Car Crash

by T Gephart

  “It was nothing.” I tried to smile, not wanting to admit what happened.

  He walked into the room closing the door behind him. “It didn’t sound like nothing but I’m not going to pry.” He took a seat and looked around my office.

  It was probably the first time he’d spent any quality time in it, usually summoning me from the doorway and me meeting him in his. But for whatever reason he’d decided to say whatever he was going to say here.

  “So, I spoke to legal. We have a meeting in about an hour where both O’Shea and Crisp will be asked to explain. I believe Matthew already called his attorney, with whom you’re already familiar with.”

  “Garrett, if you’re worried about me seeing him, don’t be. It was one date, nothing more.” Last thing I needed was for my boss to think I had invested feelings and my judgment was clouded. That was one area I was crystal clear.

  He smiled, easing back into his chair. “Good, because I want you to sit in on the meeting.”

  “What?” My eyes snapped to his, confused on why I—an assistant, granted an extremely good one—would be asked to sit in on the meeting.

  “It was your suspicion that started this train rolling in the first place. I’d have probably looked those reports over and signed them and who knows what the repercussions would have been.” He sighed, shaking his head. “You’ve saved my ass more than just a few times, Kitty. Don’t think that because I don’t say it every day it goes unnoticed.”

  “Thanks, Garrett, I appreciate that. But I think it’s best if I sit out of the meeting.”

  He laughed, probably assuming I was kidding. “What are you talking about, you love that stuff, you live for it.”

  On any other day, I would have jumped at the chance. An opportunity to sit in on a high level meeting could only mean good things, and I’d taken those opportunities every single time they’d come my way. It gave me more insight into the company than any other executive assistant had, giving me the ability to do more than just my regular responsibilities. And I’d been paid well, Garrett more than making up for what I did around the office with financial compensation.

  But that was it.

  I hadn’t been promoted. I hadn’t been publically acknowledged, or given credit, with other assistants and executives whispering about me behind my back about why I was always so busy.

  I was a dirty little secret.

  And I wasn’t going to be that anymore.

  I stood, feeling both empowered and terrified as I grabbed my handbag and my phone and straightened my shoulders. “I’m an assistant, Garrett, yours. And there is no reason for an assistant to be anywhere near that meeting unless it’s to take notes. And we both know, I’m not going to do that. I have loved working with you, and I have thrived with the freedom you have given me, but you need to either promote me or let me do my job. My job, Garrett, not yours. I’m tired of being less than, and I’m not doing it anymore.”

  Not entirely sure I hadn’t inadvertently gotten myself fired, I strode to the door with as much confidence as I could. “And I’m taking a personal day, but I’ll get someone to cover for me.”

  Garrett was so shocked he didn’t even move, watching me leave as he sat in my office, a smile affixed to my face, and walked out.

  I didn’t even think, knowing exactly where I was heading.

  To the one person who’d known me from the start.

  Dallas

  “DALLAS, I SWEAR TO GOD, I DIDN’T put a hex on you.” Mason was already off his ass and backing up when I entered the room. “I thought we were good, bro?”

  I had to admit, making him jumpy gave me a sick sense of pleasure. I still think he’d had it way too easy, and could use some good old-fashioned toughening up. Which was why I’d demanded he meet me in my room the minute he had a moment.

  I’d even gone into Josh’s room to make him wait, loving the idea he had to sit and stew for a while until I made my grand entrance.

  “Relax, I’m just here to tell you some good news. We’ve been busy so I haven’t had the time. But I’ve got myself a girlfriend.” The smile almost cracked off my face at the thought of Kitty being mine.

  Mason relaxed, the tension in his face bleeding out when he saw I wasn’t hostile. “Wow, that’s great. Congrats, man, I’m sure you’ll be happy.”

  “You bet your ass, I’ll be happy.” I pointed at him for good measure. “Because if this fucks up in any way, I’ll know exactly who to blame.”

