“Of course you do, Mum.” I roll my eyes. The conference room has Antonio and his agent in there. Antonio is pacing. I have no idea what’s going on, and normally, I would check in on him, but with my mum here, I just want to get the hell out. So I ignore my teammate and keep walking.
Mum plays on her phone while I do some light stretching before I change out of my race gear. I head into my bathroom and put on my street clothes, a pair of tailored canvas joggers and a fitted, cashmere shirt. She really won’t let this thing go about dating one of the Castera women. “Listen to me, Billy. I swear I know what I’m talking about. Both of those women are lovely, inside and out.”
“They are,” I agree, trying to sound disinterested.
“You marrying one of them would be this sport’s version of a royal wedding.”
“Mum, a wedding? Seriously, get a grip,” I bark out. I realize that’s harsh and try to explain away the sting to my words. “I’m not dating anyone, let alone marrying them, if my daily job...”
Oh fuck, I think as I hear her sharp intake of breath. Finishing that sentence with the truth – that I won’t get attached to someone when I might die every weekend from this career – would be sticking my foot in my mouth like a boss. So I quickly rephrase the rest of that sentence. “When I’m traipsing all around the world isn’t an option. You hated being left alone while dad worked, remember.”
“Yeah. I remember,” she mutters but then she smiles sheepishly. “Okay, okay, well can you muster up some flirting? That could help you.”
Mum’s tone grows a little bit more serious. “If you were to start a little something with one of them, it will help your chances at keeping your spot. Frankie is the better bet, since she’s the Principal now, but flirting with Lucia wouldn’t hurt either. She’s not going to steal her crush’s spot.”
I just stand there, staring at her, dumbfounded. She blinks, realizing the source of my astonishment and shakes her head. “No it’s not the same thing. At all. You’re not trying to steal some spot on a race team, or some funding to get on one or anything like that. You’re just ensuring you stay exactly where you belong. You’ve already earned your spot, but we both know that isn’t always enough. An emotional attachment as a wee bit of job security is all.”
I open my mouth to argue. But suddenly there’s a lot of loud voices in the hallway outside my room. Loud and angry. I dart to the door and swing it open in time to see Frankie stumble and bump into the wall awkwardly. Antonio is standing in front of her, looming aggressively, and something in my brain short circuits. I leap to the absolute worst case scenario. I get right in between them and right up into Antonio’s face, grabbing him roughly by the front of his race suit which he is still in for some reason. “Did you fucking touch her? I will fucking—”
“He didn’t!” Frankie says. “Let him go, Billy.”
Before I can honor her command, Antonio pushes my hand away and gives me a shove. “What the fuck is wrong with you? We’re supposed to be a team, you and I. You haven’t had my back since Bash gave his job to this…”
“Watch your fucking words, De Luca,” I warn in a low snarl. “And my loyalty is to Mirabella, not you. Yours should be the same, so get your fucking head out of your egotistical ass and grow the fuck up.”
“Your loyalty is to Mirabella?” Antonio levels me with a cold, hard smirk. “You fucking liar. Oh and FYI, she was eavesdropping on you when I walked out here. I caught her, and she tried to deny it, and that’s what we were fighting about.”
“I was about to knock on his door. I wasn’t standing there with a glass to it for god’s sake!” Frankie replies and rolls her big hazel eyes.
Antonio turns to me. “Probably should have just filmed her and loaded it to Instagram since that’s her version of reality.”
He storms off adding a “fuck this!” I want to chase after him and punch him in the face, but I can’t because that would be like pouring gasoline on a fire. Instead, I turn back to Frankie. She’s righting herself, her hands on her lower back as she winces.
“Are you okay?”
“No, but he didn’t push me or hit me or anything,” Frankie replies and rubs her lower back with the tips of her fingers. “He just got in my face and I… I stumbled when I took a step back. I shouldn’t have cowered. Now he thinks I’m a weak little girl.”
She sighs, annoyed with herself. I step a little closer. “He shouldn’t have gotten in your personal space. That’s weak, douchebag behavior, Frankie. You’re not the one who has to worry about looking bad. Antonio is out of control. I think you need to tell Dario and Bash. This should be escalated.”
“He’s pissy because I replaced his engine and because he finished in the shitter,” Frankie replies and then my mum pops her head out of my room. Perfect timing as always.
“Frankie, sweetheart. Everything okay?”
She clearly couldn’t be bothered to get off the couch and come see what was happening a minute ago. Frankie blinks and it’s like she’s just remembering something important. And awful. She clears her throat and pushes her shoulders back. “I’m fine, Sherry. Enjoy your stay this weekend. Bye.”
She starts down the hall, and I notice she’s favoring her left leg just a little bit. So no, she is not fine. I follow her. When I reach for her arm, she stops walking but pulls her arm out of my gentle grip.
“I don’t need you. Also, I don’t want you.” She pauses. “To sacrifice alone-time with your mum. She came all this way to spend time with you and give youbusinessadvice.”
She keeps storming away.
Fuck. Frankie heard my mom trying to coax me into pretending to like one of the Castera sisters. God damnit.
