Bourbon Blaze

by Deanna L Rowley

  Kilo gave him the saddest face. Sean firmed his resolve. It helped the dog couldn’t ride the bike. Sean let himself out of the house before going to the garage to bring his Harley out. Kilo stood on the inside of the sliding glass door watching as Sean left.

  Twenty minutes later, Sean knocked on Curt’s door, before entering.

  “What’s up?” Curt asked.

  “I saw Sophia’s designs yesterday. We stopped by here before our date. I don’t know if she told you, but I agreed with them. I filled out the paperwork, gave her a deposit. I’m here to drop the bike off, I’m going to need a ride home.”

  “I can take you, Sophia’s not here right now.”

  “Did she call in?”

  “No, I sent her for some parts. We need them for the repairs today. They called to say they couldn’t get them here until tomorrow. She didn’t have anything to do so I sent her. She should be back in a couple hours.”

  Disappointed, he asked, “Where do you want my bike? I can park it wherever you need it, and leave the keys.”

  “Yes, follow me.” He led Sean into the back shop, opened an overhead door. He showed him where to park his bike. Scott, the man in charge of the repair department joined Curt.

  “What’s up?”

  ‘Nothing for you, it’s Sophia’s first job.”

  “Cool.” Scott watched Sean drive his bike inside parking it where indicated. Dismounting, he grabbed his helmet as he walked over to Curt.

  “Here are the keys.” He dropped them in Curt’s outstretched hand. On the way back through the office, Curt stepped into Sophia’s office. He left a note with Sean’s keys on it. Then he took Sean home.

  Several hours later, Sophia knocked on Curt’s door, waiting until her boss lifted his head.

  “Hey, how’d everything go?”

  “Bad.” Sophia grumbled as she removed her jacket and took the seat before Curt’s desk.

  “What? What happened?”

  “Our order couldn’t get here until tomorrow because it wasn’t there. They were waiting for it to come on this morning’s truck. I arrived a couple of hours before it did. It seemed that because I was waiting for it, it was late. It’s going on three now. I’ve been back for about fifteen minutes.”

  “Son of a bitch. Why didn’t you call to let me know?”

  “What would you have done? Bitched them out? They couldn’t do anything until their truck came in, it wasn’t their fault their supplier forgot to put our order on the truck. I dealt with it.”

  “Thanks.” Curt rubbed his face. He swore, then looked at Sophia. “Have you been in your office yet?”

  “No, why?”

  “Sean brought his bike over. It’s in the back on your side of the paint booth. I don’t need the booth for at least a week, it’s yours. I’d like to talk to you about something.”

  “What’s up?” Sophia rose to go to the small refrigerator in Curt’s office to pull a bottle of water. Curt declined one, so she settled back in the chair.

  “We need a receptionist. You’re doing the work of two people. Not only are you doing your designs, you’re helping the guys out in the shop. You answer the phone, and wait on the walk-in customers. I promised when you had your first job, we’d hire someone. You won’t be able to be an office manager if you’re in the booth. How do you think we should do this?”

  “Do what?”

  “Hire someone. Should we put an ad in the paper? Contact an agency?”

  “How did you hire the guys in the shop?”

  “I met them when I’d come up here a couple times a month to help Dana and the kids after Eric was killed. I saw them around town. When Dana and I married, I opened HALO-Iowa. I hired them.”

  “Do any of them know of someone who might want to answer the phones? We could start there.”

  “Don’t know, let’s find out.” Curt jumped to his feet and together they went out to the shop. Curt gave a piercing whistle, calling everyone over.

  “What’s up?” Scott asked as he wiped his hands on a rag.

  “When I hired you, I told you we were going to build the business. I’ve been taking care of the front while Scott’s been taking care of the back here. Sophia has been doing both front and back. She’s gotten her first design job. She’s going to start it tomorrow. This leaves us to a small problem.”

  “Which is?” Randy called out.

  “We need a receptionist. Someone to answer the phones, and take care of the walk-in customers. We need someone to order parts, organize the jobs. The things we all do when we have a chance. I’m asking if you know of anyone who needs or wants a job?”

