“My apologies. That was not my intent.”
“I know.” He looked over to where Mercedes remained, talking to someone on speaker. Whoever it was had her in a good mood, by the way she was laughing. “I just happened to have fallen for a woman who’s going to be difficult to convince I’m sincere in my intent.”
Something pinged in his helmet, and then Ochi spoke. “Sorry to interrupt, but Mercedes has sent you a message: We are still going to go to the shop.”
Takashi gave her a thumbs-up, and then pulled out of his parking spot. The two vehicles weaved through traffic for the fifteen-minute drive to his family’s home.
When they made it, he pulled into the driveway, while Mercedes parked at the end. The motorcycle engine cut, and Takashi climbed off. Slipping his helmet off and hanging it on the handlebar, he rushed over to Mercedes’ car. He heard his little sister, Mia, call out his name, but he chose to pretend he didn’t hear. If he acknowledged her, he risked his family coming out and scaring off Mercedes. As strong of a woman as she was, his family could get a little… excited.
He slipped into the luxury car, and Mercedes smiled at him. The car pulled away and Mercedes played with her stereo, her golden hair spilling over her shoulders and cybernetic arm, tempting him to look down her low-cut fitted t-shirt. Takashi looked out the window and shifted in his seat. He could really use something cold in his lap right about now.
He tried to focus on something else, like her prosthetic. He hadn’t noticed it at first when he saw her in the restaurant. It took him until they sat down in the booth together. She acted so normal with it, he didn’t understand how it could be such a deal breaker with all these men she tried to date. Besides its technological appearance, it looked like a normal appendage.
He tried to keep himself from growing angry. She deserved to be treated better.
“So, what type of cars are you working on now?” he asked, trying to bring himself back to focusing on a neutral topic.
“Nothing ancient at the moment,” she said. “A few cars from the early 2000’s, and then my own project car from 2016.”
His brow rose. “Those aren’t ancient?”
Mercedes laughed. “I’ve worked on vehicles as old as 1960.”
Takashi’s eyes widened. “Really?”
“Yeah, and my dad has worked on even older cars. Those are real projects, due to most of the parts having to be fabricated, but they also make us good money.”
“Do you work on newer vehicles, too?”
She nodded. “We have four techs, including myself, certified to work on newer vehicles. We rely on those jobs during the slower times of the year.”
“When do things slow down?”
“Late spring to late summer. Show season is in prime at that point. Once that starts to die down, our shop is flooded with cars that need anything from a tune-up to a full restoration.”
The two continued their conversation, Takashi learning a lot from her. His own father had an old car he liked to work on every now and then, but Takashi hadn’t learned nearly as much from his father as he had from her in the last fifteen minutes of driving.
He noticed how she smiled as she explained everything. He noticed this same smile while they had conversed about games during lunch. Working on cars gave her the same joy as gaming. It’s great she has such diverse passions. It said a lot about her as a person.
The car pulled into a large parking lot filled with vehicles. Takashi’s eyes went wide at the sight. Just as Mercedes said, cars and trucks of varied years and styles were parked all about. “Are these all project cars?”
“Not all. Some belong to the guys. My father and I allow each employee to keep up to three vehicles here. That doesn’t include their daily driver. If anything happens to them, it’s on them, but it gives our customers an idea of the cars we’re willing to work on. Win-win for everyone.”
“I’ll say.”
The two climbed out of the car when it parked, and Mercedes led the way into the shop. Takashi took note of the large shop sign, Gail’s Antique Restorations, and a dark part of the building off to the side that looked like a storefront. At the moment, though, it appeared to be used for storage, from what he could see through the pulled blinds.
Loud noises echoed out of the shop’s open doors, but the moment Mercedes entered, silence. Everyone working stopped their task and looked at her. Takashi noted all of them were men. He remembered Mercedes mentioning she was the only woman working at the shop, though not because they refused to hire women. They’d had a number of them throughout the shop’s life, they just came few and far between, and didn’t last as long, on average.
Mercedes crossed her arms. “Quit your gawking and work.”
Most of them chuckled and they all went back to working. A young, tan-skinned, sandy-haired kid, maybe sixteen or seventeen, exited a room Takashi guessed to be either an office or employee lounge, and flagged Mercedes down. Takashi followed her as she bee-lined to him.
“Any update since your phone call when I was in the car, Mike?” she asked.
The teen shook his head. “Tech is still looking at the computer, and your dad hasn’t shown up yet.”
Mercedes snorted. “I doubt he’s eager to leave the show. Means he’d have to stop showing off his toys.” She pulled out her keycard pack and held it up. “I’ll get Mr. Taeko’s files out for you. Will anyone need any other customer files while I’m at it?”
Mike nodded. “A few. I have it all written down on a list so I wouldn’t forget.”
Mercedes patted him on the arm. “Good job.” She looked back at Takashi. “Feel free to look around. Just don’t get in anyone’s way.”
Takashi smirked. “I’ll stay away from the coffee, too.”
