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“So, Nev, Dad tells us you have big news.”
I pause with my fork midway to my mouth. Here come the questions. Dammit. I hadn’t thought of Luca in, what, the last ten minutes? I was hoping to break my record.
“I wouldn’t say it’s big news. I bring on new drivers all the time. But yes, Luca signed on. We’ll start the onboarding process on Monday.”
It’s eerily silent, the only noise the clinking of forks against plates and the sounds of people eating. I don’t dare look around to see who mightbe eyeingme, keeping my nose deep in my lasagna.
“Well, I think that’s fantastic news,” Mel chimes in, breaking the bubble of silence surrounding us. “He’sa hot commodity from what I hear.”
I breathe a small sigh of relief for Mel coming to my rescue and saving the day. What are friends for if not to pull you out of sticky messes you don’t want to be in?
My mom just smiles; she’s usually cluelessaboutthe sports world, so I doubt she knows much of the gossip surrounding Luca. But my dad and brother sure know, and I can tell neither is happy by the scowl resting on their faces.
They need to get over their shit, and trust me.
Now if only I could say that out loud.
“I’m proud of you for sticking to your goal and seeing it through. I just hope there're no regrets later on.”
AJ smirks. “I’m pretty sure there will be. With that clown around, our entire sponsorship reputation is going to suffer. Mark my words.”
My brother’s words sting, but I swallow down the hurt. I need to show him that my decision is the correct one, or otherwise, I doubt I’ll ever live this down. And if Luca fucks something up for me, I won’t be happy about it, and he’ll damn well know it.
Fuck, why does everything have to become so personal?
And why did I not consider what would happen if hedid fuckshit up? How disappointed my father and brother would be in me, or how they’d tell meI told you sountil I die from hearing it too much.
No,no,I won’t let Luca fuck shit up. He’ll behave, even if I have to fucking babysit him. Because I will. I’ll do whatever I need to for him to stay on the right track, even if it means ignoring my hate for him and buttering him up instead.
“I won’t let that happen.” I muster confidence from somewhere inside me.
AJ rolls his eyes. “You can’t control what he does on or off the track. I doubt he’ll listen to anyone.”
I sigh. AJ has a point. But I need to make this work. Because the hardest part about it not working?
How much I hate disappointing family.
* * *
Monday doesn’t takeitstime in punching you straight in the gut as soon as you wake up. I should’ve kicked Mel out a lot earlier.
I knew the third bottle of wine would be a killer.
My alarm goes off for the fifth time in a row, and I slam it with my fist, grateful for the silence.
My head throbs and feels as if it weighs a thousand pounds. Hangovers at work are no joke, but witha little lifehack I know, I usually can kick that nasty feeling within a half hour.
Too bad that hack requires me getting out of bed. I finallymanage torollout,my head spinning when I sit up. I’m running late, but at this point, I don’t care.
After making my cure-all hangoverdrink, I climb into the shower and let thehot waterbeat down on my skin.
Already, I feel the stress creeping in, the weight of the day heavy on my mind. Even talking through it all with Mel last nightdidn’t help much, but she agrees I should act happy while watching him closely.
Unfortunately, when your body goes haywire every time he’s within ten feet, it’s hard to ignore. Even when you hate them. And hating them makes it easier to bury those feelings than anything else. I really think if you tell yourself something for long enough, you’ll eventuallystart tobelieve it.
I summon the strength I’ve been building up inside me all morning as I walk inside work an hour later, coffee in hand and hangover a distant memory, despite the slight remnants of a headache. Nothing more coffee can’t fix, right?
With my head held high, I march to my office with a smile plastered on my face and an air of confidence in my step.