  “What are the hours?”

  “Same as ours, eight to five, Monday through Friday. Eight to noon on Saturday. I don’t know what the pay will be yet. Let me call Chris tonight, I’ll have more information tomorrow.”

  “Will Sophia be getting more jobs?” Randy asked.

  “Sophia isn’t in the running for office manager. She’s a painter. You know how backed up I am. Sean Kilduff is the first one on my backlist. I’ll leave it up to Sophia to call the next person in. She can schedule them for whenever she can fit it in.”

  “Not to tell Soph what to do.” Scott chuckled. “Maybe the receptionist could call the next few people on the list for her. She wouldn’t have to wait between jobs. I know she was frustrated not being able to get ahold of Kilduff. We can store at least ten bikes in the back room while they’re being worked on. It’ll allow you to stage five bikes each.” Scott shrugged. “A thought is all.”

  Sophia and Curt exchanged looks. “We’ll have to talk about it. If you know of anyone, could you get us their name and contact information in the next week? It won’t happen tomorrow. We should give friends a shot first.”

  Sophia’s respect for her boss rose. She went back into the office. As she spotted Sean’s keys on her desk she did a happy dance. Her first job here in Iowa. She sat down at her desk, grabbed a clean pad of paper, and wrote down her requirements for a receptionist. Minutes later, she looked up when Curt entered her office. He tossed his own specifications in front of her.

  “Since you’ve been here, you’ve been the office manager. I know how much you hate it, but that’s another reason we’re going to hire someone.”

  “I knew that, what’s the next step?”

  “I’ve talked it over with Chris. After telling him everything you’ve done in the few short weeks you’ve been here, we’ve decided to give you a substantial raise.” He handed her a slip of paper with a number on it.

  Sophia was shocked. Curt didn’t give her time to think before they exchanged their lists for what they wanted in an office manager. It turned out they were identical.

  “I’ll talk to Susan, see if she knows of anyone, you know, maybe a patient at the clinic lost their job. I’ve been here for a month. I don’t know anyone who would want or need a job. I’ll leave it to you. That’s my two cents worth, for now. On another note, I’m going to come in early tomorrow to get started on Sean’s bike.”

  “How early?”

  “Six?”

  “That’s fine, but nothing earlier. I know you must be anxious to get started. I’ll talk to Dana. I’m hoping the guys get back to us in a couple of days. If nothing pans out, we can put an ad in the paper.”

  “We can, but let’s wait to see if the guys have any suggestions, or Dana, or Susan.”

  “I agree.” Curt nodded, stood, headed toward the door. He turned back, “Tomorrow, start on Sean’s bike tomorrow. It’s already past five, time to call it a night. You’ll have plenty of time to start it tomorrow.”

  “Fine.” Sophia laughed. She put Sean’s keys in her pocket, making her feel closer to him. Sophia took a quick shower and changed into sweats after she arrived home. She was helping Connor with his homework when Susan arrived home.

  “When are you going to teach me how to cook so I can at least start supper?” Sophia had joked, seeing Susan had changed into her own sweats. Something seem
ed off with Susan. The other woman didn’t say anything. However, she wore a tight expression. Susan wasn’t slamming the pots and pans around but they did land on the stove and counter with a little too much force. She and Connor exchanged concerned looks.

  “I know I should teach you. I don’t give up control of my kitchen.” Susan was dead serious. Sophia shuddered at the intensity of the words and her expression.

  “Ah, if I ever get a place of my own, we can hang out one night a week. You can teach me, and I’ll be the one cleaning up the mess.”

  “When are you moving out?” Sophia was too shocked by the question to answer. She could tell Susan was in a foul mood.

  Sophia set the table and stayed out of the other woman’s way. She waited until they sat down before asking her cousin about a receptionist. Maybe it would put Susan in a better mood.

  “Susan?”

  “Yes?”

  “I showed Sean the designs for his bike. I’ll be starting on it tomorrow.”

