Page 9 of Fast & Reckless
“It was very … intense,” she said at last.
“It’s a shame Pen’s not here to help with the transition.”
“I’ll get up to speed quickly, I promise. I’ve already started going over the passport and visa requirements, and I’ve updated the online employee calendar with all the pertinent deadlines for documents to be in, so everybody should have received an email notification about it this afternoon, and—”
“Don’t let your father scare you, Mira,” Natalia said, reaching out to lay her hand on her partner’s arm. “I’m sure you’ll be fine.”
“Thereisa lot to learn,” she conceded. “I know the sport, but it’s different from this side.” Her father met her eyes again in the mirror, and she didn’t miss the concern in his gaze. “But I’m so excited and grateful for the opportunity. I won’t let you down, Dad.”
“Mira …” he began, then paused. “I’m sure you won’t,” he finished. She didn’t quite believe him, but she’d prove it to him—and herself.
6
Although he’d stepped all over his own dick the night before with Mira, Will was determined to shake it off when he arrived at the Lennox factory the next morning. He was scheduled in the simulator to work through the data from yesterday’s drives, and anything he could do to improve the car’s performance had to be his sole focus.
That resolve was sorely tested when he entered the simulator room to find Mira waiting there for him. To be fair, Paul was the one waiting for him, and Mira was there because … well, it was her job. And he washer father. She was busy, diligently taking note of everything Paul and David said, so he took advantage of her distraction to check her out. He was only human, after all.
Her black trousers and blue jumper were just as conservative as the gray dress she’d been wearing last night, but frustratingly, that didn’t stop him from finding her attractive. Nor did her ruthlessly slicked back blond hair. It just made him imagine what it would look like falling across her shoulders. Like the sensible black shoes made him wonder if she paintedher toenails, and the clingy blue jumper made him wonder about the bra underneath and—
“Will?” He startled to attention to find Paul and David staring at him and got the feeling they’d said his name more than once. Which was why he needed to stop obsessing over a girl who’d turned him down not once, but twice, and was his boss’s daughter.
“Ready for me, Paul?” Yes, please, put him in the simulator where he could focus on driving and block out everything else.
“We want to look at one more thing. Give us a minute?”
“Sure thing.”
David pulled Paul over to a bank of computer monitors. Mira was about to follow, but he nudged her elbow. Time to clear the air.
“Listen, Mira, if I made you feel uncomfortable, I apologize.”
“I’m fine,” she replied briskly, focusing on her notepad again to avoid looking at him. It was filled with her writing, tiny and precise, with bullet points and proper headings. Her notes looked like someone’s PhD paper. Like he wasn’t already terrified of her.
“I didn’t realize who you were or I’d never have—”
Now she looked at him, her head snapping up, those clear green eyes zeroing in on his. “Oh, so you’re only sorry because my dad runs the team?”
“No, I—”
“If I was just the clueless intern you thought I was, then I’d be fair game?”
“I didn’t say—”
“Because you can’t just—”
“I said I was sorry, okay?” His voice was loud enough that Paul and David glanced back over their shoulders at them.Mira’s mouth snapped shut as she cast a nervous glance around the room. “You’re right,” he said. “I should have backed off, no matter who your father is. Consider it my own special kind of punishment that your fatherhappensto be Paul Wentworth.”
She fought to control her smile. “When you figured it out, your face was priceless.”
“Yeah, yeah, I’m sure I sounded like a total wanker, offering to explain racing to you.” He rubbed the back of his neck.
She held up her forefinger and thumb, a hair apart. “Maybe just this much of a wanker.”
“Okay, so yeah, I made an ass of myself and then I asked you out, and I’m now living in fear of your father. Does that make us even?”
Now she smiled in earnest, the first real smile he’d seen directed at him. Her dimples even made an appearance. Ah, fuck, this was going to be hard.
“Fine, we’re even,” Mira said.
