Chapter Twenty-One

She felt Aimee’s eyes on her as she downed the last of her coffee and started for the front door. “I don’t get it,” Aimee said. “Not only are you up early, but you’re dressed and ready to leave before me. Who are you and what did you do with my sister?”

Karla laughed. “You’re just upset because I’m leaving you with the dishes.” While her not being awake at this hour was an over-exaggeration, it was unusual for her to be this alert and dressed, ready for the day. It even surprised her.

“Where are you going so early? And the dishes can wait until you get home. I still cooked.”

Karla slid her purse strap over her shoulder as she opened the door. “Mitch wants me to help him out around the shop, so I’m going.”

“You’re going to do oil and grease? You, definitely, are not my sister. Karla Harper gets others to do the dirty work. She doesn’t do it herself. Do you even know your way around a car? Besides the back seat, I mean.”

Leaning on the doorframe, Karla stared at the ceiling as she shook her head. “I have no idea what he wants me to do there besides look sexy.” She turned her gaze to her sister. “But I like doing what he wants, no matter what it is.”

Aimee gave a soft, satisfying laugh. “You have definitely changed.”

“See you when I see you.” Karla shut the door behind her and headed for the elevator.

Aimee wasn’t lying when she said Karla didn’t do grease. She’d get out of doing dishes if she could. Karla made others do her dirty work. Aimee was also right in the fact that Karla had no idea how to work on a car. If she did, she never would have met Mitch in the first place. Outside of her pleasant company, she had absolutely no idea why he wanted her at his shop. She only knew she was going to be there, because he told her to be there.

The morning was slightly overcast, dark clouds threatening in the west casting a slight chill to the morning air that hadn’t been able to dry out from the night dew. Goose bumps prickled her exposed flesh, making her wish she wore something other than the tight shorts he requested, which left the bottom cup of her ass cheeks on display. Her short-sleeve T-shirt hung loose about her torso, the V-neck baring her hidden treasures just a little. Hopefully, he heated his shop.

As she neared the open bay door, laughter bounced out mixed with the clang of tools. That was Lloyd’s laugh. And Mitch has me dressed with my ass hanging out. With a deep breath, which did nothing to calm her churning stomach, she entered Greenway Auto Repair.

“Looks like you’ve got company,” Lloyd said, smiling as he glanced her way. His tall, slender frame leaned against the Ford they worked on. His dark bangs fell just above his dark green eyes.

Mitch was bent over the side panel, his hands busy with a socket wrench. He lifted his head slightly, turning so he could see Karla as she made her way over to them. He smiled as he raked her with his approving gaze. “Good morning,” he said with a wink.

She returned the smile, sliding her hands into her back pockets as she neared the car. “Morning. I hope this meets your approval,” she said, indicating her outfit with a wiggle.

“Hmmm. Turn around for me.”

Her breath caught in her throat, knowing he wouldn’t be the only one giving his approval. Doing a slow twirl, she made sure she gave them each time to soak in her bare ass cheeks peeking out from under her shorts before turning back around to face them. Both men smiled, bringing a blush to her cheeks.

“Definitely meets my approval,” Mitch said. “How about you, Lloyd?”

“No complaints from me.” He gave her a wink.

“So, is that my job today? To stand around and look cute?” she asked.

“Wouldn’t be a bad gig,” Lloyd said with a chuckle. “Would definitely make coming to work easier.”

“No, I’m sure I can find other things for you to do,” Mitch said, as he returned to twisting the socket wrench. “I actually could use some help with the office for now.” He finished what he was doing and stood straight, rubbing at his lower back as he did. “I’m not much in the way of administrative work.” He gave her a slight shrug to match his weak smile.

With a small dip of her head, she said, “Whatever you wish.” And she meant it, although she wasn’t sure she was any better at playing secretary.

Mitch handed Lloyd the wrench and pointed Karla toward the office. “C’mon, I’ll get you started.”

She followed him across the concrete floor, knowing full well Lloyd’s eyes still stared at her ass. She made sure to sway as she walked, smiling the entire time, her nervousness gone.

“Office work?” she asked, as she entered the small, cluttered room. There was one desk burdened with stacks of paper, a desk chair that squeaked when Mitch spun it for her to sit down, a water cooler with grungy cone-shaped cups falling out of a cylinder on the side, and a hard-backed sofa with the upholstery ripped on one of the cushions. While the bay area smelled like a mixture of grease and gas, the office smelled musty and damp, reminding Karla of her grandfather’s house before he passed. Cold air blew from a vent in the ceiling tile to the far corner, and the window looking out at the parking lot appeared as if it hadn’t been cleaned in years. There was no way she could even see out of it. “You really want me here to do paperwork?” She sat in the chair, afraid it would break on her, dumping her on her ass.

“Afraid of getting a paper cut?” He placed his hands on the back of her chair as he leaned over her shoulder. “I need your help getting organized,” he said with a shrug. “Plus, you’re a fun distraction. Sexy. Cute. Although, I may get less work out of Lloyd.”

She leaned back; her head tilted to look up at him. “I can distract you now if you want.”

He kissed the top of her head. “Later. I’m sure you’ll be a fun lunch break. Maybe I’ll let Lloyd join us.” He pushed her toward the desk as he stepped back, moving toward the door.

She spun in the chair to face him, panic settling in the pit of her stomach. “Wait. What do you mean by organized? What are you expecting me to do here?” She gestured toward the desk and the many file folders and loose papers strewn across the top.

Leaning on the doorframe, he shrugged again. “Whatever you want. Create a system you like and go with it. Just don’t make it too complicated. I may need to find something one day.” He tapped the wood frame, pushing himself off, and returned to his work.

