One of the Guys Read Free

said, looking at Ronnie. His customer also cast a glance in her direction. He led the blonde over. “This is the owner of Taylor Automotive, and she can fix you right up.”
    “Her?” she said, eyes widening.
    “Hello.” Ronnie smiled, hoping her face wasn’t as tight as it felt. With less than ten percent of mechanics being women, she somewhat understood why people were surprised when they saw her, but the reaction grated more when it came from a woman.
    Behind the customer, Diego did a poor job of hiding a smile behind his knuckles.
    “What seems to be the problem?” Ronnie asked.
    “Er, well…”
    The woman glanced at Diego for approval. He nodded, silently prodding her to go into detail. Ronnie kept the smile on her face and waited. After years of working as an auto tech, she had mastered the art of keeping her cool with her customers. Men tested her, asking trick questions to trip her up, and women doubted her abilities. Sooner or later she won them over with her patience and knowledge.
    “For the past…I don’t know…week or so, my car has been making a horrible squealing noise.”
    “When you start it or when you accelerate?”
    Using probing questions, Ronnie eased the information from the customer. By the end of the conversation, the blonde smiled, visibly relaxed, and confirmed trust shifted in Ronnie’s favor when she asked, “You think you can fix it?”
    “We’ll do our best,” Ronnie said, though based on the answers, she assumed the problem was a routine but costly timing belt but needed to get under the hood to be sure. Pointing at the storefront, she said, “If you go inside, Alfred will get you entered into the system. He’s a certified master VW mechanic, so I’m confident we can figure out the problem.”
    She placed a reassuring hand on the woman’s forearm and was rewarded with a smile of relief.
    “Thank you!” Ms. Touchy-Feely shot another glance and smile at Diego, who stood silently by watching the exchange, before she hustled into the shop.
    “Good job,” Diego said.
    “I need to talk to you.”
    He groaned and let his head fall back. “What do you want to complain about today, Veronica Pain-In-My-Ass Taylor?” He stuck a toothpick in his mouth and folded his arms over his chest.
    She dragged her eyes from the way his muscles bulged into more prominence.
    “Haha, very funny.” Pressing her hands onto her narrow hips, Ronnie glared at him. “Why do you always have to park your truck like that and take up the limited parking available for customers?”
    “Is that what I did?” He scanned the almost empty parking lot they shared, chewing on the toothpick so it bobbed up and down between his full lips.
    “You know good and well that’s what you did. I’ve told you plenty of times before. Since you bought this place, you’ve created a mess. You take up extra parking spaces, you block my garage bays—”
    “Only when they’re empty,” he pointed out.
    “You have no right to do that! Your guys leave trash in the back lot, and when are you going to move all those abandoned cars?”
    At least ten cars sat in the fenced lot at the back of the buildings that hadn’t been picked up by their owners, and he appeared in no hurry to get rid of them.
    “Let me handle my business, and you handle yours.”
    “I try to handle mine, but as you can see”—she made a broad, sweeping gesture to showcase the lot—“someone doesn’t understand how to be a good neighbor.”
    He tossed the toothpick to the ground and narrowed his eyes on her. “Are you the one leaving bad reviews for my business online?”
    “Of course not!” The accusation stung. Not only was it unethical, her business and his were intertwined. She benefited if he did well.
    Diego didn’t only bring her customers. He used Taylor Automotive to fix up cars he’d towed that were abandoned by their owners, and he in turn sold them for a profit. From what she could tell, that was a nice side business in