Jessica got to make her own hours, and he didn’t have to deal with or pay a large per annum salary for someone to sit in his office and probably waste the majority of the day. It was a win, win for both of them.
She scanned her eyes down his email from earlier that morning and bit her lip.
He wanted reservations at a restaurant in Boston for the following week when he would be out there on business. He wanted several gifts purchasing for a list of suppliers that all had to go out that same day. He needed some transcription doing and had sent her an audio file, and lastly, he needed his travel arrangements confirming for his business trip. All easily done and probably wouldn’t take too much time… she looked at the clock and set herself a goal…
“You’ll have all of this boxed off by one,” she told herself as she reached out and cracked her knuckles. “And then you’ve got the rest of the day to chill and enjoy the sun.”
She grinned to herself, sipped her coffee, and then reached for a bright, lush looking orange. As she peeled it, she opened up a search engine and typed in the name of the restaurant and when she saw the wait times on Open Table, she realized it may not be as straight forward as she had initially hoped.
“Oh man,” she said. “Time to get my flattery game on…”
She chewed a piece of orange and prepared herself for the day. It was time to smash it.
By the time it hit 1pm, she was almost done with all of her tasks. She had managed to charm the maître d at the Boston restaurant and secured a slightly early, but also acceptable, dinner reservation. She had booked all her boss’ travel arrangements, typed up his notes, and had just about finished securing all the gifts that needed to go out to his suppliers.
She sighed and sat back in her chair and stared ahead at her desk and the little layout she had made for herself. When she had decided to work for herself she had chosen to make the smallest spare room an office, and she had bought herself a big white desk, a lovely pewter desk lamp, a comfortable statement chair, and had even brought in a large and lush fern plant to sit in the corner and make it feel as if she were really in a proper office. Things had worked for her so far, and she was enjoying her freedom, but she also knew this wasn’t something she could survive on forever.
She pressed send on an email confirming all her orders, and then she forwarded all the travel arrangements and information to her boss.
She was done.
Her work day was over.
She rose to her feet and stretched, and then she looked down at her cellphone which she had kept on silent while she had been in ‘the zone’.
Her stomach dipped and she felt anxious.
A missed call and a text message from Zack.
“Oh brother,” she sighed with an eyeroll, and then she slipped her phone back into her purse and headed off down the stairs.
There wasn’t a chance in hell she was going to return his call. He had put her in danger, tried to make a fool out of her, and now he was crawling back to her as if he could make all of it better somehow?
“He must be nuts,” she exclaimed aloud as she flopped down on her couch and yawned.
She cast her eyes up to the clock and saw that it was ticking on past one and getting closer to two. She didn’t want to waste the rest of the day, even if all she felt like doing was vegging.
She wandered through to the kitchen and opened the refrigerator and with a nod of her head she accepted her fate.
“Grocery shopping,” she said through gritted teeth.
The cupboards were bare, and she needed to bite the bullet and get it done while she had the chance. For all she knew, the boss man could be back on at her within a matter of hours wanting her to recheck or do something else, so she had to seize her opportunities as they came to her.
She slipped her feet into her flipflops and then she headed toward the front door. It was time to brave that midday desert sun again. But at least, this time, it was her own choice.
She slipped the paper bags underneath her arms and smiled and said goodbye to the clerk at the register who had just served her. As she stepped out of the small convenience store and looked up and down Main Street, she could almost smell the motor oil and hear the revs of the engines.
She wanted to just head home and unpack her things, but at the same time, she knew she had to go and see her dad and thank him for the previous evening.
She turned to the left and started off toward one of the side alleys that led off toward Durrett’s Motor Inc. And she made her way there on autopilot. She took the twists and turns of the back alley like a pro and didn’t even need to look up to check that she was heading in the right direction. When she finally took another left turn, she slowed her pace and looked up to see her pop leaning against the hood of an old truck, with black grease marks all down his arms and face.
“Hey, Dad,” she said cheerily as she stepped forward and he turned toward her with a smile of surprise.
“Birthday girl,” he beamed, and Jessica hugged into him before she placed her grocery bags down on the ground. “What are you up to?”
“Nothing,” she said with a sigh. “I was working this morning and then I had to get a few things, so I came down to Main Street.”
“Sounds like your typical day in Slate Springs to me,” he laughed as he tucked a dirty rag into his back pocket and wiped his brow with the back of his hand.
“Have you been busy?” Jess asked him as she started to walk around the side of the truck and took in the details of it. It was old and battered looking, but there was also something different about it, she squinted her eyes at the windows and then toward the back flatbed.
“Who’s is that?” she asked as she nodded toward the truck.
“Oh this?” her dad said as he slapped his hand along the side. “Well, this would be the new guy’s.”
He half laughed and then he shrugged his shoulders.
