Tansy Taylor (9 page)

I wandered over to the Mercedes convertible that was parked in the center of the showroom and ran my finger down the curve of the front windshield. It was exactly the car that a girl with some new-found money would be interested in buying. I instantly felt the eyes of both Big and Ronnie bore into my back, or at least my backside. Using this to my advantage, I bent over and peered into the car through the open roof, shifting my hips to maximize the impact. I head a throat clear, and I knew that I had hit my mark. Man, maybe I should go into private investigation instead of psychic phone calls.

I stood up and instantly felt Ronnie beside me, totally inside my personal space.

“Hey there, I’m Ronnie.” I was overpowered by his minty mouth-spray and cologne. I fought the urge to take a step back.

I tipped my glasses down just a bit, looked over the rim and licked my lips. “Ronnie,” I purred. “Nice to meet you.” I turned my attention back to the car. I slid my hand seductively down the door and reached the handle. I pulled up, swung the door out slowly, and then slid into the leather seat.

“Yummy,” I purred again, caressing the leather steering wheel and gear shift. “Oh, and a five speed,” I said excitedly, wrapping my hand around the stick. I felt like I had crossed over into a bad porn movie; Ronnie looked about ready to drool on himself, his mouth hung open as he followed the erotic movement of my hand on the gear shift.

“You need to close your mouth, big boy.” He clomped it shut at my velvet voiced suggestion. “So, can I take this for a spin?” I looked up at him over the top of my shades again, and made a pouty face with my lips. “I just signed a record deal and I think I need to upgrade my current ride to something that mirrors my current financial situation. I think this little beauty might be just the ticket. I have cash of course.” Well, that was a bit of a stretch, I think I had three dollars and some change in my purse. I smiled and licked my lips again. “I’m parched; you wouldn’t happen to have some Evian, would you Ronnie?” I fanned my face emphatically and then tugged on the low neckline of my t-shirt. I was so hot.

Ronnie licked his lips. “Oh, er, I think we have some bottled water, not sure if it’s Evian, and, um, yes, we can take the Mercedes out for a spin.” His eyes were glued to my breasts.

“I think you’re absolutely right about having a car that is worthy of your status.” If the man had been a cartoon he would have had dollar signs pop out of his eyeballs. I totally had him on the hook.

“Right, let’s get that water and see about getting this beauty out of the showroom and onto the street.” I climbed back out of the car and peeled my coat off, making sure to exaggerate each movement. I waited for an eager Ronnie to lead the way, hands on my hips and chest out, accentuating my attributes. I rolled my eyes at the back of his head, what a pig.

Ronnie frantically gestured to a young pimply man who was hovering near the side door. He approached us, never taking his eyes off my chest. Man, I don’t see how women stand this day in and day out. I’m confident in what I’ve got, but putting it out there for display every day? Well, there’s a reason the term ‘fresh meat’ is around. I really did feel like a giant cut of meat hanging out in the butcher’s window.

“Petey, go find Johnny and have him get the Mercedes out onto the street for the lady. Got it?” Ronnie took a handkerchief out of his pocket and dabbed at his forehead. Either he was sweating or his hair pomade had started to melt. I held back a squeamish face and tried to avert my eyes.

“Yes, sir, find Johnny.” He gave made a lame thumbs up and scuttled off out the side door in the direction of the garage.

“Now,” Ronnie said, “why don’t we go find you some bottled water to quench your thirst.” Ugh, I thought, he was right back into his game. Time to get to work.

“Oh, Ronnie, I’m sure water will take care of my dry mouth, but not my thirst.” I turned and seductively looked back at him, “know what I mean?” I asked with all innocence, and a wink at him over my glasses. I started down the hall and immediately felt his hand land on my ass.

I brushed it aside, “now Ronnie, what would your wife think?” I cringed; I couldn’t picture being married to this cretin.

“What wife?” His hand returned to my back and slid down to my ass, this time giving a little squeeze as he cupped a cheek.

