“Can I Sleep in Your Car?” The Female CEO Whispered—The Single Dad Mechanic Froze in Shock…
The rain came down in sheets that autumn evening, turning the small-town streets into rivers of reflected streetlight. Marcus Chen stood in the open bay of his modest repair shop, watching the storm intensify as he wiped his hands on an old rag. His dark hair was damp with perspiration from the day’s work, and his gray T-shirt bore the honest stains of engine oil and effort.
Behind him, in the small office attached to the garage, his eight-year-old son, Leo, sat doing homework at a battered desk. The boy’s sandy hair fell across his forehead as he concentrated on his math problems, his yellow rain jacket hanging on a hook nearby, ready for their walk home. Marcus had owned Chen’s Auto Repair for six years now, ever since his wife Elena had passed away from cancer.
The shop wasn’t fancy, but it was honest work, and it allowed him to be there for Leo in ways his corporate job never had. Some days were harder than others. But they had built a life together, just the two of them, and that was enough.
The sound of a car engine sputtering pulled Marcus’ attention back to the street. A sleek sedan, expensive and out of place in this working-class neighborhood, rolled to a stop just outside his shop. Steam rose from under the hood, and even from where he stood, Marcus could see the warning lights illuminating the dashboard.
The driver’s door opened, and a woman stepped out into the rain. She was perhaps in her late thirties, with blonde hair that was quickly becoming soaked, wearing what had once been an immaculate light blue business suit. Even drenched and clearly distressed, there was something composed about her, a kind of quiet dignity that the circumstances couldn’t entirely wash away.
She looked at the shop, then at Marcus, and seemed to make a decision. Hurrying through the rain, she reached the shelter of the garage bay, water streaming from her hair and clothes. “Are you still open?” she asked, her voice steady, despite the tremor Marcus could detect beneath it.
“My car? It just died. The engine light came on about ten mi back, and I thought I could make it to the highway, but…”
Marcus nodded, already reaching for his keys.
“Let me take a look. Pull it into the bay here if it’ll move.”
The woman shook her head. “It won’t start at all now.”
“All right, I’ll push it in.
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