Chapter 16 #3
I don’t plan to tell the suits, but hopefully Arthur will understand and help me out.
“Do you want me to be there when you do?”
Without a doubt.
“Yes.”
～
I’m sitting in one of the chairs in Arthur’s office, and I can tell the questions in his mind are many.
The most prominent ones being:
What the hell happened to my face?
Why is his daughter here?
I let out a long breath, getting ready to tell him about my dad, and Molly grabs my hand, which causes Arthur to raise his eyebrows.
Little did he know that his little proposal to fake date could lead to this. It was bound to happen either way, but it’s obvious he didn’t know about our connection.
I decide that tearing the Band-Aid in one single pull is the way to go.
“My dad is a drug addict, and when he came looking for money for more drugs and alcohol yesterday, he punched me in the face.”
Molly squeezes my hand tightly in her own, and I feel like we’re holding our breath together, waiting for Arthur to react.
At first, he’s shocked, staring at me like he can’t believe the words that just came out of my mouth.
Then he looks to Molly, probably wondering how our relationship really came about, but seemingly looking at his daughter in wonder.
When he looks back at me, it seems to have sunken more into him.
“Shit. I’m sorry, Peter. I didn’t know.”
Considering the celebrity status of F1 drivers, it’s a little weird that no one has ever dug up the real story of my dad.
I guess they all bought the “father is out of the picture due to family conflict” and didn’t bother looking for more.
“No one does. But I didn’t want to lie to you,” I tell him honestly.
I’m grateful that he doesn’t ask more questions, seemingly looking like he’s using his time processing the bomb I just dropped on him.
I can’t really blame him.
His leading driver—who’s also kind of crazy about his daughter—just told him that his drug addict dad hit him yesterday.
It must be a lot to process.
When he’s shaken himself out of the initial shock, we discuss the way forward and agree on telling the rest of the suits that I was robbed and took a hit whilst I was out.
He promises to keep my secret, and I can tell dear Moll doll is in for an interrogation by her father, but he’ll wait for that until they’re in private.
We’ve always had a degree of respect for one another, but when he gives me a hug, it makes me feel like we’re more than just associates at work.
Having his support means a lot.
And even with the questions brewing about my relationship to his daughter, his warmth is still there as I hug him back.
Having her with me meant that he would see that we’re more than just a fake-dating couple, but I also knew I needed her strength to be able to tell him.
We leave Arthur to deal with the suits, telling me that he’ll handle it and not to worry.
When we get outside, the reporters and photographers are ready with their questions.
“What happened to your face?”
“Did you get into a fight?”
“What does Molly think about being with someone violent?”
We hurry as best we can, not answering them, and head straight to my car.
When we get inside, I speed off and ask Molly where she wants to go.
The Star News bus doesn’t seem like the best idea right now, knowing photographers could be lurking.
“You got a hotel room?” Molly leans back in her seat, putting her hair up into a ponytail.
“I do.”
“Then, let’s go there.”
When we get to the hotel, I park in the underground garage, which thankfully means no reporters and cameras.
When we get to my suite, Molly orders room service as I look through all the messages from my team. They all stopped around five minutes after I left Arthur’s office, meaning he went straight to work.
The food arrives shortly after, and I realise I haven’t eaten anything since breakfast.
Molly arranges everything on the table whilst I grab some drinks from the fridge.
Having a suite is always nice, but being able to use the facilities and share it with someone is even better.
“My dad is probably dying to question me about this whole thing,” Molly says, gesturing between us.
I take a bite of the delicious pasta, noting that she ordered something similar to what I had for lunch the day after the gala.
“Yeah. What will you tell him?”
The good part of telling my story to Arthur with Molly by my side is that I don’t need to feel guilty about my feelings for his daughter.
At least I know I don’t have to hide it from him, even though he might not like that his daughter is really dating his driver.
“That we’re nothing,” she says, a teasing glint in her eyes.
She’ll probably never let me live down that one, but I guess I deserve it.
“I’m sorry about that.”
I drag a hand through my hair, not used to apologizing, but committed to doing better and taking care of the relationships I do have in my life.
Molly regards me with a thoughtful look before simply saying thank you and going back to her food.
The urge to know her every thought is consuming, another first that should scare me but rather brings a sense of rightness and curiosity about what I’ll find out further down the road with this woman.