And she was better once she’d opened the side door and taken in the smell, the sound of Van Halen’s “Runnin’ with the Devil” blaring as Duke worked on a motorcycle off to her right, the way the place soared in every direction, full of hot dudes fixing stuff.

This had become a place she loved to be. A place that felt more like home to her than Colman ever had. Some of the guys had held her at a distance at first. She was young. Strike one. She was pretty. Strike two. She was from a well-known family, which also made her suspect. And then she went and started dating Asa.

If she’d been thinking with her business sense instead of her pussy, she probably would have held him off for at least another year so she could establish herself first.

Slowly but surely, though, she’d earned their respect. It wasn’t perfect. She knew she had a lot of work to do before they’d accept her totally. And when they did, it would be as PJ and not that young hottie the boss was banging.

Lottie saw PJ approaching and waved. “Hey. You have some receipts in your basket. I deposited some money. We got paid from a few customers this week.”

“Excellent.”

“Asa’s been looking for you. He just went into his office to make a call.”

As much as PJ just wanted to go out and finish the rear fender she’d started yesterday, she knew if she did, it would only make things worse.

“Okay. I’ll go grab some coffee and by the time I’m ready he’ll maybe be off the phone.”

“There’s pizza in the fridge in the break room. We had it for lunch. There’s a lot left if you want some.”

She could have said no, but why would she turn that down? “Cool. I’ll be back shortly.”

He stalked into the room as she was sliding the pizza box back into the fridge. He didn’t stop at the doorway, or even just a few feet away. He didn’t stop until he’d pulled her to him gently.

“I was worried about you.” He kissed her forehead. “You’ve had your phone off for hours. You can’t just not call me back when something happens like that.”

“I didn’t even think you’d know. I didn’t think anyone would know. It happened, I left. After I called my client I turned off my phone and came back up here. How did you find out?”

“Not from you.”

She blinked at him, trying to remember he was worried and hadn’t been able to connect with her. “This is not my favorite thing.”

She stepped back and he frowned, glowering at her for a moment.

“Are you really going to be mad at me? At me?”

He shook his head, the glower softening. “I’m sorry. I was worried and you didn’t call me back. You were out there and I wanted to talk. I’m selfish, I know.” He pulled a chair out at the table. “Sit. Please. Eat your pizza. I’m getting coffee, you want something?”

She sat, keeping an eye on him. “What are you up to?”

He brought his coffee over, topping up hers as well. “I’m not up to anything. I just want to know what happened.”

Instead of moving across from her, he chose the place next to her and proceeded to take up all the oxygen.

Leaning against him for long moments, she moved to her coffee again before finishing her pizza. And then she told him what happened.

She knew he was pissed. It radiated from him. “Are you mad?”

“I don’t think ‘mad’ is a word that applies here, PJ. But first, are you all right? Do you need to see a doctor or file a police report? What do you need?”

He was trying really hard to get all that alpha male under control, and it was actually exactly what she needed.

“He didn’t hit me or anything. He just got in my face and he was so vicious. I don’t get it. I’ve never met the guy. I was polite. The customer called me, not the other way around.”

“Can’t imagine it was very pleasant to have a man a foot taller than you scream in your face that you’re a whore. I’m upset and it didn’t even happen to me.”

“I need to get over it. This shit happens.”

He craned his neck so he could see into her face. “This has happened before?”

“I can honestly say no one has gotten in my face in the middle of a business and screamed I was a whore who got a job because I was riding someone’s dick.”

His eyes went hard and she regretted saying that out loud. On one hand, it was nice to feel defended and that what had happened was outrageous and awful. On the other, she didn’t want to stir this situation up. This was a place her personal and professional lives bled into one another.

“But do I get judged because of my gender or my age? Yes. Every day. And not just by strangers. My dad does it.”

Another frown; this time PJ knew it was partially in relation to the mention of her father. “I’m not buying that you need to get over someone else’s bullshit. I don’t know what his problem is. I’ve spent about fifteen minutes in person with the guy. Until today I didn’t have any beef with him.”

“Apparently he’s been thinking a lot about your dick and who rides it.”

He put his arm around her shoulders. “I’m sorry you went through that. And I’m sorry you didn’t feel like you could call me.”

“I didn’t call anyone but the client to say I wasn’t going to be at the meeting and that I was available if he went elsewhere or wanted me to do the work at a different shop.”