  I was fucking with him of course because there was no way anything was going wrong. And even if it did, the chances the poor fucker had anything to do with it were slim.

  Unless he did put a hex on me, in which case that would not be cool.

  “Dallas.” He lifted his hands, starting to protest.

  “Leave him be, D.” Josh walked in and clapped me on the shoulder. “Ignore him, Mason. He’s jerking your chain. I was hoping love might make him more agreeable, but I guess a miracle was too big to expect.”

  I tipped my chin at Josh, he and I had already discussed the change in my relationship status. “Hello? Have you seen the girl I’m dating? Everything about her is a miracle so you can just shut your mouth.”

  She was more than a miracle, she was perfection, and I still couldn’t believe my dumb luck. Not that I gave a shit on how it came about—or whether I’d earned it or not—nope, all that I cared about was that she was mine.

  It was a rare time in the shop when the three of us weren’t busy but shit didn’t usually get situation critical until after eleven. So even if we had bookings before then, they were usually simple stuff we could knock out easily.

  I’d already done some scrollwork on a college girl earlier, but it wasn’t until later that I broke out my more impressive skills.

  “Yeah, I think it’s a miracle she’s agreed to be with you too.” Josh laughed. “Make sure you thank Jesus later. The real one this time, and probably don’t try and tip him because that’s just tacky.”

  I laughed because it was freaking funny, but poor Mason had no idea what we were talking about.

  Too bad, sucker.

  But our good time was cut short; the bells on the door jangling to let us know someone’s next customer had arrived. It had to be one of the two of theirs, because my next dude wasn’t due for another ten minutes.

  “Well boys, looks like it’s time to go back to work.” Josh looked at his watch. “I think that’s yours, Mason.”

  He nodded in agreement. “Yep, I have a consult for an arm piece, I’ll go get her.”

  He’d barely made it to the door when Kitty walked in. She looked surprised, staring at the three of us standing in my room and probably wondering what the hell we were doing.

  “Wow. Hi!” Mason popped a grin that was far too enthusiastic as he shot out his hand. “I’m Mason.”

  “Easy, celibate. She’s not here for you.” I tapped him on the shoulder as I pushed him aside. “She is most definitely here for me.”

  I didn’t give a shit who was watching, wrapping my arms around her and kissing her right in front of them. Those lips were mine, and I’d been separated from them for too many hours already.

  Kitty’s body softened in my arms, giving me her mouth as I pulled her closer. “You guys should leave now if you know what’s good for you,” I managed to mumble out between kisses.

  “Don’t suffocate her, D.” Josh chuckled as he left, Mason following him.

  And even though I wasn’t paying them any attention—all of mine required elsewhere—I could tell both of those bastards were smiling.

  Josh—because he was happy for me.

  Mason—because as long as I was preoccupied with Kitty, I couldn’t give him shit.

  “God, I needed that.” Kitty took a breath, hugging me and laying her head on my shoulder. “It felt like forever until I got here.”

  I’d been so caught up in the excitement of seeing her I hadn’t realized she should have been at work. Not that I wasn’t thankful for wh
atever had made it possible for her to materialize in my room, but I assumed it probably wasn’t good.

  “What happened?” My hand moved down her silky hair and rubbed her back. “I swear if someone’s upset you, I’ll tear off their arms.”

  She chuckled against my chest. “You can’t go randomly tearing off people’s arms just because they upset me, Dallas.”

  Ha, she had a lot to learn. I’d do a hell of a lot more than that just to keep her happy. As far as I was concerned, I’d spend my days beating the shit out of people if it meant she continued to smile.

  “Sure I can, where’s it say I can’t?” I tilted her so I could look into those beautiful green eyes.

  She smiled but it wasn’t the kind I liked. The kind that assured me that everything was fine. “Pretty sure there’s a few laws that say you can’t.”

  “Well fuck the law, I still say I can and I will.” My thumb traced her chin, just needing to keep touching her. “Tell me, beautiful, tell me what happened.”

