Chapter 1 -- Just Another Afternoon
Honest Jim sat at his desk, before him were splayed out a small mountain of papers. He had his head in his hands. The books were off. He had gone over his math a dozen times found dozens of errors but each time it was still off balance. After a few more minutes of intense study he slammed a big ham of a fist down on the table causing all the papers to jump. "I give up" he said to no one at all. Grabbing a cigarette from the pack in his shirt pocket Jim lit it up and propped his feet up on the table.
There was a football helmet on the cabinet over in the corner. He had played football way back in his youth. No one gave him all that much of a chance though as he was only 5'8" Now he weighed about 230 pounds. Jim wasn't fat though, he was stocky with big powerful arms and legs. On the top of his head was a disorganized mess of blond hair with a few grays mixed in here or there. He poked his stomach and sighed. He had a weight set downstairs that he used every day but ..., he'd never be his 22 year old self again. Nope, in just a few weeks he'd turn 50. The big five-oh.
Getting out of his chair he wandered over to the window and looked down into the garage floor. Football had bought him the place. He wasn't drafted by any pro teams but had managed to tryout and hang on throughout his first season. He only got on the field once. Early in the forth quarter late in the season he was sent out with the special teams to guard the punter. Unfortunately for him the other team was offsides giving his team a 1st down and that was his career. When the season ended he was cut. He took the money he made and bought this place. He had bought it from Honest John. John had given him a deal because he trusted him and hoped he'd live up to his integrity and Jim had. He'd fired about half of all the mechanics he'd hired due to shady business practices and people trusted him because of it. Business was good.
Down on the floor he watched his men work. Usually he'd be down there himself elbows deep into some old lady's car but today was Monday and he was upstairs working on the paperwork. Sitting at the front door was his son James Junior. JJ, as they called him, looked a bit like Jim did back when he was young but the kid was way too skinny for a 25 years old. He was idly flipping through a magazine waiting for the next customer.
There was a sedan at the far wall with two pairs of legs sticking out from beneath it. One pair belonged to old Joe. Joe had been here when he bought the place. He stood about six and a half feet tall and had a head full hair of white hair. He was a hulking kind of guy but probably their most knowledgeable mechanic. Practically every one in town with a car made before 1950 came here to have Joe work on it. He had lost his wife about 10 years ago and had really thrown himself into his work since then. The other pair of legs belonged Michael. Mike was 18 and newly hired and Joe had taken him under his wing, trying to teach him all that he could. He was just as tall as Joe but with dark black skin and hair. Both were wearing their blue overalls though so he couldn't tell one set of legs from the other.
Jack was pacing the floor with a phone in his hand talking animatedly. Jack was in his 30s and either twice or thrice divorced, he wasn't exactly sure. He was a pretty average guy. Average size, average weight, average brown hair. Jack was a little too eager to please and Jim didn't quite trust him but he knew air conditioners better then anyone else so he stayed.
Just under Jim's window sat George. George was about 50 years old and was almost as big as Joe. He had been Jim's first hire and now he was busying himself cleaning out an air pump. The old black man was one of the most gentle people he'd ever met. Never had a wife though, before he came to work for Jim he was a mechanic on the railroad. Of everyone there he was probably Jim's best friend.
His last man was sweeping up. Things were always quiet on Monday and today was no different. Vincent was your stereotypical looking Italian. Tall, slender, swarthy and full of charm. Vince was about 36 years old with a wife and kid. Jim suspected he wasn't exactly faithful to her but he figured it was Vince's business. That was his crew.
A long piece of ash fell off the cigarette onto the window sill and Jim snuffed out the rest and went back to his desk. At the corner stood a few family photos. He took a sad look at his wife. She had died of a heroin overdose about 12 years ago. He was there with her and blamed himself for her death. Perhaps rightly so. Since then he'd been clean. Well, except for the tobacco but no drugs nor a drop of alcohol had passed his lips since then. Their kids had taken it hard. JJ had grown distant and began to get into trouble. He had dropped out of school and only gotten a GED at Jim's insistence. Now it seemed he was just rolling along through life expecting to inherit this place. Not a great plan but Jim didn't know what else to do with him. Nikki was very angry with him for the longest time. Since she started college she'd mellowed out a lot and things had returned to normal. She's why he was slaving over the numbers. Even with her going to the university in town things were expensive and he wanted to make sure that she had all she need to graduate and get her business degree.
