She knows me, and she somehow thinks I’m the right choice for this new unit at work.
Maeve knows me, and she still believes in me.
***
“What in the hells is going on here?”
I look up from where I’m kneeling over a tub, my eyes stinging from the bleach.
“Felix made a bet,” Lachlan snickers. “And he lost.”
“So you’re waterboarding him?” Xeran asks, crossing his arms and eying us all.
When I got to the firehouse this morning, Xeran was running late. He told me to take over training and get all the guys moving through the weight room. None of them seemed inspired, and the vibe was downright somber.
Maybe it was Maeve’s influence—her comment about me being the right guy for the job, helping people take things a little less seriously. I’m not quite sure what it was, but I’d walked into the room, clapped my hands, and said, “Alright. Who here thinks they can beat me at three sets?”
It’s Monday morning, so the workout is ropes, pull-ups, and stationary biking for half a mile. Times are listed on the wall for three sets of each to see who the top dog is.
“What do we get if we do?” Kalen had asked, hiking an eyebrow in my direction.
“That depends,” I’d replied, shooting them all a look. “What do you want?”
Now, Xeran shakes his head and pinches the bridge of his nose. “You’re all done with training?”
“Last guys are finishing up now,” Soren says, still breathing a little hard from his set. “But, yeah, we’re all pretty much wrapped up.”
“And I take it someone beat Felix’s time?”
“Someone?” Lachlan asks, puffing his chest up. “Try four of us. Me included.”
“Guys,” I rasp, from my place on the floor, my head over the bucket. “Think I’m getting bleach poisoning.”
“Oh, shit,” Soren says, turning back around to me and grabbing a hose off the truck, spraying a little harder than he needs to. “Bleach is already done, though. Maybe you’re gettingdyepoisoning.”
I watch the bucket swirl with water as rivulets of pink roll down the sides of my face and into the bucket. Ten minutes later, I’m standing and scrubbing a stained towel over my head, grinning when the rest of the guys come in from training, hooting and clapping when they see my new hair.
“What do you think?” I ask, turning side to side, acting like I’m fluffing long locks I don’t have. “You guys like it?”
“I think we should try and beat you tomorrow,” another guy calls from the back. “And see how you look with purple instead.”
“Bet,” I say, and when I turn, I catch Xeran watching me with a knowing look on his face.
Swallowing, I lift my arm in the air, “Now, come on, Soren. You were going to show me that stuff with Engine One.”
“Right,” Soren says, and I hurry with him to the engine bay before Xeran can corner me again and tell me that this is exactly what he’s talking about. Before he can show me thatsomehow, even with the way I am, I’ve managed to turn out as something of a good leader, anyway.
We’ll just have to see if it sticks.
Chapter 19 - Maeve
I wake up, untangle myself from Felix’s long, reaching limbs, and get ready for the day. My shower is long and hot, so I exfoliate and shave. I pick out a sundress, my accessories, and swing a purse over my shoulder, stopping to look at Felix in bed before I go.
My urge is to lean down and kiss him on the cheek before I go.
But he is not my boyfriend. Not really.
But there’s nobody here to see it if I do.
