Total pages in book: 46
Estimated words: 42479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 42479 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 212(@200wpm)___ 170(@250wpm)___ 142(@300wpm)
He gave Riley the job she desperately needed, but when he found out she was on the run from the law, Gauge didn’t fire her. He protected her. Now he’ll clear her name so he can claim the only woman who’s ever matched him under the hood
*************FULL BOOK START HERE*************
1
RILEY
When my mom warned me that my dedication to my job would be the death of me, she’d meant the hours I put in. Not what I stumbled across tonight. But I really wished we were close enough that I hadn’t shrugged off her concern because then maybe I wouldn’t have accidentally discovered physical inventory shortages on high-value performance parts.
Wondering what the heck was going on, I headed to my boss’s office. When I found his son there instead, I almost changed my mind about saying anything. Shawn wasn’t my favorite person at the garage, but Tim had been giving him more responsibility over the past few months.
I’d been irritated by that decision because Shawn didn’t take his job very seriously. He was kicked back in his dad’s chair like he already owned the place, scrolling on his phone.
He didn’t even bother to look up as he murmured, “What do you need?”
“For you to do your job,” I muttered.
His head jerked up, his eyes narrowing. “What the hell are you complaining about?”
I strode forward, stopping behind one of the chairs in front of the desk. “When your dad handled the inventory, there weren’t huge mistakes like this.”
His gaze zeroed in on the clipboard I was holding. “You shouldn’t poke around where you don’t belong.”
“I belong here more than you do,” I shot back. “Customers ask for me by name. I’ve been building bikes and tuning cars since I was eighteen. You just sign the checks your daddy gives you.”
His grin faltered, but that didn’t stop him from blustering. “You have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”
I dropped the paperwork onto the desk. “The wiring harness this shows for the Conrad job I did last week is wrong. Same with the dog-box transmission. The parts listed are half the cost of what I actually used.”
He shook his head. “You’re wrong.”
“Wrong?” I echoed, my eyes widening. “That’s not possible. I selected each part and installed it myself.”
Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms over his chest. “That’s not what the records show.”
“Only because you messed up.” A horrible possibility crossed my mind. “Please tell me you didn’t charge them for the cheaper parts listed. That’d mean we lost sixty thousand on the job instead of making a healthy profit.”
“That’s none of your damn business,” he growled. “You’re a performance technician. Focus on the cars. I’ll handle the rest.”
“Your dad—”
Slamming his hands on top of the desk, Shawn stood. “Leave my father out of this.”
“But he—”
“Won’t believe a word you say.” He flashed me a smug smile. “I’m his son. The one he trusts to run this place.”
“And you’re already proving he shouldn’t have if you’re making giant mistakes like this.”
“It’s a good thing you’re good with engines because you’re not as smart as you think you are.” Something ugly flashed in his eyes. “Go running to my dad, and you’ll find your name all over this shit.”
My head reared back. “What?”
“I’ve been planning for this, sweetheart. Paper trail’s already pointing straight at you. Parts signed out under your login. Deposits that look like you were skimming. Hell, I even made a couple of transfers from an account with your name on it.”
This was even worse than I’d thought. None of this was a mistake. Shawn was embezzling from his own father’s business. “You’re bluffing.”
“Am I?” He circled the desk. “You say one word to my old man or the cops, and you’re the one going down. I’ll make sure of it. And trust me—you really don’t want to get tangled up with the people I’ve been paying off with that money. Those guys don’t play nice. They make problems disappear. Permanently.”
The threat landed how he wanted. Racing shops attracted all kinds, and some of them had dangerous connections that went way beyond the track. “You’re a piece of crap, Shawn.”
He smirked. “Maybe. But I’m a piece of shit who’s covered his ass. Run along, Riley. Keep your mouth shut, and maybe I’ll let you keep your job. Or don’t. Either way, you’re fucked.”
I turned and walked out, my mind racing faster than any car on the dyno. I had one chance to get out before everything I’d built went up in flames. Heading straight to the bay next to mine, I plugged the USB drive I kept on my keychain for diagnostics into the workstation's computer. It was mainly used to look up OEM or aftermarket technical manuals, wiring diagrams, and parts specs. But there was access to other systems too, so I copied every suspicious file I could find and yanked the drive out before Shawn realized what I was doing.
My hands didn’t shake as I grabbed my best tools from my bay and some stuff from my locker. Then I slipped out the back door where my car waited in the employee lot. I popped the trunk and loaded everything inside. After a quick stop at my apartment, I hit the nearest ATM to pull out as much cash as I could. Even using the app to increase my daily withdrawal limit, I could only pull out a few thousand dollars, but it was enough to disappear for a little while.