Vics nodded again taking everything in and Elijah's words didn't seem to faze her.
"I'm no shrinking violet and I'm not deluded to think that a job like this is going to be easy but that's why I expressed my interest because I want a challenge." She took another sip of her drink, "So what's the deal, hours, living arrangements and job description?"
Elijah and Dave glanced in my direction hoping that I had all of the details. "Well, we are happy for you to stay here at the clubhouse. A few of the guys stay here as a stopgap until they sort themselves out but it all sort of works. Elijah is at mine temporarily but he could possibly move in here also with Poppy until he sorts out a bigger place."
"It's okay Amy, you just sort my life out." Elijah rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair like a petulant child.
"Whoa Elijah, I've been more than fair in trying to help you out by letting you stay at mine and sorting out an au pair. Don't bite the hand that feeds you." I liked Elijah but at times I felt like slapping him.
"I didn't mean it like that, it's just that my whole life has been turned upside down and we are discussing like it's no big deal."
"And myself, Vics, Amy and the rest of the club will help you out, you're not alone Lyric." Dave spoke to Elijah reassuringly.
"Lyric?"
I smiled, non club members didn't get the road names that were used. "A road name is sort of like a nick name given to each club member. It usually relates to their personality, an event or even their job."
"And what's your road name Dave?"
"TUGS!"
Vics placed her hands lightly over Poppy's ears. "So that means you either work on a boat, it's an acronym or you like to wank a lot."
I sniggered at her response and noticed the chemistry between them.
"Well I am single so that may explain a few things." Dave gave Vics a playful wink.
"Anyway, changing the subject swiftly. I think you would be perfect for the job. I would like to see references and to speak to the agency before we make a formal offer but more importantly, what do you think?" I thought she would be a good addition to the club.
She nodded slowly and glanced around at her surroundings, "I'd like to give it ago. Nothing ventured, nothing gained."
"Okay well we could make the spare bedroom up for you, stay here for a couple of days get used to the place and once we've met with the social worker on Monday and I've spoken to the agency, we will be in a better situation. You may decide by then that it's not for you but hopefully you'll love it."
"Sounds like a plan but who else lives here? They need to be told who I am so they don't get a shock when they see me walking around especially in the morning."
"I'm here and so is Pachenko and Grimm, I'll introduce you to them later this evening once you've settled in." I was pleased that Dave had been here this afternoon to meet Vics as he could show her the ropes.
"Okay, well is everyone okay?" I glanced around the group.
"Yep," Poppy said loudly.
"Sorry Monkey's butt, I forgot that you were there coz you've been so good." Dave ruffled her hair and she giggled.
"I'll need to run this all past Mitchell and Ethan but I can't see this being a problem." I'm sure both of them would be pleased with my decision.
"Sorry, who are Mitchell and Ethan?"
"President and VP of the club. Look it's all probably overwhelming because it's all new but living here for a while will help you to understand." Elijah was right, there were a lot of people at the club and she needed to learn names quickly.
"Is there a hierarchy and should I be warned about anyone?" She glanced at the three of us wanting reassurance.
"Dave can fill you in later but Blake is a ladies' man, Charlie is moody and you don't want to get on the wrong side of Mitchell. Apart from that you'll be fine." I stood indicating that our meeting was over.
"Dave please show Vics to her room. Give her a key and make sure she's got everything she needs before you return to work."
Dave nodded and I knew she was in capable hands. He had been a good recruit for the club. A good honest man who was also hardworking. They were few and far between these days.
"Elijah stood and took Poppy's hand, "Come on squirt lets go and get some lunch." She smiled and quickly turned to Vics.
"Will I be seeing you again?"
Vics nodded, "You sure will lovely, I'm going to help Uncle Elijah look after you."
Poppy smiled sweetly and walked beside Elijah as she waved goodbye.
I smiled, "Okay, well I'll pop in tomorrow to make sure you're okay."
"That would be great, thank you Amy."
"You're welcome."
I grabbed my bag and strolled outside. It was a nice sunny day, I hadn't made any plans due to not knowing how long the interviews were going to take but now I had the rest of the day to myself.
I bent down to stroke Troy, he was a lovely Staffy with a great temperament. It wasn't long before Des made his way over also, they both loved to be fussed over.
"So what's happening with the au pair situation then?" Ethan stepped out of the garage and into the sunshine.
"It's all sorted. She's going to stay here this weekend to see if it's for her and we'll sort out all the particulars on Monday once we've spoken to the social worker." I continued to pet the dogs and they were loving every second of it.
Ethan chuckled, "You love all this, don't you." I glanced up at him, confused by his statement. "I mean the whole taking charge and sorting things out."
I processed his words as I stood. "I just like to be organised and helping people out when I can."
"And what's she like, this new au pair?" Ethan wiped his hand on a rag and then placed it in the loop of his jeans.
"I think she'll fit in well. She's certainly won Dave over that's for sure."
"Dirty dog, I'll be telling TUGS to keep it in his pants and leave the hired help alone."
