“It’s doesn’t matter.”
“Itdoesmatter,” she says.“Please.I should have made time, even if you really want to retire....”Her voice trails off as she eyeballs me.“Do youreallywant to retire, Matt?”
I meet her eyes, but again, they slide back down to her coffee, pretending it’s the most fascinating thing in the world.
“No,” I say, truthfully.
I can’t quite tell if this has pleased or panicked her until her mouth stretches into a smile, her eyes still on that coffee.“Well, then.”
“Are we still friends, Chloe?”
I watch her body go still, almost imperceptibly, before she replies, “Sure.”
“Convincing,” I say wryly.
“We’ve known each other since primary school, maybe even before because of our dads,” she says.
“True, but there’s a difference between someone you once knew and someone you’re currently on good terms with.”I lean in, smiling at her, trying to understand where she’s coming from.“You seem to dislike me, if I’m honest.”
Chloe squeezes her eyes shut for a beat.“That’s not...not true,” she says, stumbling over the words as she clears her throat.
“Even more convincing.”I raise an eyebrow.
“I’m sorry if I gave you that impression.”
She still hasn’t denied it.I watch her closely as she pulls herself together, placing the coffee on the table and tossing the half-eaten doughnut into the box.
“Was it the press video?”I push her.
Chloe tips her head, turning to face me now.“It didn’t make me feel great, if you want the truth.”
I need to clear that misunderstanding up, at least.I slide in opposite her at the table, tilting the coffee cup side to side as though it’s a glass of whiskey.I wish it was a glass of whiskey.
“When she asked me if I was happy to be working for a woman, I didn’t hesitate because it was a problem,” I say slowly and clearly.“I was thinking about how amazing you’d done and how dumb the question was, if you really want to know.”
Chloe tips her head, her face curious, her cheeks pink.“You were not.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Really?”
“Yes.And I’m proud of you, if that’s not a weird thing to say now that you’re my boss.”
She says nothing for a while, but I can see the flush in her cheeks deepening a little, and I feel glad I told her.I should have said it yesterday.
She lets out a littlehuh.A half laugh.“I’ve wanted it all my life, and the wordbossdoesn’t sit well on me,” she says finally, picking her coffee back up.
“It should.By all accounts you really deserve it.”
She ignores the compliment, pushing her hair back from her face.
“I don’t know how to do this, Matt,” she says finally, quietly.“Please just be honest with me.If you don’t want to stay, I can work with that.I can look for someone new.But Arden Racing is on its last legs.The money is running out.The sponsors are jumping ship.I have heard from two people now that we have only a few races left before this is all over.”
“I heard it too,” I say quietly, nodding.
“You can retire now; your career has been incredible.But I’m just now getting started, and I’ve come too far for it all to come crashing down this soon.”
My chest tightens with guilt.
