Chapter Nine #2
He burned through as much work as was humanly possible in as short of a time he could.
It was a far reduced schedule, but still too onerous and he was increasingly annoyed by the requests for him to get back to the office.
Any one of the offices—even the one in Singapore.
A bunch of invitations clogged his inbox.
He didn’t answer any. Instead, he couldn’t resist joining her on the sofa, and the afternoons vanished in replays of races and technical analyses.
They debated best track, greatest ever driver, overtake of the season thus far.
Her knowledge didn’t just rival his, but possibly surpassed it.
Though as neither of them were inclined to concede an inch, it made for passionate arguments only to be resolved via physical domination.
Three days had passed like this and now he pounced the second she appeared from her post-swim shower. ‘Help me choose the colour scheme for the interior of the new coupe.’
She looked startled. ‘Are you serious?’
‘Come and see.’ He gestured to his computer. ‘My current dilemma is choosing between this periwinkle or this sky blue.’
‘Peri-what?’ She laughed. ‘So you act as if you’re exceptionally busy making company decisions so big they take up three screens, but you’re actually just studying colour swatches?’
‘They’re vital. Form and beauty matter.’ He genuinely wanted her opinion, but apparently, she was still stuck on the fact that this was an actual question. ‘And my spreadsheets are very big, hence the three screens. I always get the final say on colours for all of the products.’
‘This is what keeps you up at three a.m.? Massimo, this is mastery-level micromanagement.’
‘There have to be some perks,’ he said. Never would he admit what demons really kept him awake. He’d never regretted the mistakes of his past as much as he did now.
‘Perks. You’re really serious? They’re almost identical.’ She looked from the screen to him and back again and sighed. ‘The cornflower.’ She pointed to the right. ‘The other one—’
‘Periwinkle—’
‘Is a bit purple.’
‘Hmm.’ He cocked his head and considered them both again for a long moment. ‘What?’ He turned as she giggled.
‘You’re really invested in decisions this microscopic.’
As she smiled, his damned chest tightened. Her vibrancy hummed, enveloping him in satisfaction. He’d achieved his goal—she’d recovered from that extreme tiredness. Sleeping longer, eating well, exercising; these few days had been hugely beneficial. They could probably go home soon.
‘We should go out this afternoon,’ he suggested impulsively.
‘What?’ She stiffened. ‘Why? I don’t have anything to wear.’
‘Such resistance,’ he teased. Naturally, her quick shutdown and weak excuse had him challenging her. ‘When were you last in Singapore? Let’s go explore.’
‘Are you sure you can drag yourself away from the periwinkle decision?’
Hearnshawe was everything, but for just a little longer, it could wait.
He took her to the Gardens by the Bay. She marvelled at the scope of it—the majestic plantings and the geometric glasshouses.
The famous Supertrees were a stunning mix of technology and nature and simply dwarfed her.
She darted through the lush space, her bright smile fitting perfectly in the fascinating environment.
When it got too warm to walk the skyway he drew her into the enormous flowerdome.
A vast collection of delicate orchids was the initial display.
‘They’re such beautiful colours,’ he murmured as they walked amongst them.
‘Do they inspire you for the car interiors?’ she teased.
‘Many things inspire me.’
Lily suddenly sped forward. ‘Oh look at the butterfly.’
Amused by her high-speed excitement, he laced his fingers through hers; getting her to slow down wasn’t easy. ‘It might come to you, if you stay still.’
She obediently paused. The butterfly danced between them—fragile, vibrant, vulnerable, too quick to catch. Just like her. The delicate creature grazed the back of her hand and hovered near for a few moments.
At a high-pitched gurgle of delight, they both turned.
A family was behind them—parents with their three small children who ran, fast and excited.
Lily’s smile turned tender as they passed her.
Massimo stilled as he was struck by a vision of the future—Lily chasing after an elfin-featured toddler—smiling like that at the lucky little thing.
‘We’ll bring our baby back here,’ he muttered.
Her head whipped up and the butterfly hovering about her took flight in a fast flutter of colour. ‘Is that how you see us? A happy family, all smiles and sunshine?’
He froze. It had been an image, an instant, gone in a puff. He’d not considered his words before they’d slipped out, but now he did. The truth was he couldn’t follow through. She ought to know that and why.
‘Is that what your parents had?’ she added.
