“I know Beck isn’t as seasoned as you’d like, but when Noah is back on his feet, Beck could take my place. That way, you’d still have two active drivers representing Vanstone–”
Vince clears his throat. “Are you trying to terminate your contract? Because as far as I know, you haven’t breached it, correct?”
“Well…” I take a breath. “I don’t think I’ve breached it.”
“You haven’t,” he says.
I open my mouth, only to close it a moment later. My mind runs in circles.
“Right now, I’m going to speak to you like a father instead of like your boss.”
Here it comes.
The reprimand.
I knew it was wrong to get involved with my head engineer.Hisdaughter.
“The most important thing in the world is family and having someone to lean on. That’s all I’ve ever wanted for my children.”
I nod, but there’s a sadness behind the action.
Somehow, over the last few months, Tessa became the most important thing to me, and Vanstone turned into the family I never knew I needed. And now, they’re all slipping right thoughmy fingers because of a man who was never really there for me to start with.
I forcefully swallow and drag my attention to Vince. He reaches out and puts his hand on my shoulder and gives it a squeeze.
“And son…you deserve that too.”
Son.
My throat grows tight, and suddenly, I’m a young kid again.
He squeezes my shoulder again before letting go and turning to gather the papers in front of him.
“Why do you think I left her out of the contract?” he asks.
What?
He’s grinning from the side and continuously flipping through the papers. “I’ve already discussed this with the others, but Van will be your engineer moving forward. Tess will work with Beck until Noah is back on his feet. Oh, and they’re well aware that I knew what your father was up to years ago, so you don’t need to worry that they’ll hold this against you.”
“You’re–” I clear my throat, noticing the rasp in my voice. “You’re sure? You don’t mind Tessa and I working…near each other?”
“No one has been able to tame that girl besides you, Rome.” He chuckles to himself. “Even when you two were kids running around the paddock.”
Just like no one’s ever been able to make me stop dead in my tracks with a single glance in my direction besides her.
Vince stands, but before he’s able to leave, I turn around abruptly. “I’ll do it right this time. With Tessa,” I clarify. “I’ll wait as long as I need to, but I’ll do it right.”
He nods and walks out the door, leaving me in shock.
A few minutes later, the group text goes off.
Beck
Well? What’s the verdict, Rocky?
I snort.
Van texts back before I can.
