Chapter 17
Brad
It was a busy day at the shop, which was great for business but bad for my mood. My hands were buried deep inside a Volvo’s engine when I heard the distinctive ring of the front door bell. I was in the middle of a tricky repair, so I ignored it. Whoever it was could wait until I finished this. Rex was out for the day, so I was on my own. I normally didn’t like to keep a customer waiting, but my hands were drenched in grease and buried deep inside an engine. If I stopped now, I would have started over from the beginning when I returned.
As I continued working, I heard the front-desk bell chime. I sighed and looked around. From the garage, I could see the outline of a man standing by the front desk. I craned my neck around to look outside. There was a Denali in the parking lot that looked to be a rental. I frowned and looked back at the man, trying to decide if he was worth my time. While I watched him, he rang the bell three more times.
I groaned and yanked my hands out of the Volvo. I hated that damn bell. Ever since Rex bought it, it had become the bane of my existence. Toweling off my hands, I hurried through the door into the office and stepped up to the front desk. My eyes fell on the man’s face, and I inhaled sharply.
He was middle-aged, with dark hair that was peppered with gray. His green eyes were unmistakable. They were the exact shape, size, and color as Olivia’s. I looked at him closer and saw that they not only shared the same eyes but the same mouth and cheeks. This man was obviously Olivia’s father. I was shocked to see him in my shop, so shocked that I didn’t open my mouth to speak for several seconds.
“Um,” I finally said, clearing my throat loudly. “I’m sorry. Busy day. What can I do for you?”
“I’m looking for a Jeep Cherokee,” the man said with authority. “My name is Daniel Storm. I’m Olivia’s father.”
“Oh!” I said as if I hadn’t already figured this out. “It’s nice to meet you, sir.”
“You as well, I’m sure,” Daniel said politely. “I’m here to pay for the Jeep. Is it finished?”
“Yes, sir,” I said. “Finished it this morning.”
“Excellent,” Daniel said. “Well, I assume you take credit cards?”
I frowned and craned my neck around. The Denali rental was still sitting in the parking lot, and I suddenly wondered if Olivia was hidden behind the tinted windows. I’d seen her just this morning, and she didn’t say a word about her father coming to town. Why would he suddenly arrive to pay for her Jeep? Why now?
“I’ve already set up a payment plan with Olivia,” I said slowly. “Are you sure you want to—”
“Yes,” he said firmly. “I’ll pay for it in full now.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding. I wasn’t in the position to refuse a payment, so I took his credit card from him and ran it through the machine. He stared off into the distance while I printed out his receipt. I handed it over to him, along with his card. “If you could just sign this top one for me.”
“Sure,” he said, scribbling his name along the dotted line. “Here you go,”
He handed it back to me and folded his copy into fourths. Tucking it into his back pocket, he looked up at me with that same authoritative expression. It made my stomach churn, but I remained impassive, professional.
From everything Olivia told me about her parents, I already knew I didn’t like this man. It didn’t take a genius to realize this man wasn’t kind or compassionate. His clipped tone and tight lips told me everything I needed to know. No matter how polite he seemed, he was a snake in the grass, and I didn’t appreciate his presence in my shop.
Still, if he was willing to pay for Olivia’s Jeep, then maybe he wasn’t all bad. Maybe he’d finally come to his senses and decide to support his daughter. There was something in his eyes that told me I was wrong. When he opened his mouth to speak again, I knew support wasn’t in his nature.
“There’s a tow truck on the way now,” Daniel said simply. “They’ll pick up the Jeep and transport it back to New York.”
“What?” I asked, unable to stop myself. “But what about Olivia?”
Daniel glared at me with suspicion. He looked me up and down as if he was suddenly seeing me in a different light. I knew this man wasn’t any stupid. My obvious concern for Olivia wasn’t something he could overlook.
“Olivia has disobeyed me and her mother,” he said simply. “We do not support her lifestyle. We offered her a chance to come home and do things the right way: go back to school, study something real, and get a financially stable job. She refused. She insisted on pursuing her art.”
“Because she loves it,” I said without thinking.
“Regardless,” Daniel said shortly. “We will not support her in her frivolous art career. This Jeep was bought for her by me. Now I’m taking it back.”
“But she won’t have a car.” I snapped. “You’re essentially leaving her stranded.”
“That’s not your concern,” Daniel said, his voice devoid of any emotion.
I stared at him in shock. He looked back at me with a blank expression. I wanted to lunge across the counter and throttle him, but I knew that wasn’t an emotion. This man was obviously an uncaring, unsympathetic, sociopath. If he was willing to leave his own daughter stranded in a strange city, then he didn’t have a compassionate bone in his body. Nothing I said to him would change his mind.
So, I fell silent and nodded. He nodded back and walked outside, climbing into his Denali and pulling out of the parking lot. It wasn’t more than five minutes later before a tow truck pulled in and the driver jumped out.
I was still standing in the office, unable to move after my encounter with Daniel Storm. My anger was boiling just below the surface, and when the tow truck driver asked for the Jeep, I almost punched him.
It took everything in me not to beat the shit out of this innocent man. Instead, I clenched my fists and gestured toward the open garage. The Jeep was sitting at the far end, totally accessible. The driver nodded his thanks and went out to load it up. I watched while he attached the Jeep to his truck and drove it away without another word.
It killed me that I couldn’t do anything to stop him but what choice did I have? If I fought Daniel or the driver, my business would be ruined. I couldn’t risk that, no matter how badly I wanted to. Instead, I just stood there. My fists were still clenched at my sides, and I could feel my heart pounding in my ears. I’d never felt such a strong surge of anger in my life.
I saw red as I slowly made my way back to the garage. I knew I should call Olivia or maybe drive over to the hotel to see her but I couldn’t. I was still too angry, and I didn’t want her to see me this way. The last thing she needed right now was for me to fly off the handle, not after everything she’d already been through.
I threw myself back into my work, driving into the Volvo’s engine and repairing it with lightning speed. While I worked, I didn’t let myself think. I let everything disappear. Olivia. Her father. Her Jeep. Everything. I pounded away in that Volvo until every single repair was done. The sun was beginning to set outside by the time I stood up straight. My back ached, and sweat was pouring down my face, but I didn’t care. I felt better now, more relaxed.
As I cleaned up, washing my hands and putting away all my tools, I thought about Olivia. I wondered if her father even bothered to see her while he was in town. Did he go by her hotel? Is that how he found out where her car was? Or did he take the coward’s way out and simply call her? Was he afraid to face her while simultaneously destroying her life?
What kind of father could just walk away from their child? My anger came rushing back as this question played around and around in my head. Daniel Storm, though rich and powerful, reminded me of my own father. That, more than anything, fueled my anger and drove me forward.
I crashed into the office and quickly locked everything up. I didn’t know what I would do, but I knew I had to do something.