The techs around them roared with laughter, and Mercedes shook her head, a smile on her lips. She went into the room Mike had come out of, Mike following her. Definitely the office and not a lounge. Takashi took a look around.
For a shop, the place was fairly clean. He expected tools and parts to be scattered all over the place, but found the opposite of that. Mercedes had a big thing about safety, so he suspected she ran a tight ship about keeping the building clean of unneeded hazards.
Takashi stopped in front of an old sports car, its faded blue and black paint catching his eye. No one worked on it currently, but he could see the interior was gutted, and much of the front end was missing.
An older man, maybe in his late forties, with umber skin approached him. “That’s Mercedes’ personal project car. A rare 2016 Bugatti Chiron.”
Takashi’s brows rose. “Another Bugatti?”
The man chuckled. “She has expensive taste, just like her mother.” He held out his hand. “Name’s Justin, the other manager here.”
“Takashi.” He clasped his hand with Justin. “Takashi Moreno.”
Justin smirked. “Ah, you’re that gaming friend of hers she was meeting today.”
Takashi smiled. “Guilty.”
Justin looked him over. “Not what I was expecting, but Mercedes is full of surprises.”
Takashi knew he was referring to Mercedes’ preference for men, one Ajax fit better than he did. But she could also pick outside of that preference if the guy impressed her enough.
“I should be offended.” Takashi laughed. “But it’s too accurate a statement about Mercedes for me to be.”
“Excuse you?” Mercedes’ voice rang across the shop.
The two men looked her way. She stood in the office doorway, her arms crossed. Takashi shrugged and Justin laughed. Mercedes shook her head and joined the two. “What do you think?”
He looked at the car and then her. “Be more specific.”
“Of the shop.”
“I’m impressed with the cleanliness.”
Justin
laughed. “She’ll eat us alive if we don’t keep the floors clean and keep parts away from areas they can be easily damaged.”
Mercedes crossed her arms. “Do I hear a complaint?”
He held up his hands. “Not from me. I like not tripping over someone’s ‘forgotten’ wrench.”
Her lips pressed into a line, and she looked at him like she didn’t believe him. Takashi suspected Justin was, at the very least, a former culprit of such behavior.
All three looked to the front of the shop when a car door slammed and heavy boots stomped their way. A tall man with fair hair, tan skin, and a muscular physique stormed into the building. His voice boomed through the shop. “Where is he?”
Mercedes sighed. “Dad, I’ve been handling this.”
Ah, so that’s Jayce. Takashi noted that he too had a cybernetic prosthetic, but unlike Mercedes with a fake right arm, he had a fake left. I wonder why. Mercedes never mentioned that her father also had a limb replacement. She also never told him the cause of her accident. Were they both involved?
Her father stalked over to her. “Where is he?”
“Currently working on a car. I just got done speaking with the computer tech. It’s fixable, but will cost a bit.” His hands clenched and his face reddened, but Mercedes placed a hand on his shoulder. “Take a deep breath, grab a cup of coffee, and check on the projects. I’m handling it.”
Jayce’s eyebrow twitched at the word coffee, and Takashi and Justin couldn’t help but snicker. Jayce looked his way. “Who is this?”
“Oh.” Mercedes gestured to Takashi. “Dad, this is my friend—”
Her father extended his hand. “Jayce Gail, Mercedes’ father and owner of this shop.”
Takashi clasped his hand with Jayce. “Takashi Moreno. Friend of Mercedes and business—”
“Oh, you’re the friend of hers that makes a living off that game… what was it called?”
Mercedes sighed. “Lusara Fates, Dad. Man, can’t you ever remember a single game I play?”
“Your mother was better at that,” he said, his reply a bit gruff. “She’s the one that got you into that hobby.” He looked at Takashi. “You said your last name was Moreno?”
Takashi nodded. “That’s right.”
Her father eyed him and then walked off. “I’ll keep that in mind. Nice meeting you, kid.”
Takashi looked at Mercedes, puzzled, but she shrugged and headed off into another direction. He watched her approach a pale man with chestnut hair, who did not look pleased by her presence. That must be Adrian.
Takashi’s phone started to go off, playing the Imperial March from Star Wars, his favorite old science fiction space opera. Mercedes looked back at him, her brow raised, and the techs laughed.
He pulled out his phone. “Text.”
“Thank them for the perfect timing!” Justin called out.
Takashi chuckled and then looked at the text he received, knowing it was from his mother. He made sure to assign a distinct tone for her.
Are you still out on that date?
His brow rose and he typed back.
Date?
Mi-chan said you went to lunch with some girl.
Takashi sighed. He’d told Mia he was just out seeing a friend, but she must have noticed Mercedes in the car when he dropped off his motorcycle.
It wasn’t a date, Okaasan. I met up with my friend, Mercedes, for lunch, and then we decided to hang out for the rest of the day.
Interesting name. I knew a girl with it. My old business partner’s daughter. When will the two of you be home for dinner?
Takashi pinched his nose and inwardly groaned.. As much as he would like to bring her home for dinner, that’d be too fast and ruin any chance he had with her.
