by Liza Brown
“And you let them?”
“As long as their work is done, if they need to take fifteen minutes or so, I’m ok,” I shrugged.
“You are the most easy-going boss EVER.”
“Yeah, I am. My dad tells me I’m too easy on my guys but they work hard, so it’s all good.”
I sat up and stretched. Elsu scooted closer to me and wrapped his arm around my waist, his head on my lap. “You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I smiled down to him.
“You didn’t argue. We’re making progress.”
“I’ve decided you must just have a vision problem and I’m not going to judge you based on your disability.”
He started tickling me and I fell back onto the bed in a fit of giggles. “I’ll show you a vision problem.” He bent down and smothered my face with kisses.
“Ah!” I was laughing so hard I nearly peed. “I have to go to the bathroom!”
He finally stopped kissing me and I was sad, but I really had to go. I rushed to the bathroom, grabbing my work clothes as I went.
After another quick shower, I stepped into my living room, carrying my dirty clothes to take back to my bedroom. Millard had replaced Elsu who had run to his apartment to get dressed. He returned wearing jeans and a Whoopster’s sweatshirt. “By the way, you’re not getting that hoodie back. You know that, right?” I asked.
“I kind of figured. I’ve already called the newspapers. The headline will read ‘Man loses everything in house fire, girlfriend steals clothes anyway.’”
“Oh, I hadn’t even thought about that! You can have it back!”
“I’m joking! I can get those whenever I want. If you want one that fits you better, just let me know.” I smiled at him and the lock on my door started to jiggle. Millard immediately went into ‘bodyguard mode’ and rushed to the door with his gun out. He swung the door open to find a stunned Colette standing with her travel coffee mug in one hand, her huge purse under her arm, and her keys in the other.
“What the hell, Mae?” she screamed as she raised her hands.
“Sorry, Colette. Right now you’ll have to knock. Come in!” She quickly came in and helped herself to my coffee. She sat down and looked at Elsu and Millard and then at me.
“Spill it!” She seemed mad. She was my best friend and she knew nothing. She had a right to be angry.
“We’re pretty sure someone rigged the elevator to drop when I was in it. And Bart’s brother Jeremy possibly destroyed Little José.”
“I know you said Little José was ruined, but I don’t even know what happened with that! I feel like I’m losing you!”
“You’re not losing me!” I pulled out my phone and showed her the pictures of the truck.
“Mae!” She was aghast at the images she was scrolling through. “What a bastard! Oh Mae, how are you doing with this?” She stood up and squeezed me to her buxom self.
“I’m not sure I’d be doing much of anything if it weren’t for these two.” I pointed to Elsu and Millard.
“Yeah, well you’ve got someone else to talk to, too.”
With that the door to the apartment swung open. “Shit!” Millard had forgotten to lock it and was chastising himself. He had nothing to worry about, it was Arnold.
“Speak of the devil,” said Colette.
“We’ve got everything under control, right Arnold?” I asked as I helped him tie his mandatory going-out-so-I-need-to-wear-a-bowtie tie and then straightened the few strands of gray hair on his head.
“I don’t know, Mae. What time are those boys coming to get me?”
“Didn’t they call you?” asked Elsu.
“Yeah, they said they’d be here at eight.”
I smiled at him. “Then my bet is they’ll be here at eight. They’ve got about ten minutes.”
We sat around the table telling Elsu and Millard stories about the days before Bart went to prison. Arnold and Colette knew more than I realized. Somehow the stories turned funny. I wasn’t sure how we were laughing about a psychopath with a desire to kill but we were. At eight on the dot, there was a knock on the door. Millard let in Brent and the other two players who had lost their home in Elsu’s house fire, Saul and Peter. When the average height of the people in your apartment suddenly increases by more than a foot the spare square footage seems to go down tremendously.
“You ready big guy?” asked Brent of Arnold. “Your chariot awaits!”
