Sold As Is

by Holley Trent

  “What’s that like? He’s a mysterious guy, huh?”

  She just smiled while she pulled her seatbelt across her body and buckled it. “Mm hmm. I guess he is. We don’t work together much, truth be told. He’s always traveling and I work from home.”

  Yeah, Aaron’s home.

  “Maybe I’ll come keep you company some lunchtime, huh?”

  Oh, Aaron would just love that.

  “Hey, I think your friend is getting impatient.” She bobbed her head in the direction of the scowling redhead who’d moved up to the back bumper of Mandy’s coupe.

  “Send me an e-mail!” Phil said as she pulled the door shut. As she steered out of the lot, she could see the redhead jabbing Phil with her index finger as she yelled. Phil was holding his arms out for a hug.

  Right.

  • • •

  “Why are you so tense?”

  Aaron kneaded the tight knots of Mandy’s shoulders as she bent over her laptop, finalizing staff travel plans for the upcoming week. She could see why he had had so much difficulty keeping track of the team. She’d nearly pulled out a quarter of her hair trying to assign staff to five different assessment outings on the same day. Since most of the staff lived in central North Carolina, it was like a crap shoot as to who’d get sent to some far-flung place. They wanted to keep the budget lean, and tended to avoid sending staff out for overnight outings, but unless they got more hires in the western and far eastern parts of their region they’d have no choice but to require the staff be road warriors.

  She rolled her shoulders and moaned when he leaned her head to the side and laid kisses on her neck. “I think I’ve been sitting in front of this computer for too long.”

  “Well, I agree. Why don’t you take a break?” Aaron pulled Mandy, rolling chair and all, back from the desk and lifted her by her armpits. “Come play with me. I’m feeling kind of neglected, sweetheart.”

  She laughed and pushed her glasses further up her nose. “Do you want this schedule done or not? I mean, this is what you hired me for.” She wrapped her legs around his waist and held on tight as he walked toward the living room.

  “Yes, it is, and can I just say you’re doing a bang-up job?” He tossed her onto the sofa and straddled her waist before she could sit up. “I like being able to spend more time tinkering with cars. I don’t like being hundreds of miles away from you when you slap me on the schedule to fill in for Chas when he has to be in court.”

  “It’s your job. Your charity.”

  “All right, know-it-all.” He crushed her mouth with his and kissed her dizzy. “When’s the last time you left the apartment anyway?”

  When she caught her breath, she swatted him back a few inches and sat up. “God, I don’t know. Wasn’t I at the office on Tuesday?”

  “I don’t know. I was in Ferrum on Tuesday.”

  “Pretty sure it was Tuesday, then. That’s the night Carter Patel was on the news again, right?”

  He flopped backward against the armrest and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. “Shit.”

  “I could probably work from the organization office a few days per week. I’m getting a bit stir crazy.”

  “After this latest stunt? I don’t know. I’m being tailed every time I leave the gates here and it’d be sort of questionable having us both in the same complex.”

  “Since I can’t afford to live here alone on my salary, you mean.”

  “You want a raise?”

  “That wasn’t my point.”

  He blew out a breath. “I guess I’ll give credit to Carter for figuring out a way to divert attention away from Elly for five minutes even if it makes my life an absolute nightmare.”

  Carter’s maniacal plan had been to plant a seed in the media that Aaron was getting married any day now. His phone wouldn’t stop ringing from all the press hounding and the photographers from gossip rags following him around. He’d had to change his work cell phone number and had started leaving for work under cover of night.

  She couldn’t exactly blame the public for being curious. The young public could give a shit about his politics. They only wanted to know whether he had a girlfriend, and hoped he didn’t. Well, he didn’t. Not exactly.

  She sighed and began chewing on the inside of her left cheek. When he uncovered his eyes, his face fell. He scooped her into his embrace and just held her there.

  “Sweetheart, I’m sorry. I know this is hard. You’ve got probably the worst job in the entire organization and now I’ve got you trapped here like a hamster in a cage.”

