Either that, or he’s ready to chew me out for being late this morning.
I’ve got news for him, though–I won’t be showing up at all.
I hit decline and keep my expression void of emotions. Tessa tries her hardest to read me, her quick scan moving across my face.
We both look at my phone with another incoming call.
Beau is calling.
My chest tightens.
“Are we finished here?” I ask, voice edgy.
Gia clears her throat. “Yes. We’ll send over the contract for permission to take over your social media account within the next few hours.”
“Great.” I hastily push my chair out with a good grip on my phone and head through the door.
I pull open the search engine, and I don’t even manage to type my full name before an article pops up on GRID, one of the biggest news sources for Formula One:Rome Pierce leaves Pierce Racing and heads for rival team.
A wave of nausea hits my stomach.
I’m a grown-ass man, yet the fear of disappointing my father, instilled in me at a very young age, is too engraved in me to erase.
A cold sweat breaks out along my skin. I press my sweaty forehead to the wall and practice the breathing techniques I learned over the last few months.
I imagine my father is throwing shit in his office right now, with Beau taking the brunt of his anger. Not that I care much for my stepbrother. He’s a prick—and a shitty driver too. He’s also a mama’s boy. In other terms, that means he’s a fucking pussy.
My phone vibrates, interrupting my breathing.
Beau is calling.
This time, I don’t ignore it. I press answer and put it up to my ear.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?!” he roars, not even bothering with a hello. “Did that wreck fuck your head up too? Because last I heard, it was just the flesh on your leg that was damaged."
The faded scar on my shin burns, like it has the ability to hear the insult.
“My head is perfectly fine.” I remain calm. Though, from the way my ears burn, I know my blood pressure has risen.
“Then what the hell are you doing? Are you that bored that you want to cause a fucking uproar within the Pierce household? Talk about taking things too far, Rome.” He scoffs loudly. “Your dad has every person imaginable trying to get those articles taken down.”
My thoughts race. If he’s trying to take care of the articles, that means he thinks this is a rumor.
“Where are you?” Beau asks.
I exhale deeply. “In Las Vegas.”
There’s silence on the other end of the phone.
I nod at one of Vanstone’s many employees as they walk past. I wait until they’re out of earshot to confirm the news. “I quit Pierce Racing.”
“No, you didn’t.”
“I did.”
He laughs, the menacing noise making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. “You’re fucking with me.”
I’m done arguing with him.
