Chapter 29
twenty-nine
LOS ANGELES, CA
Avery’s fingers itched and inched toward her phone before she used every last fiber of her willpower to pull her hands back into her lap.
She felt a compulsion to scroll, scroll, scroll through social media and see every last thing being said about Teddy in the wake of the podcast. But even though she’d felt that twinge, that itch, approximately every thirty seconds for the last several hours, she’d managed to make it this far without giving into temptation.
Yet, she jumped a moment later when it rumbled on her desk as she received an incoming message, sending a jolt of adrenaline up her spine.
As if her phone knew she was jonesing for it: a reply from Teddy?
It had been hours since she sent it, surely he’d read it by now?
She picked her phone up from its face-down position.
AUNT SHARON—Avery, I listened to the podcast. Please send my best to Teddy.
Her heart sank as she rolled her eyes with annoyance.
Maybe it was genuine concern and she should have been more appreciative, but it wasn’t the first text like that she’d received today.
Cousins, friends, Josh, had all reached out with cheery words of support like “Team Teddy. Don’t care who his dad is - no reflection on him!
” Deep down she suspected a lot of them were coming out of the woodwork in hopes of getting some inside scoop.
She had her boilerplate response memorized, responding to each person who reached out with precisely the right tone, that of a concerned, supportive girlfriend who had no idea how the leak had happened. Her lips were sealed until she’d heard back from Teddy and fessed up to her dad.
And that was just the friends, family and personal contacts.
Then there were the reporters. Even with her office door closed, she could hear the front office’s phone ringing off the hook, Caroline’s chirpy voice giving out the party line that had been sent out in an organization-wide email: “No, the team and the Silver corporation do not have any comment. No, Teddy will not make a statement and respectfully asks for privacy. No, Teddy will not race this weekend.”
Avery’s ears felt hot each and every time she’d heard Caroline repeat those words.
The knowledge that she was the lynchpin in this disaster felt like a thousand bricks on her chest. She badly wanted to confess what she knew to her dad, to James, but she had to give Teddy the opportunity to reply.
In the meantime, the only thing kept her from completely losing was knowing that the well-oiled PR machine at Silver was equipped to handle this sort of thing.
She opened her browser again to see if Teddy had replied in the last thirty seconds, but nope. What if he never replies? What if he hates me so much for this that he never wants to talk to me again? I have to hear from him before I see my parents tomorrow.
She flipped tabs to her calendar, the pink square for the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Silver Sports Medicine Center glaring at her.
A lump formed in her throat. There was no way she’d be able to look them in the eye and not tell them about the Beckett connection.
She wasn’t sure she wouldn’t lose her composure entirely.
How was she supposed to smile and shake hands and pretend everything was normal?
No doubt Teddy’s drama would be the elephant in the room, and knowing that it was her fault, but not acknowledging it would be simply unbearable.
Hours passed as Avery continued anxiously clicking back and forth between her calendar, her e-mail, and her texts, only occasionally taking breaks to work on a paper-clip chain, until finally that little number one appeared on the envelope icon on her phone.
Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest seeing Teddy’s name.
Fingers shaking, she clicked into the message.
Avery,
Confirming receipt of your email. Thanks for the heads up, and for your honesty. I recognize you thought that your club was a safe space, but I told you personal information in confidence, and I expected you to honor that and keep it to yourself.
I tried calling you, but you didn’t answer.
I wanted to clear the air between us, and I was going to keep up my end of the bargain and accompany you to the gala despite the way we left things on the beach.
However, due to this unforeseen change in circumstances, I will need to lay low for a while.
The International Racing Association has opened an investigation into my conduct, just as I feared, and I anticipate that will be taking a good bit of my time.
Other than races, I will not be making any public appearances. I know you’ll understand.
Regards,
Teddy
Avery’s heart cracked in two as his words sunk in. He sounded so cold, so formal, so final. He’d tried to call her. It was something, but what more could he have said that wouldn’t have made her feel even worse?
A fresh wave of regret about the whole fiasco rolled over as she slumped back in her chair and closed her eyes for a second.
If only she could go back in time and undo…
everything. Avery brought her fingers to her temples, massaging the pressure points there as she tried to shut out the world for a moment, but the ringing phones were so loud they were making her head explode.
It was back to square one. Plan a gala. Find a date. Earn everyone’s respect. Only now, she’d dug herself a deep hole she’d have to find a way to get out of.