Chapter 12 Shyanne
SHYANNE
“She’s done,” I said, grinning at Jackson.
“Seriously?” His eyes widened as he walked over to peer through the window into the paint room.
Mariposa had gone home an hour before, and Reggie had gone in to check if the clear coat was drying right. It was on its way, and would be perfect by morning.
“Yup. No flaking, no haziness, and smooth as Carlo’s bald head,” I said.
“Hey! I shave it, okay? I didn’t go bald. This is by choice,” Carlo shouted from the other side of the garage.
“That’s what they all say,” Brent said.
“Hey, pendejo, at least I don’t have to shave my balls to make my stuff look bigger.”
I sighed, feeling more like a mother to a bunch of misbehaving boys than a boss. “Guys, please—”
“That’s not why I shave down there,” Brent retorted. “It’s because I like the way it feels when—”
“Okay!” I shouted, forcing the men to stop. “That’s about all the dick talk I can take for the day. Are we done?” The last thing I needed was a mental image of whatever Brent was going to say.
“We’re done, boss,” Brent said.
“Good. Let’s close up,” I said, and clapped my hands.
They started cleaning up and putting away tools. While they worked and I tried to sweep up, Jackson stepped over and took my arm gently.
“Do you have a second?” he said, keeping his voice low.
“Uh…sure.” I put the broom aside, and followed him to the corner away from the team.
“Is something wrong?” I asked.
“No. Nothing,” he said. “Would you like to grab a drink with me? Tonight, I mean. Sort of a celebration for getting everything done.”
Like a date? I thought, the idea sending a pleasant shiver of delight up my spine. I could imagine us sitting together in a darkly lit room. The dozen or so mini fantasies I’d had over the last few days flitted through my mind, and I had to shove them away.
Then I noticed the smears of black oil going up my arms almost to my elbows, and groaned inwardly.
“That actually sounds wonderful,” I said. “I’m gross, though. Can we meet in, like, an hour? Give me time to head home and shower and get ready?”
Mentally, I prepared myself for him to have a change of heart.
Jackson looked me up and down, his eyes roving over me with such intensity that it almost felt as though he was physically touching me rather than looking.
“I think you look great right now, but, yeah, that’s fine,” he said, an easy grin on his lips.
“Yeah right,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’m covered in engine grease, motor oil, and probably smell like a locker room, but I appreciate you saying that.”
“Well, either way, I’d love to take you out. My treat, of course,” he said, then pulled his phone out. “Speaking of, does your shop have a payment app or something?”
Frowning, I tugged my own phone out of the pocket of my overalls. With a few quick taps, I pulled up the payment app I used for the shop, and turned the code around for him to scan. “What do you need this for?” I asked.
He looked at me, his smile becoming slightly confused as he scanned the code. “Really?”
“What?” I said, frowning.
Continuing to tap on his phone, he chuckled to himself and shook his head.
“What’s so funny?” I said.
“Good night, Shyanne,” Reggie called.
Glancing away from Jackson, I lifted a hand to wave as the rest of the staff walked out with him.
“Good night,” I said, then turned back to Jackson. I gave him a playful shove. “Are you going to tell me what’s got you grinning like that or not?”
“Did you forget our deal?” he said as he tucked his phone away.
I frowned. The last two days had been ridiculously busy. All I’d been able to really do was work and get as much done as possible. Then, like a lightbulb going off in my head—no, that wasn’t accurate; it was more like a nuclear bomb going off—I recalled the payment we’d agreed upon.
“Holy shit,” I gasped, pressing a hand to my forehead.
Jackson threw his head back and laughed, then nodded at my phone. “Make sure it’s right. I don’t want to shortchange you.”
With fumbling, panicked fingers, I dug the device back out of my pocket, damn near dropping the thing as I did.
My heart roared in my chest, so loud it might have been beating inside my throat rather than down in my chest as I pulled up the app.
When the screen refreshed, I almost dropped the phone again, my eyes bulging as I looked at a number I’d never before seen in my account: $225,000.
“This…” I whispered. “Uh… this is a little more than we said. You just said—”
“I rounded up a bit,” he said with a shrug. “A couple thousand. Use the extra however you want to. Do something good with it.” His face fell when he looked at me. “Uhm, I can add more, if you think you—”
“It’s good,” I blurted, nearly shouting the words. I did not want him thinking I was some kind of money-hungry business owner out for a quick buck. This amount of money was fucking life-changing for me. I wasn’t greedy. There was no need for even a penny more.