I spun around, causing his hand to slide to my hip. We were chest to chest, and I walked my fingers up his tie and then poked, pretty hard I must say, at his chest. “I can tell that you’re a married man Ronnie; there’s a tan line from your wedding ring. You shouldn’t play with fire.” I pulled off my glasses and looked him right in the eye. “You’re just about too much man for me, anyway. I like those little pussy boys like Petey over there. They’ll do anything I say. A man like you would be too much of a challenge. I bet you don’t take orders from anyone, and I bet you like to play it a little close to the edge.”

Ronnie’s eyes narrowed, swirling with a dark heat. He leaned in close, his breath brushing my cheek. “Now, you listen here, I’m just what you need. You don’t want some limp pencil-dick like Petey; you want a man who knows what he wants and goes to any means to get it.”

I took a step back. “Ha,” I sputtered. “No offense Ronnie, but I don’t think that you could afford my tastes, you know what I mean?” His eyes got even darker, if that was possible and a cold sinister cloud had formed around him. I had obviously hit a nerve, which is exactly what I was aiming for. I couldn’t let myself focus on the dangerous situation I was putting myself in, if I was right.

He leaned in and grabbed a hold of my arms, and shoved his thigh in between mine, pinning me up against the wall. “I’ll have you know that I am well on my way to being a very rich man.” His whisper in my ear felt like venom. I took several shallow breaths, forcing myself to maintain eye contact.

I smirked. “Used car salesmen are not wealthy men.” I struggled to maintain my composure, every bit of my inner self was screaming to run as far away from him as I could. His aura had turned extremely murky. I could tell that Ronnie wasn’t just mad, he was over the edge, and I had pushed him there.

“Ya, most of them aren’t. But I’m not most of them; I have a deal going that’s netting me all the cash I could ever want. So, what do you say to that, Ms. Punk Rock? Am I man enough for you now?” He leaned in further and grabbed my breast. His erection jammed into my thigh, Ronnie was totally getting off on the power he thought he had over me. I wasn’t sure where I needed to go from here, other than out of this hallway.

I grabbed his tie and yanked him forward, trying to ignore the stench of his minty breath. “What kind of a deal? Huh? Are we talking six figures? Or something less?” I pushed him back again.

“Oh, honey, definitely six figures, maybe even seven.” He was moving his lips in for the kill when all of a sudden there was a loud honking from out in the lot. The Mercedes was ready, thank god!

“Um, Ronnie, I hate to break up our moment, but I do believe that honk is for me. Now, if you’ll just get off of me, I’ll get back to what I was here for in the first place, the car.” I tried to push him off, but he was leaning all of his weight on me.

Ronnie didn’t move, his face was still millimeters away from mine; his minty breath spray was wearing off and I could smell the foul coffee and stale cigarette smoke that it had covered. “So, can let’s pick this back up when we’re done with the test drive. Or,” he said, drawing his thumb over my nipple, “I know a nice little place we could stop in at while we’re out driving around. You could take me for a spin.” I tried not to gag.

I forced a smile. “Well, Ronnie, while that’s a very tempting offer, I have to be back down at the recording studio in less than an hour. If I were going to take you for a test drive, I’d definitely need much more time.” I gathered all of my strength and shoved him back off of me, taking him by surprise with my forcefulness. Those aerobic boxing classes I had been taking had definitely paid off. He lumbered back into the other wall and then straightened himself out. He turned to the vending machine next to him and hit the button for a bottle of water. It tumbled down and he reached in and handed it to me, never taking his eyes off of mine.

I took the bottle, unscrewed the cap and then took several long deep pulls off of it. I might not have been that thirsty before, but now I was fighting off the worst case of dry mouth ever. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and screwed on the cap.

“Thanks, Ronnie. Now, let’s go check out that car.” I thrust the bottle back at him and strode purposely out to the car.

“After you,” he said, and moved in to follow me down the tight corridor.

I burst out the side door. Ronnie’s overdone cologne had been a slight nuisance before, but now I found it positively nauseating. The Mercedes was sitting out there, sparkling in all its high end glory. If I actually had the means, it might be one I truly would consider purchasing. It said tasteful and understated-classy money.