  “Part of that is my fault. I could find my own apartment. If we kept at least that part of our lives separate — ”

  “No!” he interjected, holding her back at arm’s length to give her a look he hope conveyed his displeasure. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and shook his head. “No. I’m sorry, Miranda. I don’t mean to snap. You seem to run into an ex every time you leave this place for an errand or to pick up groceries. As long as you’re here, I feel like I have a stake on you. I just don’t want us going backward.”

  “Huh?” She arched one brow upward. “And where exactly are we, Aaron?”

  His face smoothed to a blank as he stared at some spot on the wall over her head. When he’d found the words, he whispered, “I don’t know.”

  She gave a slight nod and edged back away from him to stand. She returned to her computer and woke it up from snooze before retaking her seat at his oak desk. “Mike sent me an e-mail.”

  “Oh yeah?” Aaron rubbed his eyes and blew out an exasperated breath. An unsettling knot had formed in his gut and that announcement did nothing to ease it. “What, is he finally refusing my job offer outright?”

  “No. He didn’t mention the job at all, actually. He said Archie is bellowing about the cars still being stored on the lot and wants to know when they’re going to be picked up.”

  “Shit. Somewhere else I have to be. Is there anyone else who could possibly go? Frank, maybe? He still lives out there, doesn’t he?”

  She shook her head. “Not a good idea. I’m not sure whether Archie owes Frank money or if Frank owes Archie money for destroying some property.”

  “For fuck’s sake, are you kidding me?”

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure they’ll come to an agreement over it. I think I’ve cracked the schedule open. I’ve got someone I can send.”

  The runt drives me nuts, but she’s efficient.

  “I owe you the stars, woman.”

  “Yeah,” she said flatly.

  CHAPTER 13

  “Are you sure this is a good idea?” Chelsea idled with her hand on the door pull as Mandy dug in her purse for keys.

  “No, I’m not. But these deliveries are critical. One of the guys receiving one started his job yesterday. He managed to hitch a ride, but I can’t help but to feel we dropped the ball there. We’re getting more efficient all the time, though.”

  Mandy’s math said driving out to make the deliveries herself was far more economical than continuing to pay Archie’s mounting storage fees. A dumb-dumb could do that math. Chelsea agreed to help because Mandy had bribed her with her favorite Sweet Louisa purse.

  Chelsea yawned and checked her watch. She was on her lunch break from the social services agency where she worked. As she was on intake that day, someone would certainly notice if she was missing for too long. She hadn’t even signed out.

  “I’m really intrigued. It sounds like such a fun place to work. Think there’s a place for me in the organization?”

  Mandy raised a brow. “I didn’t know you were looking.”

  “Well, I wasn’t, really, but I love traveling across the state. Maybe you can post me out on the Outer Banks. I could get some sun while I help the ragged poor.”

  “You are such a generous
soul, Chelsea.”

  “I know! I keep telling people that. No one seems to believe me, even with the work I do. Maybe it’s because I’m pretty.”

  Mandy let out a sigh and pushed her door open right as Mike limped down the trailer’s stairs. He waved and smiled that hundred-watt grin as he approached. When he was close, he drew her into a hug.

  “Hey, Mirandy. How’ve ya been? Missed you.” He squeezed her tight and chafed the back of her fresh-from-Spain blouse with his hands as they embraced.

  “Great, actually. My stress level has gone down about a million ticks.”

  “Funny how being away from Dad will do that for ya.” He watched Chelsea heaving herself out from Mandy’s low car and waved.

  “So, where are you living now? You still in temporary housing or did you find an apartment and stuff?”

  The trio walked toward the first of the two cars.

  “Yeah, I, uh … I found someplace to live.”

  “When are you going to invite me over? I miss shooting the shit with you. What have you been up to?”

  “Um … ”

  Chelsea tapped Mike’s shoulder.

