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I stepped into the shade for a brief moment just to get relief from the blazing sunlight and realized there was someone at the track. At first, I felt embarrassed to be there, like I’d gotten caught and needed to scurry away. Then I remembered the personalized credentials now around my neck and Minnie’s invitation to explore to my heart’s content. I hadn’t snuck onto the grounds and wasn’t doing anything clandestine. Quentin’s words must have gotten to me more than I thought, and that aggravated me.
The man at the track wasn’t there when Minnie and I were there earlier, but the longer I looked at him, the more familiar he seemed. I knew I’d seen his face before. As I walked up to the track, he glanced up from the bike he was working on and smiled.
“Hi,” he said. “Can I help you?”
His smile was genuine and bright, his offer of help sincere and not a way of asking what the hell I was doing there.
“No,” I said, smiling and shaking my head. “I’m just looking around. I’m Merry.”
“Oh, the new social media consultant,” he said.
I looked at him strangely, and he laughed.
“My mom told me she’d hired you and that today was your first day. I think you came by to meet me earlier, but I had to go to the parts shop.” He wiped his hands on the cloth hanging from his belt. “I’m Darren Freeman.”
Recognition hit me, and I nodded, reaching out to shake his hand.
“Right. The youngest of the brothers,” I said. “And the racer of the family.”
“That’s right,” he said. “Are you settling in all right? I know it’s just your first day, but are you feeling okay about everything?”
It took me aback. This man was sweet and quiet. Absolutely nothing like his oldest brother. I also couldn’t help but realize I didn’t feel at all drawn to him. That was frustrating as hell to realize. I wanted to think there was just something about being on the complex surrounded by the wealth and adrenaline that was getting me going in Quentin’s office. It wasn’t him. Not the arrogant, pigheaded caveman.
And yet here I was, facing a younger, perhaps slightly softer version of him, and I felt nothing. He was a sweet guy who I could have fun talking to, but that was it. I sighed. That was just as well. I was already feeling a twinge of guilt for the thoughts that went through my head when I saw Quentin. There was no need to add another layer of unprofessionalism to it.
“I’m doing fine so far,” I told Darren. “But you could help me with something. I’ll admit, I don’t know the first thing about racing. That’s kind of embarrassing to tell you considering I’m working here now. I’ve done some research and watched a lot of videos, but I don’t think that really gives me a full vision of what it’s like and what it means to your family. Do you think you could tell me about it? Give me an overview of what racing means to you and what the season’s like? Tell me what goes on at the complex throughout the year and what races are like? It’ll help me to have a fuller idea of the company and what it does so I can create the most effective campaign.”
He nodded like he wasn’t quite sure of the ramble of words that just came out at him, but he happily started talking. I stayed there with him for the rest of the afternoon, learning about the company and about racing in general, and the youngest of the Freeman boys proved very helpful. That night when I got to my car, I turned around and glared at the building where I’d met with Quentin. I swore I could, and would, do this, no matter what he thought of me. Or what I thought of him, to be honest. I would just have to compartmentalize. He was hot and frustrating, but that didn’t matter. It couldn’t matter. Him thinking I was an idiot, on the other hand, needed to change. But that was no problem. I could absolutely prove him wrong on that.
5
Quentin
I walked slowly around the bike, taking in all the details and surveying the changes Darren had made. He’d been working on the new race bike for several weeks, and it was exciting to finally be able to see the finished product. It wasn’t an uncommon mistake for people who weren’t familiar with the racing industry to assume I was the one who did the actual racing. After all, I owned the company and was the one in control of the team. But that wasn’t my role in the empire I’d built. I was the one responsible for the business element, for managing strategy and powering Darren to victory. He was a skilled and successful racer already, and his eyes were always focused firmly ahead. There were many more accomplishments on the horizon, and he wanted to be the best of the best. Just being good enough or even raking in wins throughout the season wasn’t enough for him. If he wasn’t winning every race or wasn’t winning by enough of a margin, he didn’t feel like he did well enough.