“So you weren’t kidding?” Jessica asked as she sat down on the hood of another car waiting next to the truck and nodded her head slowly.
“Why would I be kidding around about that?” her dad asked. “I told you, I don’t feel safe leaving things here if they’re going to be tampered with.”
Jess started to feel guilty, maybe she should tell her dad that it had been Zack who had caused her car to break down, and that she didn’t believe he would be targeting any other cars at the garage any time soon… but she just couldn’t do it.
Her dad would literally kill him.
And surely, for that, it wasn’t worth it?
“Honestly, Dad, I think you’re overreacting, no one is going to come around here and do anything to any of the cars.”
Her dad shrugged and looked across at her.
“I need the extra pair of hands,” he said sternly. “And this guy is good, okay?”
“Okay, okay,” she said defensively. “I’m not trying to talk you out of it or anything, I just wouldn’t want you to do it for the wrong reasons.”
“What, like keeping you and my customers safe? I don’t think you could class that as a wrong reason,” he said with a hint of humor.
Jessica rolled her eyes with exaggeration and then she decided to change the subject.
“So, last night was lovely,” she smiled. “Thank you for taking us all out.”
“You don’t need to thank me,” he said with a wave of his hand. “You’re my flesh and blood, of course I want to help you celebrate, it’s what our family does.”
Jess smiled at him warmly and then she turned to reach down and collect her bags.
“Well,” she said with a sigh. “I guess I better get going and leave you to it… I just wanted to drop by and check in, you know.”
“Thank you, sweetheart,” her dad smiled genuinely before he wrapped an oily arm around her shoulder and gave her a squeeze.
From somewhere behind them, Jess heard the sound of an engine revving, and it made her jump with a start. She spun around, her heart in her mouth, and the next thin
g she was aware of was her pop laughing heartily.
“Wow, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you jump so high,” he guffawed as he moved past her and started to walk toward the source of the noise.
From one of the exterior garages, a wheel was beginning to emerge.
A big wheel…
A powerful looking wheel…
And then, behind that, the glinting gun metal shine of one of the most incredible motorcycles she had ever seen.
Jessica’s mouth sagged a little and she knew she must have been both staring and gawking as the person riding it slowly came into view. He was sitting astride the machine, pushing it along with his feet, and when he stopped and sat back on the seat, he reached up and wiped the sweat from his brow with his forearm before he looked across at Jess with a look she could only describe as contempt.
“Tank,” her pop said as he pointed back over his shoulder. “This is my daughter, Jessica.”
She felt her heart dip and begin to race, and her palms begin to sweat. He looked at her, but he didn’t acknowledge her, and then he nodded his head, pushed up and off the bike as he swung his leg over it and disappeared back into the garage.
“And Jess, well, that was my new guy.”
Her heart was still racing and she could barely keep her mouth closed.
“He’s… your new guy?” she asked, her voice almost a whisper.
Her father nodded.
And it was then that she knew her world was about to become a whole lot more complicated.
4.
She stood there dumbfounded for a moment, unable to speak.
The man, he had disappeared and had barely acknowledged her existence, but she had seen him, and she had taken him in. She had taken all of him in.
He was older than her.
Much older, maybe in his very early forties, and his hair had a smattering of gray from how it appeared, but it was also closely shaved and difficult to distinguish.
He was muscular and tall, and he looked mean and dangerous. But not only that, seeing him sitting astride that bike had made her heart race, her pussy ache, and her mind spin into overdrive because she could tell exactly what he was… and now he was there in her life, working for her dad.
She knew just by looking at him that he was a biker.
A Forsaken Rider.
A tingle rolled up her spine and the tiny hairs on her arms seemed to stand on end.
“Wow,” she whispered.
“Huh?” her pop asked as he looked back over his shoulder at her.
“Nothing,” she said, as she picked up her grocery bags and held them tightly under her arms.
She looked over at her dad and was desperate to ask him a million questions…
Where had he found him?
Why had he chosen him to come to the shop?
Why would a badass and lawless biker want extra hours working at Durrett’s?
And not only that, what the hell was his problem?
Why had he barely even acknowledged her?
She found herself pouting and feeling agitated and fidgety.
“Are you sticking around?” her dad asked as he looked at her with confusion.
She knew she was staring off into the distance, in somewhat of a daze, so she finally shook herself back into the present and nodded her head before she shook it and said, “No, no, I’m going to get going.”
“Okay, sweet pea,” he said as he waved to her from the other side of the truck.
It was then as she looked back at it that she realized what was different about the truck and the back window.
It had a Forsaken Rider’s patch logo emblazoned across it.
She swallowed and felt her heart race again.
A goddam biker…
There were a few things Jessica knew about the legendary bikers that had run her little home town since what could easily have been the dawn of time.
One, they were involved in everything. Like literally everything. Most of the buildings up and down Main Street were property of the brotherhood and they kept Slate Springs ticking over.
