Malcolm wiped the sweat from his brow as he rolled out from under the body of the vehicle he was working on. Getting into the driver’s seat, he started the engine, shaking his head as exhaust fumes rose immediately from the rear, raising putrid smoke, and scattering the thin layer of dust that covered the ground into the air. Turning the engine off, he scooted out from behind the wheel and went to take another look underneath the hood. The car was older than anyone alive, and if not that he knew the old lady who owned the car and her financial situation, he would have either recommended a total write-off or turned the job away.

Taking a swig from the water bottle he kept close by, he hiked up the crotch of his jeans and sat on the creeper, preparing to roll underneath the car for another stint. He paused, however, when he heard a car drive in above the music blaring from the speakers in the large garage. His men had taken off for their lunch break, and other than himself, there was no one around who would attend to a new client. And so, getting up off the floor, he wiped his hands on his jeans and took off towards the front of the building where there was an outside parking lot.

At the entrance, he propped a hand on his forehead and squinted out at the idling vehicle – a modest, but well-kept black Ford that appeared to have recently received a fresh coat of paint. You could tell a lot about a person by the kind of car they drove and the sort of maintenance the vehicle received. In this case, from what he had observed so far, this owner was practical and, considering the recent paint job, somewhat concerned about appearances. They were also able to afford regular maintenance of their vehicle.

Going by the rattling noise the car was making, his hunch, honed by years on the job, told him that it had to be a problem with the steering, but he would have to check it out before coming to any conclusions and definitely before giving out a quote for the repairs. Although the driver’s door remained shut, he strolled out into the sweltering heat heading towards the two women in the vehicle. Better that they saw someone was waiting on them so that they didn’t spend an undue amount of time idling inside. Thankfully, the doors opened just as he reached the car, and they got out from the driver’s side and the front passenger seat, both carrying their purses as they slammed the doors shut behind them.

“Hey.” The one closest to him greeted, barely sparing him a glance as she dug in her purse for something. Sunglasses, he saw when she finally pulled the case out. “Oh thank goodness,” she said, smiling as she glanced up. She had the thickest lashes he’d ever seen on a woman, and full bow-shaped lips, the color of roses.

He didn’t miss the way her brown eyes faltered over his naked chest before she raised them to meet his gaze. He was used to that. The wandering eyes of the women who came into his garage, both married and unmarried, and mostly the white ones. They had their curiosities, their fetishes, but it was a small town, and news carried, so he did his best to ignore the gawking and carry on with the reason they had come into his garage in the first place, the business side of things.

“I’m kind of in a hurry.” The woman standing in front of him said, glancing back at her friend who had begun heading in the direction of the road, with her phone plastered to her ear, making a call. “I don’t know what’s wrong with it, but I assume you heard the noise it was making?”

“I did.” He nodded.

“Ok, great.” She said, sounding relieved. Probably at not having to go through the sometimes tedious process of having to describe what was wrong. “Uhm, I can return in a couple hours for it, will it be fixed by then?”

He would’ve laughed at the question if it wasn’t one he got all the time. Most of the people who came in usually didn’t have the patience to ask what the problem was, or could be. All they were was fixated on getting their cars fixed, and getting out as quickly as possible. And she was no different.

“I’ll have to check it out first ma’am, and then I’ll know how quickly it can be fixed.” He responded, same as he told every other client of his.

“Right.” She said, squeezing her eyes shut and shaking her head. “Right, right. Sorry. I’m in a hurry, that’s why…”

“Leeeeaaaahh.” Her friend yelled out to her from the side of the road just then, as if to underscore, and just as a car pulled up.  

“Be right there.” She called back. Shaking her head apologetically at the man before her. “I’m sorry I’ve really got to go.” She said again.

“That’s alright,” Malcolm said, flashing her a rare smile. “If you would just leave your number with me, I’ll be in touch soon with a quote.”

“Great. I can work with that.” She said, digging once more into her purse and pulling out a black wallet from which she withdrew a business card. “My number’s on there. Hope to hear from you soon.” She turned and was rushing off, before she’d even finished talking, leaving him with a tantalizing view of her jean-clad ass as she walked away.