The guy—whose name is Max Maximum, or at least that's the name he tells me—proceeds to tell me the other issues the bike has, and I set about fixing every last thing. I even top off the fluids.
“Well?” I demand once I’ve finished.
"Well, what?"
“Do I get the job?”
“You think you’re gonna be hired on the spot just like that?”
"Why not?" I demand. "I already told you that you can call me any pet name you want. I won't care."
“I don’t know yet if you’re the best applicant.”
I grind my teeth. “You don’t know if I’m who you want to hire. Why? Because I’m a woman?”
“Don’t you worry, doll face. I’m considering you. I am. Took a lot of gumptio’ for you to come here like you did and to work on the bike. You did a good job. Not sayin’ you didn’t, but…”
“It’s Erika Armstrong, actually,” I inform him, “and that’s the name of your new hire. Or it should be.”
“Listen, sweetheart, I’m considering you, but I have another applicant to talk to later on tonight.”
I bite my lower lip and nod. “Fine. But don’t you dare just hire that applicant if he has a dick. That wouldn’t be right, butch.”
“Who the hell are you calling butch?”
"What, you get to call me pet names, but I can't call you any? I could call you doll if you prefer that one."
Max snorts. He’s all bluster, all bark and no bite, and I think we could really get along if he would just hire me already.
“Guess you can call me what you want if you’re hired,” he says with a wag of his finger.
“Ah, maybe we should talk about hours,” I say.
“You’re in school, ain’t ya?”
“So what if I am?” I challenge, lifting my chin.
“I want someone responsible and capable. Someone who doesn’t have to be babysat. Someone who can get a head’s start on the cars and bikes that are brought in overnight to be worked on in the morning. I’ll have to double-check the work, make sure everything is up to code, of course. My place. My ass that’s on the line. You ‘stand?”
“I ‘stand,” I tease him.
He grunts. “I don’t know what to think of you, doll. You looking like that and not caring that you have grease all over your hands…”
“I love bikes, and—”
“You keep talking about bikes, but about half of the stuff that comes through here is cars,” he says.
“I know what I know, and what I don’t know, I’ll read up on and learn so you won’t have to waste any time teaching me,” I assure him.
He grunts again. “Not sure I like—”
“Buddy, no one taught me how to do everything on a bike but me.”
Max eyes me. “That so?”
“I want this job. Why would I lie? I’m not telling you this just so I can get the job and then be fired. I want this job,” I repeat. “I won’t let you down.”
“That’s what the last guy said, but he went and knocked up a girl, and the two of them rode off into the sunset somewhere to fuck off.” He eyes me. “I have a sailor for a brother.”