Chase Part 2: A New Adult and College Billionaire Romance (Chase Me Billionaire Romance Series) (6 page)

On his day off, Chase walked to the cluster of shops a few blocks from the apartment. Meaghan had once admired a beautiful necklace there, and the glimmer in her eyes made him smile. He wanted to surprise her with a gift.

Working at the auto shop was still uneventful. No one had asked him to do anything illegal. He told himself to stop thinking about it any longer. He knew nothing, and put in an honest day of work every day.

He would quit when the summer was over. Once he’d finished his first degree program, he considered going to a trade school for a diploma in automotive technology. He was already studying engineering, but this job working on cars made him realize this was what he really loved doing.

He saw no reason why he couldn’t study to become a certified technician. Maybe he could open his own shop one day. A legal one. Until he moved back to San Diego, going to college was an escape from home. Now, San Diego was becoming his home. Things were different. He reassessed his reasons for choosing engineering in the first place, and found himself rethinking the path he was on. He had to remind himself to take it one step at a time. The answer would come.

Inside the small jewelry shop, glass cases glimmered in the sunlight, and soft music played from hidden speakers. Getting the necklace for Meaghan was a big step for him. He wanted to show her how much he cherished their friendship—and his growing love for her.

“Good morning,” the saleslady said in a chipper tone. “How can I help you?” She straightened her suit jacket as she emerged from behind the counter.

“I was hoping to buy one of the necklaces you have in the window.”

“Which one were you after?” The woman grinned.

“That one, please,” he pointed. “With the jewels going down the middle.”

She stared at him for a moment, but hid any reactions. “Special occasion?”

“You could say that. It’s for my best friend. I want to buy her something different. Something that says I love her no matter what happens.” He stopped, feeling his chest tighten.

Smiling, she went to get the necklace. “I think that’s wonderful.”

She handed him the necklace for him to take a closer look.

“I’ll take it.”

She cocked her eyebrow at him, and stopped for a moment. “You’re certain you want this one? It’s three hundred and fifty dollars.”

“Yes, I am. She’s worth it. And it’s perfect. She was eying it when we passed your shop a couple weeks ago.”

“Okay.” She carefully placed the necklace in a stylish box, and rang it up on her cash register.

After he paid and left the shop, he considered stopping by the restaurant to surprise her with the gift, but couldn’t remember when her shift would finish. He walked back to the apartment. He’d give it to her tonight. Right after telling her the auto shop was probably a chop shop.

When he got inside, he hid his purchase at the bottom of his dresser drawer. He plopped down on his bed for a moment, reeling at the thoughts in his mind. She would grill him for sure. She would probably demand that he quit immediately. If he told her everything, was there a chance she would turn him away? Maybe she’d think he had known all along. He didn’t think it was possible to totally destroy what they had built over the years—over something like this?

***

If it weren’t for the fact that three night shift mechanics were suddenly unavailable, Chase would never have been asked to help out that night. David had also tried to sweeten the request by offering him double-time pay, and even threw in the compliment that Chase was one of the best technicians the shop had. 

Meaghan was still at work, so he reluctantly agreed. He knew the time was coming when he would have to tell Meaghan the truth. How he was going to explain it—especially going in tonight—was something he’d figure out while he was checking out what really happened late at night. In the morning, he’d tell her the whole truth about what he discovered. Or just before school started. They really needed the money.

The shop turned out to be a different place at night. It was full of high end cars, completely restored antique cars, chromed up touring bikes, all of them looking like there was not a thing wrong with them.
Could they be stolen?
He wasn’t sure he wanted the answer to that, but deep down, he knew. And when David told him to work fast on removing anything that could be used to identify them, he was positive.

“Why remove the VINs, David?” he asked, trying to act naïve.

“They’re going to Russia. It’s a big order from a friend of the boss out there. If the VINs are on them, he’ll pay a bigger customs fee.”

Chase couldn’t hold back the question anymore. “Are these stolen cars, David?”

“Bud. All these VIN numbers need to be removed. Just do it. And don’t ask questions you don’t really want to know the answer to, got it?”