Saul went to the hallway and brought in a dining room chair that they had rigged with belts. I found it hilarious but kept my laughter down.
Arnold stood and looked at the contraption. “What the hell is that?”
“It’s your chair. We’ll strap you in and carry you down chair and all. When we come back, we’ll bring you back the way you went down.”
Arnold walked around the chair and inspected it. Finally, without a word, he sat down. “Let’s go, we’re going to be late.”
We all laughed. “Do you have a coat, Arnold?” asked Saul.
Arnold took his key from the spiral elastic that wrapped around his wrist and handed it to him. “It’s on the hook just inside the door.”
Saul went to fetch the coat and we all stood to leave. Just as everyone had walked out, I turned and saw Magdalena coming out of her bedroom followed closely behind by Elsu’s Uncle Richard. She had a single bed in my spare bedroom. How they spent the night together will always be a curiosity to me. We waved to them and left.
We followed Saul and Peter as they carried Arnold on his chair down the steps. Arnold sat quietly on his journey. He was like a king being carried by his royal guards. He was loving it.
Brent had pulled his Escalade to the door and Arnold was helped into the front seat. The other two men got in the back.
“He may never be the same after this,” I laughed as we got in the backseat of Elsu’s vehicle and Millard got behind the wheel.
“We’ve created a monster,” said Elsu.
I scooted into his side and began looking forward to work. How much work could I get done knowing he was in the same building?
“Millard, what will you be doing while I put Elsu to work?” I asked.
“I’ll be inspecting the property for security holes,” he said.
“Millard, that place is a security nightmare. You can get in from anywhere. The property fence isn’t high enough to keep anyone out.”
“I know, Miss Mae. I’ve got my work cut out for me, that’s for sure.”
“Whatever you find, give ME the plan. Elsu isn’t paying for it.”
I heard a grumble from beside me, but I ignored it.
“Yes ma’am,” said Millard. “Miss Mae.” I smiled.
Once we got to work, I felt a pang of sadness when I saw the sculpture my friend Aaron had installed for the shop out near the street not even a week ago. It was an ode to Little José who was now no longer with us. I wondered if it would be silly to add a memorial plaque to it.
On the way in I gathered the mail from Saturday and unlocked the shop. Powering up the lights, I was happy to find everything was as it should be. I had left the shop in the hands of Steve, my mechanics’ manager and was never sure what doing so would result in.
“Well, let me get you a shirt,” I said as I went to our display case.
“Wait a minute, you sell those shirts?”
“Yes, we sell our shirts.”
“How many do you have?” asked Elsu as he watched me sorting through the bigger sizes.
“How many do I own? A lot. Two dresser-drawers full. I wear one every day to work and I hate to do laundry. We have different colors and a few different designs. Don’t forget about the sweatshirts, keychains, can cozies, bottle cozies, bottle openers, beer mugs, shot glasses, license plate frames, calendars, bumper stickers…”
“Wait up. Calendars? I’m dating a calendar girl?” Elsu reached into the case and pulled out a calendar. “Oh,” he said. He was obviously disappointed.
“Perv!” I laughed. “Those a
re cars Steve and Greg have worked on.”
“Steve and Greg?” He looked at me.
“You met them last week. Steve is the mechanics manager and Greg is the young blond guy. They are my leads on all the restorations.”
“Oh,” he flipped through the calendar. “I was hoping you were in it.”
“Yeah…no. I want them to sell. No one would buy them if I was in them.”
“Really? I’d buy every one you had if you were in them.”
“Why would you want dozens of calendars?”
“I don’t know if I’d want other men ogling you. That’s my job.”
I blushed and grabbed for the calendar but he held it out of my reach. “I want one, they might not be you, but they are rather awesome pictures.” He pulled some money from his wallet and handed me a twenty. “Keep the change.”
