Chapter 17
Chapter Seventeen
TESSA
“How are you feeling?”
I shift the phone to my other ear, something I’ve done three times since my dad called.
“I feel like I could throw up,” I say honestly.
He chuckles, and my mouth lifts into a small smile.
My stomach has been in knots since arriving in Bahrain, and it has nothing to do with the deep-fried Khanfarooshes I have been indulging in.
Rome has been laser-focused since arriving on Monday yet still arguing with me every step of the way.
It wasn’t until the press conference that he began to loosen the reins a little.
I assumed the track walk would mimic a WWE showdown between us, but to my surprise, our thoughts aligned, and we were able to make the changes to his car and get in a few practice sessions.
He's still quiet, though. Watchful. Definitely keeping his eyes on his dad and anyone else sporting Pierce’s red and yellow colors. Then there’s the whole thing at the press conference. What started out as us silently fighting beneath the table turned into something else entirely.
Or maybe I’m reading too much into it.
Either way, right now, we’re all business.
Rome is out in the paddock, surrounded by media, with Gia close by to make sure he doesn't say anything that he'll regret. I stand back with the rest of the engineers, preparing everything for the race.
Rome did not qualify as well as we'd hoped.
Though my brother Noah didn't either, so there's that.
Dad’s coffee mug clanks onto the counter through the phone.
“Aren't you supposed to sleep in when you're retired?” I ask. “It’s, like, four in the morning there.”
His familiar chuckles soothes me. “Can't teach an old dog new tricks.”
Mom’s voice is faint from somewhere nearby. “He hasn’t slept a wink since you kids left for Bahrain!”
“He’s been up for hours!” Vivian echoes.
What the heck is she doing awake?
My parents watch Vivian when Van is on the road, but that’s becoming trickier as of late.
“Dad, we totally have it under control. We were basically born on a circuit."
Taking a step down is supposed to ease his worries for his health, and here he is, still wound up.
“I know, it’s just–”
“It’s just nothing,” I cut him off. “Go play Barbies with Vivian. I have a race to win.”
“Barbies? Since when has she ever played with dolls?”
I smile and continue to stare into the paddock. The crowd is thinning, and the majority of the racers are heading into their own pens to prepare. We have twenty minutes until the national anthem, and then it’s go time.
“Hey, uh, before we get off here…is Rome near?”
No, but it sure feels like it.
He’s standing next to Noah, and from the sharp edge of his jaw, they must be talking about something intense.
His race suit hangs loose around his waist, unzipped, with the tight fireproof underlayer hugging his toned arms beneath—the same toned muscles that are engraved into my brain from walking in on his intense gym session the other day.
“He’s in the paddock with Noah.”
As if Rome knows I’m gawking at him, he snaps to me from across the crowd. I instinctively take a step backward, like he’s standing in front of me instead of several yards away.
Gia walks over to him with her headset perched on top of her head. He leans down to hear whatever she has to say, her mouth inches from his ear.
An abrupt—and totally uncalled for—rush of something hot shoots down my spine.
I pause, barely able to register the words leaving Dad’s mouth.
Did I just get jealous? I must be more cagey over this race than I thought.
“Just tell him I said to stay focused and remember why he came to our team.”
“Yeah, okay,” I say.
It isn’t until we get off the phone that I fully register what he says.
Remember why he came to our team.
But that’s just it.
Why did he come to our team? And why is my father so adamant that he help Rome succeed?
Or is it about helping me succeed?
After hanging up with my dad, I place my headset on and purposefully keep my back to Rome so I can ease my thoughts.
It isn’t just the racers that have to concentrate, but the entire team.
This isn’t my first time calling the shots, so it should be easy-peasy. I’ve had to take over a time or two when things got hairy with Dad’s health, except…this is the first time I’m doing this in my new position and with a driver who is at the very center of the media as of late.
All eyes are going to be on him.
“What’s going on over there?”
I peek upward at Van, who has made his way over to me. He’s staring into the paddock, his own headset still around his neck, and I hesitantly look in the same direction.
My eyes widen, and I quickly jump into action.
I click my headset, turning it to the right channel. “Gia, get Rome.”
She hisses in my ear. “If it’s not Beau, it’s Vinny. I can’t keep up.”
Rome, standing entirely too close to Vinny, says something with a cocky grin. Vinny stiffens, and I hold my breath. Gia slips up beside Rome and grabs his arm to gently pull him away so it doesn’t look obvious to any lingering cameras.
“Tell him I said to leave Vinny alone and get focused.”
I feel Van’s attention on my face, but I stare at Rome instead.
Gia covers her mouth with the clipboard, so no one can read her lips, and repeats what I've said.
His mouth twitches, and he says something back to her that I can’t hear through the headset no matter how hard I try.
She sighs loudly.
“What did he say?”
Rome casually walks toward his pen, like the rest of the racers.
Noah is already tucked away in his, meditating or doing whatever he does to get centered.
“He said, ‘Vinny would be happy to know that you, of all people, are standing up for him.’”
I grit my teeth and glare at the back of Rome’s head on his way toward the pen. With the door opened, he peeks over his shoulder at me and winks.
As much as I want to flip him off, I don’t, because I know there are too many eyes around, and they’re definitely watching us.