The high points of her cheeks are pink with anger, her lips parted as a breath escapes.
Looks like she put on some type of lip gloss.
Just for me?
My cheeks beg to curve, but I quickly relax the muscles as Vince steps in to calm his raging children.
“Beck, act your age,” he demands with a shake of his head.
Noah, who hasn’t looked in my direction once without a scathing glare, elbows his youngest brother in the stomach.
Beck growls, his fists flexed at his sides.
Graham, easily one of the best mechanics in the industry, blows air out of his mouth, but he, too, remains quiet.
Heavy silence bounces from one Halston to the next, each of them locked onto me with too many different emotions to name.
Van, the oldest and clearly still the most mature of the bunch, steps forward with his hand outstretched between us.
I take it, noting the firm grip.
“Welcome to Vanstone Racing,” he snips, the words forcefully slipping through clenched teeth.
“Thanks,” I say in return, squeezing his hand just as hard as he did mine.
“This is bullshit.”
We all turn toward Beck.
“Beck,” Van warns.
Beck points at me. “He’s a Pierce, for fuck’s sake, and now he’s racing for us?”
Vince doesn’t try to interrupt him. He lets him continue.
“You really think that low of me that you hiredhimas our second driver? Instead of me?”
I glance at Tessa, just for shits and giggles, and she has that glossy lip of hers trapped between her bright, white teeth. She nibbles on it nervously, bouncing her attention between Van and Vince.
“You’re not ready,” Vince stresses, looking at his youngest son.
He isn’t wrong. Beck is skilled–I’ve never seen someone with so much passion and drive on the circuit. However, he makes mistakes, ones that simply come from not enough experience.
Beck remains quiet, but the look he gives me says plenty. His jaw flexes, just like his fists, and then he turns and storms the hallway with the echo of a slamming door in the distance.
And then there were five.
“He’ll be fine,” Van reassures Vince. “Let him cool off.”
“I’ll go talk to him.” Graham turns and walks in the same direction as Beck.
Noah steps forward. “He might need back-up.”
Tessa huffs and rolls her eyes.
Obviously, everyone wants to get the fuck away from this entire situation, and I don’t blame them. Awkward doesn’t even touch the uncomfortable energy in the hallway.
Van and Vince catch eyes, his oldest son inching his head to the left. Vince nods and looks at his daughter. “Tess, can you give Rome a tour? Van and I need to discuss some business.”