  “Does it mean you can do what you were hired for?” Connor asked. “I’d love to see what you came up with.”

  “Since it is my first job here in Iowa, I’d prefer to wait until the second job. I’d be glad to show you then. This one is too personal for me. A lot is riding on it. Maybe if we talked it over with Curt, when you’re on a break from school, you can come in, spend the day with me at work. I can show you what I do. I can take you from the design all the way to the paint booth.”

  “Cool. I want to be a Marine or a Navy SEAL when I grow up, I know it won’t happen. Not with this hip, I’m going to have to start looking into other careers. I would love to come to see what you do at work. I understand your need to prove yourself.”

  “Yes.” Sophia nodded. Even though she knew, she asked anyway. “How old are you?”

  “Thirteen in a week.” Connor snickered, causing the two women to laugh.

  “You were saying?” Susan turned toward Sophia.

  “Do you know anyone who might need a receptionist’s job. I have no idea what the pay is, the hours are the same as mine.”

  “They’d answer the phones? Anything else?”

  “Answer phones, schedule repairs, and order parts. Take care of any walk-in customers. They would call people on the waitlist for designs. Schedule appointments for them to come in to discuss what they want. They would make sure the office ran smoothly, which would free Curt and I up for our jobs. They would maintain both our schedules, along with the guys in the shop.” Sophia paused as she looked at Susan. “The guys wouldn’t have to go through Curt first, they’d go directly to the office manager.”

  “When do you need to know?”

  “A week, Curt asked the guys if they knew anyone. We’ll give it a week for them to get back to us. I’m to ask you. Curt’s going to ask Dana.”

  “I know of someone.” Connor paused in shoveling a considerable forkful of spaghetti in his mouth. “A girl at school said their mom might need a job. Her father left them. Her mom doesn’t know what to do.”

  “Can you have your friend’s mother call us at HALO?”

  “Why don’t I call her after supper. Maybe you can talk to her over the phone. Unless you would want to talk to Curt first.”

  “I’ll call Curt when you call your friend.”

  “Sounds like a plan, but not before I finish my supper.” He stuffed his face, and the women to roll their eyes. Sophia cleaned up the kitchen. Connor was on the landline phone, so Sophia used her cellphone to call her boss.

  “Bannerman.”

  “Curt, it’s Sophia. I’ll get right to the point. I asked Susan if she knew anyone we could hire. Connor mentioned a friend of his. Her father left them. The mother might need a job.”

  “Do you know who it is?” Sophia wrote a question on a pad of paper. She shoved it at Connor, he put his hand over the phone.

  “Is that Curt?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell him to talk to Justin, it’s Alyssa’s mother.”

  “Thanks.” Sophia nodded to him and went back to her phone. “Curt, Connor said to talk to Justin. The woman who needs a job is Alyssa’s mother.”

  “Thanks. I’ll talk to him.” After hanging up Sophia went back to cleaning the kitchen. She went into the living room, and didn’t see Susan anywhere. She turned in for the night. Even though they’d laughed at dinner, something wasn’t right with Susan. Sophia would wait a couple of days before broaching the subject. She needed to find a place of her own. Sophia put her phone on her charger before changing into her pajamas. As she settled in bed, a text came in. Thinking it was Curt, she frowned at the message. She was confused until she realized it was from Sean.

  Settling into the bed, she was ready for some sexting. However, that wasn’t what the call was about. Sean only said he was sorry he’d missed her when he dropped off the bike.

  Sophia dragged ass the next morning as she entered the kitchen. She was going into work two hours earlier than normal. She was surprised to see Susan starting the coffee.

  “Everything okay?” Susan asked. “You’re up early. I thought I’d finally have a couple of quiet hours by myself.” The way she said it made Sophia feel she was a burden.

  “Yeah, I want to get an early start on Sean’s bike. I work best in the morning. Once the coffee’s done, I’m out of here.”

  “Did Con tell you whose husband left her?”

  “He said it was Alyssa’s mother.”

