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He exhales heavily. “I get it, Shay. I do. But ARI is bigger than my father. It’s the only place I’ve ever felt like I belong. And if this gets out, it’ll be a scandal too big even for our company. I have to believe there’s something worth saving.”
My heart skips at the desperation in his words. “You could drive for another team?”
He’s already shaking his head. “ARI is all I’ve wanted. All I’ve prepared for.”
I’m frustrated he sees it that way. Under the collar of his shirt, the chain I gave him glints. My fingers brush the metal I’ve always treasured before shifting up to his face. He’s warm and real and present.
“The past doesn’t matter as much as the future,” I say. “I learned that from you. I hope you’re ready to live by it.”
43
Jameson
Shay’s words are still echoing in my ears when I go down to the gym late that night.
I grew up wanting to be part of ARI, but I didn’t understand it. Now, I’m seeing its flaws run deeper than I knew.
But there’s a chance it can be better.
I’m supposed to be at the academy the next morning, but what I have to say won’t wait. That’s why I go straight to ARI headquarters instead, take the hall to my father’s office, and push on his door.
He’s inside in a meeting with half a dozen execs who all look up in surprise.
“We need to talk,” I announce.
“I have room in my schedule this afternoon, Jameson—”
“Now.”
The suits clear out at Luca’s pointed look.
“I know what happened with Dekker,” I say, barely waiting for the door to close before I start.
Luca’s eyes narrow. “How?”
“It doesn’t matter. I want to know why.”
My father paces behind his desk. I wonder if he’s always been uncomfortable with stillness. “Dekker isn’t an Ashford. I want my blood in that car.”
“Badly enough to compromise everyone in ARI to make it happen?”
He points to photos and trophies on the wall. “This company, this entire town, thrived because of me. I was a driver, Jameson. But I had a vision for myself, my heirs. If you wait for things to happen, they never will.”
“Then it’s only nepotism.”
If the words sound hollow, that’s exactly how I feel. Theo’s worst nightmare might have been losing his family, but mine is this—winning when I don’t deserve it, especially when I’m forced to confront the casualties.
It’s one thing to race for the seat, another to know it was made available in the first place through back dealing and sabotage.
“Nothing is ‘only.’ There’s always and. A winning season is skill and luck. A winning driver is talent and opportunity. Even when the stars align, the world can conspire against you to keep you from your destiny.
“Like this girl you’re infatuated with. She will keep you from your fate.”
“She is my fate.” I say it without thinking.
He laughs. “She isn’t. You’ll see that soon enough. You think you’re worldly, son, but you’ve lived a very short and sheltered life. The things I’ve done before you were old enough to step in a kart.”
His voice lifts the hairs on my neck. “I don’t believe you.”
