by Lexie Davis
EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2019 Lexie Davis
ISBN: 978-0-3695-0006-9
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Audrey Bobak
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
THE MECHANIC
Temptations, 1
Lexie Davis
Copyright © 2019
Chapter One
Eve
The heat of his gaze bore into me. I wanted to blame the sweltering warmth of the July sun, but the longer Taylor Jenkins stared at me, the hotter my temperature got. I carried my tote bag toward the garage’s office, bypassing him with a silent gulp. His sexy-as-sin grin had me resisting the need to squirm. My skirt was a little short. My heels were a little tall. I couldn’t have possibly looked more out of place with the grease monkeys who worked for my father’s garage.
And that was the problem. Nearly two months after my parents’ divorce, I found myself trying to straighten out my father’s books. Several months ago, my brother caught my mom stealing from the business. We later discovered it was to fund her alcoholic boyfriend who couldn’t keep a job. Not only was my father distraught when he found out, but it also tore apart my family. In a desperate plea of love or insanity, my father forgave her, simply requesting that she wouldn’t do it again. That lasted all of one month before she took everything and left. Right now, only God knew what she was doing and with whom. None of us talked about it, but my father held out hope that she’d come back. My siblings and I, however, never wanted to see her again.
“I’m here, boss,” I said to my father with a smile. “Reporting for duty.”
He gave me a tired smile as he looked up from the desk. “Hey, baby. How was work?”
“Work.” I gave him a wry smile. “I just finished tax season so I’ve got plenty of spare time to work here.”
He glanced around. Mountains of paperwork lined the small closet-sized room. “I’ve got people calling about not paying the bills and they’ve halted any orders for me until they’re paid. I need to get some parts or I’m going to lose business.”
He looked tired. I knew he didn’t sleep well. He hadn’t since my mom started all this mess. My brother Davy told me that he was restless at night. He’d wait up just in case my mom came home. While none of us cared too much about her, we all loved our dad. The hardworking man didn’t deserve to have everything taken from him the way she did. One way or another, I would fix it. If I had to file charges against her, I’d do it too.
“Accounts payable it is.” I sat my bag in the chair. “Don’t worry about this, Dad. I’ll handle everything.” It’d probably take me all weekend but I’d figure something out.
I’d always had a rocky relationship with my mother. My mom wanted to do what she wanted to do and she really didn’t care about anyone else. My father raised his kids. He was at every school function, every baseball game or dance recital. He worked hard to buy us things we wanted. Just looking at how distraught he was sitting behind the desk made me mad all over again that my mom would do this to him.
“You’re sure you can handle this?” he asked me. “I can help. It’s been a while since I’ve done accounting but I’m sure it’ll come back to me.”
“I have a very expensive degree and a licensure that says I’m more than qualified to fix this. Go home and relax. I’ll fix the mess she left. Don’t worry about this.”
He pressed his lips together and nodded. “I’ll put a list of parts together. I need them soon or I’ll be out of business. Jerry is already talking about taking his business to that new garage on the other side of town. He says he doesn’t have to wait as long.”
“I’ll get you the parts.” I hated seeing the worry on my father’s face. “I promise. Go home and relax. I’ve got this.”
He finally stood and walked around the small desk. “I love you, baby. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“I love you, too,” I told him. “You need to take care of yourself, Dad. Don’t worry about the business. I’ll handle everything.”
He nodded and left the room. I glanced around the office, trying to decide which pile to start on first. Nothing was organized and I found orders for parts that were past due. I sat down behind the desk and pulled up my father’s accounts. Nothing had been entered into the computer. I didn’t know what was received and what he owed. The phone rang and I answered it.
“Parker’s Auto Garage, this is Eve.” I propped the phone on my shoulder while I reached for a pile of papers on the desk.
“I need to speak with someone in accounts payable.”
I stopped sorting through the papers, focusing on the caller. “What can I help you with?”
She told me who she was and how much the garage owed them. I pursed my lips, having no record of that order. The nightmare of finding all the past-due bills had only begun. Paying them would be a completely different nightmare.
After I hung up the phone, I decided to pull up my father’s bank records. I knew my mom had taken everything in the account, but that was two months ago. The money made since then should be there now.
“Negative twenty-two dollars.” I blinked a few times. With no idea what money was coming in or going out, I had my work cut out for me.
I sorted through the stacks of papers for what felt like hours before I finally had a good amount of the past-due bills in front of me. My father owed thousands to businesses and had no ability to pay it.
I huffed a breath and thought about my father’s business. He worked so hard to help people. Being an auto mechanic was all he knew. He inherited the business from my grandfather and turned it into a family affair. My two brothers, Davy and Joe, worked with him. My Uncle Ted did too. He hired Rodney and Taylor as extra help, which proved to be a great asset. People depended on him and he didn’t want to let them down.
The door opened and a big body stepped into the small room with me. “Your father wanted me to give you this list.”