I ran my hand over her lines on the trunk, tracing my way to the driver’s side door.

My favorite hunky mechanic was standing there with the door held open for me. “Thanks Johnny,” I said. Too late, I realized my error.

“Do I know you?” he asked, confusion clouding his dreamy blue eyes.

“Oh, no, of course not,” I clumsily put my sunglasses back on. “Ronnie had just told Petey to have Johnny get the car out. I just put two and two together, since you are definitely not Petey.” I kept my voice down a couple of octaves, trying to keep it seductive and velvety. Behind the cover of my sunglasses I ran my eyes over his body appreciatively. He was a fine looking mechanic; that was for sure. Of course, I always did have a soft spot for a man who was good with his hands since it usually translated to all aspects of life. A small sigh escaped my throat.

“You okay?” he asked. He was still looking at me a bit suspiciously. “Are you sure we haven’t met?” He tried to lean in closer but Ronnie cut him off.

“You might recognize her from her music,” Ronnie said. He could smell a poacher a mile away, and wasn’t letting Johnny get any closer.

“Music?” Johnny asked, even more confused.

“Oh, yes, I do punk rock? Just signed a multi-record deal.” I slid into the driver’s seat as Ronnie got in on the other side.

“Hmm. Probably not, I’m more of a classic rock kind of guy.” He scratched his head and then shrugged.

I smiled and turned over the engine. “Oh, listen to her purr, I love it.” I slid it into gear and headed out of the parking lot, leaving a somewhat befuddled looking Johnny in the dust.

Twenty minutes and about fifty cut-off potential passes later I had Ronnie and the Mercedes back in the dealership lot.

Ronnie sat back into the rich leather of the seat. “So, do we have a deal then?”

I twitched my mouth to the side. “Well,” I said drawing it out, “I was kind of interested in the new Jag too, or maybe a Lexus.” I unbuckled my seat belt and Ronnie’s hand jumped out and gripped my knee.

“Ow!” I said and knocked his hand off.

“You don’t want those others-they’re just no comparison to this baby.” He ran his hand along the dash.

“Well, I want to think about it. My daddy always told me to think on every decision at least one night. So, even if I don’t want those others, I still need to think it through. I mean, I may have money, but I don’t want to waste it!” I gave him a huge fake smile.

Ronnie scowled. “Money is meant to be spent.” He threw his hands in the air. “But, whatever, if you need to think it over, then think it over.” He took his hand and slicked back his hair in a classic move. “I’m not going to pressure you.” He had somehow come to understand that he wasn’t going to get his way with me today on either the sale of the car or on a quickie.

He brushed his pinkie down the sleeve of my jacket, giving me a quick shiver. He interpreted this as a good sign, and moved his hand to my thigh, giving it a little squeeze. “I’ll be here for you when you’re ready for the best time of your life.” I wanted to puke.

“I know you will be.” I smiled at him and then crawled out of the leather seat. I checked my watch and saw that it was getting close to three in the afternoon. My sad little Sentra should be done over at the mechanic’s.

“Well, Ronnie,” I put out my hand, “it was a real pleasure meeting you. I’m sure that I’ll be back for more.” He shook my hand and rubbed his thumb over the top in what I assumed he meant as a seductive caress, but gave me a different type of shiver.

“The pleasure will be all mine.” Ugh, was this guy for real? I wondered how many sexual harassment complaints had been filed against him in the past.

I turned and walked back toward the dealership. I needed to make a pit stop in the ladies to wash the slime off of my hands.

On my way back to the MAX I ran, literally, into Johnny. I bounced off of him and landed butt first on the pavement. Good thing I had been eating so many brownies lately, there was plenty of cushion.

“Hey, you okay?” He asked, reaching out to help me back up from the pavement. I took his hand and let him pull me back up. I misjudged the distance and his strength, however, and found myself thrown against his broad strong chest; a definite improvement over Ronnie’s soft flabby one. My knees turned to Jell-O and I started sliding back down toward the ground.

“Whoa! You okay?” He grabbed me under my arms and led me gently over to a nearby bench. We sat down and I finally found my voice.