Liam didn’t confirm or deny.
“This situation has just gone from bad to worse. You slept with her, Liam? I knew you were attracted to her, but you slept with her? You couldn’t wait at least until after the race?”
It was as if their roles had reversed. Liam was being the irresponsible one.
“You better keep this on the down-low low low. I can’t imagine how the other drivers would react if they found out you’re sleeping with her. They are going to wonder if that’s why she was put on the team in the first place. Hell, how is Cyrus going to react?!”
“She’s a grown woman!” Liam snapped. He was dead ass wrong and knew it. Despite that, he defended his actions. “Look, I didn’t mean for this to unfold the way it has.”
“You said that already.”
Liam was just as frustrated with himself as Brian was. “I can’t explain it. I’m attracted to her in a way that I haven’t been attracted to anyone else before—ever. Every time I try to ignore it, I end up doing the opposite.”
His words threw Brian. “Like, ever?”
“Ever. For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do about it. You want to add more insult to injury; she’s pissed at me.”
“What did you do now?” Brian asked.
“She thinks I was just toying with her for sex.”
For the first time since the video went viral, Brian laughed. “She does realize you’re a billionaire and that you don’t need her for that, right?”
“Apparently, not. But that is also part of her charm. She doesn’t give a damn about who I am and what I have. She’s singularly focused on racing.”
Brian sat back down. “This is a clusterfuck. You’re finally interested in a woman for more than her body, we have to win the Atlanta race with shit cars, or lose to the Luccesses, and Lila is literally fifteen minutes away. I’m not quite sure how this situation can get any worse.”
As soon as Brian said the words, the door to his office opened, and Cyrus walked inside, followed by the rest of the team minus Asher. This. This was how it was going to get worse, Brian thought. The only man who knows what the hell was going on would probably kill Liam and quit.
Liam watched Colby take a seat next to her father. She refused to make eye contact with him.
Brian was still pissed at Liam, but he had some compassion for him. For now, all the emotional crap had to be put on the back burner. “I called this meeting because Colby has seemingly become a hot commodity. People want to know everything they can about you. I’m asking that until we get a crisis management team in place that everyone responds to any media inquiries with a simple ‘no comment.’ ”
“Understood,” Cyrus said. Heads nodded throughout the room. Cyrus continued, “I was hoping to keep a lid on Colby driving until we had everything we needed for our cars in place. Word leaking out is going to make getting some of the things we need more challenging.”
“I know. We’ve already lost an engine and two potential sponsors,” Brian responded.
Liam couldn’t keep his eyes from straying over to her.
“We’ll get it figured out.” Cyrus rubbed his chin.
Everyone spent the rest of the meeting trying to map out the next couple of weeks before the race. Cyrus couldn’t help but notice that Colby was unusually quiet. She didn’t utter a single word. He thought it was strange.
Once the meeting ended, Colby was the first up and out of her chair. It was Liam’s instincts to follow her out the door. Brian stepped into his path. “Liam, I could really use your advice on something. Can you stay for a minute?” His eyes bore into his brother’s.
“I’m going to head out to the garage,” Cyrus said. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do,” Brian answered.
As soon as the room cleared, Brian closed the door. “You can’t look at her like that.”
“Like what?” Liam was frustrated.
“Like you’re her lover.”
“I am.”
“Can you at least keep it on the DL until after the race? We don’t need a mutiny. That would be one more thing for someone to tell Asher, and he leaks that to the press too. It’ll be game over for her.”
Brian was right. Liam wasn’t thinking straight. He found it hard to be rational when it came to Colby. Instead of chasing after the woman he was falling in love with, Liam decided to do what he did best. Work.
Lockwood Racing was in a crisis, and that he could help fix.
Chapter 20
Something was wrong, and Cyrus knew it. Colby had been withdrawn all day. She should be excited by the video going viral, but it seemed to be having the opposite effect.
He and Colby were working on Chris’s car when he finally spoke. “Want to talk about it, Lil’ Bit?”
Lil’ Bit. Colby hadn’t heard that term in years. Her dad only used it when he was in daddy mode. She was tempted to let him baby her but decided it was best to keep what happened with Liam to herself. It would upset the entire garage.
Her face was hidden as she pretended to study the problem with Chris’ clutch.
She mumbled, “I’m good.”
Cyrus was grasping at straws. “I hope you’re not worried about the race in Atlanta. You’re going to be fine.”
Tuh, she thought. They weren’t even going to let her drive.
Cyrus knew the best place for Colby to be when she was melancholy was on the track. “We’re going to do some practice runs with Chris and Jordan this afternoon. We need to work on our offensive and defensive moves.”
Colby glanced up. Her eyes were glassy, but she wouldn’t cry. “Did you read any of those comments under that video? I’ve been called everything but the son of God. N-word this, N-word that, slurs too vile to repeat.” Her throat was thick with pain. “I love cars. I love driving. Why does it have to be such a fight to do what I love?” Her voice was strangled. “Why does this have to be so damned hard?”
Cyrus was gutted. “Being the first is always hard because the path to get there is always near impossible.” Cyrus put down his tools and took a step a little closer to his daughter. He placed his large hand on her shoulder. “You’re the right woman for this moment.”
