Trepidation and embarrassment squeezed in her chest. “Who wants Long’s donuts?”
Metal tools clanged and parts were abandoned, and she was rushed by crew-turned-zombies, arms outstretched for apple fritters and sugary glaze. A potbellied mechanic named Homer—he loved his cartoon doppelgänger—grunted his appreciation after a bite. “Someone must’a tipped you off. Leo brought Dunkin’ once and he still ain’t lived it down. Nothing like a Long’s.”
Leo had no reason to be in her garage, but Mack looked for him anyway. She’d gone to him last night thinking their professional relationship was over. Would he judge her for telling him they couldn’t have anything while they were colleagues, sleeping with him, and then winding up on his team again?
“I’m not sure donuts make up for the night y’all had.” Mack cleared her throat to make sure her voice didn’t wobble. “I’m so sorry.”
Another crew member, Carlo, shrugged. “Eh. It’s the job. We can sleep tonight after you’ve made the big show.” At least that’s what Mack thought he said. Hard to tell between his mouth full of donut and his thick Italian accent.
“Your brain can’t be too scrambled if you remembered donuts,” Jimmy said from his post at the computer bank. “Better be a chocolate Long John in there for me. Plain, no cream?” Mack handed him a donut, unable to gauge Jimmy’s mood. He pointed to the car. “Rebuilt the machine the best we could, but ... well, you can see it’s a hodgepodge. These knuckleheads are calling it the Frankencar. It’s set up the same as yesterday but we’ll be relying on your feedback from the few laps you’ll get before qualifying.”
“I will do everything in my power to get this car into the field,” Mack vowed. She hoped he didn’t notice the crack in her voice.
Jimmy lifted his lips in a half smile. “Don’t take it too hard, kiddo. Wrecking is racing. Glad you brought reinforcements.” He lifted the donut in cheers.
“Excellent choice of donut, Rookie,” Janet said from behind her. Mack squared her shoulders and faced the boss, hoping her face showed the humility she felt. She recalled Janet’s disappointment when she’d caught her with Leo, and again after the wreck. Mack didn’t want to assume Janet still wanted her in the car just because Laurie found a way to funnel repair money to the team. If she wasn’t wanted here, she wouldn’t impose herself.
She also didn’t want to say that in front of the entire team.
As if sensing her hesitation, Janet waved toward the garage door. “Let these people do their work. Come to my office.”
As they walked to the JJR semitrailer-turned-office, Janet pointed at her tape-wrapped hand. “What’s going on there?”
“Nothing.” Mack reflexively pulled her hand to her chest. Janet raised her eyebrows, as if she wanted to say more, but ultimately she didn’t push.
Outfitted with bright LED lights, whiteboard walls covered in mathematical formulas, a long conference table, and frigid air-conditioning, the trailer felt more like a suburban office park than a transport vehicle. Janet rounded a desk cluttered with two laptops and sheathes of data reports and plopped into a cracked vinyl chair. In the bright lights, she looked worn out and burdened by worries. Her usual white shirt was wrinkled and her hair, always frizzy, seemed tangled beyond repair. “You were right about the tire going down. The left rear had clear signs of a puncture. Debris, probably. No way you could have saved the spin.”
The popping sound.
Indignation flashed through Mack’s body, followed by relief. Sheknewwhat she heard, and she opened her mouth to remind Janet that she’d heard a pop, but the boss held up a hand. “I should have listened to you about the tire. I am sorry for my temper. It’s not my best quality, but you know a little something about that, yeah?” Her mouth lifted as she pushed away some of the papers on the desk to make room for her elbows. She looked directly at Mack as she leaned forward. “Two things can be true at the same time. I’m sorry and I was pissed off. Losing a car means losing a team, and it’s only because of the extra sponsorship your sister pulled in that all those people over there”—she waved a hand in the direction of Gasoline Alley—“have jobs today and a shot at some prize money next week. When I formed JJR, I promised myself I’d never forget that real people, with real bills and real lives, depend on me.”
Mack had been so absorbed with her own loss that she hadn’t considered the dozens of other people who lost their job yesterday.For too long, she’d been up her own ass, bogged down in her own pain. Her face warmed with a mixture of relief and shame. “I’m sorry, too. I haven’t been my best self on this team.” She cleared her throat, decided to call herself out before Janet could. “With the yelling and the crying, and ... with Leo. I’ve been unprofessional and I’m sorry.”
Janet laced her hands behind her head and propped a foot on top of her opposite knee. Her face was implacable. “Is that going to be a problem?”
Mack chewed her lip. She couldn’t predict what would happen moving forward, but she had faith that she and Leo could separate their personal relationship from their team relationship. “Absolutely not. I’m here to run the Indy 500 and I promise that is my focus.”
“Be careful there. Love and racing don’t often mix.” Janet spoke with a softness Mack had never heard from her boss. “And if he so much as blinks in a way that makes you uncomfortable, you come to me.” Janet sat up straight and cleared her throat. “Moving forward. You saw the car. It’s full of borrowed components. We have no idea what the Frankencar will do out there, and you’ll only have a handful of laps to feel it out before your qualification run starts.”
“Borrowed components?”
Janet cracked her knuckles. “Even with the influx of cash from your sister’s friends there are certain parts we can’t get on short notice. We got some generous donations from Ampersand, and ...” She pursed her lips. “Against my vehement protestations, Leo gave up his backup components. That’s why the eleven looks like a fucked-up quilt.”
“If Leo wrecks . . .”
“Then he’s screwed to high heaven. We’ll have to scramble to find more components for race day.”
Leo had given up a level of security, his safety net, for her. She knew he wanted to win the Indy 500 more than anything; they’d talked about his near-miss last year and she’d seen the frustration and hurt in his face. If he wrecked during qualification today, if he had an issue during the actual race, he could lose his chance because he’d given it to her.
No one outside her family had ever believed in her that much. Except, she realized as she watched Janet studying her, maybe the woman sitting in front of her now.
“You didn’t have to let me come back,” Mack hedged. “Even with Laurie’s money.”
“I did not,” Janet agreed. “I never wanted you gone, Williams. I run a shoestring budget. JJR truly didn’t have the money for repairs to the eleven car until your sister came through. Even when you piss me off, I want you on the team. You ...” Janet’s ears were suspiciously pink. “You remind me of myself, once upon a time. More heart than sense.”
Mack’s face had to match Janet’s, pink with pleasure. “I haven’t done much to earn your faith, but I will. Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me, get out there and put the car in the show.”
