Picture Me Naked (Stoddard Art School Series) by Lisa A. Olech Read Free Book Online Page A

laid her hand on his arm. “Zee’s my best friend. I, for one, think it’d be great. I’d love to see the two of you together. Hell, if I can’t have you…”
    “Wouldn’t want Ted to make me dead.”
    “He’s all bark.” She flipped a hand. “But Zee’s been through a lot lately. I wouldn’t push too hard, you know?”
    “I won’t. Not my style. Nice to know she’s got a friend watching her back.”
    Leah shrugged one shoulder. “That’s my style. I will tell her you were asking about her.”
    “Thanks, Leah.”
    She’s a bit gun shy. Leah’s words followed Jagger as he pulled his van into the side lot of Stoddard Parts and Supplies. Gun shy? He wondered if Zee’s shyness had anything to do with that jerk from last week.
    Jagger hopped out of the van and gave the shop a look over. He needed a new drive belt for the lawn tractor at the estate, and he’d been told this was the place to find it. The nondescript brown building looked like it had been there since the first settlers. But when he pushed through the door, the bell ringing overhead brought a welcome sense of coming home. The place was great. It felt just like his dad’s hardware store back in Australia.
    Overhead fluorescents cast a dull and dusty light over bins and shelves filled with all sorts of bits and fittings. New parts sat shiny in their cartons under shrink wrap. Old parts tumbled rusted and oily in cardboard boxes. No sense of order, but Jagger knew if you had the patience you could find everything you needed here, and most likely some things you didn’t know you needed. His dad used to call it organized chaos. He could put his hand on exactly what his customers wanted, most times before they’d even finished explaining what they were looking for. He’d been amazing to watch, his da.
    The smell of old dust, dirty oil, and rubber tires filled his senses as he poked around. He could spend all day here.
    Past a display of fuses and windshield wipers he heard a man cussing a blue streak. “I don’t need any of your damn explanations, honey , just get me your boss.”
    “I told you, sir, he isn’t here.”
    “I don’t believe this shit!” The man looked over his shoulder at Jagger. Speak of the devil . It was the guy. Zee’s jerk. And he was being a flamin’ arse, again. “I ordered that part three weeks ago, and he said he’d have it by today.”
    “I don’t know what to tell you. All I know is it’s not on the inventory list.” The girl typed furiously into a dusty, out-of-date computer that sat in the middle of a cluttered counter. “I have no way of knowing if it’s here if it hasn’t been checked in. Steve will be back on Monday—”
    “Monday! I’ve got a client waiting! This is bullshit!”
    “I’m sorry, but—”
    “Sorry doesn’t cut it, sweetheart!” He turned back to Jagger. “Do you believe this?”
    The girl looked at Jagger with frightened eyes. She looked ready to burst into tears. “I think maybe you should give the lass a break. It’s not her fault.”
    “Oh no? Talk about useless. It’s probably sitting right under her nose, and she wouldn’t know it unless it bit her.” He glared back at the girl. “What’s the matter, ‘do you want fries with that’ too tough for you to remember?”
    The heat of anger crept up the back of Jagger’s neck. He glared at him. “Hey! Maybe you should come back on Monday and bitch Steve out instead!”
    “Oh, you can count on it!” He slammed his fist on the counter. “And you—” He pointed a finger at the girl’s face. “I wouldn’t count on having a job on Tuesday!”
    The guy pushed past Jagger and stormed out the store. The bells over the door chimed happily before the slam. The girl looked at Jagger with wide shining eyes.
    He shook his head. “Rumor has it he only has one ball,” Jagger held up his hand and wiggled his pinkie, “and a tiny, wee dick.”
    The girl made a sound somewhere between a sob and a snort and slapped a hand