by Erin Osborne
“I’ll clean it all up and be more careful. I promise,” I vow to my boss as she watches me grab everything before standing up to take it to the garbage can a few feet away.
“Callie, you’re bleeding,” she suddenly says. “Go in back and I’ll help you get it cleaned up.”
I nod my head and keep my face away from the crowd sitting there waiting on their food and drinks. This is not how I envisioned my morning going. Maybe I should talk to Corrinth about leaving. It’s obvious that I wasn’t meant to be a waitress. At this rate, I’m going to end up owing her money for broken dishes, spilling coffee all over the place, and any other disasters I manage to make on my shift.
Corrinth leads me to her office and has me sit on her couch while she pulls a first aid kit from one of the shelves. The jeans are loose on me, and I numbly watch as she pulls my pant leg up and inspects the cut I now have just below my knee. It’s bleeding worse than I thought as she pokes and prods to make sure there’s no more glass in there. Once she’s sure I’m okay, I watch as she cleans the cut, puts an ointment on it, and then bandages it up.
“I’ll pay you back for the plates. I’m so sorry,” I tell her, not being able to stop the lone tear from sliding down my cheek.
“Hush now. We’re gonna go back out there and you’ll take the food to those that have ordered it. I’ll make sure there’s nothing left on the floor back there and you can start cleaning up the tables that have been vacated. I’m not worried about a few plates being broken,” she says, brushing her thumb over my cheek to stop the tear from falling. “If you need a minute, take it.”
I thank her for taking care of the cut on my leg as I pull my pant leg down and make my way back out to the dining room. Once again, I feel eyes on me as I go about working. I manage to get the plates of food to the table of women without incident. They thank me for the food and ask if I can get them a refill. As I make my way back to the coffee pot, Renegade calls me over. Walking over to him, I only pay attention to him.
“Can I get a glass of water, babe?” he asks, sitting back looking as relaxed as he can in the crowded booth.
“Absolutely,” I answer and go to turn to get the ladies coffee poured and then his water.
“Can I get one too, Callie?” I hear Bear ask, his deep voice sending a shiver through my body that I’m sure everyone sitting there just witnessed.
“Oh, um, yeah,” I respond, walking away from the men and toward the coffee.
Roger tells me that there’s a plate that needs to go to the table of guys as I stop to grab the coffee pot. Nodding to let him know I heard him, I take the coffee over and fill the cups before moving through the rest of the tables. Once I’ve done all that, I grab the plate of food and two glasses of water for the guys. Knowing that I should’ve only grabbed one or the other, I begin to make my way to the table. As I’m trying to balance everything and concentrate on what I’m doing unfortunately, I don’t see the edge of the counter sticking out. My face falls as I watch the plate of food begin to teeter on my arm before tipping and falling slowly to the floor. Honestly the whole thing seems to happen in slow motion as I then watch the first cup of water go flying out of my hand and head straight toward Renegade. Before I can do anything, he’s covered with water as the plate of eggs, home fries, and toast go flying all over the floor and pant legs of Bear. While I continue to skid across the now soaked linoleum floor, the second glass of water sloshes over the side of the cup covering not only me in water, but finally lands in the lap of Bear. For a solid minute, no one in the diner says a word or takes a breath. I finally stop as I crash into the table and send coffee splashing over the side of a few cups as they sit on the table. Grave watches them so he knows which way to move.
Renegade begins to laugh out loud as my neck and face colors and heat burns my skin from embarrassment. “Darlin’ if you thought I needed to take a shower, all you had to do was tell me,” he says, still laughing as the rest of the guys join in.
I run to the counter and grab as many towels from the stack on the shelf as I can. Making my way quickly back to the table of men, I once again slide in the eggs on the floor. Gaining control of my slippery feet, I begin to use one towel to clean up the water running down Renegade’s face while reaching out toward Bear’s lap with a second one. He gently grabs my wrist to stop me from getting any closer to him and gives me a grin. At first, I don’t understand what the problem is, until I once again glance down and see the mess covering his lap. A majority of it right in the center of his pants.
“I got this Callie,” he says, his deep voice shaking as he tries to hold in the laughter that the rest of the guys aren’t being successful at hiding.
About this time, Corrinth comes running over and sees the mess. She looks up at me and I can’t read the look on her face. I’m sure that I’m about to be fired from my first ever job though. So, I hand her the towels still in my hand and begin to untie the apron at my waist.
“I’m so sorry I’ve messed everything up,” I murmur as I turn and practically run out the door of the small diner. Tears fill my eyes and begin to run uncontrollably down my face at the epic mess I just caused.
As I get to my car, I’m glad that I left the windows open and the keys in the ignition as I realize that I’ve forgotten my purse in the diner. So, I climb in and shut the door before resting my head against the steering wheel as the tears still fall from my eyes. I can hear someone calling my name as I sit there and cry at the knowledge that I lasted about an hour as a waitress. When I walked in there, I wasn’t going to give up no matter what happened, but as the incidents began to pile up, I knew that there wasn’t any other option for me.
Bear
“Callie, please wait,” I call out as I see her sitting in her car while I make my way over to her.
