Taming Lucca: Red Devils M.C. (2 page)

Molly
spent the rest of the day working on one mechanical breakdown after another, nothing seemed to want to work properly. As soon as she fixed one mechanical issue another popped up worse than the last. It was as if the machines were trying to side with Molly’s mother to prevent her from meeting Luzen for their date at six. By noon she was exhausted. That was when the airflow generator decided to break down.

She’d requested parts for it
over three weeks ago, and they still weren’t in. It was hard to fix the machine without the required hoses. She’d had to use some tubes she found in the cleaning closet to patch the one that busted today, but knew it was only a temporary fix. Molly wiped her brow with a greasy hand smearing it with a dark smudge. She was glad that she’d finally managed to get the generator fixed, although without those hoses the patch she’d done wouldn’t last a week.

S
he checked the time to see that she would only have ten minutes to get the dock were she was to meet Luzen. Running to the employee bathroom she quickly changed into a clean pair of coveralls from the employee locker. She washed her face while trying to tame her hair back into what had once been a very attractive twist, but was now a mass of frizzy black hair.

She
attempted to smooth it back into the twist for about three minutes. Finally giving up, she quickly pulled it down and braided it, all the while bemoaning the loss of the cuteness she’d created with the twist she had perfected for an hour that morning. She should have brought her mascara, she thought, as she noticed with dismay that she had washed it off with the grease a few moments ago.

Molly
sighed and checked the time to see that she only had three minutes left to get to the dock. There was nothing she could do to fix the way she looked in time to meet Luzen, sighing she went tearing out of the bathroom sprinting toward the dock. Luzen stood by a hover car taxi looking at his watch as she ran down the ramp to meet him.

“Sorry
, the airflow water generator was acting up again. Any idea when the parts will be in? It won’t last much longer without them.” She asked breathlessly as she came to a stop beside him.

“Molly
, my dear, no need to apologize a good work ethic is one of the things I love about you. Don’t you look lovely.” He smiled as he kissed her on the cheek. “I have no idea when the parts will be in. They can’t even be ordered until Thornton Davis looks at the generator to verify your assessment.”

He
began ushering her into the waiting hover car, not noticing the anger that filled her at the thought of someone having to verify her assessment. It was one of the things that maddened her about the plants Hillie management, anything that a Slum worker requested for the water plant had to be verified by a Hill mechanic before parts were ordered. Trying not to allow her anger to show she spoke carefully.

“
Thanks. I’m just wondering when he would be coming for the review. We could lose that generator, and then there would be a shortage of fresh water for the Hill.” Or more like the Slum’s, thought Molly.

The hover car flew towards the lower Hill restaurant and bar sector.
Luzen patted her hand as if she were a child.

“Not to worry
, my dear, it will be soon enough. Now, let me tell you about my day. I was at the manager meeting, and they talked of increasing the wage by two credits per week, isn’t that wonderful.”

Molly bit
her tongue to keep from yelling. Two credits would not make the fifteen a week that much better for many of the mechanics on her team. It would maybe buy one meal for most of their families. Many of them had three or four children to feed. Two credits wouldn’t do much to help them provide for their families. If the managers would raise it ten as the teams had asked it would make life less stressful for many of the workers at the plant.

It was hardly an unreasonable wage to ask for when the man
agers made a thousand credits a week. The wage difference was supposed to be because the cost of living was so much higher in the Hill district than it was in the Slums. This was one thing she didn’t like about Luzen. He had an utter lack of understanding of what life in the Slum district was really like.

“That’s nice.” Was all she
replied to avoid a fight on the night she thought he might be purposing.

“Yes, I know it
’s much lower than they requested, but it is progress, right?” He beamed as if she should be grateful for the pittance.

“
Progress. Right
.” Molly knew by his frown that she hadn’t been successful in keeping her anger from her tone. Smiling brightly to lighten the tension she placed her hand over his. Even as her stomach burned in anger, and her mind screamed that it wasn’t progress so much as a way for them to keep the classes separated. He lost his frown as the car came to a gliding halt outside of a restaurant called Crave. He assisted her from the car leading her to the door holding it open for her to enter.

“A table for two
, please.” Luzen told the woman behind a podium.

The woman looke
d Molly up and down with contempt then turned to Luzen and said in a haughty voice. “I’m afraid that we do not serve Slum workers here.”

Luzen looked puzzled. “Well were else can we eat if not here?” He asked with true bewilderment.

“That place next door serves
them
if you want to take her there it’s less…” she paused “upscale.” She finally settled for with a sneer.  

“Ah, very good we shall go there then.” Luzen said
, unfazed by the woman’s oblivious snobbery. Molly was infuriated with the injustice of the treatment.

“Well
, my dear, I had hoped to show you my favorite restaurant. But it can’t be helped. We will have a lovely dinner at the small diner next door instead.” He took her arm and guided her out the door.

They entered the dinner
, and sat in a booth near the small counter. A woman in a red apron came over barely glancing at them she demanded.

“
Whatca ya want?”  She then seemed to remember something and said “Oh ya, the special is fish soup with crackers.”

“Well
then Molly will be having that, and I’ll have a steak medium with potatoes please.” Luzen replied for her looking at the menu.

“Drinks?” The woman probed
.

“Ah yes water for the lady and I’ll have a lemonade.”

“Ten minutes then.” The waitress grunted then turned and walked away.

A little surprised and frustrated that he hadn’t bothered to ask her what she wanted
. Molly plastered on a fake smile, and lectured herself that he was just being polite. He was probably embarrassed about what had happened at Crave a few moments ago. She needed to relax and enjoy having real food at least it wasn’t oatmeal.

