11. Chapter Ten
Chapter Ten
I try to stay in my bedroom for as long as possible, but as night starts to fall over St. Devil's Creek, my stomach reminds me that I haven't eaten since breakfast.
Against my better judgment, I emerge from my bedroom, surprised to find Blaise alone in the living room. He looks up at me as I enter, his laptop resting on his legs.
"Hey, you," he greets warmly.
"Where's Nathan?" I ask, looking around.
Blaise turns his attention to the screen. "He's gone home."
"Oh," I mutter, shifting awkwardly. "Was it because of me?"
"Don't let his moods get to you," Blaise laughs softly. "He's just protective."
I pick a spot on the couch, curling my legs underneath me. "I know. But I still feel bad."
"Well, don't," Blaise scolds playfully. "Because it's doing us both a favor. It will be fine. I still think it's a great idea. I know it's still pretty raw, but in a few days, you'll be settled and much more relaxed. It's hard letting things go and giving in to change, but sometimes it's for the best."
"Wise words," I laugh. "You should do it more often."
He gives me a half-smile, typing on his laptop. "I'm just setting up some documents to run through with you tomorrow, as well as a formal letter of employment. If we're going to do it, we're going to do it properly. It will have your expected hours, hourly rate, benefits, and a list of general tasks."
"Gosh, so we're really doing this," I say to him. "You'll be my boss."
"Your big boss," he points out with a grin.
I snort. "I'm the only other employee. It's not hard to have the title."
"But it sounds cool," he pouts. "Nah, it's fine. I'm going through a list of tasks that I need help with and I'll teach you the software tomorrow. The only problem is we need to get you some equipment."
"A laptop?" I ask gingerly.
He nods. "And before you say anything, it's a company expense so don't even try to argue with me. It will be business property. I can already see your mind panicking."
"I'm not that predictable."
"Yeah, you are."
We fall into silence as he types, before he finally turns the screen around, showing me a neatly typed out document. "We'll head into town in the morning and pick up the laptop. I've already ordered it and given them some brief specs to run. Tomorrow, we'll set it up fully, get you familiar with the programs, and explain all the tasks. After that, you should be right to just smash into it."
"Okay," I mutter softly, leaning my head against the couch. "Are you okay though?"
"I should be asking you that," he shoots back. "I want to hear all the juicy details — about you telling Marco to fuck off, and your date last night."
I give a small laugh. "That's opposite ends of the spectrum. What do you want to hear about first?"
"Hmm," he pauses, a genuine look of indecisiveness on his face. "The date… no wait — the quitting."
Smiling, I relay the events of today, watching as Blaise's face turns up in disgust.
"I knew he was a pig," he says with a sigh. "I'm glad you did it. Besides, the pay wasn't worth it."
"Speaking of pay…" I start.
Blaise tilts his head with a tight smile. "There's a bit of damage to the car."
I cringe. "How much?"
"Well…" he starts, trying to dumb it down for me. "There's some internal water damage which isn't too bad. A good detailer will be able to help with that. Thankfully, nothing under the hood was severely impacted by the water. You got lucky there. Generally, if you flood the engine or the radiator it's not worth fixing, but they tightened things up and flushed it out."
I blink at him — unsure where to start. "That sounds like a toilet. And what do you mean they tightened things up? They have already done some work?"
Blaise pauses, realizing he's stuck his foot in his mouth. "Uh… yes."
"Blaise!"
"Stop," he says sternly, putting his hand up. "I've got it all figured out."
I stare at him intensely, unsure where to throw a cushion at his head or break down crying.
He leans back, keeping a calm exterior. "I've calculated it into your pay. You'll see it in the letter of offer. There's a loan from the business. I'll deduct a small amount each pay for repayments. There's loan terms and a schedule."
Feeling a little better, I relax slightly. Without all the information, I still don't feel completely at ease, but at least it means I'll be repaying him. "How have you gotten this sorted so quickly?"
"I have an attorney friend," he says simply.
"Right… but I only just quit today. They couldn't have done all this in one afternoon."
A look of guilt flashes across his face and my mouth falls open. "You already planned for this."
He grins sheepishly at me. "Sorry?" he offers.
"Unbelievable," I mutter in disbelief. "I don't know what to do with you."
"Work for me," he answers simply. "See — I'll be a good boss. I'm always on top of things."
Unable to resist, I smirk. "I didn't ask to hear about your sex life, boss."
Blaise bursts out laughing. "Good call. Wait — does this mean legally I can't ask you now about yours?"
"Well, I haven't signed the contract yet," I murmur. "And technically, if it's outside of working hours, we're just roommates."
"Good," he says, slamming the laptop closed. "Because I want to hear all about the details. Are you seeing him again?"
Beaming, I nod. "Tomorrow night. He was actually the one who encouraged me to do it."
Blaise feigns a look of hurt. "What am I? Chopped liver?"