  “Damn.”

  “Do you know her?”

  “If it’s who I think it is, it’s Ginny Alexander. That’s Alyssa’s mother. I didn’t know they were having problems or that John left.”

  “Are there any other children besides Alyssa?”

  “I don’t know.” Susan rubbed her temples and looked at Sophia sadly. Sophia sucked in her breath at the pain and anguish she saw there. “Stan accused me that it was my fault for Connor’s birth defect. That was the reason why he left us. Connor was six months old. Stan’s leaving left me devastated. It took me years to get to the point I am now. I was still in nursing school. I was lucky I had friends help me with Con. If they couldn’t help, I used the daycare.

  “From what I understand of Alyssa’s mom, her husband forbade her to work. He was old fashioned, saying it was his job to provide for the family, while it was her job to stay home with the kids.”

  “What a crock, I’d never let a man dominate me. There’s one type of dominant I like. That’s in the bedroom. No one will ever tell me what I can and can’t do outside of it.”

  “Isn’t that what Tomas did?” Susan snarked at her. “Seems to me, if you had listened to him, you wouldn’t be here invading my turf.”

  “What the hell is wrong with you?” Sophia asked. “You seemed off last night. Now you’re snarking at me about being beaten by my ex. I don’t have to take this crap.”

  “I’m sorry, that was uncalled for. There’s no excuse for my behavior. I apologize. What were you saying?”

  “Not that you seem to care. I said maybe I should ask Sean if he was dominant. I have a feeling he might be one. Some of the things he did made me believe he might be.”

  Susan looked at her cousin in shock. “He never gave that vibe when we slept together.” She shrugged when she saw Sophia’s expression of stunned dismay.

  “You slept with Sean?” Sophia could barely get the words out.

  “Yes, three times. No reason to get your panties in a twist. It was in the past.” Susan waved her hand at Sophia. She acted like it didn’t bother her that she’d just dropped a bombshell on her.

  “How long ago?”

  “Four years.”

  Not knowing what to say, Sophia turned on her heel, “I have to go.”

  “Sophia!” Susan called out, “It meant nothing!”

  Sophia didn’t listen, she grabbed her purse and leather as she ran out the door. She didn’t slow down until she stood outside the office. She didn’t remember driving there. Taking a deep breath, she unlocke
d the office, re-locked it, turned off the alarm. She gathered her designs, went to the back. On her drive over, she’d turned off her heart and mind. She was a machine. There’s no way she could ever continue doing anything with Sean. Not knowing he’d slept with Susan. She knew it was unreasonable. She felt she was second choice to him.

  Maybe it made her a bitch, she knew Sean was older than she was. He wasn’t a virgin. It didn’t bother her he’d had sex with other women. However, somehow it bothered her he’d had sex with Susan. She turned everything in her mind off. If she dwelled on it, she’d never get anything done. Knowing she needed a steady hand and a clear mind. She took a few extra minutes to calm both mind and body before starting work.

  14

  Hours later, Sophia came out of the paint booth, satisfied with the progress on Sean’s bike. Because he’d agreed to a new paint job, the first thing she’d done was tear it apart. The motor and tranny sat on a table in the corner, along with all the other parts to the bike. Right now, hanging in the stripping booth were the fenders, the frame, the gas tank, the battery cover, and oil pan cover. After a lunch break, she’d start stripping the old paint off, to apply the new color. Sophia figured with the stripping, re-painting and the dry-time, it should take at least three days to get the parts ready for her custom design. With several days of painting, she would have to let that dry completely before she could apply the final coat, which would be the clear. When it was finished she’d be able to reassemble the whole bike. She was comfortable with taking two weeks to get it done.

  Sophia looked up when someone called her name. “Randy, what’s up?” She called as she joined him at his work bench.

  “Nothing much, how’s your day going?”

  “Good, I’ve gotten the bike torn apart, the parts are in the stripping booth. This afternoon I’ll start stripping. I hope to get the first layer of paint on this afternoon, so I can let it dry overnight.”