12. Maddock
Maddock
“You have got to be fucking kidding me!”
I’m trying so hard not to punch the wall because the whole situation is fucking ridiculous.
“Maddock, you’ve known about this movie for months,” Jacob says from behind his office desk.
I’m out of my champagne-covered suit after holding up my trophy and finally feeling the high of the win after eight hard years. And I’m itching to get away from the reporters, all to find the omega who owes me an explanation.
When I ran up to the paddock post-race, she was gone. There was no sight of her in any of the rooms, the bars, the fucking crowd.
I couldn’t find a single hint of the fresh strawberries and cream scent I craved.
I grabbed Jacob and asked him where she was, and he got this stupid solemn look on his face before dragging me off to his makeshift office.
Even though all the guys are already tearing down the garage to pack it all up and take us to Texas, Jacob still finds a place where he can put himself behind a desk and look imposing.
“I didn’t know it would be her!” I snarl, and he sighs.
“I don’t know what happened between the two of you, but you need to sort this out before training begins.”
“I am not teaching Harmony Grace again. I did that shit for fourteen years, and look how that turned out.”
Jacob presses his lips together as he glares at me.
“Maddock, you know I care about you, right?”
“Oh God, what is it? I just won my first race, and you’re about to have a go at me?”
“You’re falling even further out of favor with the sponsors. They aren’t impressed by your behavior, and they’re considering different avenues. You know what that means, right?”
“I'm literally sitting right here with a trophy under my arm. That should be enough.” I squeeze the spiky trophy shaped like a firework that’s uncomfortable to hold and awkward to grip, but there's no way I'm putting it down until I curl up in bed with it. I’ve worked too hard to let anyone else touch it.
Jacob shakes his head. “You need to do something to impress them, because your personality isn’t doing the job.”
“No. Fucking. Way. I don’t want anything to do with your sister. I can’t believe she was even an option for this.”
He stares at me again, and I sigh. I learned a long time ago not to fight with Jacob when he looks at me like that.
“What is it?” I ask.
“Do you really think my father is going to pay to produce a film about a female omega in Formula 1 and not use his own daughter? This movie was made for her, Maddock.”
I pause. When I really think about it, it’s completely obvious. If I had just taken a second to consider anything except winning at least one Grand Prix this year, I would have realized what I’d signed myself up for.
After the terrible championships last year, where I ended in seventh with Jaxx in fifth, I was happy to agree to anything as long as it meant I could stay in a F1 car.
And that includes looking after bratty little actors.
“I’m not a fucking babysitter. I’m in with a real shot this year, and I don’t have time to take care of them.”
“The ones who can have already begun training in our VR simulators, and I’m impressed with their progress.
After the Texas photoshoots, they’ll return to the UK and train at Silverstone in real cars while you finish the season.
They are all up to date on the basics. And it’s going to be great publicity for us. ”
“We don’t need any more publicity. Especially from an actress who—”
He cuts me off with a hiss, his face dark.
Even if he’s my friend, she’s still his sister, scandal or not.
Which makes me wonder as well. She got accused of stalking that pretty boy co-star of hers. Her turning up for one of the most important races of my life—was it really a coincidence?
“If you and Jaxx don’t teach Harmony and the other actors when they need it, then your public image is done for.
All we need is to get some good shots and media coverage of all of you working together.
That's it. Even your glare as you stood on the podium earlier made you look like an ungrateful piece of shit. How are people going to like you if you can’t even smile up there? ”
I grit my teeth as my eyes drop to the carpet.
Jacob is completely right, but how am I supposed to be happy when my scent match is so close but I can’t even touch her? I don’t know whether I want to shout at her or hold her. I just need to be next to her and scent her again to find out if she’s still mine.
It doesn’t matter how fucking furious I am, it won’t change anything. Because I’m the one who asked her to wait for me.
She was desperate to bite and become mates the moment we matched, and I told her we needed to finish the season. Then I had to train for the next one, and finish the next one, until it drew out too far.
But I tried to do it the proper way. I needed her dad to accept us before we could bond. And he wouldn't accept me until I was a champion.
And that was my own fucking fault.
She left me without a reason, but did I give her a reason to stay?
Still, if I have to wait until Texas to see her, I'm going to go crazy.
“We don't have time for this. We have our own races to prepare for,” Jacob says.
I was so distracted in the space of an hour that I couldn't even celebrate something I’d been working toward my whole life. How the hell is that going to work for the next two months?
“Plus, there are certain brands that want her as an ambassador. And they will definitely sponsor us if they know that she’s racing with us.
” He clicks his tongue, looking annoyed and proud at the same time.
“Some sponsors use us solely because it gives them access to her, so how many people would like to see their logo on the car that she’ll drive in the movie? ”
I narrow my eyes at him because I know what’s coming. This is how he always gets me.
“And more money means faster cars. Faster cars, and suddenly we’ve got Maddock Harrison standing as the World F1 Champion.”
I sigh heavily and glare at him as his grin spreads, because he knows I’m in.
“So, what do you say?” he asks as he holds out his hand to shake. “Do we have a deal?”
“You're such an asshole,” I grumble.
“I bet you say that to everyone you love,” he laughs as he grabs my hand, pulling me into a hug, and I can’t help but chuckle in agreement.