After that the dinner seemed to be flow
ing smoothly. The conversation streamed naturally and everything seemed to be back on track for him to purpose. The special was actually quite good, and she ate it with gusto while they talked. She laughed at a story he told about a lost part that was found on the roof of a building nearby were a part delivery man had left it on his lunch break.

Luzen excused himself from the table after they had eaten
to use the restroom. A woman dressed in a sleek red dress and heels chatted loudly with her friend at the booth behind theirs as soon as Luzen left the table.

“Did you see her outfit
? So common, if I were her I would be embarrassed. I can’t believe that someone let her in here. How dare they allow
them
to eat here at a proper establishment. I bet she steals something before she leaves, and it will serve them right.” Molly couldn’t let it go, though she lectured herself that their words couldn’t hurt her. She knew, even as she stood and moved to stand beside their table that she was making a mistake, but she really was tired of the treatment she’d been getting all night from these stuck up people.

“Ex
cuse me, is there a problem?” Molly asked the women snidely.

“How dare you talk to me? You are not worth my time. Let’s go, Tara. This is beyond unseemly.” Tara the little brunette wearing three inch heels and a sheath dress in gold, glared at Molly with disdain and stood.

“Indeed,
let’s leave. This place has gotten very
Slum
like.”

“That’s funny that was
just what I thought when the two of you entered.” Molly smiled sweetly at the brunette.

“Well! I never
. How dar…” Red screeched.

“Is there a problem here
, ladies?”  Interrupted a gruff male voice from behind Molly who still stood near the table the two women had vacated. A dark light of glee entered red’s eyes as she moved around Molly and clung to the arm of the man who had spoken.

“Oh
, thank goodness you’re here, sir. This creature has stolen my credits. It was horrible.” Molly had turned to look at the woman so she didn’t see Tara slip a wallet into her pocket. Her mouth hung open at the woman’s bold faced lie.

“Sir
, that’s not true. This woman is making that up. I am not a thief.” Molly cried outraged at their gall. Moving forward a few feet, she looked at the man who was clucking to Red who seemed to be simpering up at him.

“Well then you won’t mind if he searches you will you?” asked Tara
from behind her as she moved to stand by her friend.

“Fine.” Molly replied holding her arms out
, and was grateful that she’d left the illegal manual at work in her locker. The manager extracted himself from Red to check her pockets, and pulled out a red wallet that caused Molly to stare in open mouthed horror. How had that gotten into her pocket? When she her gaze met Red’s she saw the delight on her face, and with a sinking feeling in her stomach she knew they had planted it on her.

“Really
, this looks a little better than you can afford, miss.” The man growled.

Filled with horror and fear Molly stuttered “I really didn’t take that
! She must have slipped it into my pocket. I’m not a thie….”

“Really
, I think that’s enough,” He interrupted turning away. He yelled over to the waitress who’d served her and Luzen yelling. “Rhonda, call the guards.” The man grabbed Molly’s arm in a bruising hold, and began dragging her towards the back were there was a door marked employees only. She fought, pulling against his hold still trying to explain that she had not taken that wallet.

“Wh-Whats going on here?” Luzen asked having returned from the restroom. Molly almost cried in relief
. Luzen would get straightened out he loved her. He would know that she hadn’t stolen anything and fix this.

“Luzen…”
Molly began, but was cut off by the man’s gruff voice.

“It seems your date has robbed this woman.” The man gestured towards the woman with the red dress who was still pretending to cry on her friends shoulder.

“I did not! Luzen, you know I would never steal.” Tugging at the painful hold on her arm she desperately tried to escape the man’s grip.

“
My dear, I…” Luzen stared in horror at her before he looked at Red crying in her friend’s arms. Seeming unsure how to respond.

“I removed the wallet from her myself
. She stole it.” The man holding her said. Still slowly tugging her towards that door in the back.

“
Look…I didn’t steal it, Luzen.” Molly cried out in pain when the man jerked hard on her arm dragging her towards that room off to the side of the counter, marked employees only. She saw Luzen’s eyes fall on Red who had turned. His eyes pined to the front of her low cut dress. She wrapped her arms around her waist pushing her breast up almost revealing her nipples. Molly couldn’t believe that the hussy was trying that trick.

“Molly
, I’m so shocked. I can’t believe that you would do such a thing.” He was still staring at the woman in the red dress. Watching her breasts heave with her pretend sobs. She watched him swallow, and she saw him subtlety adjust his member which she could see was hardened. Then he was moving toward the woman as if mesmerize by her large boobs. “My dear don’t cry.”

Molly couldn’t believe that he was watching that woman with lust in his eyes while she was being dragged away to be locked up.
How dare he? How could he say that he loved her and then look at that woman while she was in danger? Then suddenly he was looking back at her.

“
I should have listened to mother about you, Molly. She insisted you Slum workers were no better than the ones who live in that squalor refusing to better themselves. And to think that I was going to ask you to meet my mother to prove that it wasn’t true. I’m disgusted.” Luzen’s scowled at her then took the woman into his arms hugging her. She was sure that Red could feel his hardened member pressing into her as he glued himself to her.

She was destroyed
that he could be pressing against another woman while she was in trouble. Had the last months meant nothing to him? Didn’t he know her better than this? She was supposed to marry him. Wait, had he said meet his mother? She thought with an impotent rage filling her. That’s what this date had been about, not as she had thought a proposal, but meeting his
mother
. How awful this day had been, and how could this be happening to her. She couldn’t believe this. She wasn’t a thief. How could he think that she was that person after ten months spent as her lover?