The Rampage MC #3: Atlas and Joy

Chapter 1 (Joy): You Focus On Me

"Well, you had me from hello." ~ You Had Me From Hello, Kenny Chesney

Every day when I'd woken up for the last six months, I'd taken a moment to be grateful for the job Beard had given me. It was hard work, but when the pressure was off about coming up with rent or worrying about how I was going to pay for car repairs, life seemed immeasurably easier. I loved cooking and baking, and everyone at the clubhouse was complimentary about the food.

The brothers and most of the club girls were nice about my cooking, raving about my food, eagerly gathering around the week's menu when I posted it Sunday mornings, exclaiming when they saw their favorites listed.

After Beard and I had hammered out the job details and my weekly pay -- which had almost brought on another round of tears -- I'd signed the one-year commitment, and he'd handed me two thousand in cash.

That had almost caused me to hyperventilate and resulted in Beard giving me the side eye. 

Then Beard had walked me out to the common room and asked for everyone's attention.

"This is Joy. Just hired her to be our cook. She starts tomorrow morning, and tonight she's going to get settled in her room. You fuck with her, you answer to me. Brothers, leave her alone. I'm not having you run her off, and we'll have some words if you mess with her."

The only concern in my life six months later was one of the brothers had decided to mess with me. 

And I liked it. In fact, I was starting to love it.

That day I accepted the job, I was carrying my clothes into my room from my car, and a man stood outside the doors to the clubhouse. He was the complete opposite of the men I usually went for. I had always dated shorter, slighter men, blonde-haired and semi-shady, which is why they all seemed to end up in jail for short stints. Beard hadn't been wrong when he said I had shit taste in men.

Nothing about the man in front of me was short, slight or blonde. Shady remained to be seen.

"Hello, Joy," he said, holding the door open for me. "Looking forward to some decent meals."

"Thank you...sorry, I don't know your name."

"Atlas," he supplied.

"Fitting," I said before I could stop myself, then I blushed. With those shoulders, I had no doubt he could carry the world on his back, but I hadn't meant to blurt that out.

His answering smile was huge, but he let the comment go. "You got anything else in the car?"

"Just some more clothes and a couple of boxes." Since I always rented rooms, I traveled light.

"Start unpacking and I'll bring the rest to you."

"Do you know which room --"

"Right next to mine," he said.

Just as he'd promised, Atlas had brought me the rest of my clothes and the few boxes I had, and I was unpacked in no time. 

My room had a tiny bathroom attached, with a sink, a toilet and a small shower. I'd found some bleach and mirror cleaner and cleaned everything top to bottom. I'd found some Pledge and dusting cloths in a cupboard off the kitchen and had tackled the bed, nightstands, desk and chair in my room. That desk brought back some long-ago dreams to me. I'd always loved school but hadn't been able to truly enjoy it and excel given the responsibilities I had.

But now? Maybe I could buy a laptop with some of that sign on-bonus and use the rest to pay for some classes at the local community college. I'd been an employee of the Rampage for only a couple of hours, and I was already starting to dream.

"What's that smile for, Joy?"

I turned to the door, where Atlas leaned against the doorframe, watching me. I hadn't closed the door, wanting to avoid closing myself in with the bleach fumes. 

"Just old dreams. Of school," I clarified.

"Dreams are good," he said.

"What's your favorite dessert?" I asked him suddenly.

That big smile again. "I love chocolate chip cookies."

"I'll make you some. Tomorrow. To thank you for your help today. I really do appreciate it."

"Glad to help any time." He'd meant it at the time.

True to my word, I made a triple batch of chocolate chip cookies the next day, setting aside an entire batch just for Atlas.

One of the club girls, Trixie, grabbed a couple and, after making sure no one was around, gave me the once over.

"We're all going to look like you if you keep feeding us like this."

Before I could respond to that, she spun around and left the kitchen.

For that first week, Atlas flirted with me every time we were alone together. He'd loved the batch of cookies I'd made just for him, and that just seemed to amp up his flirt game that week.

But always when no one else was around, and I knew that was because of the hands-off edict Beard had laid down about me.

The Friday after I was hired, I was up early, heading to the kitchen to start breakfast, when I saw Brandie, Trixie's sister, who I'd met last night at a casual gathering in the clubhouse, coming out of Atlas's room. Very messed up and looking thoroughly fucked.

Brandie might not have been the prettiest girl in the room, but she had an amazing body and a way about her that attracted men. As a heavier girl, I always wished I could have been her size. And, if I could lose thirty or forty pounds, I might be closer in size to her.

"See you," she said to me with a little wave, and I'd wanted to wave at her. Seeing her come out of his room had confused me, and then it hurt me because he'd been flirting heavily with me my whole first week.

Not that flirting with one girl and sexing another was anything unusual among the Rampage. It hadn't taken me long to figure out the brothers were horndogs, and in the week I'd been here, I'd seen some interesting behavior between the brothers, the club girls and outside girls.

Fine. No problem. I wouldn't be the first girl taken in by an accomplished flirt, but fortunately, it hadn't been anything deeper than feeling a little hurt and a lot stupid for thinking it meant more. 

When Atlas came into the kitchen later that day, I'd shut down his flirting. Hard. Basically, I'd ignored him and he'd been confused.

"What's wrong, Joy?" he said when he cornered me in the kitchen.

"Can you get out of the kitchen, please? I don't want to have to disinfect it and who knows what you're shedding after last night."

"What are you talking about?" I had to hand it to him, he did confused really well.

"I saw Brandie leaving your room early this morning. I'm not going to be a third-party. It's not something I would ever do -- get between another girl and her man," I'd said firmly. "You've been flirting with me all week, and maybe it doesn't mean anything to you, but it's not right when you have a girlfriend."

"I'm not her man and she's not my girlfriend," he protested. "She and I used to hook up. She hung around the club because she's Trixie's little sister. Last night, she hooked up with one of the brothers and stopped by my room this morning to say good bye. She's leaving town for another job."

"Sure," I scoffed. "She looked like you gave her quite a good bye. Excuse me while I go shower the disgust off."

"Joy, believe me, don't believe me, but nothing happened between Brandie and me. I don't lie. She wanted a good bye kiss this morning. I gave her a hug but no way would I give her a kiss. Then she left my room."

I turned my back to him, and sighed at what I had to say next. "You need to stop flirting with me, Atlas. I don't work like you all do in the Rampage. If you're interested in me, if you're flirting with me, you focus on me. You don't hook up with other girls while you're trying to charm me into your bed."

"I didn't hook up with Brandie."

"Don't flirt with me unless you've heard what I said, Atlas. I'm serious."