Maxar (The Mating Games Book 4) by Catty Diva

Maxar
     
    Chapter 1
     
    The Decision
     
    Ernie was hard at work doing what she loved. When she had chosen a career as a mechanic it had been out of necessity because her husband had died and she had a baby girl to support. There was a big shortage of mechanics so training was easy to get. They even paid her to go to school if she agreed to work six months on some less than desirable space station. They’d offered free childcare, food, and accommodations. The choice had been an easy one to make.
    Mechanics of any kind were traditionally male fields but these modern men preferred less physical and cleaner jobs. Females in general didn’t want jobs that made them look masculine because they feared it would limit the males that would find them desirable. She didn’t give a shit since she’d had the love of her life and finding another was unlikely so romance wasn’t a consideration. Modern Earth men wouldn’t have any interest in a woman with a child anyway. Most of these guys had no paternal feelings even for their own children.
    When the opportunity to go to Oison had come up, that had also been a no brainer. Had she still been on Earth, they would have never allowed her to leave but because she was on the space station some bureaucrat had decided she must be undesirable. Had they bothered to check to see her training, they would have forced her to stay. It must have been fate’s hand that saw that she made it here.
    Maxar was watching her again. Oh, God! He was headed her way. “Good morning, Ernie. How goes it today?”
    “Things are good. We will probably have to replace one of the dryers.” They were what was used to dry most of the Oison weed once it was harvested, cleaned, and anything subpar was removed.
    “Whatever you feel is appropriate.”
    That was another reason she loved it here. They never argued always taking her recommendations. On her last job they thought the equipment would last forever. They often lost time, product, and occasionally lives by trying to use worn out equipment long past its useful life. Ernie always got a second opinion, it wasn’t like she wasn’t well aware of the cost of the equipment in use. She had also found a way to sell the old equipment to places like the space station she had come from for a fair price. They paid her so well here she felt the need to go above and beyond expectations.
    Maxar spoke to her a few more minutes mostly about work before moving on. He spoke to all the employees but she felt something special between them. Maybe it was just on her part. Maxar was handsome with his dark piercing eyes and sexy smile. Ernie was so caught up in her dreams about Maxar she didn’t notice Jerry approach.
    “Hey, Sexy. How’s it going today?” Jerry leered at her. She didn’t like Jerry but it wasn’t his personality that had gotten him hired. He was an okay mechanic making it a no brainer when they’d hired him. At that time they’d been short on mechanics and had equipment breaking down constantly. They had contracts which required at least a forty hour week without breakdowns. Ernie made sure that’s what they got since she was put in charge.
    “What did boss man want?”
    “You know he stops to talk to everyone.”
    “Seems like he talks to you more often and longer. Do I need to worry about that? Is he competition?” Jerry chuckled but she didn’t find it funny.
    “You know I have no interest in you in that way, Jerry. Besides with me being in charge, Maxar has more he needs to talk to me about.”
    “I’ll change your mind. I can be charming.”
    “Do you have all your maintenance work done?”
    “Almost. You don’t have to get all bossy, Darling.” Jerry wandered off but not in the direction of the section he maintained.
    Ernie hated to do it but she just put in a work order to have cameras installed and they would be hidden ones. Jerry was her only concern but if she just put them in his area he would claim she was picking on him. It was