“Yes, sir,” I reply through gritted teeth.
I excuse myself as well, but unlike Liz and Fallon, I make my way to my hotel room. Today has been a rollercoaster, and I can’t take any more of it.
Chapter 26
Nevaeh
Racedayismyfavorite day of the weekend. The teams sprint back and forth, gathering all the equipment they need. I do my best to capture candid moments of the hardworking crews, amazed by how much they do and how little credit they get for it. Mechanics working on the car, strategists discussing their plans, and more I don’t even know about.
I see Papa running around and snap a few pictures to show him afterward. I think he’ll find it funny to see himself sweating through his dress shirt while worrying about the smallest of details.
Right before Adrian left, he appeared in front of me with his headphones half on, half off. Taylor Swift’s voice blasted through the earpieces, so loud even I could hear it. I cocked a brow and grinned so hard, my cheeks hurt.
“What? I’m a Swiftie. I have to listen to her music before every race or it won’t be a good one. It’s my superstition.” He winked at me once before placing his headphones on properly and jogging in Daniel’s direction.
I smiled the whole time I wrote it down in my notes for the article.
The cars have lined up at the starting grid, and the teams get ready as the clock counts down.
Ten minutes to go until the start of the sixth race of this season.
At the start of the race, all the cars are close together, fighting to push as far ahead as possible. Crashes often happen through avoidable mistakes, miscalculations from the drivers about the amount of space they have, and a million more reasons. It’s why I hate the start. It makes me unbelievably nervous.
“Hi, honey,” I hear Mama say, grabbing my attention.
I finish the last word of the thought I was jotting down before it has a chance to leave my brain and turn to smile at her. She pushes my hair off my shoulder to let it rain down my back. Concern flickers in her eyes and causes her upper lip to twitch.
“What are you doing?” she eventually asks, making my breathing hitch. Out of all the questions she could have asked, this one confuses me the most.
“With my life or at this very second?” I reply, a smile skipping onto my face. Mama frowns and rubs her temples with the tips of her index fingers.
She hates it when I’m like this.
“Nevaeh, be serious. Your boss spoke to me about your behavior at dinner yesterday. Since when do you walk away from confrontation?” Anger and frustration settle in my chest, weighing heavy on my lungs and restricting my breathing.
Why would Gillian go to speak to my mother?
“Mama, I love you, and I appreciate your concern, but this is my business, and I need you to see it as such.”
I know very well this is not an easy thing for her. Being nosy and all up in her children’s businesses is her love language, but, for once, she needs to stay out of it. I’m even surprised I’ve been able to hide what’s going on between Adrian and me for this long. She usually sniffs these things out in minutes.
“Okay, but, remember, be glad you got this job. It took you forever to find one,” she replies and squeezes my arm before walking away, most likely to get back to Papa.
Something about her words rubs me the wrong way.
Then, as they slowly sink in, I realize she doesn’t think I’d get another job, just the encouragement I needed to stay in this shitty one. Fantastic. My eyes dart back to the screens as I force myself to concentrate on the race.
I should take notes in case Mrs. Lu wants me to write an article about the race as well. At this point, I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do.
My main task is to have a constant eye on Adrian, I think.
Finally, the crews clear the track so the drivers can take their formation lap to warm up the tires and charge their batteries. They then reposition themselves on track at the starting light, waiting for the lights to go out. Adrian and Lincoln will go head-to-head, and I can’t watch, but I have to, even though it makes my stomach twist into the worst knot.
As soon as the lights go off, every single driver charges forward, inches away from one another. Adrian keeps his first place for now, and Lincoln fights James Landon for the second position. Val stays in sixth as her brother takes off, creating a small distance between himself and the other nineteen drivers. Lincoln eventually moves out of James’ reach, keeping his second place.
Once everything settles, I’m able to breathe again.
“Nerve-racking, huh?” A man with brown hair and a matching beard approaches me, and I smile when I realize it’s Daniel, Adrian’s performance coach. His Irish accent is strong, but I’ve been around enough people with all types of accents to understand them considerably well in casual conversations.
