Chapter 27
The next week was hell.Brick might have all the money, but I would bankrupt myself fighting him in court, if I had to. There were no depths I wouldn’t sink to when it came to keeping my baby.
The guys had been great, but they didn’t know what to do either, not really. They’d offered me up their savings, and Jesse had called a lawyer he knew for recommendations. They’d talked me down off the ledge several times, and had spent all night holding me while I cried.
Willy and Colin had been excellent too, and Willy came with me when I went to see the lawyer. While she’d been outraged on my behalf, she hadn’t been as confident that the whole thing would be thrown out as I’d hoped.
“Look, you’re a single mother with a dangerous job. You don’t own any assets, have minimal support, and you’re coming up against one of the richest families in the country, who are extremely well connected. You’re going to have your work cut out for you.” Will protested, but I just sat there in stunned shock. “Look, it isn’t hopeless. The baby is well cared for and obviously well loved.”
“What if I married her? Would that help her case? I’m not exactly in the poorhouse,” Will asked, and I turned to stare at him.
Had he just offered to marry me? That was fucking weird.
The lawyer, Serena, raised an eyebrow. “You are comfortably well-off, Mr. Love, but you aren’t Willtot rich. You’re worlds apart. He’s in the top hundred richest men in the country.”
It had been so fucking awful, but I didn’t care. I was going to beat this, and if I had my way, Brick Willtot wouldn’t see a hair on Bobbi-June’s head ever again.
Unfortunately, despite my current turmoil, life still went on. It meant that I still had to work; in fact, it was more important than ever. Antony had given me a week off after I’d mentioned I was having some family issues, but I couldn’t remain on leave forever. It was hard when all I wanted to do was load her onto a plane and run away.
Because when it came down to it, no matter how much I loved the guys, I would choose my baby over them. I knew in my heart they’d understand too.
But we weren’t there yet.
Hayes helped me unstrap her carrier from the car when we parked in our designated spot, and I felt like my whole body was made of lead. I was exhausted from sleepless nights and the stress, and a bad feeling in my gut.
My first sign that something was off at work too was Valeria looking at me with wide eyes and a frown.
The second sign was the yelling coming from Antony’s office.
“What’s wrong?” Hayes asked Valeria, handing me the baby.
“Brick Willtot arrived with his lawyers. He owns?—”
“Willtot Racing, I know,” he replied, his eyes darting to me.
Dread made ice spill through my veins. I hadn’t told anyone at work who Bobbi-June’s dad was, just that he was not in the picture. I was pretty sure most people assumed she was Hayes’s baby.
I stepped toward the door, handing Bobbi-June back to Hayes. “You shouldn’t go in there. Mr. Barbieri isn’t seeing—” I ignored Valeria’s warning. I knew I was the topic of discussion anyway, so I was fairly sure that Antony wouldn’t care if I joined their conference.
It didn’t sound like it was going well, though. “Listen here, Barbieri. I get that you want to join the racing world because you’re bored, but there are rules here. A hierarchy across American motorsport. You’re at the fucking bottom of it right now, no matter how much money you want to throw at this degenerate team you’ve gathered. Rejects and has-beens from across the world, from what I can see. But me, I’m sitting right at the top of the damn heap. I can make your entrance to this sport smooth like butter”—Brick leaned forward—“or so fucking hard, you’ll have wasted millions of dollars on a team that will never see a race start.”
He was clearly trying to intimidate Antony Barbieri, which would’ve been kind of hilarious in any other situation. He looked like he was attempting to loom threateningly, but Antony had a couple of inches of height on him.
“Let me see if I can tell you this in a language you’ll understand, Mr. Willtot. I don’t care what you want. I don’t care how big of a fish you think you are in NASCAR—your reach isn’t quite as long as mine.” Antony leaned closer. “I don’t care how deep you think your pockets are or how big of a deal you think you might be. My pockets are deeper, and my influence is broader. So for the last time, I am not firing any of my employees on your say-so.” He stepped away, heading back behind his desk. “You can leave now, or I can get the police to remove you.”
With a glare on his face, Willtot turned. I was too damn slow to hide before he saw me. The sneer on his face would have terrified me once upon a time. Now, it just filled me with a rage so deep, I wanted to claw his flesh from his face.
“I’m coming for you, bitch.” He barged past me, his lawyer-slash-lackey right on his heels. I watched him until he was out the front door, everyone in the office also watching him go. Then I stepped into Antony’s office and closed the door softly.
He looked at me and pointed to the couch. “I think it’s time we had a talk about why you quit NASCAR, don’t you think?”
