8. Sienna
Chapter 8
Sienna
"Y ou can't work here. I can't have you here," Levi grits out between his teeth behind me.
His breathing is heavy, and I can feel the rise and fall of it at my back when I look up at him.
"You think I'm not qualified? I can assure you, Mr. Steele. I'm highly qualified. Ask your friend. The one that offered me the job."
Then he says something I'm not expecting.
Something that gives me a better glimpse as to why he’s this upset.
"You kissed me," he all but hisses. "You have a boyfriend… and you kissed me."
I can see the hurt in his eyes.
The betrayal he's fighting to accept is bothering him and my stomach sinks at the realization that he thinks I cheated on my boyfriend, with him.
"Had," I say, turning around to face him. "I had a boyfriend."
"And what was that? Why are you so adamant about working here?"
What is it with him trying to find a motive for me to exist here? Can't a girl just want to work and live and do something she loves without having some kind of revenge plotted out in her head.
Jesus. Who hurt him?
"No, Mr. Steele." I watch the way his shoulders tense when I call him that. "I'm here because I'm damn good at what I do. Something you'll come to find out if you ever let me out of this office and let me work."
He drops the hand that's still holding the door closed. On a sigh, he says, "I need to talk to Brody. Wait for me outside and don't touch anything. We're not done here."
Levi Steele is just as grumpy as he was on TV. I really shouldn't be surprised.
What does surprise me is the fact that being this close to him is doing things to my body I don't particularly want to admit to him.
The smell of his cologne, a manly musk, fills my nostrils and I need to leave just to make sure I don't get swept up in the sensation of him being so near.
Levi is now my boss, whether we like it or not.
This is the only bike shop in all of Breaker's Isle. And the closest one is somewhere I would never step foot in again.
So for now, he's going to have to accept that this is happening.
He opens the door and waits for me to step out. I do and he shuts the door, clicking the lock in place.
Well, that went smoothly.
I grab the helmet I dropped at the entrance and shrug out of my jacket, walking over to the crew already busy at work.
He said don't touch anything not don't talk to anyone.
I try my luck with the one female in the group.
We didn’t start off on the right foot. And she keeps looking over at me, as the song blasting through the bay has everyone bouncing around as they work.
The sounds of metal clinking and tools buzzing is as natural to me as breathing. For as long as I can remember, this place has always been a dream for me.
And now that I'm here, I won't let Levi and his bad attitude take that dream from me.
"You sure know how to work up a man," the woman says, focused on unwrapping some mirrors.
"Comes with the territory. Some guys can't handle a woman knowing her stuff," I say, approaching.
She smirks. "Steele ain't like that."
"Does he know that? Because apparently my very presence annoys him."
Not that he seemed to mind my presence when his tongue was nearly in my throat last night. The thickening in his jeans was evidence of that.
"He's got a lot on his plate," she assures me. Then sets the mirror down on the table and extends her hand out. "Name's Kim, by the way. The crew calls me Kick."
I feel eyes on me and turn to see Joey—or Skid, I guess—watching me.
He gives me a playful wave of his fingers but gets knocked by the older Hispanic guy who ran my interview… if you could even call it that.
"Sienna," I say, shaking her hand. "What's with all the nicknames?"
Kim shrugs. "Kinda just happened. Around here, nicknames get earned."
When she sees the unsatisfied look on my face, she adds. "So… how'd you convince Brody King to give you a job after all?" She reaches for another tool and expertly spins it in the air before using it on the mirror.
"I didn't take no for an answer," I say, picking up a different tool when I see her struggling and hand it to her.
She eyes the offered item and takes it, lifting it up to me.
"Thanks."
The door to Levi's office opens and the sound of his angry boots strive to compete with the bass of the music.
"Sienna," he says gruffly. "A word.
The way he summons me is much like a school principal calling in a bad student to his office. I know it shouldn’t affect me, but the way his words come out, I wouldn’t mind getting punished by him.
"Oooh, looks like somebody made Daddy angry," Joey singsongs across the open bay. Benji knocks him in the back of the head, again.
Kim and I exchange looks and I hop off the stool I've made myself comfortable on.
"Guess the verdict is in. I'll see you in a few," I say to her.
"Maybe, if he doesn’t have you walking the plank," she says with a smug grin as I walk in the direction of the brooding beast.
His eyes are made darker by the scowl on his face. I stop just a few inches from him, once we’re both in back in his office.
"Yes, boss?"
He closes the door and lets out a low guttural growl, confirming exactly what I thought, the man is a beast.
"We've agreed to a thirty day trial," he says, reluctantly.
"And if you're not satisfied what do you expect to do? Send me back to the factory and get your money back?" I put a defiant hand on my hips.
"Look, I'm not happy about it," he says lowly. "But Brody, as you already know, has majority ownership and he seems to think you might be exactly what this place needs."
"That's because I am."
"You're too cocky for your own good."
"Confident," I assure him. "Not cocky, Mr. Steele. Big difference."
To that he looks me up and down, and it doesn't matter how confident I am, when Levi Steele looks at you like that—there's no hiding from his gaze.
I feel the blush in my cheeks.
"There are some ground rules,” he says.
"Let me guess, you don't kiss your employees? Tracking."
He swallows hard and shakes his head.
"Don't do anything without running it by me first."
"Anything?"
"Anything," he says.
"Seems excessive."
"Well, I can't just hand over shop tasks to a teenager without ensuring quality control."
"Sounds a lot like micro-managing."
"Sienna,” he says my name like a warning.
"Yes, Mr. Steele?" I'm pretty sure I don't mean to bat my lashes but a part of me can't help but push his buttons. It seems to bring me a lot of joy to watch such a big man squirm.
"Next ground rule...” he continues.
“Give it to me,” I say, my chin perking up at him.
“Just… call me, Levi."