Free Mid Life Love by Whitney Gracia Williams Page B

records say it was parked in
a zone without a proper parking pass. Statham Industries must be an awful place
to work, huh? We tow at least ten cars a day from there.”
    “Yes, it’s a horrible place. How much to get the car out?”
    “Three hundred
and fifty dollars.”
    That’s
ridiculous...Do my employees really have to pay that much every time?
    I handed her my
credit card and she had me fill out a few pages of paperwork.
    “I’ll have it
brought out in a second.” She disappeared.
    When I walked
back outside, Claire was leaning against the hood of my car with her arms
folded above her head. Images of her lying like that in my bed, on my shower
bench, and on my yacht quickly flashed through my mind.
    The things I
would do to her...
    “How much do I
owe you?” She sat up, frowning.
    “Nothing, except
our date that we’ll be discussing at your birthday party.”
    “I don’t think
so. I’m fine with you coming to my birthday party, but after what happened
today, I’m not going out with you.” She suppressed a smile. “I mean it.”
    “We’ll discuss
it on Friday.”
    Out the corner
of my eye, I saw her car rolling through the lot. As it moved closer, I heard a
strange popping sound and then I saw the problem: Both of her back tires were
shredded; they looked like rubber shingles.
    “Are you kidding
me?” She rushed over as a scruffy guy stepped out of her car. “Why do my tires
look like that? They were perfectly fine thirty minutes ago!”
    He shrugged and
tossed her the keys. “I just pull the cars around. I don’t ask questions
ma’am.”
    “How am I
supposed to get home in this?” She was fuming now, and I could tell she was
trying her best not to slap him. “Why would you deliberately slash my tires?
Towing the car wasn’t enough?”
    “Well ma’am, we
do sell tires here if you’re interested. We currently have a free installation
promotion if you buy—”
    “Shut the fuck
up.” She shook her head. “And get away from me. Right now .”
    He backed away
from her with his hands raised in defeat. He pulled a “tire sale” flyer from
his pocket and slipped it to me before disappearing.
    “I’m sorry about
your car— again .” I waited for her to look at me. “I didn’t know that
they—”
    “Don’t worry
about it. I’ll just remember not to park my car in the ‘nine to five
only’ zone from now on. Are you going to prevent me from calling a cab this
time too?”
    “Why don’t you
drive my car home? I’ll have yours taken to a body shop and have it back at
corporate for you tomorrow.”
    “ What ?”
She looked confused. “You’re offering to let me drive your—” She looked over at
my car and shrugged. “What type of car is that?”
    I smiled. “It’s
a Bugatti.”
    “Right. And
you’re taking my car to a body shop? What’s the catch? You think doing that
will make me go out with you?”
    “No catch. I
think you’ve suffered enough disappointment for one day. That’s all.”
    She studied me
for a minute, looking into my eyes as if she were contemplating my offer. “I
don’t want to feel like I owe you anything because of this...I’ll just call one
of my friends to come get me. I’m sure—”
    “There’s no
catch, Claire. I’m just trying to be nice to you. Can you let me be nice to you?”
    She still looked
unsure, but she nodded.
    “Good. Park it
in lot eight tomorrow morning and leave the keys inside. I’ll park yours in lot
nine and leave your keys with security.”
    She grabbed a
few things from her car and handed me the keys. “You sure you’re okay with
letting me drive your car? Wouldn’t it be easier for you to drive me home?”
    “As much as I
would like to take you home, Claire...” I smiled. “I’m sure you probably think
that would be inappropriate .”
    She blushed.
“You’re exactly right.” She slipped inside the driver’s seat, locking her eyes
on mine for a few seconds before finally driving off.
    I pulled out my
phone.