Page 87 of All That Glitters
“Do tell.” I couldn’t keep the skepticism out of my voice and I didn’t even try. A stranger had just told me something that my father didn’t have the guts to say.
“You’re a fighter. You’re angry that I challenged you and I think you’re angry that it seems your father gave up on you. If you can’t drive yet, fine. You know these cars better than almost anyone else in the field. You’ve grown up watching them being built, being tested, being tuned, being raced, and then racing them yourself. You’ve built cars. Your knowledge is immeasurable and I want it. If you can’t race, you can be on the box, you can work in the garage, you can train drivers, coach them, teach them. You can do anything you want at Crossline Racing until you’re ready to get into a car again yourself.”
For the longest moment all I could do was stare across the conference room table at Darien Cross. Had I heard him right? I think I had. He’d just offered me whatever job with his team I wanted. What I couldn’t figure out was why. I heard what he said, but it couldn’t be as simple as him thinking I was more than qualified to handle it. “Are you serious?”
It was an amateur question, but it was no less valid to my mind.
“I don’t joke about business matters, Ashton.”
“Why aren’t you driving your own car?”
“What do you know about my journey from racing to owning a team?”
“Not much.” Which was both true and not true. I didn’t know anything more than what Helen and I had talked about on the way over.
“You didn’t look me up on your way over?”
“I’d rather hear it from you.”
“Fair enough. I decided that I could do way more damage owning a team than driving for my own or anyone else’s. And yes, I mean revenge. It’s petty and unbecoming of a man like me, but when I’ve jumped through all the hoops and was still overlooked, denied, rejected. I wanted more hours, more experience, to get better and was turned away there are only so many open spots for gentleman drivers and I… I decided to take my destiny into my own hands as I always have and bought a defunct team complete with two cars. Then I bought this place with the idea of transforming it into a shop, a garage, and taking the land and building a test track. I’m taking that from what your father did. I started putting together a long list of drivers, then a short list of drivers that I want to put in the driver’s seat immediately.”
“Who are you looking at?”
“I have another Italian driver from the European Le Mans series, Enzo Ricci. And a former stock car champion, Jake Curtis.”
I’d heard of both. I’d even seen Jake Curtis race a few times. He used to be really good. “I thought Jake retired.”
“He didn’t go out the way he wanted from what I understand. I heard he’s planning to race this season. Not many races, but maybe to clear the bad taste left in his mouth.”
I could understand that. “Is he a lock?”
“I haven’t talk to him yet. I’m headed to Charlotte in a few days to see what he has to say.”
Helen shifted in her seat and I glanced over. I couldn’t tell what she was thinking, not even when her eyes met mine.
We stared at each other for a few minutes. My mind was firing on all cylinders in a way it hadn’t in months. Energy flowed through my veins. Ideas took shape in my head and then, one of them, won out and it was going to piss her off.
“And the fourth driver?” I asked, turning my attention back to Darien.
“If I can’t find anyone, I’ll take the fourth spot myself. Why? Do you have someone in mind?”
“What about a woman?”
20
Helen
My eyes widened at the sheer audacity of Ashton Glitterati. I couldn’t believe he asked that. At the same time, of course I could. I’d seen it in his expression just before he opened his mouth.
So many things about this meeting had shocked me, had shocked Ashton, not the least of which was that his father sold his contract to Darien Cross. And it had happened in the last few days, the ones during which we hadn’t been talking. There’d been time for his father to tell him, to explain things to him, but Leonardo hadn’t done so.
The look on Ashton’s face when he learned of it, when he’d looked at his father’s signature on the papers… I couldn’t begin to imagine what he was feeling.
Can’t you? the little voice in my head whispered. I chose to ignore her. Now was not the time. There were other things to be concerned about.
I started to object to Ashton’s words, but for better or worse, I wanted to see where this conversation went first. It was possible that Darien would shut it down.
“I, uh… No. No, I hadn’t thought about a woman driver.” His cheeks flushed and he looked at me. “No offense.”
