I nod somberly. “Yeah, I know. Give me another week or two, and I’ll be ready.”
“Good,” he replies, closing the binder and handing it to me. “I look forward to it, Sammy.”
When he stands up and pats me on the back before making his way toward the shop, I exhale with relief that he didn’t totally flip out on me about this. I’ve been buying my uncle out of Tire Depot for the past five years, with plans for me to take over. But the contents inside this binder are a much bigger venture.
Tire Depot is the perfect future for me. I fucking love this place. The smell of tires and grease, complimentary coffee and baked goods, plus decent, hardworking guys earning an honest living for their families. It’s a good gig. I’ve come to really care about my employees and their families, and there is nowhere else I’d rather be. But I have dreams that would take us to the next level, and if I can get Terry’s blessing before he leaves, I’ll feel a lot better about things.
I exit his office and make my way back to the counter when a female voice interrupts my thoughts. I look over and see my best friend’s girlfriend strolling into the tire shop as if she owns the place.
“Michael! Did Shelly finish my book yet?” Kate asks with a big smile for my top salesman as she rests her elbow on a short stack of display tires.
“She did! And you were right…I totally got lucky.” Michael high-fives Kate.
Kate laughs and nods knowingly. “I told you! She’s gotta take a break from those self-help books and read something dirty. It’s life changing!”
Chuck steps out from behind the counter and approaches Kate next. “Hey, Kate…next time you’re here, can you bring me a signed copy of one of your books? My girlfriend’s birthday is coming up.”
“Definitely, Chuck! I have a cool book sleeve I’ll give you that matches it. It’ll be the perfect gift.”
“Awesome,” Chuck replies with a relieved grin.
Kate takes her time greeting my other two salesmen, and I can’t help but marvel at how she has completely fucking charmed my entire staff now. A romance novelist and a tire shop…it’s a fucking weird combination, but hell if it doesn’t just work.
Kate’s journey with Tire Depot is a funny one. This past summer, Kate was suffering from a case of writer’s block and started sneaking into our waiting area to write because that was where she got her best words in. My buddy, Miles, happened to catch her in the act, and they’ve been inseparable ever since. Kate’s been living with Miles for a few months, and the two of them come into Tire Depot together almost every day. Miles works in the garage, and Kate works in the customer comfort center. It’s so fucking cute, I could puke.
Kate finally reaches me at the end of the counter. “Hey, Sam,” she chirps happily as she adjusts her laptop bag on her shoulder to free the red hair trapped beneath the strap. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing much, Kate. How are you?”
“I’m good,” she replies and hooks her thumb over her shoulder. “I stopped in the garage to look for Miles, but I didn’t see him.”
“Our shuttle driver was sick, so he ran someone back to work,” I reply, gesturing to where our courtesy van is usually parked. “He should be back any minute.”
“Cool,” she says, dropping a set of keys on the counter. “I have my girlfriend, Lynsey’s car here. It needs an oil change.”
I nod and begin to punch Lynsey’s name into the computer. “Are you ever going to stop bringing other people’s cars in for a service?” I ask with a shake of the head.
Her brow furrows. “Why on earth would I do that?”
“Because I told you that my uncle doesn’t care that you write your books in our waiting area. You post about us every time you’re here, and we’ve seen an increase in business since you started writing here. I charted it out.” I lean across the counter and grab the keys from her to clip them to the service order I’ve just printed. “And we aren’t doing any new advertising, so I know you’re the reason for the boost. You’re essentially a micro-influencer for Tire Depot, and you don’t even know it…which makes it that much more authentic. Authentic advertising is what sells. And you sell, girl.”
“That’s awesome!” she exclaims with a big smile. “Do you think your uncle will give me more of those koozies for my readers then? They flip over those things.”
I drop my head down and laugh. “You kill me. You want to be paid in koozies?”
“And complimentary beverages and cookies, of course.”
I shake my head. “Whatever you want, Kate. Honestly, though, we should probably be paying you. You’re a marketing dream come true.”
Kate scoffs. “No way are you paying me! This is good karma I’m working on, Sam. Don’t you ever just do something nice for someone just because?”
My brows lift as I instantly think of taking Maggie ice fishing. I’ve never taken anyone ice fishing with me before. Not even Miles, and we do tons of stuff like that together. But ice fishing is different. It’s a thing I’ve always done on my own ever since I quit going with my dad. I hadn’t even thought about what a big deal it was to take Maggie out there with me until right this second.
“Earth to Sam? Come in, Sam!” Kate states, waving her hands in front of my glazed eyes.
I look up and shake my head. “Sorry, I was just thinking about this order I need to place.”
“You were?” she replies, leaning across the counter and eyeing me in speculation. “Because from the looks of it, I’d say you were daydreaming. I’m a writer, Sam…that makes me highly qualified to spot a daydreaming moment.”
Suddenly, the door by the comfort center opens, and Miles’s big, tall frame fills the entrance. “Babe! What took you so long to get here?” he asks, striding over to Kate with a furrowed brow. “I dropped you off at Lynsey’s over an hour ago.”
She rolls her eyes. “Lyns and I just got to talking…no need to worry.”
Miles growls in his chest. “When your best friend is neighbors with your douchebag of an ex…I worry.”
Kate shakes her head and stands on her tippy toes to kiss Miles on the cheek. “Relax, I didn’t even see Dippy Dryston over there. Lynsey is just having some boy problems she needed to talk out.”
“Mmmkay,” Miles grumbles as he drapes a possessive arm around his girl. “It’s not you I don’t trust. It’s that asshat of an ex you have.”
Kate turns accusing eyes on me. “Seriously, Sam, I’ve told you Miles can’t have caffeine after nine, or he gets all caveman-y.”
I hold my hands up. “I’m not his keeper! You’re the one living with him now, so that makes him your problem.”
The truth is, Miles and I haven’t seen much of each other these past few months. He’s in the honeymoon stage of his relationship, and I’m not about to begrudge him of it…even if it’s not something I ever want for myself.
Kate narrows her eyes at me and then looks up at Miles. “I’m going to go write now unless you were planning to club me over the head and drag me away.”
“Don’t tempt me,” Miles says, waggling his brows at her.
I can’t help but groan out loud. “Seriously, you two…get a room.”
Kate giggles, shoving Miles as she strides toward the customer comfort center with her laptop bag in tow.
Miles props his elbow on the counter and watches her leave. “I wasn’t even worried. I just love getting a rise out of her.”
“You guys are gross,” I mumble as I punch some numbers into the computer. “You’ve been living together for months. I thought the gross stage would be over by now.”
“Not even fucking close,” Miles murmurs. I have to swallow the bile that bubbles up my throat as he asks, “So what’s up, man? How was your weekend?”
“Good actually. How about yours?”
“Mine was good too, but that’s normal for me.” He winks like a creep. “Why was yours good? I thought you were just working and ice fishing. Did you catch a shitload or something?”