I rolled my eyes, "Well he's giving her a tour of the club and then putting her in the guest room. If it turns out to be a long term thing we may have to shuffle the rooms around but we'll think about that when it happens."
Ethan nodded, "Well I'll fill Duke in on everything so he's up to speed. I don't want him wandering around the clubhouse in his pants with a new comer there."
"That'll scare her if nothing else." I turned to leave.
"Amy!"
"Yeah?" I replied, glancing over my shoulder.
"Thank you, I know you've said multiple times that you don't want to be too involved in club business but the thing is, you're just good at seeing the best in people and sorting things out."
I smiled, "It's what we do, we're family."
Chapter 4
Victoria
TUGS had been very attentive. He had given me a tour of the clubhouse, making sure that I knew where the kitchen and bathrooms were. I was also shown the room in which they have meetings and where important people's offices were. It was a little overwhelming, I hadn't realised that the club was run like a business and that they even owned buildings and were self sufficient. TUGS also explained that they were legit and everything that they did was above board. This made me feel at ease because I didn't want to be associated with anything that may shame my family.
I glanced around the room, it was very basic with a double bed, desk, wardrobe and a chest of drawers but I didn't need anything else. There was a bathroom across the hall and the kitchen was spacious and contained everything needed in order to cook a meal.
I hadn't unpacked. I would live out of my suitcase until after the weekend when we had sorted everything out. At this stage, I didn't know whether it was for me although I was willing to give it a go. Poppy seemed like such a sweet girl and Amy had made me feel very welcome. I wanted to meet some of the other guys from the club to see whether I was accepted but on face value, TUGS and Lyric seemed like good guys, although Lyric was a little lost.
I noticed that he was a little distant with Poppy. He had no maternal
instincts about him and I understood his frustrations regarding being put upon by his sister, but hopefully with my help, I could ease his burden and that of the other members of the club.
I was pulled from my thoughts as my mobile rang. I stood and removed it from my pocket and groaned as I saw the caller ID.
Swiping the screen I answered, "Hi Dad."
"I thought you were going to call me as soon as you landed." His tone indicated that he was pissed off.
I rolled my eyes. "I didn't want to bother you if you were at work."
"I would've dropped everything in order to meet you, you know that."
I sighed, "I know, I just needed to catch up with a few friends that I hadn't seen for a while."
"And what about your Dad? You haven't seen him in a while either?"
"I'm sorry, give me a couple of days to let my hair down and chill out with my friends and then I'll catch up with you." I was in need of some downtime.
There was a long pause before he continued the conversation. "Where are you staying?"
"I'm with friends for a couple of days and then I may check into an Air B&B to keep the cost down." As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew that I had said the wrong thing.
"I won't hear anymore, you're coming home."
I sighed, "Dad, I'm twenty-eight, I still need my own space."
"I know that but I've missed you." His voice cracked a little and I felt bad for clearly upsetting him.
"And I will visit, I promise."
Again, there was another long pause but this time it was bordering on uncomfortable.
"Dad, I'm back now for good. We can catch up and then spend a lot of time together. You'll be bored of me before you know it." He was making this difficult.
"Whatever you want Victoria, you know where I am."
"I do Dad and I'll be in touch very soon."
He ended the call abruptly. I sighed as I placed my mobile on my lap and went over the conversation in my head. My Dad had always been over protective. He went mad when he found out what profession I had chosen and that I had decided to work abroad. He did everything within his power to make me stay but we are both stubborn and the more he dug his heels in the more I wanted to go, to prove him wrong more than anything else.
"Erm Vics, are you in there."
I smiled to myself as I stood and walked towards the door. Reaching for the handle I quickly used my other hand to run my fingers through my hair.
"I sure am TUGS, how can I help you?" I asked projecting a lot more positivity than how I was currently feeling after my phone call with my Dad.
"We're gonna grab a Chinese, it'll be here shortly so I didn't know whether you could be tempted."
I was hungry, "Yeah that would be great thank you."
TUGS smiled, "Excellent and how's your room? Are you settling in okay?"
He glanced over my shoulder at my suitcase positioned on the bed that was still full of my possession.
"The room is great, there's ample space for me."
"Okay well if you have any issues just give me a shout, like I say I'm only down the hall."
I smiled, he was being more than helpful and I was grateful for that. TUGS stepped back ready to leave.
"Why don't I come with you now? If dinner is going to be delivered soon, I may as well help you get plates, cutlery and other stuff." I wanted to make myself useful, I didn't want to be a liability.
"Oh okay, that's great."
I smiled, TUGS was sweet. I didn't know him well yet but I was hoping we could become friends.
I let him lead and followed him down the corridor and into the bar. I noticed several guys standing around and let out a sigh preparing myself for the meet and greet.
"Duke, Diesel, Recon and Spike this is Vics. She's going to be our au pair and look after Poppy."
All four guy's turned at the same time to stare in my direction and I felt a little uneasy by their attention.
"Oh and this is Pachenko and Grimm." I turned to my right to see the other guys walk into the room.
