Page 3 of Found By Him

“Ian, I need you and one of the other guys to come to the location I’m about to send you. Can you pick up the dark blue Audi Q7 and take it to Sampson’s shop? I’ll leave the keys in the middle console. Tyler will also bring one of our vehicles into the shop. And will you call Sampson and give him a heads-up that they were both involved in a minor accident and need to be repaired?”

Sampson is our mechanic who works on all ourcompany cars. “You got it, boss. Me and Matt can be there shortly.”

I stop next to Gisella as I hang up. “Here’s your license and registration, Gisella.”

“It’s Ella,” she says with a slight scowl that catches me off guard.

“Tyler, take this into Sampson. He’s expecting you.”

Tyler nods. Before he leaves, he addresses the woman. “Ella, thank you for being so nice. I really am sorry I hit you.”

She gives him a sweet smile. Not that I will ever admit this to any of the guys, but I swear my heart skips a beat.

“It’s all good, Tyler. Accidents happen to everyone. I would be willing to bet even to your boss here.” She hitches her thumb in my direction and throws me a slightly less genuine smile. I have to fight to keep my laugh from escaping. “Okay, well, I’ll just be on my way. I’m assuming you have my information from the police, so I’ll expect to hear from your insurance company soon.”

She steps toward the street, and I reach out to grab her forearm, stopping her. Turning slowly, she looks up at me with widened gorgeous green eyes. Her eyebrows press together in confusion.

“I’m giving you a ride home,” I explain.

“What?” She’s already shaking her head before the word leaves her lips. “I can drive myself home.”

“One of my guys is picking up your car and taking it to my body shop to get fixed. I need your keys.”

Once again, she scowls at me. “But you can’t just take it. I might need to go somewhere,” she pushes back, voice raising.

“I’ll get you something to drive while yours is beingrepaired. Do you need anything out of it?” I ask as I watch her expectantly.

She doesn’t look happy but stomps to her car, murmuring under her breath. I have no doubt that what she’s saying isn’t flattering toward me.

“Jack, I’m really sorry,” Tyler interrupts my focus, that’s aimed solely on Gisella. When I look over at him, he’s hovering nearby, also watching her as she gathers a few things from her car.

I clap my hand on his shoulder, maybe a little harder than necessary, and he winces. I tell myself it’s because he crashed one of my company cars and not because his eyes are on any part of her. “Tyler, we’ll talk about this more later. But don’t worry about it. She’s right.” I nod my chin toward Gisella. “Accidents happen. There’re consequences for being careless. However, I’m not going to fire you.” With one more squeeze of his shoulder, I release him. He gives me a sheepish smile as he heads to his vehicle.

Gisella walks back to me with a few reusable grocery bags filled with random items. I extend my hand to help, and with her brow pinched, she plops her car key into it. As I return to her car to hide it inside, I hear a whoosh of breath leave her when my back is turned.

“You’re just leaving my key in my car? What if someone steals it?” she asks as I rejoin her.

My eyes move from her face to the decent but older model Audi. “I’ll buy you a new one.” I take the bags from her shoulder, receiving only a weak argument from her. Placing my hand on her lower back, I guide her to my vehicle. She holds her ground for a moment before allowing me to move us forward.

I ignore the calm that washes over me as my palm connects to her body.

Once she’s settled in the front seat and her bags are secure in the back, I climb into the driver’s seat. “Is the address on your license, correct?”

Another scowl. “Yes.”

A nod later, and I’m driving in that direction. I recognized her address as an old manufacturing company that was converted to condos when they began the gentrification of the neighborhood.

“You aren’t going to fire him, right?”

I glance over at her. She’s watching me, chewing on her bottom lip. Fighting the urge to reach over and pull her lip free so I can run my thumb over its fullness, I answer honestly, “No, I’m not going to fire him. My cousin would be pissed if I fired her son.”

Her surprised huff of a laugh makes me smile. “Oh. Well, I’m glad to hear that.”

I check the clock on the middle console, noting it’s almost six. “Do you need a car tonight, or can one be brought over tomorrow morning?”

“Since tomorrow is Saturday, I don’t really have anything going on. Is your insurance company going to provide me with one?”

I nod. “I’ll get something over to you by ten tomorrow morning.”

---