Page 7 of The Devil's Revelation
FOUR
IZZY
A new shop and a new day. Let’s hope it all goes well.
I walk into Volos Auto Garage, nerves and excitement beating inside of me. It’s the first day of my new job and I’m eager to get started. I walk up to the front desk, smile at the receptionist, a dark-haired Italian woman with a suspicious glint in her dark eyes, and say, “Hi, I’m Izzy, the new mechanic.”
“Hmm,” the woman hums, looking me over. “Sergio said there was a new guy starting today, but didn’t realize it was a woman. You sure you know what you’re doing, doll?”
I keep my smile in place and nod. “I have experience working in garages where I lived before. I’m sure I’ll be just fine.”
She doesn’t look convinced but shrugs. “Fine. Go on back and knock on the door at the end of the hall. Sergio should be waiting for you.” Then she turns back to her phone and promptly ignores me.
Hmm, well I guess I can’t expect everyone to welcome me with open arms. I walk around the counter and down the small hallway to the office she indicated. There are doors on either side as I go down, all of them shut, so I figure they’re offices, storage, or maybe a mixture of both. I don’t see a parts area, so maybe they don’t keep much in stock. I’ll have to ask.
I knock on the open door of Sergio’s office, who is sitting behind his desk on the phone. He looks up, waves me in, and immediately continues his conversation. Whoever he’s talking to is getting a tongue lashing as I quietly sit in the chair across from him. He is the man who hired me, and even then I knew he isn’t a man you want to piss off.
He’s in his late fifties, with a hard jaw and cool dark eyes, along with dark hair with some gray at the temples. On his fingers are big, gaudy rings, with tattoos covering the lower part of his arms and a few on his knuckles. Nothing I can make out though without staring at him rudely. Instead, I look around the office and take in the bare white walls, the board full of barely legible writing, and three filing cabinets on the other side of the room. On his desk is a computer, his phone, and a stack of papers haphazardly piled on the corner.
“Then I suggest you figure it out,” he yells into the phone before he slams it down. He turns those dark eyes on me, assessing, and still lingering with temper. “So you decided to show up after all.” It’s not a question.
I nod and give him a polite smile. “Yes, sir. I came a few minutes early in case you need me to fill out any paperwork.”
He grunts. “That shit can wait to be done later. I have a garage full of vehicles that need to be done by the end of the day. The government can wait for their cut. You’ll be working with the team, and probably doing most of the bitch work until I know you’re not a worthless waste of space. You prove you can do your job, and not fuck it up, I’ll move you up to bigger stuff.”
“Yes, sir.” I can tell there is no point in arguing or telling him that I’m more than capable. Baby steps.
“You work until five, or until the job is done. I don’t take too kindly to bitching that you have to get home or go on a date. You’re here to work, and I hired you for that reason only. Personally, you being a woman is already a strike against you, but I need people. That means I don’t want to hear any such bullshit about you breaking a nail or someone saying shit to you. This is a man’s shop, and you need to accept it. Got me?”
“Got you,” I say calmly. I know how a shop works, and of course men are going to act like assholes. Eventually, I hope to earn their respect, but for now I’ve built up a pretty thick skin. Doesn’t mean I have to like it, but I’m resolved to let it roll off no matter what.
“Guy in charge in the shop is Ray, and he’ll get you figured out. You need something, you ask him. Only time I should see you is when you come to collect your pay. You cause problems and you’ll be gone.” He gives me a hard look and I just nod. This guy is really intense, and I feel a skittering of unease in my belly. I ignore it, and keep my face neutral. “I’ll take you out to the shop, introduce you, and bring out the paperwork for you to sign by the end of the day. You get half an hour for lunch, but don’t take it until you’re done with your work.”
He stands, rounds the desk, and leads me out of the office without another word. I follow him back down the hall to the front desk area, and then to the right where a large metal door stands. I can hear the sound of tools and compressors through it, and feel my nerves bubble higher. Here goes nothing.
When we walk out, I see four bays with a vehicle up on the hoist, and one empty one down at the far end. The garage doors are open, letting in some fresh air, and also lighting up the pin up and half naked women posters along the walls. Each bay has a tool cabinet and a bench, and oil stains the floor in different places. It sounds and smells like a garage, and I relax just a little bit.
I can do this.
Sergio leads me to the middle of the garage and lets out a piercing whistle. I work to remain still when all I want to do is cover my ears. All the men stop and turn to look at us. “Listen up,” he barks. “This here is the new mechanic, Izzy. Ray, you get her set up and handle training her.”
“What the fuck, Serg?” one of the men demands disbelief on his face. “You’re letting some chick come in here?” He eyes me up and down, his beady black eyes stopping on my chest and thighs as if trying to gauge what’s underneath. Unluckily for him, I purposely bought coveralls that hide my shape. I give him a cool look when his eyes connect with mine, which in turn makes him sneer at me. “I suppose I can’t argue with something pretty to look at.”
“You best be focusing on your job, Tony, and not her face,” Sergio says mildly. He looks at me. “Guy on the left is Ray, the other two are Charlie and Enzo. Now get to work.” He turns and stalks away, his shoes pounding loudly with each step.
All four men eye me distrustfully. Ray is a short older man I’d put in his mid-fifties, with short grey hair, cool gray eyes, and a thick moustache that is reminiscent of the eighties.
Charlie is closer to my age, though probably still in his early thirties, around six feet tall, with dark brown hair and brown eyes. He has a five o’clock shadow on his jawline, and his coveralls are already stained with grease and oil.
Enzo is late thirties, and the tallest of the four at six three, with a bandana tied around his head that gives him a bit of an edgier look. His black hair is longer and tied back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck, showing off his chiseled jawline and hard brown eyes.
None of us speak, so I make the first move and head over to the empty bay on the other side of Ray, who watches me the entire time. I dump my bag on the bench, turn, and ask, “Where am I starting?”
“I give her a day,” Enzo says before turning and walking back to his bay. “Hope you know what you’re in for, bitch, because this place ain’t for the weak.”
“She’ll be begging us for help by the time she’s done with her first hour,” Charlie predicts, also walking to his bay. “Don’t be calling for me when you break a nail, sweet cheeks. Only way I’m going to help you is if you’re sucking my cock, though with those lips, I’m sure I’d enjoy it.”
I don’t even react to his crude remark. It’s not the worst I’ve heard, and it certainly won’t be the last I hear today either I’m sure.
