Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 56

Briar

Nobody had to tell me who the bike was for the instant I saw it. The pearled purple and green gas tank with the silver dragonfly emblem, the dimensions and width of the handlebars, the supple seat meant only for a woman. I closed my eyes as tears threatened. The men were silent and Carter pulled my face into his chest. It was everything I didn’t know I wanted, and here it was. Sometimes, I thought Uncle Jake knew me better than my mom; this though, seemed to prove it.

I forced the tears down, swallowed them up, and tried to blink them back, as Carter’s hand gently caressed my head to his chest. I fell into his heartbeat, sure and steady, like an oak tree. I held onto that feeling he gave me and lifted my head. The men shuffled uncomfortably at the display, without a word.

“He made it for me,” I rasped out loud. The three men circled the bike, their gazes cutting back to me every now and then, as they mumbled to each other. Nodding, grumbling, and pointing at the obvious I had already seen with my own eyes.

“Who are you to Jake?” Tod asked. I was about to respond before Carter cleared his throat. The atmosphere felt suddenly thick and the other men bowed their heads.

“How about you show the lady to the office so she can right the mess so you all can get paid,” Carter said sternly. The suggestion was cold and pointed. The men shook their heads and Byron motioned for me to follow him. I chanced a glance at Carter, he eyed the other two men, his gaze pointed. His hand pushed me gently at the back to follow Byron. Knox and Tod refused to meet Carter’s eyes as he stared them down.

I followed Byron, glancing over my shoulder uneasily, as the other two stood motionless under Carter's stare. Byron didn’t give the display a glance. When he shut the office door behind him, the tension eased.

“Todd’s a bit of an ass,” Byron admitted, as he collected a mess of papers on the desk. I just shrugged, not knowing what to make of everything. Byron began pointing out where things were kept and my brain immediately went into work mode. Months of being Creedon’s personal assistant forced me to hang on every word, every detail, and ignore whatever was transpiring beyond the door. When Byron was finished, I jotted down some notes on a pad of paper I found on the desk. As he went to leave, I glanced through the window into the bays. Carter and the other two were having a tense conversation.

“Don’t worry about it too much Miss, Carter is just putting them in their place. Those two are too young, but I believe you. I knew Jake a long time. Knew there had to be a reason why it took so long before someone took over. He loved this shop, he wouldn’t leave it in the wrong hands.”