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“That’s the sixth one who’s come in here looking for a showdown after you pulled a hit and run,” Lark accused. “I’m starting to think you banging your way through town is going to make this impossible.”
I was starting to think the same goddamn thing.
Willow suddenly appeared in the doorway, her gaze cast down the hall where Applicant Number Eleventy-Billion had disappeared. “I take it that last candidate isn’t going to work out?”
Stone pushed off the edge of the desk where he’d been resting and stood to his full, impressive height. “Another one bit the dust, mouse,” he said as he moved to his woman and pulled her into him for a kiss.
If you had asked me a couple years ago who would have made the most unlikely couple, I would have said Stone Hendrix and Willow Thorne, without hesitation. Our sweet receptionist tended to blush if you so much as looked at her and was so damn shy, it had taken months of working for us before she could look the three of us in the eye. But somehow, the rough-and-tumble tattooed biker mechanic and the quiet-as-a-church-mouse brunette fit together like two puzzle pieces.
Willow looked down the hall as she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and bit down, worry clouding her expression. “That’s the twelfth one.”
“Fifteenth, actually,” Shane corrected in a flat voice.
“Our boy here fucked his way through every available woman in town, leaving the hiring pool pretty shallow.”
I flipped Stone off, silently wishing I could have a beer or something to take the edge off, but just as I’d had to do with the woman and partying, I’d had to cut booze out as well when Cash came into my life. All the outlets I’d used to keep the shadows at bay were gone, and fighting back the darkness day in and day out was hard as hell, but I had no choice. Shane had been right. It was obvious that Cash hadn’t exactly had it easy in his short two years, and I was determined to give him better. “No one asked for your input, asshole.”
Stone shook his head, not bothering to hide the smile splitting his face in half. “As much fun as it is to watch this shitshow, I better get back to the shop.” He leaned in and kissed Willow firmly and possessively before taking off, leaving her slightly off balance.
I pushed to my feet, my body feeling tired and beaten down from shitty sleep and stress. “Well, this has been fun, folks, but I think I’ll head out for a cup of coffee now if you don’t mind.
“Oh, you can’t just yet,” Willow said. “You have another applicant waiting in reception.”
My brow furrowed as Lark flipped through her notepad. “I don’t have anything down for another couple hours. Did we get her paperwork and I somehow missed it?”
Willow shook her head. “She didn’t fill out any paperwork.”
I threw my arms up. “Then why the hell am I standing here, entertaining the thought of interviewing her, when I could be buying a cup of coffee right now?”
Willow cut her eyes to me. The woman still blushed with alarming frequency, but a bit of her man had rubbed off on her over the years, meaning she took absolutely no shit. “Because Myra Montgomery called yesterday and vouched forher, insisting she get an interview. She said this girl is absolutely perfect for the job.”
I let out a sigh and collapsed back into my chair, my silent way of giving in. I didn’t personally know Myra very well, but she and her husband, Bennett, had the respect of pretty much everyone in town, and I wasn’t one to laugh in the face of something like that.
“Fine,” I said with resignation. “Let’s get this shitshow over with already so I can get my damn coffee.”
Deva
I grippedthe little slip of paper Myra had given me the day before even tighter, like it was my own personal good luck charm or something.
My heart had started beating against my ribs at an alarming rate as I snuck out of the Oakes’s house early this morning, and it still hadn’t slowed down. I’d been up all night. If it hadn’t been excitement making me jittery, it had been fear making my stomach twist. I’d lain in bed all night long, tossing and turning, playing over and over in my head how I was going to get out of the house and into town without being seen.
It wasn’t exactly a short trek but seeing as I didn’t have a car—not that I knew how to drive—I’d had no choice but to ride my bike down the mountain and into Redemption.
It had been a long, unsteady ride, but once the ground had levelled out, I’d been able to breathe a little easier. By the time I made it to the address Myra had given me, the muscles in my legs felt like they’d been doused in gasoline and set on fire from peddling.
I stood in front of the building for a few seconds, giving myself a much-needed pep talk before I shuffled forward on my dusty, plain brown flats. The moment I stepped through the heavy glass door and caught sight of the beautiful woman behind the front desk, I felt all kinds of inferior.
“Hi,” she greeted with a polite smile. If my appearance threw her, she certainly didn’t show it. “Can I help you?”
My grip on the paper in my hand tightened even more, and I had to will myself to loosen my hold on it, worried I’d crumple it so badly I wouldn’t be able to read Myra’s phone number.
“Um, yeah. I mean yes. Thank you. I’m Deva. Deva Kent?” I explained awkwardly, ending on a question for some insane reason. “Um, Myra Montgomery was supposed to have set up an interview?”
The woman’s expression brightened. “Yes, of course! I’m Willow. It’s nice to meet you, Deva. Myra spoke very highly of you.”
As discreetly as possible, I wiped my clammy palm on my skirt before reaching out to give her offered hand a shake. “Thank you. It’s nice to meet you too.”
“They’re in a meeting at the moment, but if you wouldn’t mind waiting, you can have a seat right over there.” She pointed to a small seating area with two couches and a few chairs that lined the windows.
