Chapter 6
Chapter Six
ROME
The scene unfolding in front of me is so much better than I expected.
I stand back in the shadows of chaos as Vince slips in between Tessa and me, breaking us apart as soon as we collide.
The high points of her cheeks are pink with anger, her lips parted as a breath escapes.
Looks like she put on some type of lip gloss.
Just for me?
My cheeks beg to curve, but I quickly relax the muscles as Vince steps in to calm his raging children.
“Beck, act your age,” he demands with a shake of his head.
Noah, who hasn’t looked in my direction once without a scathing glare, elbows his youngest brother in the stomach.
Beck growls, his fists flexed at his sides.
Graham, easily one of the best mechanics in the industry, blows air out of his mouth, but he, too, remains quiet.
Heavy silence bounces from one Halston to the next, each of them locked onto me with too many different emotions to name.
Van, the oldest and clearly still the most mature of the bunch, steps forward with his hand outstretched between us.
I take it, noting the firm grip.
“Welcome to Vanstone Racing,” he snips, the words forcefully slipping through clenched teeth.
“Thanks,” I say in return, squeezing his hand just as hard as he did mine.
“This is bullshit.”
We all turn toward Beck.
“Beck,” Van warns.
Beck points at me. “He’s a Pierce, for fuck’s sake, and now he’s racing for us?”
Vince doesn’t try to interrupt him. He lets him continue.
“You really think that low of me that you hired him as our second driver? Instead of me?”
I glance at Tessa, just for shits and giggles, and she has that glossy lip of hers trapped between her bright, white teeth. She nibbles on it nervously, bouncing her attention between Van and Vince.
“You’re not ready,” Vince stresses, looking at his youngest son.
He isn’t wrong. Beck is skilled–I’ve never seen someone with so much passion and drive on the circuit. However, he makes mistakes, ones that simply come from not enough experience.
Beck remains quiet, but the look he gives me says plenty. His jaw flexes, just like his fists, and then he turns and storms the hallway with the echo of a slamming door in the distance.
And then there were five.
“He’ll be fine,” Van reassures Vince. “Let him cool off.”
“I’ll go talk to him.” Graham turns and walks in the same direction as Beck.
Noah steps forward. “He might need back-up.”
Tessa huffs and rolls her eyes.
Obviously, everyone wants to get the fuck away from this entire situation, and I don’t blame them. Awkward doesn’t even touch the uncomfortable energy in the hallway.
Van and Vince catch eyes, his oldest son inching his head to the left. Vince nods and looks at his daughter. “Tess, can you give Rome a tour? Van and I need to discuss some business.”
She has an amazing poker face.
There isn’t a single slight of refusal on her soft features.
Instead, she smiles and bats her eyelashes. “Sure, Dad.”
“Thank you, sweetheart. Get to know each other while you’re at it.” He shifts to me. “After all, you’ll be working closely together.”
My eyebrows crowd.
Why does that seem more implied than before?
The moment Tessa and I are alone, the air in the hallway heats. She’s in front of me before I have a chance to blink, and just like a few days ago, her warm fingers clamp onto my arm, and I’m being dragged behind her like a lost puppy.
“Where’re we going?” I ask, humor lifting my words.
She throws a glare over her shoulder. “Shut up.”
We push through a door, and it shuts sharply behind us.
Once the light is on, I realize we’re in one of the sponsor suites. We have them at our headquarters too.
Had.
I’m no longer a part of Pierce Racing, so everything from this point forward is in the past, a memory–or nightmare. One or the other.
Tessa lets go of me, grabs a remote from the center table, and points it at the glass-lined wall.
My mouth curves, and as if she can sense it, she snaps her eyes over to mine. Just the mere anger in the warm brown sends me through the roof.
“Privacy glass?” I tease. “What exactly are we doing in here, Tess?”
Her lips draw back in a snarl. “I told you that only friends and family call me that, and you’re neither.”
I casually place my hands into my pockets. “Sorry. With the privacy glass, I thought maybe we were about to become more than friends.”
She shakes her head with irritation, and just like before, excitement zips down my spine.
Why is it so fun to pick on her?
Back before our fathers ended on shitty terms, I was the one who used to stick up for Tessa.
Beck and Noah would chase her in the paddock and torment her, and I’d be there to smooth things over.
But now, just after two instances, I’m the one doing the picking, and for some reason, her little scoffs and eyerolls feed me like I’m a starving man.
“What’s your plan?” she asks tightly.
My plan is to get back at my cold-hearted father. But, of course, I can’t say that to her. Not after dotting all the I’s and crossing all the T’s.
Vince was adamant his children remain unaware of what’s really happening at my father’s company for legal protection, which is exactly something a father should do–protect his family.
My father must’ve missed that in the parenting classes he never attended.
“Well?”
I drag my gaze from the shiny floor to Tessa again. With her hip popped and arms across her chest, she looks like a little spitfire, and if I’m being completely honest, the only thing it does is egg me on.
She watches me closely while I stride across the floor over to the leather couch. I sit down slowly with my legs stretched out in front of me. One of her gracefully arched eyebrows rises when I lift my hands and place them behind my head.
“My plan is to win,” I say.
She snorts, and the gloss on her lips catches the shine from above. “Couldn’t beat us fair and square, so you thought you might as well join us?”
I snicker but don’t bother denying it. I do like to win. Whether that be in qualifying, on the circuit, or tucked away in this luxurious room with Tessa Halston.
“I know why you’re here.”
Oh, she’s confident. But I’m certain she shouldn’t be.
With a resolute stare, her chin edges forward. “You’re here to take Vanstone Racing out from under us. You and your father probably have some grand plan to overtake the business because he can’t stand the competition.”
I chuckle and pair it with a quick shake of my head. “That would make your father pretty dense, wouldn’t it?”
Tessa’s mouth screws up, heat rushing to her cheeks.
I expect an argument, or some type of insult, but I get neither. The only response I get is cutting silence, which gives me the chance to notice how fast my heart is beating.
Tessa shifts on her feet, the rubber soles of her tennis shoes squeaking over the waxed floor. I place my hands on my lap and peer at her from across the room. The longer we stare at one another, the faster my blood pumps.
I can see why she’s been labeled as Vanstone’s Princess by the media.
She’s painfully gorgeous. Long, glossy brown waves for hair with warm eyes that match, though they’re pretty cold staring at me.
She has a body that begs for my–a man’s—touch, the perfect size breasts, and hips that curve just below her slim waist.
Vanstone’s Princess? More like the other title she’s been granted over the last few years: Pit Porn.
Shit, stop it.
“Well?” My voice is edged with irritation.
“Well what?” she snaps back.
“Are you going to give me a tour of my new facilities, or do you have other plans?” I purposefully drag my gaze down her body, just to drive my point in.
Her rushed gasp catches my attention, and I stare at her mouth. Her pink lips pinch together, and her fists curl with anger.
I chuckle, and vexation flashes across her features.
God, this is too easy.
Her stomps across the room fill me with unmatched energy. I stand quickly to follow her, with humor following me.
“Keep up and pay attention,” she barks over her shoulder. “I wouldn’t want you to trip over your own feet by staring at my ass.”
Her dig has me impulsively opening my mouth to spew a lie. “You don’t have to worry about that.” I peer down at her ass. “I’ve already looked, and I've gotta admit…I’ve seen better.”
A growl rumbles out of her. “Pig.”
I smirk. “Princess.”