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)
But now I had a job to do so I could prove I deserved to be here.
When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I spotted Ryot. His broad shoulders stretched the seams of a dark shirt as he stood talking to a couple of mechanics near one of the dynos. Even from across the busy garage, my stomach did a silly little flip that I immediately blamed on the bad night’s sleep.
Get it together, Mercer.
He looked up as if he could feel me watching, and those dark green eyes locked on mine. The corner of his mouth tipped up in the smallest acknowledgment before he excused himself from the conversation and headed straight for me.
“Morning. Ready to make it official?”
I nodded, trying to ignore how aware I was of him as he led me into a side office. He gave me plenty of physical space, but I could still feel the weight of his attention as I sat down and started filling out the employment paperwork.
After a few minutes, he glanced through the window overlooking the nearest bay. “Be right back. One of my brothers needs me. He brought in his old lady’s new ride for me to look over since she’s pregnant.”
He stepped out, leaving the door partially open.
I finished the last form, then twisted my head from side to side to stretch my neck.
Then the door opened, and a woman stepped inside. “Oh sorry. I didn’t realize someone was in here.”
“No reason you should have.” I offered her a cautious smile. “It’s my first day.”
“Ahh, gotcha.” She grinned. “I’m Blitz’s wife, Aubrey.”
“Nice to meet you.” My smile widened a little. “I’m Riley.”
She tilted her head toward the mini fridge. “I hope you don’t mind if I grab a bottle of water.”
“Please, go ahead. I hadn’t even gotten the chance to look in there, so I certainly won’t miss anything. Not that it’s even my place to say.” I gave her a tight smile, feeling more than a little self-conscious.
She snagged a cold water and gave me another friendly look. “Thanks. I’m sure I’ll see you around. I hope you have a great first day.”
“Me too,” I mumbled as she turned to walk out. “I have a lot riding on Gau—this job.”
I let out a slow breath after she left, staring at the desk. This place was already more complicated than I’d expected. I needed to stay focused on the job Ryot had given me, not the man who was now my boss. And I needed to stop fumbling over his name. If I made a big deal waffling over calling him Ryot instead of Gauge, then it’d just draw more attention to it.
Ryot returned at the end of my mental pep talk to myself. “Paperwork done?”
I nodded. “Yeah. Where do you want me to start?”
Ryot didn’t waste time. “Come on. I’ll show you around the place.”
I fell into step beside him, trying not to stare at the way his broad shoulders moved under his shop shirt. The Pit was impressive. Rows of lifted cars and bikes gleamed under fluorescent lights, and my fingers itched to get on them almost as much as I wanted to trace my new boss’s tattoos.
Ryot stopped at a workstation and tapped the computer screen. “Inventory system. Scan the barcode when you pull a part. It updates automatically. No more guessing what we have in the back.”
This system would’ve made it much harder for Shawn to embezzle from his dad. “Way better than the dinosaur software at my old shop.”
“You’ll like the work order system. Everything’s digital. Customer notes, photos, specs—all in one place.” He pulled up a file and pointed. “See?”
“Nice,” I murmured, already itching to get my hands dirty. “You run a tight ship.”
“Gotta. The guys trust us with their lives on the track. Can’t afford mistakes.”
We moved through the bays as he pointed out the dedicated cleaning stations, massive roll-up doors for quick vehicle movement, and heavy shelving loaded with every performance part imaginable. The place was organized chaos done right.
Eventually, Ryot stepped back and crossed his arms. “You ready to dive in?”
“Born ready,” I shot back with a grin.
“Start with the brake job on the blue street bike in bay three. Then diagnostics on the silver drift car. Let me know if you need anything.”
I headed straight for the street bike, feeling Ryot’s eyes on me as I started, but I pushed the awareness aside and focused.
First, I double-checked the work order on the tablet, then lifted the bike onto the stand with practiced ease. I removed the wheels and inspected the rotors and pads with a critical eye. The pads were worn unevenly, exactly like I’d suspected from the way the customer described the pull in the notes. I grabbed a fresh set from inventory, scanned the barcode, and got to work.