The taxi pulled up to the curb and stopped with a jolt that made Liam’s ribs protest imdiately.
He leaned forward, one hand pressing lightly against his left side, and looked out the window at the building. Small storefront. Glass door. Black lettering on the window that read **Carter Consulting** in clean, professional font.
He pulled out his wallet and counted out two twenties, handing them through the partition to the driver.
The driver took the bills and stared at them for a mont. Then he turned around in his seat, his eyebrows raised.
"You serious?" the driver asked.
Liam blinked. "What?"
"This." The driver held up the two twenties. "Fare’s eighteen bucks. You just gave forty."
"Yeah. Keep the change."
The driver let out a low whistle and leaned back in his seat, shaking his head with a grin. "Man, if you’re gonna be throwing money around like this, I don’t mind picking you up every day. Hell, twice a day if you want."
Liam frowned, confused for a second. Then it clicked.
’I overpaid,’ he thought. ’By a lot.’
"Right," Liam said. "Wasn’t paying attention."
"Clearly." The driver pocketed the bills, still grinning. "Alright, get out. I got other fares waiting."
Liam opened the door and stepped out onto the sidewalk, the cool morning air hitting his face imdiately. The taxi pulled away before he even had the door fully closed, the engine grumbling as it disappeared down the street.
He stood there for a mont, watching it go.
’I need to get my own ride,’ he thought.
He turned and looked at the building.
It was tucked between a dry cleaner on the left and a nail salon on the right. The storefront was narrow, maybe fifteen feet across, with a single large window that let you see directly inside. Through the glass, he could make out a desk, so chairs, and movent near the back.
He walked to the door and pushed it open.
The sll hit him first. New carpet. Fresh paint. Sothing faintly sharp underneath, like cleaning chemicals that hadn’t fully aired out yet.
The office was small but put together. The front area was maybe twelve feet wide and twenty feet deep. The walls were painted a soft gray, clean and neutral, with white baseboards running along the bottom. The floor was carpeted in a darker charcoal gray, still showing the vacuum lines from where soone had cleaned it recently.
A desk sat near the front window, angled slightly so anyone sitting behind it would have a clear view of both the door and the street outside. It was simple. Dark wood veneer, probably laminate, but it looked professional enough. A black office chair sat behind it. Two smaller chairs, upholstered in gray fabric, faced the desk for clients.
On the desk itself: a closed laptop, a legal pad with a pen resting on top, and a small lamp with a silver base.
Behind the desk, against the left wall, was a narrow doorway that led to what looked like a back room. Liam could see part of a table through the opening, maybe for storage or a break area.
On the right side of the room, near the back, were three white filing cabinets lined up against the wall. Next to them sat a small table with a coffee maker on top, the kind with a glass carafe. A box of filters and a bag of ground coffee sat beside it.
That was it. Nothing excessive. Just the essentials.
Elsa was standing near the filing cabinets, her back to the door, organizing sothing on top of one of them. She turned when she heard the door open, and her face lit up imdiately.
"You’re here."
"I’m here," Liam said, closing the door behind him. The latch clicked softly.
She walked toward him, her heels making quiet sounds against the carpet.
Elsa was wearing a sleeveless gray turtleneck crop top that fit her like it had been made specifically for her body. The fabric was smooth and tight, clinging to the full curve of her breasts and cutting off just below them, leaving her toned stomach completely bare. The high neck emphasized the elegant line of her throat and the width of her shoulders.
Below that, she wore a black pencil skirt that sat low on her hips and ended just above her knees. It was fitted, hugging the shape of her hips and thighs in a way that made every step deliberate. The material had a faint sheen to it, catching the overhead light when she moved.
Her silver-white hair fell loose around her shoulders, the strands almost glowing under the fluorescent lights. Her amber eyes were sharp, focused, the kind of gaze that felt like it was taking in everything about you at once.
She stopped a few feet in front of him, hands resting on her hips. "So. What do you think?"
Liam looked around the office again, taking it in properly this ti. "It’s good. Clean. Looks professional."
"That’s what I was going for." She gestured toward the desk. "I’ve got the client-facing setup in the front. Filing in the back. Coffee if we need it."
"You set all this up yourself?"
"Most of it. I hired soone to paint and put in the carpet. I brought in the furniture and got everything organized yesterday."
He walked over to the desk and ran his hand along the surface. Smooth. No scratches or dents. "How much did everything cost?"
She tilted her head slightly, thinking, Maybe fthousand to get started."
Liam nodded slowly. "That’s not bad."
"I thought so too."
He turned to look at her. "So what’s the plan? You said you had sothing lined up?"
Her smile widened. "I might’ve done sothing to get us started."
"What kind of sothing?"
"I reached out to a few contacts I tried applying a job at. Small business owners. Told them we’re offering consulting services. Process improvent. Cost reduction. Efficiency."
"And?"
"And three of them said they’re interested. One of them is coming in today."
Liam’s eyebrows went up. "Today? As in right now?"
"In about twenty minutes."
He stared at her for a mont, then let out a slow breath. "Alright. What else aren’t you telling ?"
She paused, her smile faltering slightly. "What do you an?"
"I an, what else is going on that I should know about?"
Elsa shifted her weight, her hand moving to rest on her hip. "My mom’s been asking about you."
Liam blinked. "What?"
"She keeps calling . Asking if you’re around. Telling to let her know when you’ll be here."
’She’s hooked on my dick,’ Liam thought imdiately.
He didn’t say it out loud. Just nodded once. "Alright. Anything else?"
"No. That’s it."
"Good." He walked over to one of the client chairs and sat down carefully, his hand going briefly to his ribs. "So who’s the client?"
