The sun dipped low, casting long shadows across the racetrack. The air smelled of gasoline and anticipation. The two of us leaned against our race cars, thoughtful.
“Go to HR. Tell them you made a mistake and ask them to place her in another office building.”
“Next option.”
“Youplace her elsewhere. Don’t you know a meditation app company that works out of New Jersey where she could work?”
“Next option.”
“Move her to the fortieth floor since you’re so desperate to keep her close,” he said, in frustration. “Seriously, was the sex that good?”
Mind-blowing, I wanted to say, but I didn’t.
I still remembered the way she had shuddered when she came on my fingers. The way she had rocked her hips while we fucked, meeting my rhythm and challenging me. The feel of her plump, round breast in the palm of my hand and under my tongue. The little gasps she’d made as I drove her to pleasure.
“I’d stay away from her if I were you, Jonah,” Alex said. “The board is going to decide who is going to be the CEO, and you are the candidate everyone wants. Don’t ruin it. No woman is worth jeopardizing a career over.”
That much was true.
“Let’s make a bet,” I said, seized by an impossible urge to see her again and wanting to justify it. Just once more. “If I win the next race, I see her.”
Alex put his helmet back on. “And if you lose?”
“I’ll stay away from her.”
“Well, that’s easy. You always lose, Jonah.”
We’ll see about that.
Alex got into his car, looking like he’d already decided he was going to win again. But I needed to see Lexi, and I was willing to push myself to the edge to make that happen. The engines roared to life as we both gripped our steering wheels, the sound of exhaust filling the air.
The flag dropped, and we shot forward. We raced through tight turns and long, open straights. Alex stuck close to the inside line while I stayed on the outside, waiting for the right moment to overtake him. As we approached the final series of turns, I felt like I could hear Lexi’s voice, urging me on.
My heart was pounding when I saw my chance coming out of the last corner. I pulled in close, took the inside line, and hit the gas. My Ferrari shot forward. The finish line was coming fast, and I held my breath. We were nearly side by side, only inches apart.
We crossed the line, and I looked up at the scoreboard as it lit up.
I’d won.
We climbed out of our cars, still in our racing suits. The engines cooled behind us, the smell of burned rubber hanging in the air. And under it all, I felt that rush, the high of victory.
I wasn’t too old for Lexi after all.
Alex shook his head. “Don’t do it,” he warned.
“I won the bet,” I said.
He shook his head. “Don’t meet her. She can’t be worth the trouble.”
I was starting to think that she was.
31
LEXI
The following Wednesday morning, at nine a.m., Brian was at my cubicle. “Stand-up meeting, Lex,” he said jovially. “See you in five minutes at the meeting hall down the corridor.”
Five minutes. That gave me just enough time to look through my code quickly and prepare myself to give a status update. I’d completed half of the tasks assigned to me for this week, but they were the tougher ones, so I assumed I’d be okay.
