THIRTY-SIX
“Heyo!”
“Look who decided to grace us with her presence!”
“Did you get enough pampering in Colorado? Ready to get dirt under those nails again?”
“About time you decided to do some work!”
“Shut the hell up you guys! She brought donuts!”
Shaun smiled as she walked into the garage, a large, Johan’s Bakery signature pink baker’s box held between her hands. “Hi, guys. Did you miss me?”
“Hell no, it was nice and quiet without your ass here!”
Brent elbowed Nick in the ribs and hissed, “You shut the hell up, I want donuts! Did you bring any Bear Claws? How about any custard Long Johns?”
Setting the large box on the worktable in the employee break room, she opened it with a flourish, and the six guys crowded around to take a peek at what she’d brought.
“Have I mentioned you’re my favorite?” Jake said reverently as he snagged a chocolate frosted cinnamon roll.
“Yeah, you’re not so bad,” Matt said with a grin as he took a donut in each hand then headed off to take a seat in a chair.
“We did actually miss you, I swear,” Brent muttered around a behemoth bite of a Bear Claw.
Ben, her boss, sidled up and bumped his shoulder into hers in hello. He stood several inches taller than her, his body long and lean. With his short blonde hair and China blue eyes, he was a strikingly handsome guy. “How was the wedding? Did you get hammered?”
“Jodi and Free are, I’m sure, enjoying the last days of their honeymoon as we speak. The wedding was wonderful, exactly what she wanted. Thank you for letting me have the time off togo,” she said with a smile, lifting her coffee to her lips. “And for the extra time.”
“Shaun, you’ve got so many back hours logged, you could take the next three months off and never miss a full paycheck,” he laughed, crossing his arms over his chest and standing with his feet spread wide. “I think it was good for you to take a little time off. You look different.”
She gulped her coffee, burning her throat as she swung her eyes up to his. “Different? How?”
He shrugged wide shoulders, arms still crossed across his chest, and winked. “Just different.”
Nate strolled into the breakroom then, his dark eyes spearing into Shaun’s for a heartbeat before they shifted away. His shoulders were tense, the way he moved rigid. He never glanced at her again as the group of them finished their donut breakfast and then headed out to the bays to start working.
Shaun was elbows deep in an oil change when she saw Nate’s boots appear to her left. Sighing heavily, she finished what she was doing and slid out from under the vehicle, standing and dusting her hands off. Glancing at him, she gave him a strained smile and asked, “Is there something you need?”
“So, you get home almost two weeks ago and you didn’t bother to come back to work on time?”
Taken back by the heat in his tone and the anger in his eyes, she stepped back. “Excuse me?”
“We could have used you here all week,” he stated flatly, placing his hands on his hips.
Shaking her head, her brows drew into a deep V as she muttered, “I’m sorry, what? I had pre-approved PTO that I used, Nate. That Ben and Rod both approved. I came home early because my best friend had her baby, and what do you care if I took off extra time? I don’t recall having to ask your permission to take time off for my sister’s wedding. A wedding that you weretrying to convince me to take you as a date to, might I remind you. I don’t date coworkers, and even if I did, I’m not interested in you.”
“We could have had a good time, Shaun. You don’t know what you’re missing. All you have to do is let me slide between those thighs and I know I can change your mind,” he murmured in an effort to sound seductive, at the same time sliding slightly closer to her. She recoiled as he reached out his hand as if to touch her.
“Keep your fucking hands to yourself or I’ll cut them off,” she warned, taking a step back away from him. “Fuck around and find out, I dare you. I could have you fired for sexual harassment, you dumbass.”
“Go ahead and try,” he laughed darkly. Then his voice dropped again, that effort to be charming returning. The man was giving her whiplash with the abrupt changes in demeanor, and he murmured, “Come on, sweetheart. Give me a chance. I’ll show you what you’ve been missing, I promise. I’ll be the best you’ve ever had.”
“Not a fucking chance in hell,” she said through clenched teeth.
His cynical laugh grated on her nerves, and he twisted his head around to the side, working his jaw in clear annoyance before swinging his head back around to her. “That’s right, you were too busy spreading your legs for that rich asshole, weren’t you? Guess money buys whores like you.”
Fury lashed through her, and she snapped, “You’re a pig, Nate. Again, I don’t recall having to ask your permission for anything regarding my life, so fuck off.”