  “Where to even start.” She sighed; her shoulders sagged as she shook her head. “I have no idea what I’m even doing anymore. Lani thinks I’m having an affair with Cameron, Justin might have been using me or—and most likely—I am an extremely bad judge of character, I feel like the other woman at work, given money and kept out of the spotlight, and I might have quit my job.”

  That was a lot to take in, especially with the mention of the dipshit. And no matter how that turd was involved, I knew it had nothing to do with Kitty’s judge of character. The woman had a heart three sizes too big and assholes took advantage of that. And as for her friend thinking she was screwing her boyfriend? That was a special kind of messed up. “Babe, you know you need to give it to me again, only slower.”

  “Do you have time?” She looked at me and then at the door, knowing I probably didn’t.

  “Give me a minute.” I unwrapped my hands from her and gave her a kiss. “Take a seat in my chair, baby. I’ll be right back.”

  I knew I had five minutes, ten tops before my client walked in and that wasn’t going to be long enough for Kitty. And as much as I hated to blow off work, she was more important.

  “J, you got a minute?” I knocked on this doorframe, the dude already setting up for his next job.

  He looked up and rolled his eyes. “I’m happy for you, Dallas, and you guys are adorable together. But I’m not giving you time off to go have afternoon sex.”

  While afternoon sex with Kitty was worth blowing off work for, it hadn’t even entered my mind. She needed me, so I needed to be there—it was as simple as that. I walked in and shut the door behind me. “Dude, Kitty’s upset and she needs to talk. I swear I’ll make up the time.”

  I’m not sure if it was the fact I was asking or the tone of my voice, but Josh dropped his smile and rose to his feet. “Is she okay?”

  “She will be, you better believe I’ll make sure of it.” I didn’t know how I would do that but I didn’t doubt that I would. Whether it was to tear off arms like I’d suggested earlier, or holding her until it was better. “I need to do this.”

  He nodded and put out his hand. “I know I give you a lot of shit, but you are a good man and an even better friend. Go do whatever you need to do, we’ll take care of things here.”

  I clapped it with mine, giving him a shake. “Thanks, man. Means a lot.”

  There was some throat clearing—possibly even done by me—but I didn’t have time to get caught up in the sentiment. Kitty was waiting and that’s where I needed to be.

  I pulled open Josh’s door and left the room, heading back into mine. Kitty was sitting on the edge of my large reclining chair, her legs swinging off the side. She looked so small, her tiny body dwarfed by the huge black surface.

  “I’m all yours, sweetheart.” I closed the door behind me and grabbed my rolling stool. “Now, tell me everything.”

  My hands rested on her thighs as I parked my butt in front of her, but I wasn’t trying to get her naked. It wasn’t the first time that sex hadn’t been the first thought in my head, but the need to just be with her was definitely more important as time went on.

  She took a breath and then told me, starting at the beginning on how she met numbnuts, and then about the report. Then moved on to Cameron’s involvement and how Lani had put two and two together and ended up with sixty-nine. I swear, I never liked that girl, but it wasn’t my place to say.

  Not going to pretend that hearing all of it didn’t jack up my shit. I’d mentally created a list of enemies all because they’d made my girl upset. But flying off the handle was probably not that helpful at the minute, which was why I kept my mouth shut and my need for retribution to myself.

  “You’re quiet.” She looked at me from under her lashes. “You’re never quiet.”

  “Babe, I’m just new to this and I don’t want to say the wrong thing.” I gave her honesty, wishing I had more to offer.

  “I don’t care if you say the wrong thing, I just need to hear something.”

  There was an edge in her voice and I hated it. Hated that these pieces of shit had somehow gotten inside her head and made her doubt herself.

  By the same token, I was out of my mind proud of her for standing up to them and telling them to shove it. Both her friend and her limp-dick boyfriend, and her boss who clearly had no idea what a goldmine she was.

