. You’re really going to work with a guy you hate?”

“I don’t hate Dex. I don’t know enough about him to hate him, but from the first impression, he’s probably going to be a permanent addition to my shit list.”

“Oooh, your shit list. What are you going to do?”

“Bitch and whine every night to some unlucky soul who gets to call herself my best friend.”