Page 28 of Midnight Racers

“I tried playing with her last night, but she’s very demanding,” I replied, as if I didn’t understand the double entendre, deliberately smiling innocently.

Flynn turned his head away to try and hide his grin.

“Megan, this is our new engineer, Charlotte. Charlotte, this is my wife, Megan.” Jordan introduced us.

“I’m so pleased to meet you.” Megan beamed at me, and I found myself liking her warmth and the genuine expressions in her eyes. “I keep telling Jordan they needed more oestrogen in that place, and that women are just as good driving as men.”

“You are not driving my Aston Martin, Megan,” Jordan growled. “No one drives that car but me.”

“Technically, now we’re married, I own fifty percent of it,” she grumped.

Jordan kissed her forehead. “And you can sit your sexy ass in the fifty percent that doesn’t include the steering wheel.”

Megan turned her attention back to me. “I’m glad you’re here. The more women, the better.”

“I’m here to see how the cars are running,” I replied. “Since we made some tweaks to the setup.”

Megan moved forward and threaded her arm through mine. “Come along, and us girls will stick together. All they ever talk about is cars and death. Mostly death, sometimes serious injury.”

My brow furrowed and I looked to Flynn for help. Who was dead?

He grinned and made a shooing gesture with his hands. That man could be a real pain in the ass when he wanted to be.

“Flynn’s a great guy,” Megan chatted as she steered me toward the track, even though I was supposed to be with the car about to be tested. “He has had a lot of hurt in his past, but has a heart made of pure gold.”

“Is there a reason you’re telling me this?” I asked, glancing at her.

“Well, he was playing with your—”

I cut her off with a wave of my hand. “Pixie is a lilac point Siamese cat. She decided to befriend Flynn when he picked me up this morning.” Just to prove my point, I dug my phone out of my pocket to show her proof of her existence. “He was just being an ass.”

“It doesn’t detract from my original statements.” She gave me a smile that would make most men drop to their knees in surrender. “He deserves to be happy.”

I didn’t reply as I had rules in the workplace, and no dating co-workers was one of them. It was okay for Megan since she had nothing to do with this team and wouldn’t have to work with everyone if it all went wrong.

And Flynn hadn’t made any indication that he liked me as anything more than an employee.

I turned us abruptly and made my way back toward the truck with the cars loaded onto it. “Tell you what, Megan. Instead of us standing at the side of the track and watching, let me introduce you to my world. Then you and I will pick a rally car and show these guys that women know how to drive at speed, just like them.”

She stopped, her mouth dropping open. “I would love that. Jordan doesn’t even let me in the car with him when he’s racing in case there’s a crash.”

“Welcome to the dark side, Megan. We have cookies, adrenalin, and speed.”

She bit her bottom lip but it didn’t hide the smile. “I like the sound of the dark side even without the cookies.”

“Mum brought me up to believe a woman can do everything a man can. I don’t see why we can’t join in the fun of today.”

She squeaked and grabbed my arm again. “This is going to be so much fun!”

I checked the rally car over since the IndyCar would be the second to make an appearance. Flynn slid behind the wheel and revved the engine for me a few times. I slammed the bonnet and gave him a thumbs up.

“Good to go,” I called out.

How could I not compare the difference in the two teams I had worked in? Dale required everyone fussing around him and calming his nerves. Flynn tended to wave everyone off since this was a testing session and all the modifications had been made before we arrived here.

While they got the car onto the track and hooked up so we could record the results, I took a wander through the garage to select a car for Megan and me later. No one had given me an indication of which was their favourite to drive, but there were several cars that hadn’t been out in a while. Since no one was around, I started a few just to listen to the engine tone before returning to the others.

Declan stood in the booth with a laptop, Jordan had headphones on, and Pete was standing beside the car speaking to Flynn. I found a place where I could observe the car as it came around a corner, so I could watch the steering control and traction the car had on the tracks.

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