Page 19 of Octane

“Oh, come on, Sawyer. You can’t tell me that you’re not the least bit attracted to him.”

“He’s my boss, Daniel.”

“So am I,” he pins her in place with his stare.

She tries shaking off his claims, trying to make him see that they’re so outrageous so he’ll drop it. But an abuser doesn’t work that way. They don’t drop things or forget about them that easily.

“He’s out of your league, anyway. And he looks like the type of shallow asshole that goes for women who have much more sex appeal than you do.”

My blood boils hearing him talk to Sawyer like that. I now know where all of her self-doubt comes from. Why is she with someone like him? She’s a badass who, obviously, can take care of herself. A woman like her could have anyone she wants. I was wondering why she had such a chip on her shoulder. I guess now I know.

She’s not the snobby, rich girl I’d thought she was when I first met her. Her attitude is just a defense mechanism. She probably uses it to keep those who would cause her boyfriend to feel threatened at bay. She needs to keep the world at arm’s length to save herself from him.

Well, she’s not going to get away with it when it comes to me. I’ll make sure of that. I’ll make sure that she knows exactly how important she is. How talented she is. How much we need her on our team.

How beautiful she is.

I can’t think about her like that, though. Not only is she spoken for, no matter how pathetic of a person he is, but I can’t put myself out there like that again. It’s been a long time since Kristen, but my wounds still burn from her betrayal.

CHAPTER SEVEN

JACKSON

Ihave an owners’ meeting at the arena, so once I got back to my place and showered, I came down here. Several league supervisors are standing at the front of the suite going over some minor changes to the rules for the upcoming season. Nothing that will change the way that the Powell Racing team does things, though. We’ve had a winning team for the past several years. We don’t always come in first, but my drivers always place in the top ten.

I’m only half paying attention because I still can’t get the memory of what that asshole said to Sawyer out of my head. I should have knocked his teeth out, but I know better than to think that would solve anything.

Before my thoughts about that piece of shit drag me deeper into the dark, my attention is pulled out onto the speedway by the sound of a pair of engines roaring around the track. I lock eyes on a car that I haven’t seen speeding across the asphalt in quite some time.

Colton Donavan.

A smile immediately breaks out on my face. Colton has been a good friend of mine for a few years now. Seeing each other around the track often, we’ve gotten to know one another well. With both of us having multi-billion-dollar companies to run outside of the racing circuit, we found we had a lot in common.

Colton’s been busy building a family over the past several years, and we haven’t spoken in a while. I’ve seen him around the track a few times, but he’s usually in the middle of coaching his oldest son, Zander. The timing never felt right for me to butt in and say hi.

Though, if I’m honest with myself, I struggled with the idea that he was building a family while I was dealing with the fallout of losing one. It’s not that I’m not happy for him. He’s been through hell and back. If anyone deserves love in his life, it’s Colton.

I take a quick glance back to the supervisor, still droning on at the front of the room. Deciding to make a break for it, I stand and nod my apologies to him. Then I hurry to the door and exit the suite.

I make the quick trip down the stairs outside of the row of suites. Just as I am about to pass the entrance to the grandstands, a flash of wild black curls takes hold of my attention.

Sawyer.

My heart beats faster, and I stop dead in my tracks, immediately forgetting about Colton. Her profile is visible from here, and the forlorn look on her face eats away at me as I pivot my body toward her.

Did that bastard say anything else after they got on that elevator to break her down even further? Did he hurt her in another way?

I watch as she descends the stands, slowly making her way to the first row. I abandon the stairs leading to the track below and follow her path down the steps. A gust of wind slams into my body, but it doesn’t affect me. My focus is solely on her. She takes a seat in the first row, and I choose one a few rows behind her. I want to watch her for a while, unseen.

It’s none of my business, but Ihaveto know why she’s with him. Why would someone as strong, smart, and successful as her let a pathetic man talk to her that way? Why does she stay with him?

You know it’s not always as simple as that.

Cheering from the next section over captures her attention. Sawyer turns toward the noise, and a soft smile graces her lips. My eyes search for the source of her happiness, and that’s when I notice Rylee Donavan is watching from the stands to our left with their youngest son, Ace. He’s grown so much since the last time I saw him. He is the spitting image of his father.

He’s going to break hearts just like Colton, I can see it already.

SAWYER

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