Holy shit! What was I going to do with this money?
A hundred thoughts scrolled through my mind.
We’d made this agreement, sure, but deep down I’d always suspected something would happen to make him to go back on his word.
That was a ridiculous thought, though. In the short time I’d known him, Jackson had proven to be one-hundred-percent honorable and willing to keep his word.
Still, things like this didn’t happen to me.
To see almost all of my problems vanish with a few keystrokes was surreal and almost impossible to believe.
“You’re sure? If you think you deserve more, I completely understand.”
“Totally sure.” I tucked my phone away, the small device feeling somehow heavier after seeing the money in the account, as if all that money somehow physically resided within the case of metal, glass, and plastic.
“Okay. Now, about that drink?”
“Yeah,” I said, nodding and smiling like mad.
“I’d love that. Can you wait here for an hour?
I hate to ask that, but I’m disgusting and need to get freshened up.
Is that okay?” I asked, mentally chiding myself for asking the guy who just gave me almost a quarter of a million dollars to sit here in my empty garage while I drove home to shower and change.
Rather than look put out, he shrugged and glanced around. “Seems nice and calm right now. I can’t think of a better place to chill out.”
“Hang on one second, okay?” I said, backing away toward the office. “Before I go, I wanted to give you something.” I gave him an awkward and embarrassed grin. “It’ll, uh, give you something to do while I’m gone.”
Lifting an eyebrow, he crossed his arms and sat on a worktable. “Uh, okay,” he said dubiously.
“Great.” I rushed to my office, snatching up a legal pad, and hurried back to him, handing the pad over.
“What’s this?”
“I, uh, well, I had more questions, but there wasn’t enough time to ask them all at lunch. I figured you could write down what you know. I’m learning. You know,” I said, lifting one shoulder in a half-shrug.
A humorous glint shone in his eyes. “You’re studying dragons?” he said, his voice thick with mirth as well as excitement.
“Shifters,” I corrected, then conceded, “with an emphasis on dragons, I guess. Just a bunch of things I found online. I want to know if they’re accurate, and there are also other questions I have.”
Jackson scanned the pad. “How far can a dragon fly? Can wolf shifters walk on two legs?” He paused, grinned and read, “How long is a dragon’s—”
“You don’t have to read them out loud,” I said, holding up a hand to stop him. “Just, you know, write down the answers. It’s, uh, for science.”
Jackson glanced up, his grin a shade more wicked, but in a friendly way. “And what does science care about how long my—”
“Okay, bye, see you in a little while,” I said, rushing for the door, my face flaming. It was a private question, but sometimes a girl needed to know.
Dad was at a friend’s house for steak and baked potatoes, which meant the house was blessedly empty, and it allowed me to get ready without having to explain where I was going and who I was going with.
While in the shower, I quickly shaved my legs and a few other spots too. I was sure I was making something out of nothing, and all Jackson wanted to do was say thanks for helping him, but why not be extra prepared?
That thought sent a happy little buzz through my chest and stomach, and a happier buzz between my legs.
I’d never met anyone like him—someone who I liked so much I was almost hopelessly attracted to.
Maybe, if he didn’t make a move tonight, I would.
Hell, if I didn’t, tomorrow might be the last time I saw him.
What harm was there in shooting my shot?
I shaved, showered, and got dressed in record time. I contemplated dolling myself up for him, but decided that was too much. I never did stuff like that because I preferred to be myself. So, I put on some simple makeup and pulled my hair back. When I was done, I checked myself out in the mirror.
Knowing I needed to hurry, I eyed the low-cut blouse I’d put on. I didn’t have much in the way of boobs, but this did a good job of showing off what I did have, and the jeans—my favorite pair—made my ass look amazing.
Leaning close to the mirror, I looked into my own eyes. “Okay, chick,” I said to myself. “Don’t come on too strong, and don’t beat yourself up if nothing happens.”
My personal pep talk done, I departed, hopping into my Jeep and gunning it the five minutes back to the shop.
I made it back in just under the hour I said I’d be gone.
When I stepped back into the garage, I found Jackson in the middle of the shop.
He’d pulled my office chair out and sat in it, feet propped on a short stack of tires, the legal pad on his thighs as he scribbled notes.
“You’re still writing?” I said, assuming he’d be done with my questions in five or ten minutes.