Throttle MC: A Stepbrother Romance by Daphne Loveling Page A

an adult.  If I was honest with myself, I still felt a little like he had thrown me away, all those years ago.  Deep down, I knew that he had sent me away because he wanted something for me than he felt he could give me. But I didn’t know what that meant now that I was back in Cheyenne.  Did he want me to leave again? Was he counting down the days until I said I was going back to my other life? And this was the other reason I was afraid to bring up the meth situation: I was afraid that if I angered him too much, he would tell me that it was time for me to go back to where I came from.  And I realized I didn’t want to leave Cheyenne again.
    Not yet.
    I had been continuing to halfheartedly search for work.  One day, Lucy told me that she had overheard someone at Crouse’s talking about there being an opening for a receptionist at one of the local psychology and counseling clinics.  Of all the jobs in the area I had considered applying for, this one at least was close to my field of study, so I decided to go for it.  A couple of days later, I got a call from a Barbara Hensley, the office manager for the clinic, asking me to come in for an interview. 
    It wasn’t until we had set up the time for me to come in that I realized I had absolutely nothing office-appropriate to wear, so I used what little savings I still had to go out and buy myself a professional outfit.  The day of the interview, I sat in the reception area in a brand new navy blue pencil skirt and cream-colored blouse, strangely nervous and trying to concentrate on the magazine article I was reading instead of fiddling with my hair. 
    “Ms. Cooper?” I looked up from the page and saw a middle-aged woman with salt and pepper hair pulled back into a no-nonsense bun, wearing a no-nonsense black blazer and matching pants.  I stood up and followed her into a back office as she directed me to do.
    I sat across from her on the other side of a wide desk filled with paperwork.  As she seated herself and picked up the copy of the résumé and cover letter I’d sent her, she asked me if I’d like something to drink. “I’m fine,” I replied, smiling back at her with what I hoped was a nice, normal, “I’m the perfect person for the job” expression on my face.  I willed myself to ace this interview and blow Barbara Hensley out of the water.  I wasn’t sure why I wanted this job so badly, but I did. 
    Okay, I did know why I wanted the job.  Although I hated to admit it to myself, I wanted to stay in Cheyenne.  At least for a little while.  And I wanted to have a reason to stay here that didn’t involve Ryker Stone.
    “So, Ms. Cooper, I see from your résumé that you are originally from Vermont.  What brings you to this part of the country?”
    I had anticipated this question, thankfully. “I spent some time here as a child, and always loved this area,” I said carefully. “When I graduated college out east, I always had the intention of coming back here.”
    The little white lie I was telling felt strange on my lips, but I had practiced it until it sounded natural. Luckily, I had been gone long enough that most people not connected with the MC wouldn’t immediately recognize me as being the daughter of The Throttle’s president. My last name was common enough that no one put two and two together.  I wasn’t sure what Ms. Hensley’s reaction would be if she knew I was Lon’s daughter, but I’d rather not find that out until after I’d been hired and had the chance to make a good impression.
    “It says here that you speak Spanish,” Ms. Hensley continued, looking at the bottom of my résumé.
    “Yes,” I nodded. “I studied it for two years at school, but I also had quite a bit of contact with the Hispanic population through my college jobs.  I would say I’m definitely competent.”
    “That would be a plus for us,” Ms. Hensley said.  “We do have a number of patients whose English is limited. One of our counselors