Slumping down into the overstuffed chesterfield, I dragged a hand down my face. “Bobbi-June’s father was Buck Willtot, Brick’s only son. When Buck died, Brick lost it. The accident wasn’t anyone’s fault; Buck just misjudged the distance to the wall, spun off and died in a truly freakish set of circumstances.” I let out a shuddering breath as my shoulders curled in. “But Brick got it into his head that Buck’s mind wasn’t in the race because it was on me. That his son’s death was my fault.
“And he was right about one thing—his reach in the motorsports world is broad. I was blacklisted before the day was even done.” I let out a mirthless laugh. “It wasn’t hard; most teams don’t believe motorsports is for women anyway. They’d just kept me as a token female for the views. Before I knew it, I couldn’t get a job anywhere.”
Antony looked at the door, like he was wondering if he could go pluck Brick back from the parking lot and berate him some more. “I know the type.”
I chewed my lip. “I never wanted to bring this to your door, sir.”
Antony Barbieri actually grinned. A wide, dimpled smile. “I’m not sure you know this about me, Tally, but motorsports is only my third greatest love. First is my family, of course.” Something sharkish appeared in his eyes. “Second is putting bigoted old men in their place. So don’t worry about me or this team. If I have my way, Brick Willtot won’t be at the top of his so-called ‘hierarchy’ for long.” The smile slipped from his face. “I have a feeling that if this is indeed about you, he isn’t just coming for your job.”
I shook my head, trying not to cry. “No. He wants custody of Bobbi-June.”
Antony’s lips twisted. “I see. I assume you’ve been to see a lawyer?”
I nodded. “Yeah. She said that he has a good chance. I’m a single woman with no prospects, basically. He’s rich as hell, and my only real skill is to drive fast vehicles around a track all day.”
He stroked his chin, deep in thought. “I’ll give you the number for our law firm. They’re on retainer, so please, use them as you feel necessary.” He handed me a card from his desk drawer. “But I think I might have a solution for a couple of issues. I’ll have to talk to a few people, but I don’t want you to stress about this, Tally. I, and therefore all of VANT, have your back. Let’s have another meeting this afternoon, say about two, and we’ll go from there?”
I nodded and walked out into the reception area, my head feeling fuzzy. Hayes had the baby in his arms and a frown on his face. He was rocking Bobbi-June from side to side, and I stepped toward him, hugging her between us.
“Christ, Tally. Don’t do that. You barged in there and left me holding the baby, and that guy looked like he wanted to strangle you with his bare hands! I was this close to handing the baby off to Valeria and going to knock his smug fucking head off.”
I grimaced up at him, although I was trying to smile. “I can take care of myself. She can’t. I wouldn’t put it past him to try and snatch her.”
Hayes shuddered, kissing my head and both cheeks. Then he kissed Bobbi-June’s head too. The baby gurgled, lifting her head off his chest. God, I loved her so much. This was a nightmare.
“We should get to work before Antony decides we’re too much drama,” I whispered, taking Bobbi-June back from him. He kissed me once more and headed into the garage. I took some calming breaths and smiled down at my little girl. “Let’s go race around a track and work out some of our frustration, hey?”
She gurgled again, and I walked into the simulation room. Stephie appeared in front of me immediately. “Are you okay?”
I nodded, swallowing hard. “I’m fine.”
“I can hack Brick Willtot’s emails and send fake dick pics to all the people in his address book, if you want?”
I tilted my head at her. “And why would I want that?” Stephie was scary smart.
She folded her arms over her chest. “Do you think I’m an idiot?” she asked, in direct contrast to my thoughts. “I Googled you, back when you first started working with me. A little math and maybe a few guesses, I know Bobbi-June is Buck Willtot’s. I also know the Willtots had you fired from your old job.” She shrugged. “I know lots of things.”
I shook my head at Stephie, with her big glasses and her wild hair. “You’re kinda scary, you know?”
She grinned. “I know. But the offer stands. I hate men like him. STEM is filled with the same kind of god complexes. We gotta stick together.” She waved a hand. “Also, I made Bobbi-June a play corner, so she isn’t stuck in the stroller so often. Valeria helped pick things, and Antony paid.”
In the corner was indeed a little play area with a play gym over the top, a small bouncer that rocked from side to side with a mobile, and a white noise machine. I gave her a crooked smile. “Thanks, Stephie.”
She flushed pink. “It’s nothing. If she’s going to spend so much time here, she’s gotta be comfortable, right?”
I nodded, placing Bobbi-June down on the mat. She was such an inquisitive, independent baby. I’d gotten so lucky. She kicked her legs and waved her arms at the zoo animals hanging from the play gym.
“I don’t deserve this team,” I said to Stephie softly. She wrapped her arms around me and hugged me quickly. She wasn’t normally a hugger, so I guess my face must’ve still looked like I’d seen a ghost.
“You deserve so much more.” She stepped back. “Now, let’s get to work.”