“Thank you. We just got them in. The daughter of one of my guys is a photographer and she did the pictures for the last three calendars. Every time they do a car, she comes in and takes a picture before it goes back to the owner. We get their info and we put a little blurb about either the car or the owner. I have them all framed in the restoration garage. I’ll show you later.”
“So you only do twelve cars a year?”
“No,” I said as I reached back into the cabinet. “We have different calendars to accommodate all of the pictures.” I pulled out two more different designs. “See?”
He reached into his wallet and handed me forty more dollars. “Elsu, you can have them. You don’t have to pay me.”
“Yes I do. Take it.”
I turned back to the case and the now-disheveled pile of shirts. “You’re what, an extra small?” I kidded Elsu.
“At least, brat!” I poked him in the abs and gave him a quick hug. “As your employer I will tell you we have a few triple x’s but I think you need something a little more snug. I’d hate for a loose piece of clothing to get caught in machinery.” I looked at him and smiled.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you just want me in a tight shirt.”
“Hmm, you might be right,” I smiled. I pulled out an XL and held it up in front of me. “How about this?”
Elsu removed his coat and pulled his shirt over his head. It was the first time I’d seen him shirtless since I watched him playing ball at his house over a week ago. And at that time, I hadn’t been smart enough to pay attention to the shirts versus skins game. But now, he was inches from me and I could see every hard, muscular detail. I held the shirt in my hand as I stared.
“Mae, I usually wouldn’t mind you looking at me like that, but it’s kind of cold in here.”
At that point I was staring at his protruding nipples. “I can see that.” I was nearly drooling. I quickly handed him his new shirt before I decided to lick him.
“Slow, Mae.”
“Ugh! I’m starting to regret that we made that rule!” I said as I took the mail that was on the counter and went to my office. “Ooh, new catalogs!” I said as I sat down behind my desk.
“Catalogs?” he asked.
“Yep,” I quickly made a sign out of marker and copy paper letting my employees know I’d be ordering new steel toe shoes and coveralls if they needed them. I put some tape on it and handed it to Elsu. “Right around the corner there’s a time clock, can you hang this there?” I asked.
“Putting me to work already? Slave driver!” He left and returned quickly with the sign still in his hand. “Do they pay for their shoes and coveralls?”
“No, I buy them a pair of shoes every six months and the coveralls stay here and belong to the shop. I have the shop logo put on the backs of the coveralls. They get new coveralls once a year or as needed.”
“Don’t take this the wrong way, but when you were at my house last week, your steel toes looked like they were older than you, where are your new shoes?” he asked.
I shrugged my shoulders. “I figure they still stay on my feet. My employees deserve them, I’m not the one working in the garage most of the time,” I said.
“How do you make money, Mae?”
“If I don’t have happy employees, the shop suffers. If the shop suffers, I don’t make money. I’ve been doing this for years. Don’t worry, I know what I’m doing,” I said. “Now go hang the sign! They’ll be here soon.”
He left and came back again, this time without the sign. He sat in one of the seats across from me. “So you went shopping with Tonesha yesterday and I was looking at my credit card statement online this morning to see how much damage I incurred and noticed that you didn’t buy anything.”
“I bought stuff. You just didn’t pay for it,” I said as I started up my computer.
“But I wanted to pay for it. I want to spoil you.”
“That’s what Jerry said. I’m sorry. I promise to bleed your account dry next time.”
“Who the hell is Jerry?”
“The bartender at the VIP lounge at the arena,” I said as if he should know. “I found out I wasn’t allowed to pay for my own drinks there. I can afford my own drinks.”
Elsu put his head in his hand and rubbed his temples. “Just let me, ok? And why are you talking my business with Jerry?”
“I wasn’t, he just told me that if he had the opportunity to pay for his girlfriend, he’d be heartbroken if she denied him the opportunity. So I’ve come to the conclusion that if I don’t ask for it and you give it, I’m not a money grubber. So from now on, if you offer, I’ll take. Even if it’s begrudgingly.”
