Chapter 11 – Richard #2
Getting up from the chair, I straighten up my suit, and look towards the door. Julie lets Vincent’s appointment in, and, suddenly, I’m rooted to this spot. It’s been years, but he looks the same. I could never forget that face. What the fuck?
“Mr. Knight?” Vincent states, striding over to him, holding his hand out to him. “Thank you for coming in. I have asked my head of driver training to join us, hope that’s okay?”
“Yes, of course,” comes his reply, and then he looks over to me.
“Mr. Knight, this is Richard Moore,” Vincent announces.
“Pleasure to meet you Mr. Moore.” He reaches out his hand to me, and it takes a second for my brain to move into action. I shake his hand. God damn you.
“Please, take a seat.” I hear Vincent’s voice, and I move on automatic pilot. I sit back down in my chair, and try not to stare at the man sitting opposite me.
“Can you start by telling us your qualifications?” Vincent starts. I sit there, and listen as he reels off all his qualifications, which is an impressive list, but one that I already know.
“Richard, do you have any questions?” Vincent asks, and I look over to him, oh, yes, I have questions, none of which can be answered in this room.
“Can I ask why you want this position? There’s a lot of travelling and being away from home,” I say, and can see the approval on Vincent’s face at my question.
“I have been an F1 fan since my early twenties, and saw this as an opportunity to join the best team on the circuit. Also, I have always wanted to travel, and this way, I get to do that and get paid for it.” And he smiles as he finishes, to show that he was making a little joke and I hear Vincent chuckle next to me.
“Mr. Knight, do you mind me asking how old you are now?” Vincent asks, but I’m sure that his date of birth would have been on his application form. Then again this is Vincent, I’m guessing he bypassed most of the personal information and just looked at his qualifications.
Thirty-five, I say in my head, as he utters the same.
“And your family approves of you shifting careers?” Vincent asks.
Why the fuck did Vincent ask that? I notice the flash of pain that crosses his eyes at the question, but he composes himself before Vincent can spot anything.
“I’m not really shifting careers. I’m doing something that I trained for, and I don’t have contact with my family. So this is a decision that doesn’t affect them.”
“Mr. Knight,” Vincent starts, “at the moment, Montague Racing has a large press interest, mainly due to mine and Lars’s announcement earlier in the year. So anyone joining the team could very well result in the press digging into their past.”
Fuck.
“So, I have to ask this,” Vincent adds, “why don’t you have contact with your family? I cannot risk employing anyone that might cause issues for the company. Sorry.”
“I can understand that. The reason that I don’t have contact with my family is because I’m gay. My parents are very traditional, and even though they tried to see past it, they couldn’t. So, I haven’t spoken to them since I was eighteen. They wouldn’t cause trouble.”
“I am so sorry. That must have been hard.” Vincent adds.
“It wasn’t as bad as it seems. I still talk with my sister, and I managed to get myself through university and build this life for myself. Now it’s time to add another adventure.”
When I look over to Vincent, I see the glint in his eyes, and I know that the job is his.
“Final question, do you have to give notice? And do you have a valid passport? We fly to Austin on Monday for the United States race. I would need you to start then.”
“You mean?”
“I think you would be a great fit for the team, and Lars. So, the job is yours, if you want it.”
“Yes, Mr. Montague. Yes, I want the job. I don’t have to give notice, and I have a valid passport.”
“Mr. Knight, please, the name is Vincent. Right, can you come back tomorrow with all your documents? I need to get all the paperwork sorted asap, as we only have a few days.”
“Yes, of course. Thank you so much for this opportunity. And it’s Jasper”
All of us get up from the chairs, and I’m not sure what the hell I’m feeling. He was the last person that I expected to walk through the door, but I also need to find out why the fuck he came here now.
“Let me walk you out. Unless Vincent needs me for anything,” I say, crossing my fingers that he doesn’t.
“Actually, show him around. Saves it from having to be done tomorrow.”
“Will do,” I say over to Vincent. “If you would like to follow me.”
Opening the door to Vincent’s office, I let him go out first before following him.
There are people everywhere. Fuck. Walking side by side, I point out the offices, introduce him to some of the employees, and I see some of the ladies checking him out.
Oh, they’re going to be disappointed. When we’re out of earshot of everyone, I whisper, “Outside.” Maybe I should have taken him to my office, but I didn’t want anyone to hear this conversation.
We walk in silence as we make our way out of the building, and I walk over to the visitor’s parking area, which, in itself, is strange. I have no idea how I’m going to explain why I walked him to his car if anyone sees, but having a quick scan of the car park, there is no one.
“What the fuck are you doing here?” I demand.
“Having a job interview.”
“Not funny,” I say, not really in the mood for any jokes as I check around the car park again to make sure we are still on our own. “You didn’t think to warn me?”
“How the hell was I supposed to know that Vincent was going to invite you into the interview? My plan was to message you if I got the job.”
“All that time, you knew who I was!” I state, more than ask. On all the occasions that we met, he never asked me about my profession, because he already knew what I did.
“I recognised your name when you first booked with the service, was even more surprised when you requested a man. So I begged Kimber to send me.”
“Does Kimber know you’re here?” I ask, trying my best to remain calm, but I can feel my heart racing.
“Yes,” comes his answer, “she does. She isn’t happy that I will be cutting back my hours.”
“Cutting back?” Surely, he doesn’t mean that he plans to keep working there.
“I’m not sure I could give it up. It’s a part of my life I love.”
“You have to be fucking kidding me. You will be in the spotlight. This isn’t some small nothing team. This is Montague Racing. You will have to quit. Plus, what if someone finds out?”
He takes a step closer to me, and stands a little taller. A move that I have seen him make too many times before. He’s taking control from me, and instinctively, I let him.
“Richard.”
“Yes sir.” The words falling from my lips, unaided.
“Listen to me.” God, I forgot how commanding his tone could be. “No one is going to find out about you, me, or the service. This is a secret that is just between you and me. You will need to act like you don’t know me. Do you understand?”
All I do is stand there, looking at him. My words gone.
“Richard, answer me,” he demands. “Do you understand?”
“Yes sir,” I reply again, my brain hardwired to answer his commands, and I know I need to get out of his space. I take a step back. I need to regain my control.
“Vincent knows I used a service. He must never know it was you,” I tell him, as I think back to the conversations we’ve had since finding out.
“He won’t. Look, I know this is going to be strange, but I know that we have the capacity to be friends. There was always something more than just sex with us, but it never felt romantic. Well, to me anyway. I missed you when you stopped using us.”
I want to disagree with him. Tell him that he needs to turn this job down.
That I’m not sure how I’m going to cope with seeing him every day, knowing our pasts, but I also know that there are truths in his words.
I remember the hours we spent talking. How easy it had been, but there hadn’t been rushes of blood, like I feel when I’m with David, it had felt platonic.
I’m not sure why I do it, but I pull him into a hug and whisper, “I missed you, too, Jasper.”
When he steps back, he’s smiling at me, before saying goodbye, getting into his car, and driving off. I keep watching the car until it has left the car park, when I realise that there is someone I’m going to have to tell. David. This isn’t something I can keep from him.
As I turn around, I spot a figure in the car park, someone I was sure wasn’t there a few minutes ago. Someone who is staring at me, hurt etched all over his face.
David.