Corrinth grabbed her purse and shoved it in my direction as we all watched in shocked silence as Callie went running out the door. I knew that this was my chance to make a difference to the woman that has captured my attention. So, I chase her and my heart breaks at the sight of her head bent while she cries in her car. I know that she wants to work so bad and I may know of a job that she can do without having to worry about what happened today.
“Callie, honey, please talk to me?” I ask, stopping at her door as she lifts her head up and looks at me. Her face is red, and tear stained as fresh tears pool in her eyes. My heart breaks further as I read the embarrassment in her eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Bear!” she cries out while trying to wipe the tears from her face. “I’m so stupid for thinking I could be a waitress.”
“Hey! You’re not stupid. You’ve never tried it before. What I saw in there was a woman that was determined to do her best. Even when others would’ve quit, you kept on goin’. That tells me you’re not stupid; you’re a hard worker that’s goin’ to have to take some time to find a job that suits you,” I tell her, holding myself back from opening her door and pulling her into my arms. “I might have a solution to that problem for you.”
“What’s that?” she asks, glancing down at the wet spot that is just starting to dry as the heat from the day soaks up the water that adorns my pants.
“Well, you saw how unorganized my office is at the garage. We could use someone that can help me out with that. How about you come work for me? I’ll pay you to not only organize everythin’, but to do some orderin’ when we need parts, take tow calls, and a few other things. Would be interested in that?”
I watch as Callie takes a few minutes to think about my offer. There’s hesitation in her eyes as she tries to figure out if she’s going to have any of the same kind of issues that she did while waitressing. Then, she must come to a realization, because a smile lights up her face and chases away the shadows that were lurking there. It’s amazing to witness the transformation from so sad and embarrassed to being the carefree girl that I first saw. It’s a side of her that I want to see every single day and I vow to make that happen.
“If you’re sure
, then I’d be happy to help you out. I just hope that Corrinth isn’t too mad at me,” she says, glancing back toward the diner like she expects someone to come out and beat on her for her mistakes. What the fuck?
“She’s not honey. When I left, she was too busy yellin’ at the guys for laughin’ and runnin’ you out of there,” I tell her, knowing that Corrinth won’t take kindly to the laughter that occurred when Callie messed up. Even if the laughter wasn’t directed at her but Renegade trying to take the heat off of her.
“Can I ask you a question?” she asks, her voice coming out timid and wobbly.
“Anythin’,” I answer, waiting until she’s ready to ask me whatever’s on her mind.
“Well, I found some things at my grandma’s house and I don’t know what to make of them. I want to talk to Renegade and Grave about it, but I don’t know how to ask them,” she says, letting me in on the fact that she’s slowly learning of the relationship between her grandma and the club.
“Do you want me to talk to them for you? Ask them if they can stop over?” I ask, knowing that her world is about to turn upside down with the knowledge that her grandma was involved in the club at all. “How many of them do you want to show up?”
“Well, I don’t know. There’s only three of you that I’ve had any interaction with. I don’t think I’m ready to meet everyone just yet,” she says, trying to figure out what to do in the situation she finds herself in.
“I got an idea. Tomorrow I want you to be at the garage around nine when we open. I’ll spend some time goin’ over things with you. When we close, I’ll have Renegade, Grave, and Psycho stop by so you can talk to them. That sound like a plan?” I ask, letting her know what time I want her there and that she can talk to the guys on neutral ground without them invading her space all at once.
“Thank you so much, Bear. For everything,” she says, looking down at her bag that I’m still holding in my hands. I reach out and hand it to her before she pulls away and heads home.
As I walk back toward the diner, I try to think of how I’m going to keep my hands to myself now that I’ll see Callie every day. We’ll have to cross that bridge as we come to it. For now, I’ll keep things professional and act as her boss. Making my mind up, I walk inside and take my seat with the guys again. They’re all looking at me trying to figure out what happened.
“I need you, Grave, and Psycho to come to the garage at closin’ tomorrow,” I say, looking at Renegade. “She’s startin’ to have questions about her grandma and you guys.”
“She must have found somethin’ in the house that brought them up. It will definitely make things easier if she knows that we’re goin’ to be keepin’ an eye on her. The same that we did for Silvia,” Renegade answers, taking a sip of his coffee and never taking his eyes off me. “What else did she say?”
“Just that she’s worried about Corrinth bein’ pissed at her. And she’s goin’ to be workin’ at the garage now,” I answer, not bothering to hide the fact that she’s going to be working for me.
“How’d that happen?” Grave asks, turning to look at me.
“I know she wants to work and she’s tryin’ to find a job that will suit her. So, I asked her if she wanted to work in the office,” I tell him, taking a sip of my coffee like it’s not a big deal.
Corrinth comes over and stands by the table. Her face shows how troubled she is about Callie running out a little while ago. I know she wants to ask me how she is but doesn’t want to seem like she’s making a big deal out of it. So, I just nod my head as a small smile appears on her face. For the next half hour or so, we all sit back and enjoy the coffee we’re drinking while making small talk. The guys won’t discuss anything major because I’m sitting here and they’re in public. But I can feel a nervous tension coming from all of them. Something is going down and I know that some of them have to leave in the next few days. That’s why I suggested tomorrow. That way Callie can get her answers and then they can concentrate on business. Renegade has been thinking of all the things that Callie’s going to think when she realizes how deep her grandma was with the club.