"Local auto shop. Family-owned. Been around for about fifteen years. The owner’s struggling with inventory tracking and appointnt scheduling.
He thinks he’s losing money because things aren’t organized."
"You tried working at an auto shop?" Liam asked an eyebrow raised
Elsa threw her hands up. "What? I was out of options."
Liam gave a small nod and looked back down at what he was holding. "So, we’re fixing this?"
"We’re assessing it. If he likes what we co up with, we’ll charge him to implent it."
Liam nodded. "I can work with that."
"I know you can." She walked over to the filing cabinet and pulled out a thin folder, then handed it to him. "Background on the business. Owner’s na, employee count, revenue estimates. Everything he told on the phone."
Liam opened the folder and scanned the first page. Clean handwriting. Organized notes. More detailed than he’d expected.
"This is solid," he said, glancing up at her.
"I know."
He closed the folder and set it on the desk beside him.
The door opened.
A man stepped inside. Mid-forties, stocky build, wearing a faded blue work shirt with **Brennan Auto Repair** stitched above the chest pocket. His jeans were stained with grease, his boots scuffed and worn. His hands were rough, calloused from years of turning wrenches.
He looked around the office, then at Liam and Elsa.
"This the consulting place?" he asked.
Elsa stood and smiled, her whole deanor shifting into sothing warm and professional. "It is. You must be Mr. Brennan."
"That’s ." He walked further inside, his boots heavy on the carpet despite how clean it was. "You’re the one I talked to?"
"I am. And this is my partner, Liam Carter."
Liam stood and extended his hand. Brennan shook it, his grip firm and direct.
"Appreciate you coming in," Liam said.
"Yeah, well." Brennan looked around the office again, like he was still sizing the place up. "I’m hoping you two can help figure out what the hell’s going on with my shop. I’m losing track of parts, double-booking custors, and the paperwork’s piling up faster than I can deal with it."
"We can take a look," Liam said. "Have a seat and let’s talk through it."
Brennan sat in one of the chairs facing the desk. Liam took the seat behind it. Elsa remained standing, leaning lightly against the filing cabinet with her arms crossed, watching.
For the next forty-five minutes, they talked.
Brennan explained his setup. Three repair bays. Four chanics including himself. How he handled scheduling, which was mostly mory and a wall calendar that was constantly getting written over. How he ordered parts, which was calling suppliers when sothing ran out. How he tracked inventory, which he didn’t, really.
Liam listened. Asked questions. Took notes on the legal pad in front of him, his handwriting quick and ssy but readable.
’This is a disaster,’ he thought. ’No structure. No system. Everything’s reactive instead of planned.’
When Brennan finished, Liam leaned back in his chair carefully, his hand going to his ribs briefly before he caught himself.
"Alright," Liam said. "Here’s what I’m seeing. You’ve got three core problems. First, inventory. You’re not tracking what you have, so you’re ordering parts you already own and running out of parts you need. Second, scheduling. You’re relying on mory and a physical calendar, which ans appointnts get missed or double-booked. Third, paperwork. You’re not processing it consistently, so it piles up until it’s overwhelming."
Brennan nodded slowly. "Yeah. That’s about right."
"The good news is, none of that requires a complete overhaul. You just need systems."
"What kind of systems?"
"For inventory, we set up a tracking sheet. Every part that cos in gets logged with a date and quantity. Every part that goes out gets logged the sa way. You’ll know exactly what you have at any given ti. For scheduling, we move you to a digital calendar. Sothing simple like Google Calendar. All your appointnts in one place, accessible from your phone. No more double-booking. For paperwork, we create a weekly routine. Every Friday afternoon, you process invoices, receipts, and orders. That way it never piles up."
Brennan was quiet for a mont, his rough hands resting on his knees. "That actually makes sense."
"It does," Elsa said from her spot near the filing cabinet. "And it’s not complicated. We can have everything set up in about a week."
"What’s this gonna cost ?"
"Fifteen hundred for the assessnt and full setup," Liam said. "After that, if you want us to check in monthly and make adjustnts, it’s three hundred a month."
Brennan rubbed his jaw, thinking. Then he nodded. "Alright. Let’s do it."
Liam stood and extended his hand again. Brennan shook it.
"My partner will co by your shop this week to get everything set up," Liam said. "I’ll have her call you tomorrow to schedule a ti."
Brennan looked between them. "Your partner? You’re not coming?"
"I’ve got other commitnts," Liam said. "But she’ll handle everything. You’re in good hands."
"Alright." Brennan stood and walked toward the door. He paused with his hand on the handle and looked back. "Thanks. Really. I needed this."
"No problem," Liam said.
Brennan left. The door closed behind him with a soft click.
Elsa turned to Liam imdiately, her expression shifting. "I don’t have a problem with going there all by myself." She took a step closer, her face going slightly pink. Her hand moved down to rub absently at her thigh. "But why aren’t you coming?"
"I’m starting classes soon," Liam said. "Won’t be able to make every site visit."
Her expression cleared imdiately. "Oh. Right."
She paused, then took another step closer. Her eyes locked on his.
"It’s getting hot in here," she said quietly.
Liam raised an eyebrow. "The AC’s running."
"Not that kind of hot." She moved even closer, close enough now that he could sll her perfu. Sothing light and floral.
He glanced up.
Above her head, three red hearts floated.
"Watching you take charge like that — all serious and commanding — God, it made wet," she said softly, her voice just above a whisper.
She leaned in, her lips parting slightly. "I want you to command too."
Liam didn’t move.
The door opened.
Both of them turned imdiately.
A woman stepped inside.
Elsa’s eyes went wide. "Mom?"
The woman stood there in the doorway, smiling.
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