Page 15 of Tuned To Break
“Hi, Arden. Rest easy, I’m not calling to quit.”
“Oh, thank God. I didn’t want to have to find someone else for that place. It has so much potential, right?”
“Yes, it does... That’s one reason why I’m calling. I have a few things I’d like to ask for.”
“Anything. Name it, it’s yours.”
“I was just talking with Emily and catching the girls up on the day, and just so you know, the other reason I called is that the office looks like a tornado swept through it. The paperwork is in disarray. There are clients that haven’t been billed for months—I don’t even know if some have ever been billed. There’s a long list of bills to be paid, too. I don’t know how that shop has remained open.”
“Yeah, you’re telling me. I’ve been trying to fix it, but...”
“You’re busy. You’re still at uni. You’ve got other stuff going on.”
“Yeah, something like that,” he says. “So, what is it you need?”
“Is it okay if I work all day tomorrow instead of just half a day?”
“Yes, of course. You can work as many hours as you like. Overtime’s all yours—happy to pay it. You tell me what you want, what you need. It’s all good.”
The thoughts tick over in my head. Is he really offering to pay me this much money just to fix this place?
“Why are you so invested in the shop?” I ask, wondering.
“Chase and I have been best friends for years. He’s always wanted to work in an auto restoration shop, and it was his dream come true when Doc offered him the apprenticeship. But once he started, we realised the shop was going downhill—that certain things had started to slip. We realised we needed to make some changes, which is when my business manager and I decided to buy the shop and do an overhaul. Unfortunately, we’ve been playing catch-up ever since.”
He pauses. “One thing you’ll learn about me is that I love my friends dearly. I’ll do anything for them. I’m also invested in this because I enjoy the automotive design side of things. I’m not one to get my hands dirty, but I like coming up with concepts and helping them brainstorm. So I’m invested—I want to see my friends succeed. I want to see a future for Doc’s, and I want to be able to continue the legacy that shop has built.”
“Okay, fair enough. You do realise it’s going to cost money?”
“Money’s not an issue. That’s not what this is about. I’ll set you up as an account holder so you can pay the bills. That’s one less thing off my list, and you can get it all sorted. Is that okay?”
“Yeah, absolutely.” I indicate and turn into my driveway, waiting in the car while we finish this conversation.
“My other request.”
“Yes?”
“We need a coffee machine.”
He chuckles. “Okay.”
“We need a good coffee machine. An expensive coffee machine.”
“You do realise you’d be the only person who knows how to use it?”
“Yep, that’s the point. I am a barista, and I want real coffee. Those guys need real coffee because whatever that sludge is they’re drinking, it is disgusting.”
“Oh, I know. I don’t drink the coffee from the workshop.”
“Smart move. So can I get a coffee machine?”
“Yeah, go for it. You’ll be able to do it with the account details I send you. Just let me know if there are any issues or if you need me to transfer more money across.”
“Are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Please just don’t quit, and please help me get this shop back to where we want it. We want to expand, bring in new people, but we can’t do that until we have some processes in place.”
“Okay, got it.”