  Mandy whistled low. She was off the hook for the moment. Mike being Mike, he’d probably forget what he’d asked her by the time Chelsea was done.

  “Mike, was that you I saw zipping north on 32 on a motorcycle yesterday? I thought you had sworn off things with two wheels.”

  He chuckled and leaned his butt against the sedan. “Yeah, that was probably me. White helmet?”

  She nodded.

  “Friend came out to check on my recovery since no one on the circuit had heard from me in a while. I couldn’t resist taking his new bike for a spin. Kinda makes me want to get back on one.”

  “You mean motocross again?” Mandy hoped her furrowed brow was a strong enough signal of her dismay. Never had been before, though. Didn’t stop her from trying. “You’re still broken from the last time, or have you forgotten already what that limp came from?”

  He shrugged. “I know, Mirandy. Still, I’ve been on bikes for ten years. I can’t just turn off the switch and not want to ride anymore.” He shrugged. “It’s ingrained in me.

  “You can ride without competing.”

  “Whoa!” Mike put his hands up in a gesture of faux defeat. “I’m pretty sure my mother has blonde hair.”

  “Really goddamn funny, you sadistic jackass.”

  Mike snapped his fingers. “Damn it. Bet expired, didn’t it?”

  “Well, fuck, it fucking did, fucker,” she sang.

  “You’ve been cursing up a blue streak, haven’t you?”

  She smiled. “Why don’t you ride along with us? Chelsea can follow in my car and that way we can caravan instead of making two trips here.”

  “Shit, I wish I could help. The only reason I’m standing here in your glowing majesty is because the Archduke took the new hire to lunch.”

  “That cheap bastard buying lunch? The same guy who wouldn’t spend money on a new mailbox even after USPS threatened to stop delivering?”

  “Yeah. That one. He’ll be back any minute. It’ll probably be good if you’re not here when they arrive. He’s still on the warpath about Frank getting headhunted. You he didn’t even care about.”

  “Well, that makes a gal feel swell.”

  “Just telling it like it is, Mirandy. If I were Aaron, I’d send one of his guys out to look over the cars before the clients drive them off to anywhere. I know Dad’s lazy as shit, but he’s spiteful.”

  “What exactly are you suggesting, Michael Leonard?” Chelsea had stopped petting her new purse and narrowed her eyes at Mike. “Do you really believe Archie would do something to the cars?”

  He put up his hands. “Look, all I’m saying is you sold a bunch of mid-range cars for barely a hair over Blue Book value and he’s not getting any advertising kickback for doing it. He was bitching all yesterday to Adriana. Adriana told him perhaps he should do things just for the sake of charity every now and then, and Dad laughed for an hour afterward.”

  Mandy wrung her hands and stared at the cars. What to do? Deliver the cars without a lookover? See if she could track down one of the Cars to Work technical crew and get them to Chowan County immediately? Assume Archie meant the charity no harm?

  She laughed for even thinking the last one, then laughed again from nerves. It was an executive decision she wasn’t prepared to make. She was way out of her league.

  “Y’all, excuse me for a second.”

  She walked to her car and rooted her cell phone out of the center console.

  “Hey, sweetheart, where are you?” came Aaron’s deep voice through the speaker. “I sent a few instant messages to your computer and you didn’t respond. Put up an away message or something, will you? I worry.”

  “Um, I’m at AA1A. Listen, don’t get mad, but we might have a problem.”

  • • •

  Calling Aaron “angry” would have been an understatement. He wasn’t even sure whom to focus his ire upon; he just knew he was pissed. He tried not to take it out on Mandy since she was trying to do her job, and whom else would Mike have confided in like that? He could have had a bunch of cars with his organization’s decal on the back that weren’t performing up to his standards. The word-of-mouth criticism might have been devastating.

