Page 40 of Moonlit Kisses

–max–

“What the fuckis going on in here?” I snap out at the same time as Martin slams the outer door closed. His face looks like thunder as he steps forward, his fists clenched tightly by his sides. His wife, standing to the side of the doorway.

Glen steps back from Molly and her body sags in obvious relief. “Just telling your new girl here how great her legs look.” He says it like it’s no big deal that he was making my employee uncomfortable.Fucking loser.

“I don’t think I should have to tell you that my employee has a right to feel safe at work.”Yeah, good one.Let’s not mention to the room that you stood in the bathroom door and perved on said employee, while she was fucking naked. “Your car’s ready. I’ll send you the invoice,” I snap. “And you can find yourself another mechanic. You’re not welcome back here.”

“But, I didn’t do anything. You’re overreacting, man.” He folds his arms across his chest, standing to his full height.

I step forward. I still have a few inches on him and fold my own arms across my chest. “From what I saw, I don’t think I’m overreacting at all. Your type isn’t welcome in my shop. You can apologize to Molly and then you can get your sleazy ass out of my workshop.”

He spits on the floor between us, and Martin takes a step forward, but I motion for him to stay where he is. This isn’t his concern.

“I ain’t apologizing for nothing. I didn’t do anything wrong. It’s not my fault if the bitch is an ice queen.” He tips his head at Molly with an expression of distaste.

“You disrespectful little punk.” Martin steps forward and grabs Glen’s shirt, pulling his arm back, ready to lay him out.

Grabbing Martin’s arm, I stop him from doing anything stupid. “Martin, take a breath. Don’t do anything stupid. He’s not worth it.”

Glen raises his hand, knocking Martin’s grip on his shirt loose. “I’m outta this shithole. There’re better mechanics than you around.” He looks around the room, knocking into my arm as he passes on the way out.

As the door slams behind him, we all take a collective breath. When I glance across at Molly, she’s shaking and tears are filling those stunning orbs, making them appear stormy. I move into her space and wrap her in my arms, cradling the back of her head. Her hands come up to my flanks as she grasps the sides of my overalls. A heavy sob leaves her, and my heart cracks.

“I’m sorry, Dimples. He had no right to speak to you like that. He won’t be back.” Her sobs wrack her body, so I pull her in tighter to me. “Shh, shh, shh. It’s okay.” I love how her body fits against mine, how she feels in my arms.

Martin steps closer. “Is she gonna be alright?” he whispers.

Molly stiffens in my embrace, attempting to pull her head away from me, but I keep her close. “She’ll be okay. She just needs a minute. If you want to show Beth the Sprint, you can head through. I’ll be there in a few.”

He nods, then guides his wife through to the workshop, leaving me and Molly alone. It takes a few more moments, but eventually Molly gets herself under control. I can feel the change in her, so as she tries to pull away, I let her go, but I miss her instantly. Her hands still rest lightly on my sides, and I love having them on me.

I need to remind myself that I’m her boss and she’s ten years my junior. It’s getting harder and harder to keep myself in check the more I get to know her. I’ve spent most of this week working my ass off to keep her at a distance after what I did on Monday night in my shower to images of her.

“Are you gonna be okay?” I whisper as I tuck a loose lock of silky hair behind her ear. Her hairisas silky as I imagined it to be. Her face is red and blotchy, her eyes puffy, and her nose is red, but she still looks gorgeous.

Her eyes skate past me, and as she bites her bottom lip, she nods her head once. Glancing back up at me, she finally whispers, “Yeah. I’m sorry about that.”

Confusion colors my tone. “What are you sorry about?” I thumb over my shoulder toward the door. “That asshole?” She nods. “You have nothing to apologize for. He was the one in the wrong. He shouldn’t have been speaking to you like that, and he certainly shouldn’t have had you trapped against the counter with nowhere to go.”

“Yeah, but now you’ve lost a client because of me and he probably won’t pay the invoice for today’s work. I feel like that was my fault.”

“Have you seen how fucking busy I am? I won’t miss that asshole one bit. Don’t give it another thought. Clients come and go all the time.” I smile at Molly, hopefully portraying that I’m not bothered. “How about you clean up and meet us in the workshop? You can join us when we take the Sprint out for a test drive. Help us convince Martin’s missus that she should let him buy the car.” I finish with a wink.

Molly returns my smile and nods. “Thanks, Max.”

“No problem.”

* * *

Martin’s gaze switches to something behind me. His eyes turn soft as he takes a step away from me. “Are you okay, Molly?”

Molly forces a smile as an embarrassed flush stains her cheeks. “Yes, thank you. I’m sorry about the drama.”

“It was no drama at all. That guy was an asshole who needs to be taught some manners.” He guides her toward Beth. “I’d like you to meet my wife, Beth.”

Beth sucks in a sharp breath as she gets her first good look at Molly. Molly glances at me, her frown creating a crease between her eyebrows as she holds out her hand to greet Martin’s wife. “Oh, Molly. It’s lovely to finally meet you.”

Okay, this behavior is fucking weird. Both Martin and his wife have their eyes locked on Molly; it’s making me uncomfortable at this point. I can only imagine how it’s making Molly feel, especially after what happened in the office with Glen. Molly glances over her shoulder at me with raised brows and I can only shrug. I have no idea what the fuck is going on.

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