Chase did as he was told when David walked away. He made up his mind to quit and explain to his mother he couldn’t work there anymore. He wondered whether his mother even knew what went on there at night. For all he knew, she might have been thinking her husband was a legitimate businessman. He’d have to ask when he saw her next. Whatever the case, it was time to move on. Double pay was good, but knowing this was illegal was the hardest part. So he thought—until he saw the drugs.

He had made the mistake of going into the back room to look for David. What he found instead was Oliver and Jose, standing beside David, sorting bags of white powder.

“What the hell! Shit. I didn’t know you ran drugs from here,” he said to them in a hushed tone. “You guys can’t be serious.”

Jose turned and studied Chase, as if trying to figure him out. “You’re taking this a lot better than I thought you would, man.”

“Dude. You said it was a totally legit job you were hooking me up to. Not this…” He couldn’t find the words.

Jose leaned forward on the counter and adjusted the gloves he was wearing. “Take it easy, man. No one asked you to come back here. Just look the other way, and leave it alone.”

Chase guessed the gloves were to make sure they didn’t leave behind fingerprints, but he had no clue. “I always knew everything would change if I agreed to come in for a late night shift. Now I know I wasn’t wrong. What happens with those packages?”

“We put them in those cars you’re working on,” Oliver answered. “Jose, start getting all this stuff into the spots we talked about.” He turned to Chase. “Get back to the work. You never saw this.”

Nodding, Chase left the room, with Jose behind him. He got back to removing VIN numbers. There were far more cars there than he thought possible, but it explained why they’d be there for the entire night. He watched Jose hiding the coke packages. Some of them were small enough to be tucked away in places no one would ever look. Others, he had no idea where Jose would stash them. He assumed Jose knew those places better than the police did, given they may have been doing this for a while.

“You’re doing well, Chase.” David placed a hand on his shoulder. “It’s as though you’ve done this before.”

“Never. And I won’t do it again, no matter how good the money is. I fix cars. I’m not a criminal. I’ve never broken the law. I hate the idea of doing things like this, man.”

“So do I, but it pays the bills. In the end, that’s the only thing that matters.”

Chase turned to look at David. “How did you end up working here?”

“Friends in the wrong places.” David smiled. “You have friends in the wrong places, too, otherwise you wouldn’t have ended up here.” Their heads turned to Jose, still holding a few bags of contraband.

“I heard doing a night shift makes it harder for you to leave.”

“As far as they know, you know nothing. Nobody needs to know you were here. I’m not getting you trapped in this if you have another option. You’re far too good a mechanic to be stuck in a place like this for the rest of your life.”

“Thank you, I guess.”

Laughing, David shook his head. “I know what you’re saying. If I didn’t get myself trapped here, I would have been a manager in a dealership or something, or running my own shop. You’re good at what you do, Chase, and you’ve got a chance to do something sensible with your life, rather than working in a place like this. If I had the choice, I would have left it behind a long time ago. Unfortunately, I’m far too deep in all this.”

“What do you think I should be doing?”

“Get out of here as soon as possible. I know the money can be attractive. With the amount you’re making, I know it would be easy enough for you to tell your girlfriend she didn’t have to work any longer…if you could ever bring yourself to tell her the truth about what you do.”

“I think I should. At the same time, I know how she’s going to react. Chop shops hurt people.”

“Yeah, they do. That’s why I don’t want to be here. You have a chance. Take it. Make the break. I’m sure you’ve got more than enough in your pocket. Leave us in the past and make yourself a good life, with the woman you love. You don’t have to become one of us.”

“You’re right, man. It won’t be easy, but I’ll figure it out.”

“Of course it’s not. Why do you think they pay so much? They want to trap people here for as long as they can. Having someone like you, Chase—you’re bringing us more work. People are talking about how good you are, and getting their friends in to have their cars checked here. You have a real understanding of vehicles, which is what happens when you’ve been working on them for as long as you have. Listen. What happens during the day keeps the place legitimate. What happens at night keeps the lights on. Unfortunately, that’s the problem. You have to make the best choice for you, otherwise you’re going to end up in prison. I’ve been there a couple of times for being involved in all this, but we have good lawyers on our side, thanks to the big boss.”

Chase paused, thinking. He was surprised to hear David had been in prison. Unable to stop himself, he asked, “Does my mother know about all this? Is her husband the big boss? Or is it someone below them?”