Colby wasn’t so sure. “Dad, we can’t be competitive with these cars. We need better parts. At just the hint of me racing in Atlanta, the top vendors have either canceled orders or stopped returning Brian’s phone calls. We don’t even have any sponsors.” Colby felt like screaming. “I don’t want to be someone they talk about as a first.” The pain was evident in her eyes. “I want to fix a few wrongs, but more importantly, I want the chance to win. And right now, I just feel defeated.”
Cyrus didn’t know how to encourage her, especially when part of him felt guilty. He’d given Colby his love of cars, but it wasn’t a gift. It had been more like an albatross around her neck. “We’ll figure something out. We always do.”
Colby just stared at him. “I think I’m going to call it early. I’m not in the best headspace to get out on that track.” She lowered the hood of the car.
When the hood of the car closed, Liam was standing behind it. Colby’s chest tightened. She wasn’t expecting to see him. Colby wondered how much of anything he had heard.
Did it really matter? No. It didn’t. And even though she should hate him, she couldn’t.
While she could be mad at Liam, the real person she should be pissed at was herself. She allowed everything that went down between them to happen. There was nothing left to do but chalk her situation up to a long list of losses. It was what she deserved for ignoring all the warning signs, and Liam Lockwood was a walking, talking big-ass billboard.
She was out. Leaving. Colby was entirely done with the day. Who knows? Maybe she would be ready to fight tomorrow.
Maybe not.
Without uttering a word, Colby turned on her heels and left.
Cyrus watched her walk away. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her like this. Sometimes, I wishe
d she had liked playing with dolls over engines.”
Liam had heard their conversation. He had also heard the complete anguish in her voice. It sliced him like a knife, knowing that he was partially responsible for her pain.
“Do you really think Colby can win the Atlanta race?” he asked.
Cyrus was still staring after her. “For Colby, driving would be a thousand times more dangerous than any other man on that course. She would have every team gunning for her. She would have teams working together in tandem to keep her in her place. And now that she is on NASCAR’s radar, Lockwood Racing has a huge X on our chest. Any driver from this team is going to have a hell of a time simply because Colby’s on it.” Cyrus turned to Liam. “I’ve seen and worked with a lot of legends in my lifetime. I know what winning looks like. And even with the odds stacked up against us like they are, do I believe that Colby could win?” Cyrus paused. “I don’t say this lightly, and I sure as hell don’t say it because she’s my daughter, but Colby James can win. She’s that talented. Of course, Lockwood drivers would have to work as one cohesive unit for that to happen. They would have to spend the next couple of weeks, not training to drive, but training to work together. And that’s IF we can get our cars together and find a few sponsors.”
“That’s a heavy lift between now and Atlanta,” Liam said.
“Yep. Time is not on our side.” Solemnly, Cyrus put his hands in his front pockets. “I think I’m going to follow in my daughter’s footsteps and call it a day. Maybe go out and enjoy some of the fresh air and sunshine. Hopefully, it’ll help recharge this old man’s batteries, and I’ll be in better spirits to fight another day on Monday.”
Chapter 21
Over the next few days, and with Liam’s help, Brian put an incredible PR and crisis management team in place. Most of their press coverage was favorable, but that was the public, not NASCAR.
Asher had yet to show up for any practice runs.
“I’m still struggling to get engines and tires for the cars,” Brian said.
“I thought the tires came in today?” Liam responded.
“They did—with shit tread. They’re useless.”
“I’ve been working on a plan B.”
“What do you mean, plan B?”
“Just in case things don’t work out, we’ve got to be prepared for the Luccesses. So, I’ve been working on creating a new division of Lockwood Enterprises.”
“Okaaaay,” Brian said hesitantly. “What does that mean exactly?”
“What if we spun off that division of Lockwood to form a whole other company unrelated to Lockwood Enterprises and transfer all of your shares to it? We’ll make you the CEO. Then if things go left, you can give Anthony those shares. He’ll own a shell of a company without any ties to Lockwood Enterprises.”
Listening to Liam’s plan was a hard pill to swallow. Brian would have lost almost his entire fortune, except for Lockwood Racing. But if he were honest, it was a good plan because shit was looking bleak. “Honestly, I think it’s a great plan.” Brian smashed his fist down on his desk. “I can’t believe I messed up like this.”
Liam didn’t want Brian to beat himself up too badly. “We’ve all made mistakes. It’s only money.”
“Said the billionaire.”
“Yes. I am. I’m not ashamed of it, but if you think it didn’t come with its own fair share of problems, you would be kidding yourself,” Liam said.
“You would have never made the kinds of mistakes I’ve made.”
“Maybe not the exact same kinds of mistakes because we’re different people, but I haven’t always made the best decisions, and neither did Dad,” Liam confirmed. “When he died, he left the company almost bankrupt.”
“You’re lying?” Brian had never heard that before.