Taylor’s dirty hands handed me a once-white piece of paper with scribbles on it. I read it the best I could then glanced up at him. Those damn sparkling blue eyes of his turned my mind to mush. His dark hair fell onto his forehead while the tight ribbed cotton tank clung to his muscular chest. Swallowing hard, I let my gaze roam down his body to the arms of his navy coveralls tied at his waist. It was too damn hot to have so much clothing on. The sweat dotting his forehead and arms proved that much.
“You okay?” he asked.
I shook myself from ogling him. “Yes. Thank you.”
He studied me for a moment. “Nearly everyone has left for lunch. I doubt your dad would be mad if you got something to eat too.”
“It’s too hot to eat, but thanks.” I sat the note full of auto parts aside and focused my attention on inputting the data into the computer.
Taylor lingered a moment before leaving. I didn’t know what it was about the man that turned me into a hot mess when he was around. The sexy bravado of his voice had my pussy clenching. Had it really been that long since I’d fucked a man? I thought about it for a moment and determined that it had. If I couldn’t remember my last time then it had been too long.
Nothing really got me hot and bothered quite like staring at Taylor’s ass in the coveralls. I watched while he talked with my brother, his back
to me. I didn’t know what he was saying, but my brother caught me staring. I pulled my attention away from them and forced myself to work.
I’d heard rumors from the guys that Taylor was adventurous sexually. I didn’t really know what that meant, but my former lover didn’t fit that category. I wasn’t necessarily looking for whips and binds but something other than fucking on my back in a bed would have been nice.
My attitude waned the longer I thought about it. Men were supposed to be sex fiends yet I think I attracted more of the best friend type. To be honest, I was still friends with all my exes—something my brother Davy deemed weird. I wouldn’t know what to do with an alpha man taking what he wanted. Damn, the thought made me wetter in the stupid heat. I wanted my world rocked and for some reason, my attention kept going back to Taylor.
Pushing those thoughts aside, I focused on creating a purchase order for the parts. I had told my dad that I’d make sure he got his parts. The amount was a few hundred dollars, so I logged into my bank account and transferred the money. Afterward, I sent the order in and selected overnight shipping. He’d have his parts the next day so hopefully, he wouldn’t lose business.
I didn’t even notice when all the guys came back from lunch. Davy swooped in the office and tossed a sack of fast food on the desk.
“I figured you didn’t eat. I got your favorite.”
I frowned, glancing at the bag. “I have a favorite?”
“Sure. When we were kids.” He grinned. “Did you get her mess sorted out?”
I glanced up and nodded toward the door. “Close the door.”
He pushed it with his hand and it shut with a soft click. “How bad is it?”
“I transferred money from my account into his so he could buy the parts he needed to do the jobs he has to do.”
“Fuck.” Davy was four years older than me and he looked like our mom. His dark-brown hair was messy and he had dirty mechanic hands like every other man who worked in the shop. “How’s payroll?”
I blew out a breath. “I haven’t even gotten to that yet. I’m still on accounts payable but his bank account is in the negative.”
“Negative?” He swallowed. He sat in the chair and rubbed a hand over his face. “I have a little money saved up. I’ll see if Joe can pitch in too.”
My brothers didn’t have money. They had modest incomes with families to take care of. I was single and I had a good career. I had money in savings that I could use to support the business. My father would kill me if he knew what I was doing, but I had no intention of telling him. He needed to know she didn’t ruin him. She didn’t ruin our family or our livelihood.
“You’ve already got it in your head you’re paying for everything, haven’t you?”
“I’m giving the business a loan.” I licked my lips. “It would break Dad’s heart all over again if he finds out he cannot pay his bills, so you’re not going to tell him about it.”
“I’m not telling him anything. But if me and Joe want to chip in, you’ll let us. This is our lives too, Eve. We’re not going to let her destroy it.”
My brother was the caretaker. Hell, we all were when it came to our father. He was such a good man and I gave him credit for all the good parts in us.
“I’ll figure it out.” I glanced up at the window in the door and spotted Taylor outside it. “Get back to work.”
He stood and opened the door and chuckled at Taylor. “No hanky-panky in the workplace.”
Taylor glanced toward me and I rolled my eyes. He didn’t say anything as Davy left us. Taylor stepped inside and handed me a cup of ice cream. “I brought you ice cream. You could probably use a break even though you’re not going to take one.”
I took the cup and smiled when I saw the scoop of cookie dough ice cream. I couldn’t stop the smile from crossing my face if I tried.
“I didn’t want you to wither away in the heat,” he told me.
“Mmm.” I took the ice cream gift and tasted it. “Oh, this is good. Thank you.”
He watched me for a moment, taking in the way my tongue licked the spoon. I wasn’t trying to be overly sexual, but the result was the same. The heat of his gaze crackled the longer he stared. He finally cleared his throat and glanced to the side.
