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Luna
The race in Germany went well enough. Rafe was driving even better than usual, Pedro was fighting just as hard as if to prove himself to other teams, and Devin seemed extra jumpy but also very affectionate. I didn’t know what to make of that.
Following Germany, Devin and I were asked to meet with Gregory Brown, the head of the federation. At first, neither of us knew why we had to meet with him in his London office. Thoughts went through my head over and over again. Had we done something in violation of federation rules? While we’d been careful to do nothing improper, Devin had told me about Leo’s accusations. Had Leo gone to the federation with his suspicions? If so, should we have lawyers present?
“Do you think we’re in trouble?” I asked Devin as we drove downtown to the federation offices.
“What could we have done wrong? I don’t think Leo is behind whatever this meeting is.”
“Maybe we’ve violated some obscure rule about dating. I had our lawyers check into it; we’re doing nothing wrong.”
“What’s he going to do? Tell us we aren’t allowed to go out together? He’s not our fucking father!”
But I wondered. “Maybe it’s stemming from the press conference in Austria.”
“That was weeks ago. If he was going to punish us, he would have done it a long time ago.”
I’d only met Gregory Brown once before when he’d introduced himself at a race banquet. We’d talked about my father for some time. I found him intimidating, and Rafe later explained that he had his favorite drivers and teams, and he did nothing to hide that fact. It was all a popularity contest, and money always won out in the end. Thankfully, I’d been more than polite. The last thing I wanted was to be in his doghouse.
We entered through the huge glass doors, and the receptionist motioned for us to sit down on one of the leather sofas.
“Mr. Brown will be with you any minute,” she said. The receptionist gave nothing away, not that I expected her to.
“I’m getting concerned,” I said, tapping my foot on the floor uncontrollably.
“I’m not worried.”
He was so full of shit. “So why is your jaw clenched?”
“It’s not clenched,” he said, visibly relaxing it.
I looked around the lavish office. I wondered if all my trust fund money had gone to furnish the extraordinary offices, or perhaps as a down payment for the impeccable marble floors. Racing was all about the money, and the federation made sure to keep a lot of it.
“Are you going to come to Rafe’s stupid party?” I asked.
“I can’t,” Devin said, obviously irritated. “I have to do a television show in Rome that evening, and there is no possible way I could get to Milan in time.”
“When did this happen?” I asked. I’d hoped he would be there. He’d be the only friendly face for the big Blake Carlton reveal.
“Riedl was supposed to do the show, but he has another commitment, so Leo ordered me to do it. Riedl is a real shit sometimes.”
“Who am I going to talk to all night?”
Devin laughed as I pouted. “You’re going to know everyone there.”
“But I don’t like any of them.”
“Luna, I wish I could be there.”
The receptionist stood and walked over to us in her incredibly high heels. “He’ll see you both now,” she said. “Please follow me.”
The woman showed us to the office at the end of the hall, walking like an expert in those heels, and we stepped into the huge room. Gregory Brown’s desk was at the far end. There was another leather sofa and models of cars past and present on pedestals. On the walls were pictures of great drivers, and I was pleased to see that my father had made the cut.
“Hello, Luna, Devin, please take a seat,” Gregory said.
We sat on the two chairs in front of his desk.
“You must be wondering why I’ve asked you both here.” He smiled at us, and for some reason, that put me more on edge.