  Archie was a crafty bastard; he’d give him that, because Mike had been right. There was something amiss with the vehicles. Fortunately, the problems hadn’t been anything Aaron couldn’t fix with a quick trip to the auto part store in Edenton. Archie had just made the cars unable to pass inspection, and a bit less safe in the process. So, Aaron bought gas caps, wiper blades and reconnected the car horn wires Archie had yanked out, grumbling all the while.

  Once the vehicles were finally delivered, Aaron wiped his hands clean of AA1A except for one last thing. If Archie wanted to dick around, forcing Aaron to bail on a donor meeting he’d had planned for months, Aaron would be a dick, too. He’d make sure he stripped Archie of Mike and any other able-bodied employee willing to jump ship, even if it meant he had to sweeten the pot to a level he wasn’t comfortable with. He had an operating budget to mind, after all.

  He fumed while he followed Mandy west on 64 toward the Triangle, twirling his pen in his left hand. Then he turned his phone on and called the woman in the car in front of him. Her voice sounded wary when she answered.

  “Yes, Aaron?”

  “Want to tell me what you were thinking when you decided to pull that little stunt?”

  “What are you talking about? It’s my family, whether I like them or not. I think it’s fine and totally not suspicious if I conduct business there.”

  “No, I mean you telling me you found someone to pick the cars up when you meant you all along.”

  “Are we arguing? Is this a professional argument or a relationship argument? Let me know, so I know whether or not it’s okay to roll my eyes.”

  He growled and was very glad he wasn’t in arm’s reach of the little minx. He could think of at least one salacious way to shut that rude mouth of hers.

  “I don’t know what kind of argument this is. Hey, can you stay in your lane, please?”

  She blew a raspberry on her end, but righted her steering.

  “Can you just tell me if you’re going to take off like that? When you told me where you were I nearly had a coronary.”

  “Uh, you hired me to keep track of the staff — the staff including me.”

  “No, you let me worry about you. You worry about the rest of the lot.”

  There was silence on her end for a moment. He hated he couldn’t see her head above the headrest. What was she doing?

  “Aaron, that doesn’t even make sense. I’m a grown-up. Let me do my job in the way I see fit. If you can’t t
rust me to do that, why’d you hire me?”

  He didn’t have an answer, so he ended the call. That woman exasperated him like no other. No sooner had he tossed his phone onto the front passenger seat did it ring again. He snatched it up without looking at the display.

  “What, Miranda?”

  Silence, then: “Who’s Miranda?

  Shit.

  He felt like he’d just gone down a tall drop on a fast rollercoaster from shock. He sucked in a deep breath to calm the butterflies and blew it out. “Someone on my staff who’s extremely frustrating,” he said finally. “What’s up, Rick?”

  “Where are you right now? I called your secretary at CTW and she couldn’t say for certain.”

  “Driving into Knightdale. Why?”

  “I need you to be in Durham in twenty-five minutes. I’ve got a press conference scheduled and you need to be front and center.”

  Aaron pushed his accelerator to the floorboard to catch up to Mandy. When she gave him a curious look he mouthed, “Let me get in front.” She cocked her head to the side in a be my guest fashion.

  “I’m sorry, what press conference? Nobody said anything.”

  “Shouldn’t have. I threw it together this morning.”

  “What the Hell for? Is this about Dad’s campaign? It’s a bit early to be hosting the press, don’t you think?”

  “Yes and no. This is a diversionary tactic. We’re putting some heat on you to get it off your sister, the little slut — ”

  “Hey! Not cool, Rick.”

  Rick sighed. “Whatever. I figured you’d be on my side, thorn in your side that she is.”

  “She’s my sister. You let me decide whether or not she’s thorny.”

  “If you say so, kid. Just get down to the charity office on the double. The piranhas are already circling.”

  “Stop with the veiled speech. What the Hell is the press conference about and why do I need to be there?”

  “Come on now, Aaron. You’re not really this dense. It’s not about anything in particular. I told them you have some exciting news about the charity and they all wanted to get their cameras in your face. They’re still curious about the wedding, remember? Make sure you smile pretty.” Rick hung up.