  Didn’t mean I felt confident being in a room with any of them any time soon. “You want me to say something?” I asked, trying not to raise my voice. “None of these fuckers deserve you. Hell, I’m not even sure I deserve you, but we’re going to pretend I didn’t say that.”

  She chuckled which was good because I was hoping she would see the comedy.

  “You can find another job, you can find better friends, but none of them will find a better you.”

  I could see her head start to shake, ready to disagree. And yes, she’d told me that she seemed to jump from one fire to the next when it came to her personal life or some other bullshit. But that wasn’t a bad thing either. “Kitty, we’re not like them.”

  She stopped, looking at me curiously. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, we buy condoms in bulk, and cook really badly, and chain ourselves to headboards.” I laughed. “I mean, we get confused by religious people holding plates of cookies and need to read a page five times before it makes sense. Or maybe that’s just me, but you get my point. We’re on the fringes, baby, and trust me, it’s a better place to be. The only thing you need is to make sure there’s someone to share it with, and I’m more than willing to take that spot. Do you know why I fell in love with you, baby?”

  I should have probably made it clearer last night but I was crap at explaining. But regardless of how bad I was with my words, I needed her to know why I was willing to give her something I’d never given any other woman.

  Not because she was beautiful, even though she was.

  Because of the gifts she’d given me.

  She raised her eyes and smirked like she thought it was a bogus question. “Ummmm.” Her finger tapped at her chin like she was thinking carefully. “I’d say how most people fall in love. Because we’re compatible and we have a great time together.”

  I couldn’t help but laugh. Lord, that sounded as boring as dog shit. If that was what other people were doing it then I felt sorry for them.

  “Well, yeah, okay smartass.” I rolled my eyes, giving her a D for obvious. “But more importantly it was because you didn’t once ask me to change. You never told me to do anything differently, or be more this or that. You accepted me, as I am.”

  If I had a buck for every time I’d been told to be less this or more that, I’d have a house in the Hamptons. But Kitty just didn’t. Even when I was being a dick, and could have done with a clip over the ears and stern talking to—she didn’t.

  “I could never ask you to change, baby. I love everything about you.”

  “Times two, Kitty. Times two.” I got my ass off my stool and
brought my mouth to meet hers. “You don’t need to change a damn thing. You be crazy and impulsive and if the situation ends up a dumpster fire, well at least you’ll keep warm. I work better in chaos anyway, and since I’ll be spending so much time with you then you should take that into consideration too.”

  “You know the two of us together could end up a disaster. Like a huge, epic level disaster the likes of which neither of us has seen before.” Her eyes were wide, and I couldn’t tell if she was worried or excited.

  “You scared?” I asked, wondering if she was looking for a way out.

  Not that I was going to let her walk if she decided to without a fight. And if she thought different then she’d lost her damn mind. Even so I’d continue to love her, crazy without her mind and everything.

  She shook her head. “I’m not scared, Dallas. I’ve turned hot mess into an art form.”

  “Good, because if you start being ordinary, we’re going to have problems.” I was only half joking, almost positive neither of us were capable.

  She grabbed my shirt and pulled me down to her mouth and kissed me. Not like the sweet kisses I’d been giving her but the kind that probably didn’t belong in that chair. Not saying I didn’t give them to her, because I wasn’t able to deny her mouth if I tried. But if Josh walked in and saw us in action, I would never hear the end of it.

  “I love you,” she mumbled in between kisses. “You said exactly what I needed to hear.”

  I laughed, never having heard those words before. “Probably the first and the last time it will happen so let’s mark it on the calendar or something.”

  While I’d finally made her smile, I really hadn’t solved anything. And as the relationship thing was new to me, I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to.

  “Hey, so I’ve been working on something for you.” I figured it was as good a time as any to bring it up, giving her a soft kiss before heading back to my desk.

  I still wasn’t sure on the design, but I’d drawn and redrawn the same concept at least thirty times so it was definitely where my head was at.