I glanced at the information. I was shocked his car hadn’t seized. For the owner of a newer vehicle, he wasn’t taking care of the car.
“I told him to do it, but I just want a regular damn oil change. I’m on the road, and I need it. He’s jacked up the price.”
I looked at the estimate. It was fair and accurate.
“As I tried to explain to Mr. Dane here, the price is for synthetic oil, which is necessary for his car. He wants regular oil.”
I nodded. “Regular oil won’t work with your engine. We have to use synthetic. In fact, this car requires a certain brand. It is expensive, but necessary. Your manual tells you all this. So does your warranty.”
“Bunch of damn BS. Just give me regular.”
“We can’t do that.” I crossed my arms. “We either fix the car properly, or you can arrange to have it towed elsewhere.”
“The damn tow guy said this was the best place in town and brought me here.”
I held in my sigh. As much as I appreciated the business, we didn’t need jobs like this. We were already too busy. I’d ask Charly to get the word out to send people to Finn’s Auto Repair. They could handle jobs like this easily.
I met his angry gaze. “There is a reason we’re the best. We don’t cut corners, and we don’t do shoddy work. If I did an oil change without the proper oil, I risk damaging your engine. I refuse to do that. Any mechanic worth his salt would refuse to do that.”
“Then forget it. Plug the tire.”
“You’re putting your—”
He cut me off. “Just the damn tire.”
I shook my head, marking on the form that the customer refused our advice. “You heard him, Ward. Plug the tire, make sure it’s okay, and send him on his way.”
I returned to the office, where Kelly had been watching. “He’s been a pain since he came in. I moved appointments around to get his car done and get him out of here.”
“No more accepting tows. Booked appointments only.”
“I think Charly said yes because Finn’s was closed today. His wife had a baby last night.”
“Ah. Makes sense. Okay, we’ll get him done and out of here before he causes any more trouble.”
“He’s drunk his weight in coffee already.”
“Great. No wonder he’s so antsy and ready for a fight.”
Chase appeared in the door. “Brett, Stefano needs you out back.”
“Shit,” I swore. “Is it Monday? It feels like a Monday.”
Kelly laughed. “Go help Stefano. I’ve got this covered.”
Twenty minutes later, I walked back into the garage. Two things struck me. The pain in the ass’s car was no longer on the hoist. The second was that the pain in the ass was now in the office with Kelly, and as I watched in horror, he gripped her arms, pinned her to the wall, and began to yell.
One second, I was in the bay area; the next, I was in her office, dragging him away, my fist connecting with his jaw with a satisfying crunch.
“You fucking dare to touch her?” I raged. “What the hell is the matter with you?”
He glared at me from the floor, pushing up, ready to throw down. “Motherfucker,” he swore. “You are going to pay for that.”
I fell into my stance. “Bring it on.”
But before he could move, Maxx rushed in. Stefano followed him, along with Chase. They stood beside me.
“Explain,” Maxx barked, looking at me.
I straightened. “He was hassling Kelly. Touching her!” I yelled. “He had her pinned against the damn wall!”
Maxx faced him. “Get the hell out of my garage.”
“I’m going to press charges,” Mr. Dane sneered.
Stefano moved quickly, getting behind him and bending his arm. “You press anything you like. We have witnesses who can verify you attacked a defenseless woman unprovoked. If anyone should press charges, it’s her.”
Kelly spoke. “I’m fine. Just get him out of here.”
Stefano frog-marched him outside, Maxx following.
I spun around, facing Kelly. She was pale, but calm.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Yes. You arrived before he could do anything.”
“What set him off?”
“His credit card was declined. He said it was my fault. That I had done it incorrectly. I tried it again and got the same result. He wasn’t happy.”
“That doesn’t give the fucker the right to touch you,” I seethed. “I want to go out there and beat the shit out of him.”
She placed her hand on my arm. “I’m okay.”
I took her hand and tugged her into my office. The blinds were down, and it was more private. I shut the door behind her and pulled her into my arms.
“Kelly,” I murmured. “Seeing him grab you. Jesus, I wanted to kill him.”
She linked her arms around my waist, leaning into me. “I’m okay,” she replied. “You got there so fast.”
“Not fast enough. He still touched you. Are you hurt?”