He owed her an honest answer. Biting the inside of his lip, he focused on the deep green foliage, avoiding the softness he knew would be in her eyes.
‘They didn’t marry until I was nearly nine,’ he answered lightly.
‘I spent the first eight years of my life with my mother in Italy. The Costa family are full motorhead, generations of mechanics and drivers. They live five minutes from one of the most famous circuits in the world. Dad went there on a research trip, met my mother, had an affair…’ He shrugged.
‘Unfortunately, he was engaged to another woman at the time so I spent years with other kids whispering about the rich guy who came to visit my mother and me but who didn’t ever stay, didn’t ever claim us as his.
’ He’d felt such shame. ‘I’d like to avoid adding that unnecessary complication to our child’s life. ’
‘But our child can have your name. It shouldn’t matter what people think.’
‘Says the woman whose main argument is that her family isn’t respectable enough for me to marry into.’ He turned to face her.
‘That’s different. My lot could make things actually difficult.’
No, they wouldn’t. Massimo was already on to that. But that was definitely a conversation for another day. He needed to get her on board with their future first.
‘We can handle difficult,’ he said. ‘Our child shouldn’t have to.’
‘But there’ll be pressure. To be the heir to the Hearnshawe empire? Would you want our baby to be a driver, or the next CEO? You’ve got awfully big shoes to fill, Massimo.’
‘That Hearnshawe pressure can’t be avoided whether or not we’re married.
In fact, it’s why it’s even more important that we are.
’ He was certain of it. ‘I want our child to be free to find their own purpose. It’ll be up to them to choose whether that’s within Hearnshawe Group, but they’ll need to be able to handle their heritage.
When you have immense privilege, you have to learn how to deal with it. ’
‘Or?’
‘It’ll mess you up.’ He was messed up. He had messed up.
She was quiet. Waiting. He met her unspoken query with a sigh.
‘It took Dad far too long to stand up to my grandfather and call off the other engagement,’ he said.
‘Your grandfather?’ Lily’s jaw dropped.
‘He had an iron grip on everything, bit like your father. There was only one way things should be done and it was his. He wanted Dad to marry someone else. Dad caved and got engaged but stalled on the wedding for years. In the end, marrying my mother and bringing us to Hearnshawe was the only fight he ever won against the old guy.’
‘How did it finally happen after so long?’
Massimo stared at the delicate orchids, but barely saw them.
‘You have to understand. Dad was such a dreamer. He had all kinds of innovative ideas, especially regarding safety standards, but my grandfather saw safety as weak, somehow watering down the spice in racing. He wouldn’t give his ideas a chance.
He belittled him over every last little thing and rubbished him for not being forceful enough.
When Hearnshawe began to decline, that only made him dig his heels in more.
He wouldn’t listen to anyone, not even experts.
’ He’d been a domineering, blinkered bully.
‘When Dad saw me karting in Italy as a kid, he realised I could be a driver. If I won championships in his cars for Hearnshawe, he would finally get the old man’s attention and maybe he’d consider the broader changes my father wanted to make within the company. ’
‘So your dad only brought you to Hearnshawe once you’d shown you could drive?’ Lily’s voice was thin.
Massimo stiffened. ‘It wasn’t that callous.
He and I… It was our thing.’ He paused. ‘Outwardly, my grandfather welcomed us, but privately he still didn’t accept it.
He constantly questioned if I was truly a Hearnshawe.
Apparently, I didn’t act like one. I was too impulsive and wilful.
Even my success in racing raised his doubts—how could my father have a son who drove so fast?
In the privacy of the estate, he fully questioned paternity.
He was awful to my father and awful about him.
He told me that Dad had been unfaithful to Mum through the years, that I wasn’t the only bastard, just the eldest and the only one with any driving talent.
He was constantly cruel.’ He bent his head.
‘He undermined Dad so much. I understand how Dad was weakened in the way he was.’
‘What about you?’ she asked. ‘Were you weakened?’
‘I was thrust into a world where I could suddenly have everything I wanted. At the time, that was to race. I was officially a Hearnshawe. I was fast and I was special and I wasn’t letting that old jerk or anyone else stop me.
’ He bitterly mocked the idiocy and arrogance of his youth.
‘I thought I was better than anyone, that I could do anything I wanted, and I did.’ He looked at her.
‘You were right about me. I was shockingly spoiled then.’
There was a sharp silence. He turned towards her.