Chapter eleven Cole
Chapter eleven
Cole
August
BikeMax Headquarters
The BikeMax offices in SoCal were not overly swanky.
In fact, they seemed a bit downplayed. It was all business with no money for frou-frou bullshit to impress a client.
I found it refreshing. Beyond the front door and sparse reception area, a large open garage loomed.
Various workstations were set up around the room with uniformed mechanics buzzing around like bees, working on different bikes.
I spotted Joe Fischer darting around, inspecting things.
He had a great reputation. I could see myself working with him. Maybe.
“Cole.” A cute, skinny guy walked up to me with hand extended. He appeared a bit nerdy with his glasses and suit. “I’m Johnny.”
“Nice to meet you.” I shook his hand. “This is Nix.” I was so happy he could come with me.
I’d missed him while I’d been at my parents’ house the past few weeks.
It surprised me how much I had come to rely on him for emotional support.
We’d had several calls since we’d seen each other last, talking about everything, and usually ending up with phone sex.
Jacking off to his voice in my ear was my new favorite thing, outside of trying to figure out how to make all this work.
“Right this way. Gavin is waiting for us.” Johnny showed us through part of the garage and out another set of doors that led to a hallway.
The floors were a shiny linoleum, and the walls had been painted a soft gray.
It oozed professionalism, which helped set me at ease.
Gavin was a serious team manager. This wouldn’t be a waste of time.
I hoped. Mentally, I crossed my fingers.
When that wasn’t enough, I reached out and grabbed Nix’s hand.
He gave me a soft squeeze. He knew how important this meeting would be.
Johnny opened a door that led to a room with a long table. Chairs were pushed in around it, and a row of big windows let in light from behind.
“Please have a seat.” Johnny gestured to the table, so Nix and I sat next to each other on one side of the table with our backs to the windows. “Let me grab Gavin.”
“No need.” Gavin Peri walked in behind us. “Just getting us some refreshments. Coffee?” He set a tray on the table. Two bottles of water were there along with the coffee fixings. Nix fixed himself a coffee, dumping sugar and creamer in his mug, but I grabbed the water.
“Thank you.” I shook the bottle at him.
Gavin nodded and gave me a look over. He had reddish-brown hair, cut professionally but a little long as if he hadn’t had it cut in a while.
A light splattering of freckles crossed the bridge of his nose.
They’d be more prominent after plenty of sunshine, but I bet he didn’t get that much.
He looked like he’d burn to a crisp under the sun’s rays.
“Sure, sure. Let’s get on with it.” He sat at the head of the table, and Johnny sat across from us.
He opened a laptop that was on the table in front of him.
“Johnny’s going to take some notes as we talk.
It just makes it easier for us to move what we say into a contract if we decide to make a deal.
And keeps me on my toes.” He winked at Johnny, who blushed.
I’d heard they were in a relationship. Davey had mentioned that Johnny also had some sort of a connection to Apex, but I hadn’t quite followed that.
“Thanks,” I muttered.
“So, before we talk money and contracts, let’s set out some expectations. I’m not sure if we’ll work well together, and I’ll be honest, your reputation isn’t great.”
I huffed. I wanted to get mad. But that was why I had that shitty reputation. “Things have changed.”
“How?” Gavin asked.
I squeezed Nix’s hand under the table. He squeezed back, giving me the courage to go on.
I took a deep breath and let it out before I started in.
“The wreck…” I swallowed hard. It was hard to talk about myself, my failures, and my emotions, but if I wanted on the BikeMax team, I was going to have to suck it up.
Great advice I’d gotten from Davey, Nix, and my mother.
I needed to be transparent. “The wreck changed me. I know what my reputation was, but I have to put that shit aside. I have to focus on racing. I have to be able to work with a team. I get it. I’m not the star of the show. ”
“Unless you’re winning races.” Gavin leaned back in his chair.
“Even then. Without the bike, the mechanics, trainers and coaches, I have nothing. I’m not Davey McAllister with a huge bank account to back a team.
I mean, I’ve done well, but not that well.
” Davey had been sitting on a fortune before he’d started racing.
He was in a different league. My folks were humble, working class people.
Johnny tapped at the keyboard, making me wonder what he was recording, while Gavin blatantly stared at me.
I couldn’t take the silence for long. “What?”
Gavin leaned forward and clasped his hands, setting them on the polished table. He wore an expensive watch and cuff links. I took note of the cut of his suit. He liked fine things. “Well, Cole, it sounds like you’ve learned a hard lesson.”
“I guess you could say that.”
“Right. And I think Nix has been good for you.” He nodded toward Nix.
“I’d like to think so,” Nix answered.
Gavin stared at us for another long minute. “Okay. This might work. I might be willing to give you a chance. Davey seemed to think a lot of you, and despite the size of his bank account, I respect the hell out of him.”
I bit my lip. I hadn’t meant any disrespect, but as I started to say as much, Gavin held up his hand silencing me.
“It’s fine. I get it. But it’s going to take more than words to make it on BikeMax and more than words to make it in Supercross. That much, I’m sure you know.”
“Yes, sir.”
