AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Having dinner with the two of them hadn’t been a bad way to spend my evening, though.
I knew myself well enough to recognize that as the precise reason I’d ruined it.
Once we got through this meeting at Rossi, I’d send her an apology text—put a nice stamp on the end of what we’d shared over the last year so she wouldn’t look back on those nights with regret.
The headquarters of Rossi Motors was impressive. Bikes I had dreams about on display. Classics, with chrome so shiny, it could have been mistaken for a mirror. Made me wonder if they’d ever been ridden. It’d be a damn shame if they hadn’t.
Jeremy elbowed me. “I see you eye-fucking that machine.”
“Can’t help it. It’s a beauty.”
He shook his head. “You and your toys. If I get a call about your brain being splattered on the street, I’m going to be pissed.”
“I think I’d have bigger fish to fry than your anger.”
Needless to say, this was another of our differences. Jeremy had never had any desire to straddle a bike and take it on the open road while it pained me to go more than two weeks without riding mine. The winter months were close to torture.
We were shown up to the executive floor, where more Rossi machinery was on display like art on the walls. I didn’t have the opportunity to look it over as Luca Rossi strode toward us, his hand outstretched. With him was a sturdy woman with silver hair wearing a fitted leather moto jacket atop a button-down and black dress pants.
“Welcome to Rossi. I’m Luca, and this is Sally Fink, our CFO.” He took Jeremy’s hand and clasped it like they were old friends before turning to me. “Jacob, right?”
“Everyone calls me Jake.”
“Jake it is.” He clapped my hand between his and offered a grin that looked sincere. I’d heard a lot about this guy, but only Jeremy had met him. From all accounts, Luca was forward-thinking and affable. He took his company’s success seriously, but outside of that, he was laid back and quick with a joke.
So far, my impression was good, but we’d only just met. A lot of people looked good at first or even second glance. I was reserving judgment.
While Jeremy and Sally exchanged greetings and small talk, Luca nodded toward the wall in front of us. “I noticed you were checking out our art.”
“I was. I’ve never seen a bike sliced down the middle and mounted on a wall.”
He chuckled. “We’re all a little obsessed with our product around here. There aren’t many employees who don’t ride. How about you?”
“I do.”
“Yeah?” He faced me, tucking his hands in the pockets of his trousers. “What do you ride?”
If this was a test, I was confident I’d pass it. Economics and budgets weren’t my thing, but I could run laps around anyone when it came to my knowledge of motorcycles and cars. I had curated a small but impressive collection of each.
“I have a Rossi Streamer for touring and a 1974 M50 Road Knight for special occasions.”
His brows show up. “No kidding? My grandfather passed on his ’73 Road Knight to my dad.”
“Tell me he takes it out.” Luca shook his head, and I felt his denial like a physical pain. “Does he at least allow you to take it out?”
“No. Sadly, it’s sitting under a tarp. He’s holding on to it for sentimental reasons, but I’m close to convincing him to give it to me.” He pulled a pewter key chain from his pocket and twirled it on his index finger. “Close as I’ve gotten to it in a while.”
He stopped the twirling to hold it out to me. A replica of an M50 Road Knight was parked on Luca’s palm. The details were impressive, down to the exact shape of the tailpipe.
“Given to me by my wife,” he added.
“Nice wife.”
His grin crinkled the corners of his eyes. “No doubt about that. Are you married?”
“No. Marriage isn’t something I’m looking for right now.”
“You’re young. You have time.”
