Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
TESSA
Beck has changed the group name.
Four Halston Siblings and One Black Sheep
Noah
Here we go.
Graham
Day three and Beck is still butthurt.
Me
As long as you’re sticking to the plan, baaa all you want.
After chaos ensued on Monday, we had an immediate sibling meeting where Van, with my encouragement and support, reminded the three stooges of the entire reason we are in the situation we’re in: Dad’s health.
Beck can have all the emotions he wants as long as he’s keeping them under wraps around our parents.
I step onto the pavement in front of Vanstone HQ and shut my car door.
Rome’s parking spot is empty.
Figures I’d beat him to work. He’ll probably show up late because the almighty Rome Pierce doesn’t need practice.
He’s taken the last few days off to get settled in, securing a place to live—hopefully temporarily—and collecting his belongings from the moving company. It’s given us time to recalibrate our high emotions, and it’s given Beck a chance to cool down.
If the media hasn’t caught wind of the recent changes within Pierce Racing, they’re bound to find out soon. We have a meeting with the PR team this morning, and knowing Gia, she’ll want to get back to posting on social media as soon as possible.
“Good morning, Tess.” Ellis, our head security guard, nods at me.
I smile. “Morning, Ellis. How was your break?”
“Ah, I spent most of it in the nursing home with Mom, batting away all the old ladies.”
I scan my badge and laugh. “I’m sure you hated the attention.”
Ellis is a quiet, older man who is as stoic as a brick wall.
He’s been with the company from the beginning, following my father from Pierce Racing, which means he’s seen me at my best and worst. From awkward haircuts, to braces, to finally filling out a bra and learning how to use a curling iron… Ellis has been there.
He’s practically family.
“Loathed it,” he says. “Got to spend some time with Ariel, though, so it wasn’t awful.”
My chest warms. Ellis rarely sees his daughter, and it kills him. After his ex left town with her, Ellis took her to court, which led to a nasty custody battle where he gained some of the visitation rights back.
I raise my brow. “Did you give her the present?”
Ellis grumbles. “Yes, and you were right. She loved it.”
I smile. “I’m always right.”
He chuckles and turns toward the shuffling of someone else approaching.
The air shifts, tight tension filling every open space there is.
“Name?” Ellis snips coolly.
I peer over my shoulder and bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from laughing. Rome stands with his shoulders squared, a badge that appears small in his large hand.
“Seriously?” A line edges itself in between Rome’s eyebrows, right beneath a lock of dark hair that hangs over his forehead. “You’ve known me since I was five,” he reminds him. “And we already did this skit a couple of hours ago, Ellis.”
A couple of hours ago? And who does he think he is using Ellis’s first name like that? They aren’t on a first-name basis.
“Name?” Ellis repeats.
I fail at keeping my laugh silent.
Rome snaps his gaze to mine, his blue eyes like icebergs, sharp and dangerous.
I sink my teeth into my lip.
Ellis eventually lets him through with the slightest glint of humor in his eye.
I quickly turn and continue on my way, but of course, my nemesis catches up.
“Nice of you to show up,” he snips, zipping right past me.
Our shoulders brush, and my brown hair whizzes out of my face from the haughty air he carries. He’s in dark slacks, a white dress shirt, and a casual suit jacket that hugs his arms like he’s about to outgrow it.
I pause. “Excuse me?”
“You heard me.”
I pick up the pace and step in line with his casual yet determined strides.
“I’m right on time.”
He stops dead center in front of the elevator, his hand outstretched toward the button. “Oh? So you all wander out of bed and into work at this time on purpose?” His finger presses the up arrow. “Interesting.”
I cross my arms.
He glances at me briefly and chuckles.
“What?” I snap.
The elevator door slides open, and Rome shoves his hands into his trouser pockets while stepping over the threshold.
I stay rooted in place. There is no way I’m going to share a tiny space with him.
“Nothing.”
“No.” I shake my head. “Say it.”
He leans back, hands still in his pockets, and runs his attention down my body. “It’s just that not much has changed since we were kids. You’re still a brat.”
The elevator doors slide shut with my jaw hanging loose.
It’s official.
I can’t stand Rome Pierce.
My glare stays glued to his playful eyes through the glass of the elevator. Even as I head for the stairs, I refuse to back down.
I’m making it to the meeting before him.
Even if I have to freaking sprint there.
He arrives on the second floor before I do, but with quick feet, I make it to the hallway just as he steps out onto the marbled floor.
Warm hints of his cologne fill the air, and it does nothing but make me angrier.
“Are you racing me, Princess?”
I stop dead in my tracks, but this time, I make an effort not to pop my hip and cross my arms. I wouldn’t want him to call me a brat again.
“Stop calling me that,” I say, voice chilled.
A few steps behind me, he asks, “What should I call you, then?”
I grin and peer over my shoulder. He’s waiting with his eyebrows raised high.
“How about boss?”
His hot chuckle hits the back of my neck, and goosebumps rush to my arms. “Not a fucking chance.”
Rome may think he has the upper hand when it comes to me–and probably all of us at Vanstone—but little does he know, I’m the one that’ll be whispering in his ear, calling all the shots when the time comes, which makes putting up with his sharp tongue and irritating smirk worth it.
I brush away the warmth on my skin and wrap my fingers around the conference room door handle. “We’ll see,” I say.
I carry so much satisfaction from the interaction that I can’t help but smile.
Gia, already sitting at the long table with her phone in one hand and a pen in the other, looks at me suspiciously. “Why do you look so happy?”
I place my purse on the table and take a seat beside her. “I’m always happy to see you.”
Gia and I are close in age. We met last year after we hired her for social media relations and have gone out a few times together. She’s all business during the hours from 9-5, but when the sun goes down, she’s your typical girl in her early twenties.
Rome walks in next, his eyebrows still furrowed. He lowers himself in the chair farthest away from me, the slight creases surrounding his squint filled with silent questions.
“God damn.” Gia turns toward me with reddened cheeks.
“What?”
Her eyes grow wide. She inches her head in Rome’s direction. “That’s what.”
I roll my eyes.
“Can you honestly tell me that you don’t think he’s one of the hottest men you’ve ever seen?”
Of course he is.
Until he opens his mouth.
Or until I remember who he is and where he came from.
What was my father thinking, hiring Lucas Pierce’s son? How does he expect us to trust a man like him, who was raised to follow in his father’s footsteps?
One thing is for certain: Rome Pierce may be utterly gorgeous, but I will never, ever trust him, and before the season is over, I’ll uncover every last one of his ulterior motives.