Chapter 13 – Richard
‘Jasper is my ex-boyfriend’. David’s words have rattled around in my brain since he muttered them in my bedroom, and I have no idea how to deal with them.
Yes, I know that there is nothing going on with them now, but how close were they?
What was their dynamic? Why did they break up?
These were questions that should have been asked earlier, but I didn’t.
Like the idiot that I am, I got dressed, and left for the office.
“Dick!” Vincent shouting my name pulls me out of my thoughts, and I know that he called me Dick on purpose to get my attention.
“What?” I snap at him, but this isn’t his fault.
“Care to tell me what the fuck is going on with you? We are about to introduce a new member to the team. I need your head in the game.”
Well, shit, can this day get any worse? Now Vincent is pissed at me. I really need to pull myself together. It’s not helping that I feel like Vincent’s office is a thousand degrees today, and I pull at my turtleneck.
“Rich, what the…” Vincent states, rushing over to me and pulling the roll of fabric around my neck down.
“It’s nothing,” I say, swatting his hand away.
“Oh, that is more than nothing,” Vincent replies. “And I do not have time to deal with it now. But do not move your fucking top, and head home once we’re finished.”
“Vincent, please,” I start, but Vincent just gives me a look.
“You and I will talk later. Do you understand?”
The, ‘yes sir’ was on the tip of my tongue at hearing the tone of Vincent’s voice, but I managed to keep it under control. Vincent is going to want to know how I got the mark, or even why I got the mark, and they’re questions that I don’t necessarily want to answer.
“Now, come on,” Vincent tells me as he walks towards his office door. “I said I would meet Jasper in the reception area, and the rest of the team are waiting in the conference room.”
Mine and Vincent’s friendship has been strong for decades, and now it suddenly seems that we’re standing on a cliff that is crumbling underneath us, and we only have two options. Let it crumble, or do we jump back, and hope to land on solid ground?
I do not want to lose my best friend, which means I might have to disclose some aspects of my personality to him.
Vincent shoots me a few looks as we walk to the front reception area, and I spot Jasper sitting on one of the couches to the side of the main entrance. He smiles when he sees us walking over, and quickly gets to his feet, reaching his hand out to us as we stop in front of him.
“Mr. Montague. Richard,” Jasper states, and realises his mistake instantly. He used my first name, not my title like he did Vincent’s, and he shoots me a quick look.
“It’s nice to see you again, Jasper,” I start. “We’re a close-knit team, remember, you don’t need to be too formal here.” I turn to Vincent, “When I walked Jasper out yesterday, I reminded him that we are all on first names here.”
“Yes, of course, there are no formalities here, I think it helps with the team. We’re a family. So, it’s just Vincent. Now, are you ready to meet the team?”
“Yeah, I’m excited,” Jasper confirms.
“Then follow me,” Vincent says over to him.
I spot Jasper mouth a ‘thank you’ before turning to follow Vincent, and suddenly, I’m hit with nerves. David is going to be in this meeting. I still have no idea how long ago their relationship ended. Will seeing each other suddenly rekindle something? Am I about to lose him just as I got him?
“Good morning, everyone,” Vincent shouts, as we enter the conference room, and a hush descends over the room. Everyone turns to look at Vincent. My eyes scan the room and at first, I cannot see David, but then I spot him, hiding behind a group of engineers in the corner of the room.
“So, I would like to introduce you to Jasper Knight. He’s the physio replacement for Paul and will be working with Lars and David as required. Lars, David, where are you?”
Lars appears and comes over to us. I see him look Jasper up and down before reaching out his hand in greeting, but I spot a little glint in Lars’s eyes.
“Oh, I think I’m going to enjoy training with you,” Lars states.
“Lars, you’re taken,” Vincent says, and I don’t think Vincent even notices his tone until the room erupts with laughter, and Jasper is biting his lip to stop himself from laughing as well.
“Sorry Jasper, I couldn’t resist,” Lars states, but I’m not sure how sorry he actually is.
“It’s not a problem,” Jasper says. “And I know that you’re taken, with my boss.”
“Oh, you are good,” Lars adds. “I think that you and I are going to get along great.”
“Lars behave,” Vincent admonishes. “David?”
David appears through the crowd, and quickly looks over to me, before looking at Jasper.
“Hey, Jasper. It’s been a while,” David says, and I hear a murmur travel around the room.