“You know I can’t tell you that.” David grimaced. “Get back to work. We have a lot to get done tonight. Tomorrow’s going to be just as busy, but you don’t ever have to worry about that. Bringing you in was the last thing I wanted to do, and if you hadn’t been my only choice, I wouldn’t have asked.”

“Why was I your only choice?”

“I think I can trust you to keep your mouth shut if something happens.” Without another word, David headed to the back.

It was so surreal, he hardly believed it was happening.
I have to get out of this job.

Meaghan walked into the apartment after work. She wasn’t surprised to find how wonderful it smelled. Chase had sent her a text he planned to make dinner. It was probably going to be premade frozen lasagna from a local specialty shop, but she was happy he made the effort.

“Hey, sweetie.” She kissed his cheek. “What are we having?”

“Lasagna.” He smiled at her. “It’s your favorite.”

“Is it a special occasion?”

“I love you. What other reason do I need?”

“So you aren’t trying to get on my good side?”

She noticed his hesitation before he answered.

“I don’t need to.”

She could hear the shakiness in his voice, and found herself wishing she had imagined it.

“I think I could have made this from scratch,” he continued. I was bored out of my mind today.”

“Oh, yeah, they gave you the day off after you worked so late last night. I forgot. So, was the boredom relaxing at least?”

“A bit. And I wanted to show you how much you mean to me. Through your tummy.”

He was laying it on thick. Something was up. “You’re worried about something.”

“Meg, I’m not sure if you noticed, but I’m almost always worried about something.”

“Is it your mom? Have you had a talk yet?”

“No. I told you, I’m not ready to go over the gory details of why she left me. I can’t go that deep yet. It’s too painful. Look…I’m not worried.”

“You can’t hide this forever. I can see it all over your face. You’re worried about something in particular.”

“Am I?”

“Chase…”

“Okay. I am a little.” He sat in the couch. “I keep thinking about what might happen if I lose the job I have. I wish I could stop, but we need the money.”

“It’s just a job, even if you’re working for your mom’s new husband. You can look for something while you’re still working there, and move on if you want to. Or you can quit at the end of the summer.”

“I think I’ll start looking before I quit. I can’t handle being bored like this.”

She sat next to him. “Tell me something. Why do you want to leave all of a sudden?”

“I’ve put aside quite a bit. I’ve checked our finances. Even without that cash my mom gave us, I have enough. We’ll be fine until next summer.”

She sighed. “I wish we could both get a week off before school starts back.”

“That’s a great idea. We can go camping, or take a road trip somewhere. We can go see Jennifer.”

“I wish, hun. One of the new waitresses quit. It’s already so hard, spending all the time on our feet, dealing with customers. When they see it first hand, most of them end up leaving.”

“You don’t have to take on more shifts, do you?”

She nodded. “For a little while.”

“Why? Can’t they just figure it out?”

“Debbie and I are splitting them between us. We’re the ones they give the extra hours to. They know we can handle it.”

“I think you need to take a break, Meg. You can’t keep working like this.”

“If I don’t, they’ll give it all to Debbie. And she’ll burn out for sure.”

“I still haven’t met Debbie.”

“You will soon. She’s having a difficult time at home.”

“You two have become good friends, haven’t you? That’s nice.”

“Yeah, she’s really sweet. Her husband Joey lost his job, and can’t seem to find something in his field. Debbie already so stressed. She’s taking on all the extra shifts she could, but with their kids, there’s only so much time she can work. When they aren’t so busy, the four of us should do something. Or we can invite them here for dinner.”

“I hope things work out for them. And sure, we can do something together. But I still think you’re working too hard. It’s not your problem, or Debbie’s problem either. Let the owners figure it out.”

“You know, I could say the same for you, Chase. You weren’t home until after three this morning.”

“Yes and that’s why I want to quit. Worst case scenario, I’ll stay until the end of the summer. Once school starts, I’ll find a different job. Something flexible, but nothing where I have to work night shifts.”

Meaghan smiled at him and stood up. “I’m going to get changed.”

“Okay, hun. I’ll keep dinner warm until you’re done. All that’s left is to put the garlic bread under the grill when you get out. That won’t take long.”

