Page 51 of Crash
“Who are these people, Arthur?” the mean woman by his side snarled, her lips curled in distaste.
“Papa? Come play!”
A small figure appeared suddenly, her blonde hair plaited in French braids, gleaming in the bright sunshine. Her small cheeks were rosy from the chilly air or running around.
The world tilted on its axis the moment the little girl gripped her father’s hand.
Why was she calling him her papa?
“Arthur? Who are they?”
Her father looked at her with sad eyes. She didn’t understand it then. It took years working with her therapist before she could make sense of that day. His eyes held regret as he uttered the heartbreaking words that destroyed both her and her mother’s entire world, effectively breaking the strongest woman Quynh ever knew and reducing her to the shell of the woman she became until her death.
“They’re nobody. Come on, Ruth. Let’s get out of here.” Without a backward glance, she watched her father pick up the little girl, Ruth, she assumed, into his arms. With his other hand, he grabbed the mean-faced woman’s hand and tugged her along. They both watched as the mean-faced woman tossed them a look of disgust over her shoulder before they disappeared beyond the parking lot.
It was the first and last time she saw her mother cry.
“Thanks for lunch, Quynh.” Sean’s cheerful voice startled her back to the present. She shook away her depressing memories and glanced up from her salad. Griffin was studying her intently.
She blushed as she continued eating her salad, avoiding Griffin’s eyes for the rest of the meal. Julio cleanedup and offered to take her trash. She’d bit back a smile at Griffin’s scowl but handed her trash over to Julio’s waiting hands.
“You’re the best, little lady.” Julio flashed her a wink and walked to the back with the trash bag.
She was alone with Griffin for the first time since this morning. Her heart pounded in her chest like a drum. The room suddenly was too hot.
She wondered if she would ever get used to being around him without feeling like a teenager with a crush on the captain of the football team. It was so cliché she could almost laugh at herself.
Instead of being a football player, though, Griffin was the hot mechanic with a way in the kitchen. She’d never really been into older men, but the salt and pepper hair Griffin sported was a major turn-on. Honestly, everything about Griffin was a turn-on.
His moodiness. His dark aura. Almost like he was a thundercloud ready to unleash a torrent of rain on her. His grumpy demeanor didn’t bother her. He wasn’t mean. He was just…prickly. She noticed he seemed a little less prickly around her. The sex probably helped, too.
Despite his cantankerous nature, on the rare occasions when she could make him smile, it was like she had won the lottery. The look of joy on his face was one that took her breath away.
“Henderson called again. Twice.”
“Hmph.”
“I told him he wasn’t allowed to call more than once a day anymore.”
“Good.”
The tension was so thick she could cut it with the plastic cutlery.
“I’m going to organize the office. Excuse me.”
She got up and made her way to the back, realizing too late that he was hot on her heels.
The office door snicking shut behind her made her whirl on her heels.
“Griffin.”
He prowled toward her like a predator. She backed away slowly.
“Griffin, what are you doing?” Her voice sounded breathless to her own ears.
“What do you think I’m doing? I’m taking a break.”
“Don’t you have to finish up the job for today?”