I’m not bringing her home for dinner, Okaasan.
Yes you are! I will prepare for one extra person.
Takashi sighed and tried to figure out how to get his mother to let this go. She’d been relentless lately about him settling down and getting married. It wasn’t like he hated the idea, on the contrary. It was something he wanted. He just needed to find the right someone. Someone like… Mercedes.
He looked up to see her tearing into Adrian.
“She’s not allowed in this shop ever again, do I make myself clear?” Mercedes said.
“What? That’s a bit extreme,” Adrian said. “You don’t have to—”
“A bit extreme?” Takashi could see her anger rising, and he was tempted to take a step back. He’d only seen her mad a few times, and she was a force to be reckoned with when it happened. “May I remind you of the other costly problems she’s caused?”
Adrian went to respond, but she continued. “Paint on a 2050 Mercedes upholstery set to be installed that day and delivered to the customer the following day, costing us hundreds to fix, and delay fees we had to eat. Paint spilled on newly painted body panels for a 2016 Lamborghini.”
Mercedes continued, making it a point to highlight his skills in the field as well, and how he shouldn’t risk that for some “girl.” Takashi could tell she didn’t like his girlfriend much, if at all. Of course, he couldn’t blame her if the woman only brought problems to the shop. He also didn’t like how Adrian responded to all this. He had too many excuses lined up, and expected Mercedes to fall for one of them.
Takashi looked down at his phone and started typing back to his mother, only to delete the message when it sounded stupid. He needed to word this right.
He looked up again when someone approached. Mercedes had a smile on her face, pleased with the reprimanding she’d given her employee.
Her smile faded, and he realized he wasn’t doing a good job as disguising his family issue. “Everything okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, just my mom being her.”
She laughed. “How so?”
Takashi showed her the texts, not seeing any reason to hide them from her. He half expected her to tense up, but her expression formed into a curious, thoughtful one.
She looked up at him and handed his phone back. “I actually wouldn’t mind having dinner with your family.”
This surprised him. “Yeah?”
Her gaze faltered. “Unless you don’t want me to…”
“No, of course I do!” She looked at him again, but he couldn’t meet her gaze. He rubbed the back of his neck. “What I mean—”
“He wants to take you out on a date!” One of the techs yelled out across the shop.
Mercedes’ father came out of the office and looked around. “Who is taking who on a date?”
Mercedes lifted a hand and flipped the employee the middle finger. “No one, Dad. Jensen is just being a dick.”
Jensen threw his hands in the air. “Not my fault the two of you are flirting with each other.”
Is it that obvious?
Mercedes crossed her arm. “No, we’re not.”
The blue-eyed man snorted and then went back to work. Her father looked at Takashi, and he swallowed. The man didn’t have a scowl, but Takashi knew that stern look. Protective type. Great. Emi’s father wasn’t the most accepting of him, another reason the two hadn’t worked out. Takashi wasn’t sure if Mercedes’ father would be the same, but he’d have to be careful if he was going to pursue anything with her.
Mercedes faced him. “So, I’m done here. We can head out and do whatever now.”
Takashi typed out a response to his mother, telling her they’d be by around six, and then nodded. “Still want to go to the museum?”
He’d mentioned it on the ride over and she sounded a bit interested, but they never confirmed.
She smiled. “Yeah, I’d like that.”
The two headed out, but not without some of the techs making comments.
“Careful where you put your hands, lo
verboy.”
“Pick a car with a roomy back.”
“Don’t do anything we wouldn’t do.”
Mercedes shook her head and ignored them. Takashi suspected she was used to such behavior. He got the feeling, even though they were her employees, they were a tight-knit group. Any issues she ran into, they’d jump right in to protect her.
When they hopped into her car, he glanced her way. “If you ever want help fixing up that car, and I’m here, give me a shout. I’d be happy to help.”
“Yeah?” Mercedes asked. He nodded, making her smile. “I’d like that.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Aloud smack echoed in the car as Mercedes slapped Takashi’s hand away from the stereo dial. She tensed as she didn’t mean to hit him so hard. Another downside to this stupid prosthetic. Takashi rubbed his hand and she frowned. “Sorry. I don’t mean to hit you so hard. The added weight of this stupid thing is hard for me to gauge sometimes.”
Takashi continued to rub his hand. “You did warn me not to touch your stereo.” His eyes glittered. “This is just my punishment for not listening.”
She eyed him. “If I’m not mistaken, you sound interested in the prospect of punishment.”
He flashed her a smile that made her insides melt. “Depends on who’s doing the punishing.”
Blood rushed to her cheeks, and she couldn’t stop the arousing mental image of her tied to a bed from popping into her head. I shouldn’t think these things!
Takashi’s boisterous laugh filled the car. “The look on your face is priceless. You reacted just as I hoped.”
Mercedes’ eyes narrowed, her cheeks growing warmer, and she punched him in the arm. Takashi held his arm, and his face contorted as he mouthed the word “ow.”
Serves you right, jerk. She looked out the windshield, watching the city go by.
Spellbinding His Ranger Page 7