Two, they were fierce advocates for the locals and their businesses. With them owning the majority of commercial property in town, they kept their rent rates low to ensure the people of Slate Springs could thrive and keep the town going.
Three, recently, things didn’t seem to be going so well on that front, and there had been rumors of another town from a few miles away trying to muscle in on the action. Some of the stores had closed down and people had shut up shop. The motel on the side of the highway had been dark and not offering vacancy, but it had recently reopened and stayed relatively quiet.
Four, they were dangerous as hell.
She swallowed and stared into space as she listened to the clock ticking on the wall in her kitchen. She felt like she was almost in a dream. Had her father really gone into a business arrangement with the Forsaken Riders? And if he had, what did this mean for them and their family business that had been self-sufficient and run without a hitch for decades?
Maybe the guy… Tank… maybe he just needed some extra money? Surely, there had to be more to his story, and maybe her father hadn’t entered into any kind of business deal at all.
She took a deep breath and sighed.
Worrying about it wasn’t going to do her any favors. She may as well push it to the back of her mind and wait to speak to her dad later on that night.
She put away the rest of her grocery shopping and then she stretched her arms up high and heard her elbows click. She winced.
It was still early and all she could think about was a coffee from the diner on the outskirts of town. She swiped up her laptop and held it pinned underneath her arm as she headed for the door.
It had been a while since she had been into the diner, but it never failed to disappoint on predictability.
Arlene, the ancient waitress who had worked there for as long as Jess could remember was on shift, and she had her usual smattering of exaggerated make-up plastered onto her sun damaged skin. Her dirty blonde hair was piled up high on top of her head, and she had the usual look of disgust etched on her face and deep in her soul.
Jessica stood in the doorway nervously, just hoping that Arlene was in a fairly decent mood and wouldn’t be looking for someone to spar with. With Jess having avoided the diner for so long, she’d be the ideal candidate for Arlene to pounce on, but then she remembered her dad… and how Arlene had always held a torch for him.
She tried not to roll her eyes as Arlene caught sight of her and began to walk toward her. Jess moved her weight from one foot to the next and then she forced herself to smile.
“Jessica Durrett,” Arlene said with a sneer as she reached for a menu and passed it to her. “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you in here. Anyone would think you’d been avoiding us.”
Jessica tried not to laugh, she couldn’t have been more right.
“Of course not,” she smiled sweetly. “And how are you, Arlene? Is life treating you well?”
Arlene didn’t answer, she just glared at her before she turned and began to walk toward the booths along the outside of the diner next to the windows. She stopped by the one in the corner and held her arm out as if she were a butler. Jessica slid into the booth uncomfortably and set her laptop down.
“Ooh look at that,” Arlene said without missing a beat as she stared down at the computer. “Maybe that’s why you’re never around here no more… busy with all your important work. I bet you’re far too good for us diner folk now.”
She let the statement hang in the air between them and Jess looked up at her with pure contempt.
“I’ve been busy, yeah…” she said deadpan and then she looked away from Arlene and down at the menu in front of her.
“Can I get you something to drink?” Arlene bit as she reached into her hair and pulled out a pencil.
“Sure, can I get a large Americano, please?” Jessica still didn’t look up to her, but she didn’t want t
o be overly rude.
Arlene wandered off and Jess breathed a sigh of relief. How that woman made it through life being so hideous, she would never know. And it was even more concerning that Arlene had always had her sights set on her father. She remembered how, a few years after her mother had died, Arlene had started bringing things to the house for them. It had started with cherry pie on his birthday and then had escalated to random drop offs of full-on home cooked meals or leftovers from the diner.
Her father had almost been sucked in by it for a moment by all accounts, but then Arlene’s mask had slipped and she had gone back to being just as awful as she had always been. The town bitch was never going to change. She was always destined to be alone and unlucky in love. But she only had herself to blame.
Jessica’s eyes settled on the club sandwich and she felt her stomach growl. Even though she had eaten the mother of all meals the evening before, it was almost as if that had just been a warm up, and now all she could think about was devouring something big and full of carbs. She closed the menu and opened her laptop, just as Arlene retuned with her coffee and let out a snort of laughter that screamed, I knew it, look at this little princess.
“Did you want to order some food?” she asked.
“A club sandwich and fries, please, Arlene,” Jess forced herself to smile as she handed back the menu to her and made eye contact.
It felt as if she were looking into the eyes of Medusa herself.
She shuddered.
“Sure thing,” Arlene said with a growl before she spun on her heel and slinked off back toward the kitchen.
Jessica breathed yet another sigh of relief and sunk down in her seat slightly. And just as she closed her eyes, she heard the bell on the door ting. She opened them and looked across to the door, and in that moment, she had never been more startled in her entire life.
TANK_Forsaken Riders MC Romance Page 3