“Hmm,” he sat back and looked at me. “You put a lot more thought into simple situations than is necessary. I want to make you happy, giving you stuff makes me happy.”
“I don’t want your stuff. I just want you. I’m not with you for your money.”
“I know you’re not. But that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be allowed to pay your tab.”
“Ok. If it’s that important to you, you can pay my bar tab,” I smiled and leaned across my desk for a quick kiss. The front door opened and Greg, my youngest employee walked in.
“There’s that basketball star!” he said as he came to the office door.
Elsu smiled at him and offered Greg his hand. “Not you! Mae! Two dozen shots in two minutes? Who does that?”
“She’s my own little powerhouse,” said Elsu as he smiled at me. God that smile!
“Yeah she is! You might want to be careful, she’ll have your job, big guy!” joked Greg as he finally accepted Elsu’s handshake then left the office.
“You sure I don’t have to worry about him?” asked Elsu as he watched Greg head toward the time clock.
“You don’t have to worry about anyone except Jeremy and Bart, and that’s only because they’re assholes,” I said as I pulled a stack of papers from the filing cabinet. “I told you, this part of my job is boring. I have to deal with the cars that came in last week, make sure registrations are right, and do payroll for last week from here and from the other shops.”
“Other shops?”
“I have three repair shops in addition to this place. Two of my cousins, Andrew and Janelle run the Youngstown and New Philadelphia shops, and my dad runs the one in Mansfield.”
“I had no idea you ran an empire.”
I laughed out loud at him. “Just call me Empress Mae.”
Elsu smiled. “Empress Mae, it fits you well.”
“You’re a nut.” I started sorting through my papers then looked at him. “When I’m done with this I do my rounds. You can come with me for that.”
“Your rounds? Doctor Mae?”
“Yeah, no. I just make sure everyone’s here and see if they need anything. Make sure all the equipment is working correctly, see if they need anything restocked or if any new equipment needs ordered.”
The front door opened again and Joe from the warehouse walked in and waved to us as he went straight to the time clock. “That’s Joe, he works in the warehouse with Bill. Both very organized guys. He’s the one whose brother I went on the blin
d date with before Bart kidnapped me…”
“Yeah…I know. Does that get awkward?” asked Elsu as he looked out the door even though Joe wasn’t there anymore.
“It used to. I think he felt really guilty somehow. He and his brother both testified at the trial. I obviously don’t blame him, but he took it kind of hard. His brother moved to New York not long after that. Apparently the whole thing was too much for him to handle because he never called for a second date,” I laughed.
“That’s a good thing, one less guy I’d have to beat out of the way,” Elsu’s grin seemed almost nervous. He probably wasn’t very comfortable attempting to make a joke at my expense.
“It’s ok, you can talk about it,” I said, trying to reassure him.
He seemed to be absorbing my words and making a mental adjustment to his feelings about the whole situation when he finally looked at me and smiled. “Well, what do you want me to do?” he asked.
“Whatever you want. Bonnie will be here soon,” I looked at the clock to see it was five minutes until nine. “They’ve got five minutes to get in here and clock in. I’m such a hypocrite. I’m a stickler for being on time but last week I took so much time off.”
“You’re the boss.”
“Everyone is saying that!”
“Then everyone must be right.” He got up, leaned over my desk and gave me a kiss. Just what I needed. He turned, stood in the doorway of my glass office, and placed his hands on the top of the door to stretch out his back. The shirt was the perfect size. “Why do you have a glass office, Mae?”
“It used to be solid walls, then since I was kidnapped I’ve had a phobia of small places. So when I did the last remodel I had this done. It gives me my own space, but I can see out.”
“Wow, that asshole. If you had solid walls, we could lock the door and make out.”
“I will have to think on that for the next time.” I laughed at him and watched him walk out into the front customer service area. I loved watching him when he didn’t know I was looking.
I put my head in my hands and looked down at my paperwork, distractions would not be helpful.