She just stared at him as he left, mouth partly open, befuddled. What the..? Spinning back to the desk, she just stared for a moment, allowing it all to wash over her. He expected her to organize his business? Who did that?

And yet, here she was, on her day off, doing exactly as he requested. Aimee was right; what the hell had become of her?

With a shake of her head and a soft chuckle, Karla started sifting through the mounds of paperwork on the desk, browsing each for content and making appropriate stacks. Invoices sent. Invoices paid. Receipts for equipment. Supplies. Tools. Estimates. It was the only thing she could think of to do. She played secretary before for a small business several years ago, but she wasn’t really there for her skills. At least, not those skills. It wasn’t long, however, before she was lost in the tediousness of numbers and manila file folders, while sipping the worst tasting coffee she was ever forced to endure. If she was going to keep hanging out here, she would have to bring her own coffee. This stuff just tasted nasty.

When the phone rang, startling her out of her reverie, her ass cheeks screamed at her for being in one place too long. She stared at the phone, unsure of what to do. Glancing at the door, she waited for Mitch to come in and answer it. Or Lloyd. One of them. Either of them. Someone? Great. Now I’m a bloody receptionist. She snatched the phone off its cradle. “Hello?”

“Um, is this Greenway Auto?” a timid voice asked.

Karla sighed. She should have known to answer the phone better. “Yes, I’m sorry. I was lost in what I was doing. Greenway Auto Repair, how may I help you?”

“Yes, I need to get my brakes done and hoped to get an estimate and to know if you could fit me in this week.”

“An estimate? Um…” She glanced at the door, hoping Mitch would finally come to answer the phone. Wishful thinking. Now what? “Well, Mitch is away from the phone right now. If you’d like, I can take your name and number, and have him get back to you.”

“That’s all right,” the guy said, already sounding disinterested. “I just wanted to get a rough idea. Thanks, anyway.”

Crap. “Wait, let me see if I can find that information for you.” She started rummaging around the papers still not sorted on the desk, searching for a price list, an old invoice that might give her a clue, anything. Nothing. Why the hell isn’t Mitch coming to my rescue? She turned back to the doorway—and there he stood, leaning against the frame, just smiling at her, as she frantically tried to find an answer for his customer. She wanted to throttle him. “What make and model is your vehicle, sir?” she asked into the phone, attempting to get some sort of information to help Mitch give her a quote. Mitch just shook his head, however, still smiling.

She shrugged, one hand out to her side, palm up.

He chuckled, as he said in a whisper, “Brakes are eighty dollars, turning rotors is ten. He can bring it in anytime.”

She rolled her eyes as she repeated the information back to the guy on the phone. She received a quick thank you and a promise to have it there in the morning, and then the guy hung up.

She dropped the phone back in its cradle as she spun to face Mitch. “What? Is it too hard to have a price list or something sitting around here?”

He shrugged as he used his shoulder to push himself off the doorframe. “Lloyd and I know the prices. It never came up before.” He crossed the confined space, placing his hands on her shoulders as she glanced up at him. With a wink, he said, “I’ll see what I can come up with for you.”

“Is this going to be a normal thing then? Me? Here?”

“I thought we already established that you were a normal thing now. As far as you being here… Well, it’s up to you. I could always use the help and I’m sure Lloyd likes looking at that ass of yours in the morning. I’m not sure how much you’d want to do, since you still have Sand Dune at night.”

She stared into his dark eyes. What would it be like to work for Mitch full time as opposed to bartending? She must admit, with Paul and her mother now an item, being away from that particular grossness would be a plus. Could she make the switch, though? Did she even want to be around him that much? Then it dawned on her that she was actually considering it. “I’ll think about it,” she said, her tone subdued, surprised.

He gave her shoulders a squeeze. “Good. Now, feel like climbing a ladder for me?”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “Excuse me?”

“C’mon.” Reaching down, he took her hand in his and pulled her out of the chair. Leading her back out into the bay area of the shop, he pointed to a ladder against the outside wall leading to a shelf full of boxes and old parts. “We need an old pipe that’s up there so Lloyd can fix this guy’s muffler.”

Karla glanced at the rickety ladder made out of two-by-fours, and then gave Mitch a curious glance. “Are you afraid of heights or something?”

He swatted her ass. “C’mon, Lloyd would much rather stare at your ass in the air than mine.”

She nodded, the fact that he was once again showing her off dawned on her. She felt the heat between her legs as she moved toward the ladder. Lloyd rested back on the car Mitch worked on, waiting. “I told him I could get it, but he insisted you needed to stretch your legs,” Lloyd said.

She gave him a reassuring smile. “No worries. I’ve been sitting way too long anyway.” Reaching the ladder, she started to climb, the cups of her ass quickly visible for the guys’ enjoyment. She could feel the stirring in her sex at the idea of being put on display again and decided to give them the best view that she could. Instead of moving further up on the ladder to reach the pipe they needed easily enough, she stretched, pushing her ass out and up, so that more of her flesh was exposed. She could feel the fabric of her shorts sliding up into her pussy, her thong tight against her skin. She was sure if they looked close enough, they could see everything she had to offer and that thought made her passion stir even more. Is this what working for Mitch would be like? Day in, day out? Always on display for their pleasure? She had to admit, the idea stimulated her.

With the pipe in hand, her fingers wrapped around it instead of one of their cocks, which she wanted right then, she eased her way down the ladder, making sure her ass stayed exposed. Lloyd whistled as she did. Glancing over her shoulder, she noticed Mitch beaming with pride. He really got off on it. That amazed her.

And excited her.

Working at his shop would definitely have its perks.