5. Devin

Chapter 5

Devin

It all felt too good to be true. Then again, maybe all that shit luck had finally paid off in one really amazing thing happening.

Zach finding me.

The chances of him not only being willing to feed me his milk out on the trail, but also giving me a job and a place to live just seemed astronomical. It was more likely he was actually a serial killer and was taking me back to his kill room.

Why did the thought of him stripping me down and carving me to bits make me hard?

I had serious problems. Nonetheless, life was made for living, and if nothing else, I'd survived another day. More importantly, I wasn't walking my ass to Albuquerque. That alone was a win.

"Do you like burgers?" I'd been so lost in my thoughts that his simple question startled me.

"Yeah. Of course. But I wasn't exaggerating about not having any money. I think I've got a few bucks in my wallet and that's it."

"Don't worry about it. When I moved to town, my company gave me tons of gift cards for all the local restaurants, and I've been slowly working my way through them. There's a burger place I've been wanting to try out. After all that hiking, today seems like the perfect day for it."

A burger did sound nice. "Well, I'll pay you back with my first paycheck."

I could see him rolling his eyes even from his profile, but he left it at that, and we got one of the best burgers in my life. Bacon and cheddar with a fried egg on top. It was amazing. I was so stuffed, I could barely walk as we left the restaurant.

But instead of going straight to his truck, Zach grabbed my elbow and stilled me. "My office isn't formal, but you'll need some business casual clothes. Let's stop in here and see if we can get you a few things."

I could feel my neck burning with humiliation, but he was right. I didn't have the kind of clothes I needed to take a real job in a real office. I didn't have anything. "Okay, if you don't mind, that would be great. But really?—"

He grinned and stopped me mid-thought. "You'll pay me back?"

"Yes, every penny."

He nodded as he opened the door to the men's clothing store. "I'm not worried about it."

I was worried about it. Very much so. But if this hot daddy wanted to take me shopping, there was nothing I could do but agree. "If you say so."

The store we went to wasn't extremely overpriced, but a pair of nice jeans and four khakis in different colors and a handful of shirts with under clothes and some shoes, all came out to almost $1000. I couldn't believe it. I'd never spent that much on clothes in my life. Even when I lived at home, Mom usually took us to Target for back-to-school clothes. I'd only been in boutique kind of stores like that for hats or accessories. "Are you sure we need to spend this much?"

Zach was sliding his credit card back into his wallet as the associate bagged up all my new clothes. "Yeah, it's all stuff you'll use."

"It's gonna take me a few paychecks to pay you back."

"It's fine, Devin. This is barely a week's worth of clothes. And I have a clothing budget with my new management position that I never use, so honestly, I can have all this reimbursed by the company and you won't have to pay a penny for it."

I reached for his bicep and turned him gently so he was facing me. "Do you swear to God that's true?"

He seemed surprised by my reaction, but his eyes were curious as he looked between mine. "Yes, of course. Why would I lie about that?"

I shrugged. "So I didn't feel bad about not paying you back."

He placed both of his hands on my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. "I promise it's true. I have a budget of $1000 a month that I can spend on clothing or equipment to do my job. I never use it for myself, so over the next few months, we can get you kitted out with everything you need." He winked as he released his grip on me. "Just don't tell anyone about that. It's supposed to be used for me to project a more managerial appearance."

I couldn't even imagine jobs like that existed. "Whatever it is you do, Zach, that's what I want to be when I grow up."

He chuckled and reached for the two large shopping bags that the attendant handed over. "Stick with me, kid. And that can be arranged."

It was obviously just an encouraging thing to say, but I couldn't keep my imagination from running wild with ideas about what it would be like to stick with him.

Not just for the job, but for the man.

The man who saved me with his milk.