“You staying with her?”
“Yeah. I didn’t need to deal with my parents or my siblings right now. None of them really liked Boston, anyway. My parents especially.”
Her folks loved me, but I don’t remind her of that. “How come? I mean, he’s a successful guy and he and you built that company together.”
“I think it’s more because he never wanted to marry me, but I don’t want to talk about that.”
“I get it.” I lick my lips. “No offence, but I wouldn’t get married, either. I mean, I’m married to this place. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“Well, I’m not saying that I wanted to get married, either. If I did, it would just be to appease my family.”
“Cool.” We fiddle around for a few more minutes, and she gives me some ideas, reminding me of how fucking smart she is. We really get down to the meat and potatoes of an engine and how the old mixed with the new is the best way to go for speed, efficiency and fuel economy. And I stop to look at her. “I’ve gotta ask.”
“What.”
“Tell me you headed the goddamn development team at Kruger. Because if you were shoved in a fucking office, that’s going to break my fucking heart.”
After a swallow, she blinks. “Funny you should say that. Jinny and I were talking about this before I showed up here. You know...how I think that everything happens for a reason...like...as much as Boston fucked me over...I was really unhappy there, anyway. I just didn’t know it.”
“So you were stuck in a fucking office with your double-breasted suit and your hair tied up in a fucking bun. He stifled you, didn’t he.” I say kindly but matter-of-factly.
“Yeah. I guess he did. I just never noticed.”
“That’s a fucking crime, Bowie.” I tell her, irritated. “You know, that’s one of the reasons why we were such great friends back in high school. You had an imagination and a brain unlike any other girl I’d ever met. Or anyone, for that matter. It’s no wonder you didn’t get along well with anyone else but Jinny, because while all the other chicks were holed up in the bathroom painting their lips and nails, you were in the parking lot or in the auto shop, but you weren’t a butch. And I never understood why you ever mixed with Boston, because right off the hop, that guy was intimidated by you.”
“Why do you say that?”
“A guy can tell, Bowie, when another guy is shitting in his pants. It doesn’t matter if it’s over a guy or a girl. He was afraid of you, so the only solution was to nab you. He knew that you would be a force to be reckoned with, so rather than beat you, he joined you. It’s just too bad that you didn’t see that.”
“I see it now.” She says, torquing the engine with a little more force.
“Better late than never.”
I really want to wipe that spot of grease off her cheek, but the more I look at it, the more I like it, and that scares me. This chick is loaded with baggage, it doesn’t matter how long her and Boston have been split for. As far as I know it’s been a couple of months, more or less. “How come you gave that fucker so long before you left him, anyway?”
“We parted ways, relationship-wise, but I wanted to see if he could be mature about us still doing business together. As you can understand, I didn’t want to just walk away. But then he started being a dick and he offered me a decent severance package, so I figured I’d cut my losses.”
“Why didn’t you sue him?”
“For cheating?”
“No, for breach of contract.”
“Why would I want to muddy up my life for the next five years with lawyers and shit, Jagger? At the end of the day, I know that the business is n his name and he’s been sleazy about it, but he’s managed to make sure that as many staff and suppliers were in his favor as possible. How the hell he did it is beyond me, since the writing is on the wall about his infidelity.”
“He’s always been smooth, Bowie. You know this. How do you think he won you over?”
She smirks. “You didn’t make it that difficult, Jagger.”
Don’t say it. Don’t goddamn well say it. I decide that now isn’t the time to bring up the past, even though she’s asking for it. I look at the clock on the wall. It says that it’s almost seven o’clock. “I should go get cleaned up. My engineering staff will be here in a half an hour.”
She takes the hint. “Sure. Thanks for taking the time to see me. If you need a hand with anything, I’m here. She pulls a business card out of her purse and hands it to me, not bothering to take her grimy gloves off first. Why, I don’t know, but that turns me on. She’s a woman that cares more about how a car ticks than avoiding dirtying up her purse. “Call me if you change your mind.”
I don’t say anything, I just walk her to the door.
“Thanks for letting me in.”
I go for cute. “I hardly had a choice. My brother gave me the heads up.”
