Page 83 of Total Shutdown

My level of calm now rapidly dwindling, I shove my hands into the pockets of my jeans. “Maybe it just took the right guy to come along.”

Unless Collins told him, Cameron has no idea I know they once had a thing. His face tells the story though as he rocks back on his heels, getting a better view through a window into the garage.

“I’m not a huge hockey fan, but I know who you are. And since your face is always in the press, I’ll save you the potential of public embarrassment.” His face is all smarm as he resets his focus on me. “Watch out with that one. She’s got a habit of bedding men and leading them on, only to toss them aside a few days or weeks later.”

My blood boils as my hands curl, straining inside my denim pockets as they fight to form fists. “You sound like you speak from experience,” I reply, acting none the wiser, my voice not revealing how pissed I am at the way he speaks about a girl he clearly knows nothing about.

“Huh, yeah, you could say that. At one point, I thought Collins liked me for my personality. Turned out, she just wanted to ride my dick.”

I’m across the room and in his face in a split fucking second. “Don’t talk about Collins that way. In fact, never speak about her again.”

Yep, alpha Sawyer has officially reentered the chat.

His eyes flare, and he holds up one hand. “Whoa. All right there, buddy. I’m just giving you a friendly warning to get out before it’s too late—or at least adjust your expectations.”

On a clenched jaw, I debate what his cocky face would look like with a broken nose. “You think I’d take a warning or even listen to a guy who treats his employees like shit? You know what I think? I think you wanted more, and she turned you down, so your ego got bruised, and now you abuse your position as her manager, making her work all hours God sends as a way to nurse your wounds. That’s right; she’s told me all about you.”

I take a step back, and he doesn’t say a word, his self-assured face never wavering.

“Now, given that she barely uses her vacation time and you clearly like taking advantage of her passion for bikes, this is how it’s going to go down.”

Behind the desk, I clock an oil-stained set of overalls, and I casually move around Cameron, pulling them off the hook and tossing them at him.

Stunned, he catches them against his chest.

“You’re going to change out of those ugly-as-fuck dress shoes and pants and into something that tells me you actually give a shit about your staff and possess even a modicum of work ethic. Then you’re going to cover my girlfriend’s shift …”

Shit, I said it.

“And she’s going to take this afternoonandtomorrow off work,” I finish.

He scoffs. “Are you for fucking real? I’ve got a business to run.”

I turn on my heel, practically yanking the front door off its hinges. I’ll wait for Collins in the truck.

Before I step outside, I pause and tip my head to look at him. “Call in a colleague to put some hours in—hell, close for all I care. Because there’s zero chance of her showing up for work tomorrow morning. Not when I have her in my bed.”

CHAPTERTHIRTY

COLLINS

Well, the end of that shift was fucking weird.

One minute, I was servicing the air filter, rushing so I didn’t overrun into my lunch break, and the next, a sour-faced—albeit that part wasn’t weird—Cameron was standing next to the bike in his overalls, telling me to clock out for the day and take tomorrow off too.

I wasn’t about to argue, especially since I knew Sawyer was sitting in the reception area, waiting for me.

Except he isn’t here.

And feeling some kind of way over the prospect that he stood me up, I reach into my jacket pocket, ready to text Sawyer, when his red F-150 pulls up outside the front entrance.

As I pull the door open and approach his truck, I can’t decide which emotion is stronger—excitement at the mystery date he’s taking me on or relief as I realize he turned up after all.

“Hey, Baby Girl,” he immediately greets me as I open the passenger door. He stretches across the center section and plants a kiss on my cheek. “I missed you.”

I clip myself in and turn to him, waving a nonchalant hand in front of me. “Eh, I would say the same, but I was too busy seeing the other man in my life.”

Sawyer pulls off his aviators, playfully smirking. “By ‘other man,’ are you referring to a twelve-year-old showing up at your apartment, unannounced?”

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