"You know what I mean," I scold him playfully. "He agreed with you and thought it was a good idea to take you up on your offer."
"Ahh. I like this man," he remarks with a smile. "He has his priorities straight. Is anything else straight?"
My face deadpans as I finally pick up the cushion and throw it across the coffee table at him. He catches it with ease, laughing.
"My sex life is none of your business, boss man."
"Oh, come on!" he complains. "I'm nothing but supportive. Give me the tea."
I stand up, brushing imaginary dust from my lap. "Nope. I'll see you in the morning for work." I start to make a beeline for my bedroom, then pivot, remembering I'm starving. "Pretend I'm not here!" I shout from the kitchen, the sound of the fridge door opening as I search for food.
As I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, I remember I didn't quite ask what time I needed to start today. The morning light has well and truly flooded in, and while it's only 8am, reality starts to set in as a new dawn breaks.
Reaching for my cell, I'm greeted with my usual good morning message from Jordan.
Jordan: Good morning, pretty one. I hope today is amazing, just as you are.
Me: You're the amazing one. Have a great day x
Stumbling out from my bedroom, I search for Blaise, not finding him anywhere. From my awesome detective skills, I deduce he must be in his bedroom, so I tap my knuckles on his door, hearing movement from inside. He swings the door open, giving me a bright smile.
"Good morning," he says happily, and I can smell coffee inside his room.
"It's definitely morning," I yawn. "What time did you want to head into town?"
Blaise checks his watch. "I asked them to have the laptop ready by 9am. So, go have a coffee and get ready. We'll convene at 8.45am."
"That's oddly proper of you," I tease. "But you're forgiven because you made coffee."
"World's best boss, right here," he says, jabbing his finger into his chest.
I can't help but notice he looks more tired than usual, his dark hair slightly messy and bags under his eyes.
"Definitely," I agree, trying to perk him up in case he's had a rough night. "If you're ever having a shit day, just know that even on your worst days, you'll always be better than Marco Barfo."
He lets out a hearty laugh as I head towards the kitchen, pouring myself a cup of coffee.
Taking a quick shower, I get changed into some jeans, a light shirt, and a cardigan before we set off to the computer store.
I'm not surprised that he's greeted by name when we enter, my eyes scanning all the equipment along the shelves. The guy at the counter hands him a box, talking in a language I barely recognize. The words are English, but specs, modifications, cards and other random terms I'm not overly familiar with, make me zone out.
I expect us to head back home, but instead he takes us on a detour, pulling into Wheatley's Mechanics. Immediately, I spot my little yellow submarine parked near a lifting station. There's two guys surrounding her, working away and I throw Blaise a look.
"We already talked about this," he says, trying not to poke the bear. "Let's go have a chat with them and see what the full update is."
Grumbling, I reluctantly step out of his Escalade, following him to the guys. One of them spots us and instantly walks over with a grin on his face.
"Blazer! Hey, man," he greets, giving Blaise a slap on the arm. "This must be Skylar."
"It is," Blaise says warmly. "Sky, this is my friend I was telling you about."
It's hard to tell from all the grease, but light blue eyes and freckles look at me warmly from behind a mop of red hair. "I'm Rohan. It's nice to meet ya."
"Likewise," I say with a smile. "I'd offer to shake your hand but…"
Rohan looks at his hand, cracking into a laugh as he wipes it on his overalls. "Grease and dirt are a part of the gig. Anyway, I think you'll be pleased with what we've done for ya."
He leads us over to Ducky, hand running along the side panel. "We managed to buff out the scratches from where the car hit the barrier. There was also a dent but we suctioned that baby out. Our apprentice William has been working on getting the excess water out from the inside. It may still smell a bit, but that should fade with time."
Opening the door, I pop my head inside, surprised to find it free of water. "How much water was in there?" I ask hesitantly. "I had to leave the window down."
"Uh… better ya don't know, champ. But Blazer brought your keys in after the tow truck arrived so we wound her up. It was mostly cosmetic damage inside. Nothing too bad — you just might have a wet ass for a bit."
Blaise snorts, giving me a look. I slap his arm, flashing my eyes at him in warning. Rohan doesn't pay any attention, opening the hood.
"We also changed your oil and filter. It looked like it was due. Also — did you know your tires were a little flat?"
My cheeks tinge with pink as I kick a rock with my shoe. "I'll remember to check the pressure more often."
My dad would be annoyed with me. I should know better — but I have to admit, I've gotten a bit slack with that side of adulting since moving away from home.
"Don't stress. It wasn't anything bad. If you need help, ya can always bring her in to us."
I nod, giving him an appreciative smile. "Thank you. And to you too, Blaise. You guys have helped me so much."
Blaise pats my back slowly. "You'd be lost without me."
I swat his hand away, turning back to Rohan. "When will she be ready?"
Rohan looks over the car, humming to himself. "Give us another day or two to get her a little bit more dry. Then she's all yours."