Page 17 of Finding You

“That you never asked what my qualifications were?” she asked with a knowing grin.

“When we were at the diner yesterday, all you said was that you had a dead-end job, but you never specified what that job was.”

“I worked for a logistics company. They did refrigerator trucks and transported food all over the country. It was monotonous and boring as hell, and I’m definitely not going to miss it.” With a dramatic shudder, she added, “But basically I’m pretty proficient with most computer systems. If you have time to sit with me for a few minutes and walk me through a few things, I can play around and figure the rest out.”

He hesitated for a moment. “I was kind of hoping you’d be okay with getting things a little more organized in here first while I make some calls about your car. I had planned on doing that before I came home to talk to you, but you seemed upset, so…”

“So you left and bought a ton of baked goods, hoping to cushion the blow,” she teased as she pulled the chair out from behind the desk and sat down.

Both the desk and chair were higher than she thought–almost like sitting at one of those bistro tables in some of her favorite restaurants back home. Still, she took a minute to get comfortable and then glanced around and tried to figure out where she was going to start.

“I’ll just be back in my office,” Devin said. “It’s down the hall there in the back. If you need anything…” He took a step away and then paused, glancing out at the waiting area.

“What? What’s the matter?”

“I know the second I step out of this area, Jeanie and Phyllis are going to be up here trying to get your life story.”

She casually glanced at the two women and smiled. “Yikes. Yeah, I’m not ready for that.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t throw you to the wolves,” he said even as he glanced over his shoulder. “Okay, there’s a folder on my desk with your name on it. Why don’t you grab it for me and I’ll make my calls from up here while you work? This way, if you have questions, I’ll be right next to you. How does that sound?”

“It sounds like you’re babying me a bit and I feel like a wimp, but…” She shrugged. “I just don’t want you thinking that I can’t handle this job.”

He nodded. “Considering you’ve only been here ten minutes, it would be awfully unfair of me to make that assumption. There isn’t a doubt in my mind that you can handle this job, MacKenzie. It’s your first day and no one walks in and knows how to do everything on a new job, so…relax. I have every faith in you.”

She felt herself blush. “Um…thanks, Devin,” she murmured. “I’ll be right back with that folder.” And as she walked out of the room, she took a moment to just breathe. Most of her life, she never shied away from a challenge, and never cared what anyone else thought. But working for Devin had her feeling like she really wanted to do a good job.

I have every faith in you…

It was crazy, but that one little statement meant the world to her.

And for everything that Devin was doing for her, she was determined to do everything she could for him with this job. She’d set up that reception area to be the most efficient thing he’d ever seen. And then she’d help him hire someone so he and the guys could focus on cars and not the paperwork.

With her little pep talk over, she went into Devin’s office–which was only slightly less of a mess than the reception area–and grabbed the folder. Before she went back to him, however, she glanced inside at his notes and saw the list of everything wrong with the Mustang, and the cost for all the parts.

And they were identical to everything he’d told her back at the house.

He hadn’t lied and he wasn’t trying to cheat her.

And that just made her feel like maybe she could have a little faith too.

For now.

They ate a late lunch that Will picked up for them while he was out, and even though she’d only been there for a little over three hours, she had worked miracles.

Devin glanced around the reception area and smiled. The desk area was cleared, paperwork was in folders and neatly stacked, and the entire surface had been wiped down so it almost looked new.

MacKenzie had asked if it was okay to order some office supplies online to be delivered, and he had readily agreed. When she was done, not only had she thoroughly explained what she was buying and why, but she did it all while purchasing only sale items. Not that he was worried about money, but he liked that she was conscientious about that sort of thing.

The phone had been ringing almost non-stop, and she handled that easily as well. Obviously she didn’t know anything about auto repair, but she picked up his online scheduling program and managed to make appointments with little help from him.

All in all, this looked like a match made in heaven. MacKenzie was handling the front office like a champ, and with any luck, tomorrow he’d be able to put in a full day out in the garage with the guys.

“Thank you, Mrs. Ritter,” he heard MacKenzie saying into the phone. “We look forward to seeing you next Wednesday! Have a great day!” When she hung up, she threw her head back and let out a long sigh.

“Problem?”

Turning her head, she looked at him with amusement. “I swear, your customers ask more questions than they answer!”

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