Page 13 of Until You’re Breathless (Insatiable #1)

After a swallow, she blinks. “Funny you should say that. Jinny and I were talking about this before I showed up here. You know...how I think that everything happens for a reason...like...as much as Boston fucked me over...I was really unhappy there, anyway. I just didn’t know it.”

“So you were stuck in a fucking office with your double-breasted suit and your hair tied up in a fucking bun. He stifled you, didn’t he.” I say kindly but matter-of-factly.

“Yeah. I guess he did. I just never noticed.”

“That’s a fucking crime, Bowie.” I tell her, irritated.

“You know, that’s one of the reasons why we were such great friends back in high school.

You had an imagination and a brain unlike any other girl I’d ever met.

Or anyone, for that matter. It’s no wonder you didn’t get along well with anyone else but Jinny, because while all the other chicks were holed up in the bathroom painting their lips and nails, you were in the parking lot or in the auto shop, but you weren’t a butch.

And I never understood why you ever mixed with Boston, because right off the hop, that guy was intimidated by you. ”

“Why do you say that?”

“A guy can tell, Bowie, when another guy is shitting in his pants. It doesn’t matter if it’s over a guy or a girl.

He was afraid of you, so the only solution was to nab you.

He knew that you would be a force to be reckoned with, so rather than beat you, he joined you.

It’s just too bad that you didn’t see that. ”

“I see it now.” She says, torquing the engine with a little more force.

“Better late than never.”

I really want to wipe that spot of grease off her cheek, but the more I look at it, the more I like it, and that scares me.

This chick is loaded with baggage, it doesn’t matter how long her and Boston have been split for.

As far as I know it’s been a couple of months, more or less.

“How come you gave that fucker so long before you left him, anyway?”

“We parted ways, relationship-wise, but I wanted to see if he could be mature about us still doing business together. As you can understand, I didn’t want to just walk away. But then he started being a dick and he offered me a decent severance package, so I figured I’d cut my losses.”

“Why didn’t you sue him?”

“For cheating?”

“No, for breach of contract.”

“Why would I want to muddy up my life for the next five years with lawyers and shit, Jagger? At the end of the day, I know that the business is n his name and he’s been sleazy about it, but he’s managed to make sure that as many staff and suppliers were in his favor as possible.

How the hell he did it is beyond me, since the writing is on the wall about his infidelity. ”

“He’s always been smooth, Bowie. You know this. How do you think he won you over?”

She smirks. “You didn’t make it that difficult, Jagger.”

Don’t say it. Don’t goddamn well say it . I decide that now isn’t the time to bring up the past, even though she’s asking for it. I look at the clock on the wall. It says that it’s almost seven o’clock. “I should go get cleaned up. My engineering staff will be here in a half an hour.”

She takes the hint. “Sure. Thanks for taking the time to see me. If you need a hand with anything, I’m here.

She pulls a business card out of her purse and hands it to me, not bothering to take her grimy gloves off first. Why, I don’t know, but that turns me on.

She’s a woman that cares more about how a car ticks than avoiding dirtying up her purse. “Call me if you change your mind.”

I don’t say anything, I just walk her to the door.

“Thanks for letting me in.”

I go for cute. “I hardly had a choice. My brother gave me the heads up.”

“Sorry about that. I think he really wants us to work together.”

“Yeah, Halen is good for getting his own way, I'll give him that.”

She looks at me with Bambi eyes before walking to the main entrance door. “I’m not going to beg, Jagger. But I am going to tell you that you wouldn’t regret it. I can promise you that.”

I get it. After all the stifling that fucker Boston did, she didn’t walk away until he betrayed her.

Point for her. But that still doesn’t erase the fact that I can’t trust her.

I still don’t know if she’s here genuinely or if she’s just passing the time, until she goes crawling back to Kruger.

“I’ll see ya.” I tell her, and then it happens before I can stop it.

I wipe the spot of grease off her face. And I do it way too slowly, too.

She’s still got the softest skin in the world.

She still smells the same, and her eyes are still as blue as they were years ago.

Goddammit, she’s a beautiful girl. She needs to go. She needs to go now.

If she sees the nostalgia in my eyes, she doesn’t respond as such. “Yeah. Thanks again.”

I give her a thin-lipped smile and she walks out the door. Not a second later, my phone rings. It’s Halen again. “What.” I answer tersely.

“Not a good visit?”

“What, do you have a fucking crystal ball over there?”

“No. I just know that your day is officially starting soon, and you would have to kick her out if you hadn’t made up your mind yet, or you’d be calling me to tell me to take her off my hit list. And since you’re in such a shitty mood, I’d say it’s the former.”

“Fuck you. The visit went fine. I’m just not hiring her.”

“Give me one good reason why not.”

“I’ll give you three.”

“I’m listening.”

“One. I’m not giving into you so you can dance a jig of glee at my expense. Two. She’s been fucking Boston Kruger for the last fifteen years. Three. How the hell do I know she isn’t a flight risk.”

“Stop being a pussy, Jagger. Show her you’ve got balls and hire her. Give her a probationary period like she suggested. You know she’s got the chops for what you need in that place, so don’t try to deny it.”

“Yeah, but she’s got baggage, too.”

“Did you ever tell her the fucking truth, man?”

“Why the fuck would I bother.” I seethe. “She was already fucking Boston before I could get the chance to. It would have been a waste of my fucking time.”

“You should tell her, Jag.”

“Like she’ll fucking believe me after all these years. It won’t make a shit bit of a difference.”

“It will and you know it.”

I’m not in the mood for yet another lecture or another trip down memory lane. “Look, Halen, I’m covered in shit and my team will be here soon. I’ve got to go.”

“You run this ship, man.”

“Yeah, and I’m running it the way that I want to. Don’t forget it.” I hang up on him and head into the shower. By the end of the day I find myself back at a familiar place...