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I rolled my eyes. “That’s really not necessary, Hayes.”
Willy grunted his disagreement, and I led them into the new house. Norton scrabbled on the floorboards as soon as he saw me, and I laughed as I bent down to get puppy kisses. It wasn’t until half my face was damp that Norton noticed Willy and Colin behind me. He stiffened automatically, putting his body between me and them.
Luckily, Colin was a huge dog fan. He didn’t meet his eye, just put out his hand to be scented, and Willy did the same. Finally assuring himself that the guys were okay, Norton went back to wagging his tail.
“Good security system, aren’t you, boy?” Colin cooed, and Norton leaned in for a scratch before returning to my side. We followed Hayes further into the house to the master bedroom. It had an ensuite and a spacious walk-in wardrobe, which was pretty lux for this area. I wouldn’t need it, but it would make a good nursery eventually.
As we stepped into the bedroom, we found Jesse putting last-minute touches on the room. Drywall had been put on and painted, and there was a bed in the middle of the floor. Although it was still just unfinished hardwood flooring, there were huge area rugs covering the floorboards.
Jesse was sitting on one in front of me, constructing a bassinet. It had mesh sides, with Scandinavian-style pale wooden legs. It took me a minute to notice the small set of drawers beside a change table as well, all of it matching. The whole place was light and beautiful, and made me want to cry.
Hayes came up behind me. “We wanted you to have somewhere comfortable for you and the baby that wasn’t a construction zone. There’s also a state-of-the-art Hepa air purifier over there, to make sure nothing hazardous to the baby drifts in.”
Jesse had stopped what he was doing to watch my reaction, and my cheeks flushed as I swallowed hard. “You guys didn’t have to do this,” I told Hayes, who just shrugged.
“Consider it a baby shower gift. Plus, the work on the room had to be done anyway. We just sped it along a little.”
“It’s nothing. You were coming from a furnished apartment. We knew you wouldn’t have much.” Jesse stood and shook the bassinet to make sure it was sturdy. “Won’t be needed for a while yet anyway, but it’s good to have the basics. We’ll leave you to get settled in.” He squeezed my shoulder as he left, and the small amount of contact felt electrified.
Hayes flung an arm around my shoulder. “Let us know if you need anything. We’re right next door.” He left too, and I took in the room. It was beautiful. Simple but lovely.
“Well, if no one else is going to say it, then I will,” Colin announced. “Holy hell, girl, they are swoonworthy.” He dragged my suitcase into the walk-in. “You need to lock one of them down. Or both. We’re progressive out here.”
I shook my head and laughed, but I had a sneaking suspicion that no matter how much my head told me that was a terrible idea, my heart was getting a little caught up. It had a short memory for how messily heartache could kill you.
NINE
HAYES
The first day at any job was nerve-wracking. But the first day at a brand-new race team made me feel like I was about to jump out of my skin. Here, I had a chance to make something of myself. For my name to be written into history books, even if it was just as a lowly mechanic.
The compound where VANT Enterprises had set up VANT Racing was huge, more like a plane hangar than any workshop I’d ever been in. There was technology here that was revolutionary. I tried not to walk around like Charlie in some creepy old guy’s chocolate factory, but it was hard not to gawk.
“We’re just going through the motions of building the car at the moment, and while there are very few modifications we can make, there’s always something, am I right?”
Antony was showing me around, and everything had that shiny newness about it. Even the other employees. Eventually, we’d be a team, where we could lean on each other and know that we had each other’s backs, but that would take time.
I nodded, pointing out things I would change, things I was excited about, just generally fangirling about even being here, but trying to be cool. “How about drivers?”
“Rocco Passero has just lost his seat in F1, and we’ve managed to convince him to sign on for two years as our primary driver.”
“Holy freaking shit!” I gasped, making heads turn.
Rocco Passero had been the wünderkind of F1, but suffered from a severe image problem. He partied way too hard. He also didn’t play well with his teammates or the press or the team bosses, or just about anyone.
I cleared my throat. “Uh, well, that’s a bold move.”
Antony laughed. “Indeed. But we needed a bold driver to break into the game, and no one can drive like Rocco Passero.”
That was true. “Just the one driver then?” I asked lightly.
My new boss raised an eyebrow at me. “I think we should start our working relationship with open and honest communication, don’t you think? So how about you ask me what you want to ask me, hmm?”
I chuckled nervously. Way to make a first impression, Hayes. “I guess I didn’t expect to see you out at that race the other day.” I mean, we might be in a brand-new company, but you never knew who was a snitch. “Do you, uh, go to those kinds of events often?”
Antony snorted a laugh. “Not as much anymore, but it might surprise you that once upon a time, I attended those kinds of events regularly… from behind the wheel. But I’m a little too old for that now, and Vanessa would murder me if I died in a fiery car crash.”
He continued around the factory. “No, we were doing exactly what you thought we were doing—scoping out racers. Mostly for sim driving and testing while we get the car race-ready, but maybe even for seats on the team. Rocco is excellent on road circuits, though he lacks some of the experience of street circuits and definitely on ovals. He was a little derisive of ‘racing in a damn circle.’” Antony shook his head, like Rocco was just a wayward child and not a twenty-odd-year-old veteran of elite motorsports.
