AllFreeNovel
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After a certain point, you prepare for the next race and stop lamenting your poor showing in the last one. So, that’s what I did.
“You came here for me,” I whisper, knowing I should say more and unable to do so.
“Over here,” Boone snaps his fingers. “Is there any chance of you taking your job back?” His expression doesn’t change, but something in his tone tells me that until this meeting, Boone always assumed I would.
“None. It’s past time for me to move on.” This job was never meant to be permanent. I took it straight after college because the industry was familiar, and my father offered it. A temporary job would give me time to discover my purpose, and it ended with me lingering on for years. Dad is retired, and Boone doesn’t need me.
“The offer is there if you ever change your mind, especially since we can’t form any partnership,” Boone says. “Not under current circumstances.”
The numbness starts in my belly and moves out. I never expected the opportunity, and I knew better than to ask, but then, for one moment, there was hope. I’m not sure what feeling I have now.
Boone’s leg jerks, and Maddie says his name. Her mouth hangs open with shock and anger. He pulls her close and whispers into her ear. Maddie’s entire body relaxes.
A bit of hope is warranted, after all.
Beside me, Jake’s expression darkens even further.
“Everyone’s determined to think the worst of me today, aren’t they?” Boone’s dimple appears. A part of me wants to punch it off his face. “I kind of like that. My point is that we can’t make this deal because you already have an ownership stake inRivers Motorsports.It will seem like we’re bending the rules to secure another charter. I can guarantee NASCAR won’t allow it.”
“You’re a part owner?” Jake asks me.
“It happened when Dad first started this place.” It was never mine, not in the way it was Boone’s, so the ownership part never meant much. “It’s a small portion.”
“Fifteen percent,” Boone says for me. “You need to give up one. You can’t have a stake in both.”
The decision is simple. “I’ll find a buyer. It shouldn’t be difficult.”
The buyer sits opposite me, but I won’t make it easy for him. He wants to play us; I’ll do it right back.
“You can’t do that,” Boone says. “Not without my approval.”
“You aren’t the majority owner.”
Boone’s expression corrects me, and my heart sinks. “I am as of two weeks ago. You haven’t been around for me to tell you.” He blinks and rolls his eyes. “I’m also giving Madelyn an ownership stake.”
“What?!?!?” Maddie’s screech tells me she’s as shocked as all of us. “I’m only your assistant and don’t care about the sport.”
Jake draws back at her statement.
“You care about me, doesn’t that count? Plus, we all know you’re the reason we’re sitting down together,” Boone says. He sticks his finger at me. “It was supposed to be a surprise, and you ruined it.”
Oh, I know this routine.
“How was I supposed to know? Next time, put it in your diary so I can read it later,” I say.
“I put it in yours before sharing it with every guy in the garage,” he shouts back.
“Did you share the part where it describes how you were afraid of the merry-go-round?” I say. This one will embarrass him.
“They went in circles, which makes it rational. You wereafraid of the Easter bunny.”
“Rabbits are not supposed to be that big.” I pull up my sleeves.
Maddie whistles, and we quiet down. “Let’s argue over rabbits and schoolyard equipment later, shall we?”
“Dear fuck, what did I witness?” Jake stares as if I transformed into someone unrecognizable.
“We argue sometimes,” I say.
