Those chores aren’t the real issue, Riley.
Yeah, well, I promised Nat yesterday that I wouldn’t give up on being an aircraft maintenance technician, but that doesn’t save me from my current predicament.
Which is that I don’t know how to run an auto mechanic shop.
I walk past a dark puddle on the floor and stop. Where on earth are those mysterious oil spills coming from?
Eager to get some manual labor in, I grab the high-chemical dish soap and pour it on top of the oil. Some of it starts to disintegrate immediately and it makes my job of sweeping it away much easier.
Maybe I should just clean the workshop for a living and tell Rebel to find another manager.
“Knock-knock,” a voice says.
I spin around.
Rebel saunters into the garage, wearing pink over-alls and shiny pink bracelets on her wrist. A pink bandanna holds her hair away from her face.
“Boss.” I straighten like a soldier at the queen’s gates.
“I figured you’d be here early.” Rebel’s eyes and voice are gentle when she says, “You okay? I heard about what happened yesterday.”
“I-I was going to report it to you. I just haven’t gotten to my computer to write the email yet.”
That’s not true. I had no plans on telling Rebel what happened yesterday. Not until I found a way to fix it first.
“I apologize.” I swallow hard. “I should have reported to you immediately rather than let you hear it from a third party.”
“It’s a small town. Gossip is much faster than an email. And that’s not why I’m here.”
Oh my gosh.
She’s going to fire me.
I avert my eyes to the ground and tighten my grip on the broom stick. “I won’t make any excuses, Rebel. I know I let you down. What happened with the customer is totally my fault and I’ll take responsibility for the hit to the shop’s reputation. But if you give me another chance, I’m going to work twice as hard to?—”
“I’m not here to fire you, Riley.”
I breathe out in relief and, in that moment, I realize just how much I didn’t want to leave this shop.
Not in shame.
Not again.
Rebel pats my shoulder. “And I’m not here to scold you either. If anyone should be scolded, it’s me.”
“You didn’t do anything wrong.”
Rebel smiles prettily. “What you said that first day really stuck with me. ‘Even if it’s not a leader’s fault, it’s her responsibility’. Since I’m the owner of this shop, everything that goes wrong is my responsibility.”
I shake my head because that’s not fair. I’m the one who messed up.
“I’ve been so busy with my own life and The Pink Garage that I threw you into the deep end without any instructions,” Rebel admits. “I’m sorry, Riley.”
I’m at a loss for words. Rebel is far too gracious. She has her own garage, a relationship, and an entire charity organization that she runs. This shop is literallyallI have to do and I blew it in one day.
“Even so, I think there should be consequences,” I admit.
“On who?”