I gave a little wave and realised I was acting like a dick.
"And you've met Lyric already."
I slowly brought my hand down and placed it firmly into my pocket so I didn't wave like a four year old girl again.
I smiled, "Hi."
"I thought it best to invite some of the guys over to meet you, as you'll probably be looking after their kids at some stage." Duke was very authoritative when he spoke and I remembered what Amy said about not getting on the wrong side of him.
I nodded, "Yeah that's fine, I totally understand and it's not an issue."
"Doesn't mean you'll pass the test if we think you're okay though!"
I gulped hard, what did he mean test?
"Recon play nice." Duke reprimanded him.
He sniggered, "I'm only stating the truth. It don't matter what we think of her."
"Her name's Victoria." TUGS responded.
"Sorry, Victoria but it's gonna be Ink, Ash and Angel that make the final decision."
I tuned into the background music hoping that it would take the edge off things as this was starting to feel like an interrogation. Who were Ink, Ash and Angel? My head was spinning.
"Come on guys, this is about us getting to know Victoria and her getting to know us. You never know, she may spend an evening with us and decide this isn't right for her.
I glanced in the direction of the heavily tattooed guy and smiled, it looked like I had one ally at least.
"Drink?" Duke held a bottle of Budweiser in front of me and I politely took it. It wasn't my choice of drink but I knew that if I wanted to work here, then I needed to make an effort and try to fit in.
"Thank you," I replied and took the bottle from his hand.
"So what's your story Victoria?" Grimm dragged a stool across the room to join the group and I let out a sigh thinking that this was going to turn into another Q&A session.
"What do you want to know?" I asked sitting down at one of the tables.
"Everything!" Duke stared at me and I could tell that if I won him over then the rest of the group would be easy. There wasn't much to tell but I needed to be open and honest though.
"I'm originally from Chingford and moved to Walthamstow when I was around three. From then we moved to Epping where I lived with my Dad up until the age of around eighteen. I got my first job locally but then I moved to Nice in the south of France before moving on to Marbella. I'm fluent in French and Spanish, I can play the piano and I enjoy watching F1."
Recon rolled his eyes, "Is that all?" he stated sarcastically and his words stung because he had sniped at me a few times.
"What's your problem?" I knew that I was treading on thin ice but I couldn't be made to feel uncomfortable and he was being an arse.
He lifted his brows and stared at me, not saying a word and almost goading me to continue.
TUGS and Lyric glanced at each other but again didn't speak.
"Look, I know that a club like this doesn't take too kindly to newbie's trying to infiltrate their group but you looked for me, not the other way around. This is a job, that's all it is. I haven't come here with a hidden agenda or hopes of riding off into the sunset with the wind in my hair on the back of one of your Harleys. I'm just me, I'm fucking good at my job, I love kids and most importantly what you see is what you get."
I glanced around the group with my heart rate increased, I waited to be told to fuck off and leave straight away but the words didn't come.
"Let's get one thing straight, the wind wouldn't be in your hair on the back of anyone's Harley because you'd be wearing a fucking basher." Recon made light of the situation and I silently let out a sigh of relief.
I shuffled in my chair trying to get comfortable before I leaned back into the cushion. I hadn't noticed at first but TUGS was resting his arms along the back and it was almost as if he gave me an element of comfort.
"Delivery!"
A young man walked into the club
house holding three white plastic bags full of containers.
Some of the guys jumped up to relieve the man of the food and took it to the tables central in the room. Duke stood and strolled towards the man as he pulled a bundle of notes from his pocket to pay the guy.
"You did good, he wanted to push your buttons to see how you would react." The heavily tattooed guy that I think was named Spike, gave me a wink before walking towards the table where the food was placed.
TUGS squeezed my shoulder lightly, "See nothing to worry about. You passed Recons test."
Why would they want to keep testing me?
"I thought it was Duke that I needed to impress, not Recon."
He sniggered, "Duke's a pussy cat in comparison to Recon."
"Really?" I was surprised. Recon looked menacing but Amy had said it was Duke that I needed to win over.
"Recon is the Sergeant at arms, the enforcer. If you do wrong or step out of line then he will be the one to discipline."
"And has he had to discipline anyone?" I asked intrigued.
TUGS nodded, "Of course, that's his job."
"Are you two making your way over here before all the food goes or what?" Diesel asked piling food onto his plate.
TUGS stood, "Yeah we better. You'll learn that you need to get in quick otherwise, you'll go hungry. It's like living in a house with a large family."
"I wouldn't know as I'm an only child." I stood meeting his gaze and noticed what a lovely colour of blue his eyes were. "Well I have a step sister but she's a lot younger than me." I stated explaining further.
"Well if you live here with us, you'll have one big happy family around you and it will never be a dull moment that's for sure."
I smiled and followed him towards the guys who were tucking in happily to their Chinese food.
"Sit next to me Victoria." Spike pulled out the chair beside him and tapped the cushion encouraging me to join him.
LYRIC (Aces MC Series Book 6.5) Page 4