“No. Far from it. Mom made Dad put money in a trust for us before he started doing stupid shit. It was one that he couldn’t touch. She was the executor. I didn’t gain full access to mine until I was twenty-seven. After she died, mom’s role as executor fell to me. You were supposed to gain full access to your trust on your twenty-seventh birthday too, but you were wildin’ out, so I made them change it to age thirty. At any rate, separate from the trust, Mom left each of us five million cash. That’s the money we received when they died. I almost lost all of mine dealing with a Bernie Madoff type. Dude made off with mostly all of it. Left me with five hundred thousand dollars, which is the money I used to rebuild Lockwood Enterprises. To this day, I’ve never touched the money Dad left in my trust. At the time, I couldn’t. Now, I don’t need to. So, while we might be different in our approaches to things, we’re both cut from the same cloth. No matter what happens with this situation, I have faith that you’ll be okay.”
Liam had never told Brian that story before. Brian was shocked but also felt a little better. He was learning on the fly about business, but Brian was glad that Liam was on his side to guide him through it. Knowing that his mistakes wouldn’t be the downfall of Lockwood Enterprises lifted a heavy burden off of Brian’s shoulders.
“Thanks for that, bro.”
“No thanks necessary.”
Brian sighed. “I really don’t want to lose to Anthony Luccesse. It’s more than just about money. He’s taken so much away from me.”
“Lila?”
Brian wouldn’t answer.
“Have you talked to her?”
“I’ve already told you; Lila is a done deal.”
Liam didn’t think so. Brian was still too shook up every time her name was mentioned. But his own love life was in shambles, so who was he to say one way or the other. He’d done his level best to stay away from Colby the last few days. It had been an almost impossible task. So far, he’d been successful in watching from a distance. No way was he giving up on her. Liam was just trying to think of her needs instead of his own. So, for now, he would steer clear. But after the Atlanta race, he was going to pursue her with dogged abandon. If keeping their relationship on the down-low had to be part of the solution, Liam was prepared for that too. In the meantime, the goal was to get prepared for the race. “Where do we stand on parts?”
Exasperated, Brian slid his hand down over his face. “I think I found a company willing to sell us some tires.” Brian’s phone rang. “I better get this.” He clicked the button on his cell. “Lockwood.”
Liam had to smile a little. He sounded so much like him.
Brian whipped his head around to Liam as he put his phone on speaker. “Yes, I’ll hold for the Commissioner of NASCAR.” Brian mouthed the words, what the fuck?
Seconds later, the Commissioner was on the line. “Mr. Lockwood? This is John.”
“Please, call me Brian.”
“Thanks, Brian. I wanted to reach out personally and officially welcome you to NASCAR.”
“Thank you, but I have to admit, you’re the first.”
“It’s sincere, so I hope that counts for something.”
“It does, and again, thank you.”
“It’s probably also been one helluva week for you and your team. The media has been all over the Colby James story.”
“It has,” Brian agreed.
“You’re doing a fine job of handling it. Look, the reason for my call is to let you know that NASCAR has been working very hard to change our image along with some long-standing issues that have plagued our sport. I wanted to give you a heads up that this week we are announcing the banning of all confederate flags from any of our sanctioned races. They will not be allowed inside any of our tracks. It’s a small gesture, but a big damn deal . . . considering.”
Brian’s mouth almost hit the floor. He spoke with a calm he didn’t really feel. “That’s a good start and a long time coming.”
“I couldn’t agree more. As you’re also probably aware, we only have one African American driver in our Cup series. I hope that we have at least two for our Atlanta race. We can’t change the hearts and minds of our teams overnight, and given the James’ family history, I
wanted to let you know that you have the official support of NASCAR.”
Again, Brian’s voice didn’t convey his pure and utter shock. “That’s great to hear and much appreciated.”
“Good luck, and see you at the races.” They disconnected their call.
“Can you believe it? This thing has turned out to be way bigger than I ever anticipated. We have to be in Atlanta in three days for pre-trial runs. What the hell am I going to do?”
Liam had been busy, not just with Plan B but a few other things too. “I have been working on a few things. I’ve got some ideas. You mind if I butt into your business?”
“If it means being ready for the race? Handle it. Do whatever it is you have to do.”
*****
Colby and the team had been practicing offensive and defensive maneuvers. For the most part, they were in total sync. If they had better cars, they might have a shot at winning. Chris and Jordan weren’t too bad. They were good and pushed Colby to her limits. It was a damn shame that they were using her as a stand-in for Asher.
Colby was done trying to fight the good fight. She had decided when this race was over to hightail it back to Washington.
Her dad was fine. Colby needed to get her own life in order. Her dream of racing was just that. A dream. It was time to grow up and step back into the real world. She was thankful that she had only taken a leave from her job and not just flat out quit.
Colby was pulling into the pit when she saw Gonzo run away and up the stairs to the booth. He whispered into her father’s ear, and a smile split her dad’s face in half.
Her father started speaking through her headset. “Apparently, we have a sponsor.”
Whoopee, Colby thought. She didn’t want to be a Debbie Downer and rain on everyone else’s parade. She feigned enthusiasm as best she could. “That’s great.” Too bad her voice lacked any excitement at all. Fortunately, everyone else had enough excitement to mask her lack of it.
Full Throttle Page 16