Gavin laughed. “Don’t call me sir.” He glanced over at Johnny as if it were some kind of inside joke, but Johnny simply blushed again and typed something else on his keyboard. “Before I tell you what BikeMax is going to require from you. What do you want from us?”
I sighed. I hadn’t expected that question, but I had thought about it. “I’d like to keep my number. My fans know me as thirteen.”
“I’ll run it by the team and the Supercross board. If everyone else is okay with it…” He waved his hand in the air, gesturing for me to continue.
“Everything else is standard. Sponsors, coaches, practice bikes.” I shrugged. He knew the business. I didn’t have to tell him.
“Nothing special? No extras? Help promoting, commercials?”
“I’m working on getting a personal manager for that kind of thing. I don’t think it’s up to BikeMax, right?”
“I’ve helped out a time or two…” I thought he was talking about Craige Lee.
He’d started getting killer commercials and deals almost from the second he signed with BikeMax.
He was a decent rider, finishing in the top five most races, but that didn’t explain how his face was suddenly all over the place. He’d had help.
“I don’t give a fu—” I stopped. Cleared my throat. “Sorry. I mean, I don’t care about that sort of thing. I mean, I do, but I’ll get a manager. That’s been overdue anyway.”
“Fair enough.” Gavin leaned back in his seat. “As soon as you sign on with someone, have them call me and we’ll work out all of the contract details.”
“Okay. So, what do you want from me? Besides my new attitude?” I smiled, but it felt fake. If Gavin noticed, he didn’t say anything.
“Here’s the deal, Cole. I do have some conditions.
First, you’re going back into the moto league.
You’ve been injured, and that’s a great way to test where you’re at physically and mentally.
Before we sign you to Supercross, you need to be doing well.
Your last run was better, but not good enough.
You need to be more consistent and get some podiums. I’m afraid you’re going to need more recovery time and more training.
Not to mention coaching. Not just on the track and fitness, but a mental coach. ”
“Mental coach? What’s that? Like a shrink?”
“This has been an unusually hard time for you, Cole. We feel like you could benefit from a mental coach. Not a psychologist, but someone who understands getting your head in the game.”
“What? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
Johnny stopped typing. “Cole, this isn’t an attack on you. This is what we think will help. You need people in your corner. The more coaching the better. It sure as hell wouldn’t hurt.”
“Nix?” I turned to him. His head was cocked to the side as if contemplating deep things. “What do you think about this?”
“I’ve heard of athletes in other sports using a mental coach. They’ve had success. You know so much of the race is mental. Keeping your cool. Staying focused. If you can get help with that? Why not?” He rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand. I was going to go with whatever he thought.
“Okay.”
Johnny’s fingers hovered over the keyboard. “Okay to the coach? The moto league? Or—”
“Yes. All of it.” I tapped my free hand on the table. “Whatever you want me to do.”
“Good.” Gavin smiled for the first time, and I mean he really smiled.
I could see what Johnny might see in him with his flashing eyes.
“Ryker Brennan is our 250 East racer. He’s being coached by Zeke Hill.
I want to put you two together and see what you can do.
Understand me here, Cole. I want Zeke’s opinion before signing the contract.
If that goes well, I’ll hook you up with the rest.”
That would have to happen before the next moto, because if BikeMax didn’t pick me up, I wouldn’t be racing. Decisions would need to be made fast. “I understand.”
“What are you thinking?” Nix wrapped his arms around my waist. We’d only been inside the hotel room for exactly three seconds. The door shut, and I was wrapped up. “Your brain has been churning hard all the way here.”
“I’m wondering if I’ll have to move to California and how would a country boy, born and raised in Marietta, Georgia, do out here. Huh? I haven’t seen enough of the area to know if I like it.”
“You don’t have to move out here unless you want to.” He kissed the back of my head and rocked with me. I held his arms around my middle. I felt secure. Safe. I’d thought falling in love meant feeling out of control, but Nix didn’t feel that way at all.
“Here’s the thing, Cole. With Regal and Davey retired, Tate Jordan is the only real competition. So, BikeMax is going to want you. If you can show you’re good to go, they’ll invest in you. You’re perfectly capable of winning the championship. So, you need to invest as heavily as they do.”
“Rico might also be competition. From Apex. They’re no joke. With Davey running things, I expect Rico will be a challenge.”
“Maybe, but he doesn’t have as much experience. Not on a Supercross track, anyway.”
“Since when did you become a race analyst?”
Nix turned me around, so we were face to face. “I got the info from Jason.”
He was a little taller than me, a little bulkier.
Not as bulky as Tyler, but he’d made me stop thinking about Tyler.
Maybe I didn’t like Tyler as much as I’d thought, or maybe he’d simply been my type.
Nix was also my type, and I liked him a hell of a lot more.
My emotions around Tyler normally ramped me up, but now it felt settled.
I had to begrudgingly accept that I liked and respected Davey.
His team, including Tyler, were world-class.
But I couldn’t let Apex dominate the sport.
I stared into Nix’s soulful brown eyes. They seemed fathomless.
I could drown myself in them. I leaned forward and kissed his delicious lips.
“I’m going to be ready to kick his ass.”
“I know you are.”