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“It’s not really a problem. I noticed their wires were seriously damaged and mentioned it to the guy in charge. I recommended getting ahold of you for an assessment and replacing them, but he said he’d only work with me.”
Russel’s eyebrows drew down. “What? Why?”
I lifted a shoulder. “No idea. I told him it was your thing, but he said if we wanted the job, it had to be through me. I’m not really sure what to do with that.”
He scrubbed his face, his nails scratching against his five o’clock shadow. “I don’t know, Sammy. That’s a strange request, especially with a building full of dangerous men. The Devil’s Disciples are well known in these parts, and I don’t want you hanging around them by yourself. I didn’t want you out there in the first place.”
“Well, if it's my safety you’re worried about, I can say that the guy I’m going to be working with isn’t dangerous. He’s a goofball and kind of obnoxious, but not in any way that made me uncomfortable. The guy in charge, Croy, said since the original caller, Nevada, was busy, Clink was going to be my point of reference from now on.”
He made a face. “Those aren’t real names.”
I pursed my lips, trying and failing to hide my smile. “Probably not, but I’m sure as hell not going to say anything about it. I think I can pull off the job and, for the most part, I didn’t feel unsafe while I was there.”
Scowling, he crossed his arms. “For the most part?”
Rolling my eyes, I copied his posture. “Yes, for the most part. Croy’s seriously intimidating and so were a few of the others, but I didn’t feel like they were going to hurt me. Mostly, I’d prefer to avoid them. Clink is fine. A few others were alright. There was even a woman there, Riley. She said she was Croy’s old lady, whatever that means.”
“Old lady is like a wife or girlfriend. She’s Croy’s woman.”
I scrunched my nose. “That sounds off. Whatever, I’m not judging.”
He shifted his stance, still not comfortable with the idea of sending me there on my own. I understood and if I had any inkling that I might be in some kind of trouble while I was there, I would avoid the job, but it went way better than I thought and I really wanted the job. I wanted to prove I was capable. Russel was a good guy, but he liked to baby me a lot, giving me the easier jobs while the other guys got the cool stuff. This could be my shot to finally get him to take me seriously.
He could see the determination in my face, and eventually, he relented. “Alright, fine. I guess we’ll give it a shot. I want you checking in often, though. I wanna know you’re okay. And if for even one second you feel like you’re unsafe, I want you to come back. We’ll renegotiate with them. I’m a little worried backing out would piss them off, so I need you to be sure this is what you want to do. I don’t want you to feel pressured.”
I nodded. “I’m good, I can do it. I had a good teacher.”
He smirked, shaking his head. “Alright, alright, flatterer. I gotta get going. Set up a time for the assessment but make it next week. I wanna go over it with you again since you’ll be doing it on your own for the first time.”
When I made a face, he shot me a look. “You’re still a rookie in my eyes, Sammy. A week or no deal. Got it?”
“Fine!” I threw my hands up in defeat. “One week to prove to you I can handle it. Then you’ll stop underestimating me, right?”
He rolled his eyes. “We’ll see. Now get gone! I don’t wanna run over your toes.”
Taking a few steps back from his truck, I waved at him as he drove off, trying to hide my giddy grin. I was so pissed at Angelo for foisting this job onto me, but it was turning out to be my big opportunity. If I could do it well, I could finally drop the rookie title and Russel would take me seriously. Nothing and I mean nothing was going to stand in the way of me absolutely killing it at this job.
CHAPTER 5
CLINK
I didn’t expect Sam to call back that quickly, but she called only a few hours later saying her boss was good with letting her do the work by herself. She seemed fucking giddy about it and I wanted to ask, but she seemed like she was in a hurry and I had my own shit to do, so I let her know I was good with whenever she wanted to do the assessment and she gave me a date before hanging up.
That was a few hours ago. I’d updated Croy on the news and hung out with Brewer for a while, but I had a job to do tonight, so I went upstairs early. I was supposed to be getting some rest beforehand, but my mind wouldn’t shut off. My leg jiggled restlessly, my hands were sweating. I wiped them off on my thighs a few times, but it wasn’t making any difference. I knew what would make a difference, but I told myself last time would be the last time.
In desperate need of a distraction, I shot off a text, staring anxiously at the phone. Please answer, please answer.
Clink: This isn’t a dick pic. Are you proud of me?
Sam: ??Good job. What’s up?
I let out a slow breath. She was fast at responding, thank fuck.
Clink: I’m bored. What are you wearing?
Sam: ????????Nope.
Clink: Who uses emojis anymore? ??????