Although now he had learned of her closely kept secret and knew that she had other means to support herself and didn't need his help anymore. Jim however had decided not to bring that up and intended to keep things as they were as long as she was happy. If she wanted to make her own mistakes then so be it. She'd be there soon to go over the books and correct all his errors as she had been for a few years now. Nikki would find them all as she always did. He always offered to pay her but she just took it as her good deed for her Dad.
Chapter 2 -- An Unexpected Offer
Nikki pulled her car next to her dad's garage and stepped out of it. She was dressed rather plainly but her beauty shown through. She had just thrown on a pair of blue jeans and an old t-shirt before she left for school that morning. A pair of tennis shoes, a scrunchy to hold her pony tail and a pair of fashionable sunglasses completed the arrangement. Nikki stood nearly six feet tall and was slender yet curvy. When she wanted to, she could wear shirts that made her C-cup breasts turn the head of every man and more then a few women as she walked down the street. Her features were dainty and feminine.
As she breezed into the garage she caught her reflection in a glass window leaning up against the wall, she looked good. It was her job to look good no matter what she wore. She called out to the men of the shop and flashed them her brilliant smile and revealed her blue eyes from behind the dark shades. They responded to her but in quite a different manner then the usual. Shrugging it off she walked up the metal steps to her father's office and stepped into his office.
"Nikki!" he said pushing the books away from him. "I give up, she's all yours."
"Hey pop!" she said giving him a kiss on the cheek. She threw her backpack on the edge of the desk. "That's what I'm here for. Well that and to see you. So, how's work going."
"A little slow. People don't want to spend any money on their car with Christmas right around the corner."
She sat in the extra chair and turned the books around. "Is that so?" she asked nonchalantly. Nikki took the pencil and began to scan his math. She made a scribble here and a scribble there. They chatted idly as she worked and 10 minutes later she closed it. "There you go. All square."
"That's my girl." he beamed as he put the books in the side drawer of the desk. "So how's school? Work? How the new place?"
"Well let's see. Finals are coming up and I think I've got them all down. I've got my schedule for next semester and I get Tuesday and Thursday off so that's great." Nikki ticked off the last classes she'd be taking before graduation. "Working in the library is as boring as ever." she lied. "Kara's place is great. It's only a few blocks from campus but in a quiet neighborhood. It's a walk-up though, three flights so it's a good workout. It's just nice to be off campus. Fay was such a Jesus freak it's nice to be living with Kara again, she's just so nice and normal, ya know?"
Jim chuckled "I remember my roommate back when I was in college. He'd came from some place outside of Lincoln, Nebraska. I swear all he did was jerk off. It got so I was afraid to go in there. After that I wouldn't mind someone a little fundamental."
"Masturbation I can live with. Finding notes explaining why I'm going to hell I can do without. Kara and I had such a good time before. She showed me all the ropes in school. She knew people, got me into great parties and helped me to become fitter then I've ever been. Plus she was always able to help me study. She's just such a good friend."
"Well good for you. JJ and I are heading out to the batting cages this Saturday. Wanna come and hit a few out of the park? Maybe ride around in the go-karts afterwards?"
"Yeah sure. I was just going wash my car but she can wait. Alright, I have to rush home. I've got a paper due tomorrow I have to touch up. Maybe write 4 or 5 more pages. See ya Daddy." She said kissing his cheek and floating out the door.
"Bye sweetie." Jim said and followed her down the stairs and then made his way over to help George get the pump back together.
As Nikki was opening her car door Joe came trotting over to her with a small paper bag in his hand. "Ms. Nikki, can I talk to you for a second?" he queried. "If that's alright."
"Of course Joe. What is it?"
"Well the boys were ... That is ..." Joe began to blush and studied her car. "Would you ... sign this?" and he passed her the bag.