Meaghan nodded and made her way to the bathroom, still wondering what Chase wasn’t telling her. There was something else. Sighing, she brushed a hand through her hair and undressed to take a shower.

She let the water run for a while before stepping in. Her muscles were sore. She needed it extra hot. When it was ready, she let the steamy water fall down her back and pushed her hair aside for some relief on her neck. She leaned into the spray and filled her bath sponge with body wash.

Chase stepped into the shower.

“Hey. Aren’t you cooking?”

“It’s all ready, babe. I thought you could use some help in here,” he said, turning her into the spray.

He placed his hands on her shoulder and massaged out the tense spots.

“Oh, God…That feels good, honey,” She said, lifting her hair higher so he could work on her neck.

She soaped herself as he massaged down her back.

“How does that feel, right there?” he asked.

“Heavenly…don’t stop yet.”

Continuing to massage her outer shoulders, he nipped tenderly on her neck.

“Mmmmm,” she moaned, feeling a warmth emanate from her core.

She leaned back into his body. His cock was hard, and throbbed against her back. He reached his hands around and massaged her breasts, and her stomach clenched. As tired as she was from her shift, she didn’t think she still had energy or desire, but Chase knew how to touch her and make her body come alive.

He pulled her a step back from the water. “Press your hands on the tiles. Right there, below the shower.”

The move bent her forward at the perfect angle for the spray of the shower to fall mostly on her neck and back. It was also the perfect position for him to enter her from behind.

He moved farther back and bent to massage from her ankle, up to her calves, to her quads and hamstring, avoiding her ass and moving to her lower back. She arched her back in reaction, sticking her ass up, desperate for his touch and his cock. He moved his arms around to her lower stomach, getting close to her bush, but never touching her pussy.

“I want you baby,” she called to him. “Fill me.”

“Are you ready for me?” he asked.

“Stop teasing and fuck me,” she growled low.

Chase moved his hands back to her hips. She felt his hard wet cock at her entrance and pushed back onto it.

“Oh….God…” She moaned when he pressed it inside.

She pulled her arms down lower on the shower wall and popped up on her tiptoes. It intensified the erotic sensations as he pumped into her. She was ecstatic he held nothing back, and let him know vocally, keening, head falling forward, mouth open.

She felt him press down on her lower back some more. The angle was pure ecstasy, allowing his cock to slam her g-spot with each thrust.

“Fuck!”

Her orgasm spread out from her core and spiraled up so quickly it made her legs shake and shudder. She pushed back into his cock, mirroring his plunges to heighten her climax. He came with her now, and growled out as he flooded her womb with his wet heat.

“How was that?” he panted out his question. “Feeling better now?”

“Yes baby. Now I’m just hungry.”

***

Chase got dinner on the table while Meaghan took her time to blow dry her hair. When she came out, they filled their plates and took it to the living room. The TV was on. Eating and watching TV became their after-work routine.

Before she was finished half her plate, he went for second.

“Were you hungry, love?” she asked.

“I’m always hungry.” He glanced over at her. “And you need to eat more and play with your food less. It’s not as good when it’s cold.”

Smiling, she took a small bite. “We really do need to think about using the kitchen table. We never use it.”

Chase laughed as he walked back to sit beside her with another full plate. “Yeah, but the only place I’ve ever eaten at the table is at Jennifer’s. Or a restaurant, but that’s different.”

Meaghan picked up a slice of garlic bread and crunched into it. “True I guess.”

“Speaking of restaurants, I want to take you out to dinner this weekend. Do you still have Saturday night free?”

“Okay hun. I think I’m off. I’ll check my schedule in a while.”

“Good. We need to get out more.”

“Yes. We both just work too much.” She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I want to enjoy our free time again.”

“And the sooner I switch jobs, and you get them to stop giving you overtime, the sooner we’ll be able to have more fun. I want to get crazy with you, Meg. I don’t want to feel so old and boring. We’re too young for that.”

“Since when do you want to get crazy? You’re the responsible one, remember?
I’m
the crazy one.”

“I’ll show you crazy tonight in your bed, woman,” he teased.

“I can’t wait.”