“It’s good to see you, too, David,” As David pulls Jasper into a hug, I think I hear him whisper something into Jasper’s ear.
“Um, excuse me,” Vincent says. “Do you know each other?”
“Yes,” David starts. “We were friends in our twenties, but it’s been like fifteen years, right?”
“I think so,” Jasper confirms.
“And you didn’t think to mention this?” Vincent asks.
“I wanted this job on my own merits, and I wasn’t sure if David would remember me.”
“So, I’m guessing David was the reason you got into F1?” Vincent asks.
“Well, when your friend is an F1 driver, you sort of take an interest,” Jasper confirms.
“Jasper, I need to take you to HR so we can sort all the paperwork out. We need you to be able to fly out with us on Monday. After that, David, do you want to show him around and explain how everything works?”
“Sounds good,” Jasper says. “It will be nice to catch up.” And I don’t miss the smile that Jasper gives David. One that I don’t like.
“Richard, I will meet up with you later to discuss this morning.” And I just nod my head in agreement.
Leaving the conference room, I head back to my office and just sit behind my desk.
I know that I should be doing work. I should be checking up on Otis.
With the F2 racing year having fewer races, I need to make sure that, in the months between races, he keeps his fitness on track.
That he keeps his reaction times up, but all I can see is that hug between Jasper and David.
Vincent told me that I should go home after the meeting and that’s what I need to do. I need to get out of the building. Need to get away from Jasper. Closing down my computer, I send a text to Vincent, letting him know I’m going home, and will wait for him there.
Walking out of my office, I head towards the car park, when I all of a sudden hear laughter.
It’s a laugh that I recognise. When I look up, I see them standing outside the gym, and David is throwing his head back laughing, while Jasper is smiling at him.
Rage fills me, and I go to take a step towards them.
To demand to be let in on the joke. To tell Jasper he has no claim over David, but I don’t.
I just continue my journey to the car park.
“Richard.” I can hear David calling me, but I ignore him. I can’t trust myself.
“Richard,” my name comes again.
All I need to do is get to my car. David won’t follow me into the car park. Once in my car I have my escape. But I cannot run to my car like every bone in my body is telling me to do, because if I’m spotted, it would be strange, and I’m in enough trouble with Vincent as it is.
“Richard.” A hand reaches out to grab me. “Didn’t you hear me calling you?” David says, as he looks over to the receptionist, who is staring at us.
“Sorry, I was in a world of my own,” I reply. “Is there anything I can do for you?”
“No, I was just wondering if you were coming to Austin on Monday?”
“Not this time. Work is keeping me here,” I tell him.
“That’s a shame,” David replies, and there is nothing else we can say to each other. If we linger any longer, it will look odd.
“If you’ll excuse me, I have been called home,” I tell him, which isn’t really a lie, and I leave.
I have just unlocked the door to my car when my mobile starts ringing. Pulling it out of my pocket, I see David’s name across the screen, and swipe to answer.
“Hello.”
“What the fuck is going on?” David demands down the phone.
“I’m going home.”
“I want to know why the fuck you just ignored me when I was calling you?”
“Because we are in the fucking office, that’s why,” I spit back. “And you were with your Jasper.”
“You’re jealous. Jasper and I have been over for a very long time,” David states back.
“Well, you looked very friendly just now.”
“Rich, do not start this now,” he whispers down the line, and I can hear shuffling, and I guess that he’s moving, going somewhere more private. “You submitted to him yesterday. In front of me. We’re friends.”
“And how many times have you submitted to him?” And there it is. The reason that I’m so jealous. I hate the fact that he submitted to someone. This is David, the one who dominates me. I hate the fact that someone else could control him.
“That was a fucking long time ago,” David says down the line, and that, somehow, makes it worse. This means that he did in fact submit to Jasper.
“How could you submit to him?”
“Richard, I’m not doing this over the fucking phone. I will talk to you once I’m finished here. I want this sorted before I go to Austin.”
“You can’t, Vincent is coming over. He spotted the love bite you gave me and wants to talk about it.”
“Just fucking tell him we’re fucking. Get it over with. I’m seriously sick of all this shit, anyway,” David snaps.
“David, we agreed to the end of the year. You have five races,” I tell him, not sure why I’m encouraging us to hide.
“Then grow up,” David says, as he hangs up the call. Fuck, now the two most important people in my life are both pissed at me.