Her CEO Stalker and Her Second Chance Mate Chapter 59

Briar

***One month later***

It had been a month of taking it easy, and the ribs weren’t giving me trouble anymore. I could breathe easier and had returned the wrap to Carter. He didn’t comment on it, besides that I should still take it easy, but I could do light work. He had helped me a lot around the house over the last month. I hadn’t asked him to do a damn thing but he was always finding random things to do. Turns out, he was quite handy. The truck had been repaired within a week. I had spent a lot of my free time at the shop going through months of invoices and matching things up to the jobs the guys had done.

They had been standoffish at first, but Byron seemed the most friendly and versed in the paperwork. He answered my questions politely and unbothered. He seemed happy for the help. By the end of the month, I had three months' worth of paperwork sorted out and the payroll fixed for the guys on all those jobs; I had several more months to go through. They came in today in lighter moods, obviously, the checks hitting their bank accounts had been noticed. How they had managed only on their hourly rate until I showed up, I wasn’t sure, but they sure were dedicated to their jobs, and that told me something about their character and their bond with Jake. Today, I brought in muffins to celebrate, and they had devoured a dozen and a half in an hour. It seems I found a way to get a moral boost. I made a mental note to add more baking supplies to my shopping list. Todd and Knox were even chatting with me a bit as I asked about their families. I wondered if I’d ever meet them.

It was when I walked a service bike into the empty bay, where they all stopped what they were doing to stare. 

“What are you doing, Briar?” Byron asked.

“Getting my hands dirty, what does it look like?” I sassed, as I went about changing the oil and checking everything Jake had taught me to do, to maintain a bike. I was well aware of their eyes upon me, assessing everything I did to ensure I was capable. I was insistent on proving I could help, even in the smallest of ways. If I could take some of the services off the workload, we could catch up faster. That meant more money in their pockets. It also meant the business wouldn’t go stale; nobody wanted to wait three months for an oil change.

I was worried that if we didn’t start taking new mods and services, we would lose clients. Carter OK’d me for easy work. I was pushing it a little by pushing bikes around but he could go fuck himself if he thought I was gonna keep sitting on my ass and let Uncle Jake’s business or these guys jobs drown.

Knox walked past me to get something off the inventory shelf. That was another thing I insisted on: cleaning up the bays and organizing parts. It took us a day and much fussing to do it, but in the end, it made parts ordered for specific bikes easier to find. Less digging meant less wasted time, allowing jobs to get done faster.

“Seems you know what you are doing, so what are you going to do with your bike?” Knox asked.

I had left it uncovered so I could remind myself each day why I kept going.

“Finish it and ride it,” I said, honestly, as I fought with a bolt. It finally gave way, and the oil dripped into the catch pan.

Knox grunted in approval and walked away.

I serviced five bikes before lunch, before I gathered a stack of paperwork and my laptop, hopping in the truck; it  became a habit. Lunch at the diner, where I spent a few hours toiling over work, as I forced myself to eat. I had paperwork strewn all over the table when Carter showed up. He eyed me as he slid in across from me. I glanced up at him.

“Hey,” I said, still tapping at my keys.

“You're working too hard, Briar.”

“Says who?”

“Says me,” Carter said, glaring at me as I eyed him over my laptop.

“Just getting things in order, it takes time.”

He reached over and shut my laptop, his booted foot sliding over under the table so his ankle rested against mine. I eyed him and folded my arms, elbows leaning forward on the table.

We stared at each other in a glaring match.

His sister came over a few moments later with our lunch. This was a daily affair.

I picked up my sandwich and continued to glare, taking a bite. I had gone through bouts of being a stubborn bitch over the last month but I knew he wouldn’t touch his food till I did; I knew this game. Preoccupied with staring Carter down, I watched as he finally lifted his sandwich to his mouth. 

I hadn’t noticed the buxom brunette deputy and the thin blonde with rainbow streaks in her hair approach.

“Hey, mind if we join you?" the deputy asked. I looked at Carter in question as he narrowed his eyes at the woman as she sidled in beside him. The rainbow streaked blonde slid in next to me.

“Hi! I'm Lana! you must be Briar! Carter talks about you all the time but has failed to introduce us,” she said, with a bright smile as the female deputy and Carter glared at each other. I immediately liked Lana.

“Oh? He tells you what a big pain in the ass I am?” I asked, and everyone stared at me, appalled. OK, way to kill a moment, Briar. I chided my awkward people skills. That sent the uniformed woman into a fit of laughter.

“At least, it's not just me,” she chuckled. “I’m Mazzie, and this is my girlfriend,” she said, motioning to Lana. Carter and I work together, we’ve been friends since we were in diapers. He told us about you, but he’s been holding you hostage, so we are taking matters into our own hands, and meeting you firsthand.”

I sucked on my strawberry shake and glanced over to Carter. He was looking one part sheepish and the other part annoyed. I stuck my hand out to Mazzie.

“Nice to meet you. He has talked so little about you, I’m at a loss,” I said, giving Carter a death look. He hadn’t said a word about these two women. Now here I was, blindsided by his BFF. She shook my hand, and I gathered the paperwork still strewn across the booth table to accommodate the newcomers. Here I was meeting his friends, makeupless, and covered in motor oil. GREAT first impression, Briar. I wonder what he told them about me. My mind was swimming.