“I’m out,” I finally say, standing up and taking my check so I can pay my bill before heading home.
“See ya later. And we’ll be there tomorrow just after closin’,” Renegade answers, letting me know that he’ll help put Callie at ease about whatever she found.
As I walk up to the garage in the morning, I see that Callie’s car is already parked in the lot by the fence. I don’t like the fact that I’m almost to the garage when I see her car because the tow truck hides it, but I don’t know where else to have her park. She’s left the spots closest to the garage open for customers without me having to tell her. I can hear the faint music coming from her car as I get closer to her. She’s looking down as I walk up to it and knock on the closed window. My gaze is glued to her as I watch her jump from being startled before she places her hand over her heart and turns her face to look out the window to see who’s standing there. A smile lights up her face as she realizes that it’s me.
“Mornin’,” I mutter as she turns to pick up whatever scattered across her lap.
“Morning Bear. Sorry I got lost in thought I guess,” she answers after opening the door.
“Whatcha got there?” I ask, my curiosity getting the better of me.
“Oh, um, just some old pictures,” she answers vaguely as she makes sure everything is back in the envelope before putting it in her bag.
“The most important thing that needs to be done when we open is that coffee needs to be made. I’ll show you how I make it and then you can take over from there. Then I’ll show you how to file everything away. Sound good?” I ask, knowing that I need some caffeine to wake up before I get into too much details about her new job.
“Yes,” she answers, getting out of her car so she can follow me to the door as I take my keys out to open up the shop.
My eyes about bug out of my head as I take in the shorts and tank top that she’s currently wearing. It’s my fault because I didn’t think to tell her to wear jeans and a tee shirt at least. Right now, he long legs are on view for the entire world. The first thought that enters my mind is that even though Callie is short, her legs still look long as fuck. Long enough that they’d look good wrapped around me. Her tits are almost in my face as I look at the low cut of the tank top being held up by straps thin enough to snap with no effort on my part at all. Fuck! Her hair is up in a simple pony tail that still manages to trail halfway down her back and there’s not a speck of make-up on her face. I’m in so much fucking trouble with her being around every day now.
Callie watches as I walk straight to the coffee pot and take the old filter out to throw away in the small can next to the cabinet is sits on. Grabbing a new one, I place it in the basket and fill it with coffee before picking up the jug of water sitting on the floor next to it. Looking at the woman standing next to me, I see that she’s trying to memorize how much I’ve used of the coffee and water so that she can make it herself from now on.
Once I hear it beginning to brew, I turn and face the mess that’s my desk. Unfortunately, I don’t spend much time in here and it shows. As I walk over, I see the stack of papers that Callie organized a while ago still sitting in the same spot. Picking them up, I see that they’re all work orders that we’ve completed. There’s a second pile of invoices for parts that we’ve had to order in for specific projects. The rest of the desk contains much of the same paperwork in disarray and some piles are on the verge of falling off if a strong wind blows through the door.
“You can obviously tell the difference between work orders and invoices. So, I’m goin’ to have you keep sortin’ this mess for now. There’s empty folders in the top drawer of the cabinet against that wall,” I tell her, turning to see how much longer before I can have a cup of coffee. “Through the door over here you’ll find a bathroom and the door leadin’ into the shop. It’s not exactly safe out there, so only come out if you need somet
hin’. I’ll try to come in periodically and check on you.”
I turn away to fill a coffee cup and make sure I add sugar to it before I walk away from the woman that’s haunted my thoughts since I laid eyes on her. As I open the bay doors, I see Bishop and Sam pulling in. Carson will be in shortly since he pulled pick-up duty last night. Normally he would have the day off after picking up tows all night long, but the guy won’t stay home. He wants to learn as much as he can, so who am I to tell him no? They all take a look inside the office and see Callie standing behind the desk. Once they realize that she’s not here to have work done on her car, Bishop walks over to me to get a closer look.
“What’s goin’ on Bear?” he asks since he wasn’t at the diner with us yesterday morning. “Isn’t that the girl that had the flat? The one we’ve been keepin’ an eye on?”
“It is. She’s gonna be doin’ the office work from now on. You guys are to leave her the fuck alone,” I say, letting the warning come out in my voice.
“Got it. This will make things a little easier as far as watchin’ her goes,” Bishop says, ambling over to his bay so that he can get to work on the bike sitting there waiting for him.
I spend the rest of the morning trying to keep my mind on work as Callie works behind me in the office. Yes, I’m deliberately keeping my back toward the window, so I won’t have the temptation of watching her move around in there instead of focusing on the bike I’m trying to finish tearing down. As I work, I keep an eye on the guys working; it’s not missing my attention that they seem to be looking toward the office an awful lot now. But, neither one of them have made their way in there which is surprising because they’re going to be in need of caffeine to stay awake. Especially Bishop if he was working at the club last night.
“Gettin’ coffee boss,” Bishop says, just as the thought enters my mind.