“Uh, your dad told me to tell you about the mistake with my check.” He fished for a piece of paper from the back pocket of his coveralls and pulled out a wrinkled check. “It came back as insufficient funds.”
Shit.
I sat the ice cream down and stared at the red lettering on the check. I glanced up at him. Taylor gaze was warm and understanding, as if he knew.
“I don’t need the money right away,” he said. “I just thought I’d tell you. So you’d know.”
I didn’t know what to say. Grabbing my tote bag, I found my checkbook and pulled it out. I kept quiet as I wrote him a check for the amount of his salary and handed it to him.
“I’m so sorry. It won’t happen again.”
He stared at the check I handed him. “The business is in bad shape right now, isn’t it?”
I lifted my ice cream, debating whether or not I wanted to answer that question. Taylor wasn’t family though the boys considered him so. I didn’t know him well, but he worked here. He saw what happened. It wouldn’t surprise me if my brothers had told him what happened even if he didn’t see it.
“I’m working on getting it back on track.”
He lifted his gaze to mine. “I don’t want your money.”
I took a bite of my treat and swallowed. “Right now, that’s the only money.”
Taylor reached back and closed the office door. I blinked a few times, knowing my brother watched us. He’d probably have something to say about it too. Taylor sat in the empty chair and focused on me.
“We all know your Linda was stealing from Doug. None of us hold it against him, least of all me.” He handed me the check. “I don’t want your money. You can just pay me when the books are straightened out and the business is making a profit again.”
“You can live off no salary for a while?” I arched an eyebrow. “Because right now, I have no idea when this business will be profitable. It’s going to take a while to clean up this mess.”
“I have savings. I’m not a complicated man.” His piercing blue eyes captured me. “I don’t have a girlfriend spending all my money, so I’ll be fine.”
I lifted the spoon to my lips. I wasn’t commenting about that.
“Besides, your father gave me a chance with this job. He’s entitled to some support from his employees. I came here with nothing and Doug helped me out. He gave me a job and a place to stay until I could get my own. I had no money and just the clothes on my back. It’s only right to return the favor.”
I didn’t know much about Taylor’s story, but I did know that he came to my dad looking for work after he got out of the military. My father took him under his wing and taught him about working on cars. Now he was one of my father’s top mechanics.
He sat back in the chair. “This job has kept me from putting a bullet in my brain more than once. I know we have the business to get back on top. Everything will work out eventually.”
I admired his altruism. I didn’t know anyone who would say something like that about their employer. If my employer didn’t pay me for my work, I’d have to quit. Not to mention, employment laws were in place to protect employees for things like this. It wasn’t completely realistic of him to live off his savings unless he had a large sum built up in the few years he’d been working there. Since I knew what he made, it was unlikely that were the case.
“I appreciate your kindness.” I tossed the ice cream in the trash. “But you know as well as I do that you cannot live on your savings. I know how much you make and at best, your savings will probably last you a couple of months before it’s gone. A couple of months from now, we may or may not be in a position to pay you.”
He frowned. “What are you saying?”
“Right now, I’m saying
take the check.” I pushed the check toward him. “Just be an employee and let me figure out the rest.”
He lifted the check from the desk. “You’re stubborn just like Doug.”
I snorted. “You’re not the first person to say that.”
He stood and pocketed his check.
I tried not to notice how wide his shoulders were. My gaze lingered on his hands, wondering how they’d feel against my body. Even if he did have a rough reputation, I thought he’d be gentle with his touch. He caught me staring at him and I shifted uncomfortably in my chair.
He turned to leave.
“Hey, Taylor?” I found the words leaving my lips before I could stop them. He glanced over his shoulder at me. “Thanks for the ice cream.”
His lips cocked upward in a grin.
Yep. I was in trouble.
****
By the time six rolled around, I had a headache and a crick in my neck. I also had to be at work early in the morning. Since tax season was over, I managed to shift my schedule around. My employer was fairly understanding since I never missed work. I had the PTO time too so it didn’t really matter.
I gathered up everything I’d brought and left the office, locking the door behind me. The men stood outside talking and I did my best not to interrupt. I waved at my brother when he looked up at me.
“You leaving?”
“Yeah. I’ve been up since three so I’m ready to crash.”
“Damn,” Davy commented. “Are you coming back tomorrow?”
“Probably.” I shifted on my heels. My feet were killing me.
Taylor’s gaze bore into me while I talked. I glanced over at him and caught him checking out my legs. My stomach fluttered with the way he let his gaze slowly linger upward, taking in the shorter-than-normal black skirt I wore and the white button-down top. I really hoped I didn’t have any sweat stains at the armpits. I’d unbuttoned a few buttons and forgot to fix them before I left the office. My boobs were nice and perky, the round swells poking out just enough to capture his attention. When he finally met my gaze, I tried my hardest not to squirm. My brother was standing right there, turning his attention from me to Taylor.
