The Sextet - Entanglements [The Sextet Anthology, Volume 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (27 page)

Downstairs, Lindsey noticed the shiny tile floor and bright-red walls with chrome accents. As they walked past the gift shops, there were several families milling around with their kids’ overexcited voices bouncing here and there as they found something new and cool. She smiled at the excitement on their faces as she and Jud walked past.

Opening a door with a large thirty-seven painted on it, Jud ushered Lindsey through. “This is the garage area for Craig.”

Lindsey was astounded by the size of garage area—almost the size of a football field, but entirely indoors. Bright lights lit the area, and the tile floor was immaculate, not even a drop of oil or dirt stained its surface. Along the sides of the room, several cars were lined up, all in various stages of completion. She stopped, taking a moment to look around. “This is amazing.”

Jud smiled. “This is big business and why sponsors are so important to us.”

Walking down the main aisle, Lindsey quickened her step and followed as he turned and walked into a room where a group of men were sitting around talking and laughing.

“Glad y’all could all make it.” Jud’s booming voice caused the room to go silent. “Take a seat, and let’s get started so y’all can enjoy your rare week off.”

Lindsey noticed Craig over in the corner, leaning against the wall with a scowl on his face. His arms were tightly crossed, showing off his impressive muscles. His dark hair was cut short, and his tanned face emphasized his blue eyes that seemed to be glaring at her from across the room. When he finally took a seat, he leaned back so far in the chair she thought it might tip backward.

“First, as y’all know, we’ve lost a couple of sponsors since Tom’s departure. I’d like to introduce Tom’s replacement, Lindsey Valentine. She’s the team’s new marketing director and will be working with all of you in securing new sponsors and renewing our current sponsors.”

For the next few minutes, Jud went around the room introducing each of the team members to Lindsey, including a brief description of their job responsibilities. Then he turned to Lindsey and gave her a chance to say a few words.

“Wow. I really wasn’t expecting a team meeting today.” She smiled. “I’m excited to be working with you all, and I’ve got a lot of ideas I think will help bring on new sponsors. I’ll warn you that I’ll probably have a lot of questions, so be prepared.” She laughed, and Jud and a few of the men did, too. But not Craig. He was obviously sizing her up.

Jud continued to speak to the group, covering the business at hand and discussing any issues that the team may have at the next race in Bristol. Once the meeting was over, most of the men came over and said hello and welcomed her. Finally Craig made his way over, still not looking very friendly.

Sticking out her hand, Lindsey kept the confident smile on her face as she waited for Craig to acknowledge her. Slowly he lifted his head, reached out, and shook her hand.

“I’m guessing you don’t know much about racing.” Craig dropped her hand with a look on his face that definitely wasn’t welcoming.

Lindsey narrowed her gaze. “I know that you’re fourth in the point standings so far this season and that you’d have won last week in Phoenix if Stevens hadn’t pushed you into the wall.” She shifted her stance and continued. “You tend to drive aggressive and find holes to get through in order to get the win. You usually finish in the top ten or wreck your cars, and you’ve got a huge fan base that follows you on Twitter and Facebook.” She paused for a moment and then locked eyes on Craig. “Oh, and your favorite snack is Oreo cookies after a hard race.”

Jud and crew chief Scotty Irwin snickered as Craig continued to eye her, showing no emotion at all.

“Obviously you’ve done your homework,” Craig replied then turned to Jud and Scotty. “I’m heading out. Are we still planning on tire testing at Charlotte on our off week in April?”

Jud nodded. “That’s the plan. All four teams will tire and engine test. I’ve booked the track for two days. Scotty wants to test in Indy before the Brickyard if we can find the time. It’s too big a race not to be prepared.”

“I’m up for that. I’d do anything to get a win there.” With a quick glance at Lindsey, Craig turned and walked out the door, disappearing into the garage.

Scotty turned to Lindsey with raised brows. “So, I take it you’re a fan?”

Lindsey laughed. “I’m a NASCAR fan and follow a lot of drivers. I’m from Indianapolis and grew up at the Speedway following Indy Car. When NASCAR came to town, I was hooked. But, honestly, I did study up on Craig. I wanted this job.”

Shaking his head, Scotty smiled. “I think she just might be able to handle our boy Craig.”

Jud looked at Lindsey. “I have no doubt you’ll fit right in with these guys in no time. Especially once Craig realizes you’re from Indy. Now let’s go back upstairs, and I’ll show you your office.”

Chapter 3

Moving to a new city and state was bad enough, but Lindsey seemed to have brought with her some emotional baggage. Exhausted and beaten down, her self-doubt reared back to life, causing her to question everything in her life once again.

Spinning around in her chair, she looked out her new office window, at the line of trees and green grass that surrounded Thompson Motorsports. She took in a breath and let it out slowly, allowing its calming effect to move through her body.
Forget about your past. You can do this. Your old boss was a bully who took pleasure in breaking people, and you know that.
Deep down, she did know it, but the knotted muscles in her stomach were a constant reminder of the damage he’d done.

Turning her attention back to her desk, she scanned through some of the sponsor folders, hoping to get a better understanding of what she needed to handle. Opening up the Spotless Shine folder, she spotted a picture of Craig, standing next to one of his cars, holding a can of Spotless Shine car wax. He looked dangerous and hot in his driving suit, and his smile seemed to reach out from his picture and grab her, causing an ache deep inside her.
Shame someone that gorgeous is so incredibly arrogant—not to mention off-limits since you work for him.

* * * *

Lindsey was grateful for the off week on the NASCAR schedule since it gave her more time to go through files and figure out where things stood before jumping into the busy world of traveling to various tracks each weekend. It also gave her the chance to reach out to the current sponsors and introduce herself. Most were very friendly, but a few were upset with things that had been promised and not delivered. A couple even sounded like her old boss, which caused her to shiver.

Determined to be successful at her new job, Lindsey set up meetings with a few of Craig’s current sponsors and began a file on potential new sponsors she hoped to sign. She’d gotten a chance to work with Rusty, the team manager, and come up with a plan to schedule regular meetings to update Craig and the team on appearances, sponsorship requirements, and anything else they needed to know.

Glancing at the clock, she realized it was time for her meeting. A flutter of nerves hit her as she made her way down to the garage for her first official meeting. After taking a seat at the table, she looked down and noticed her hands were shaking. Making fists, she closed her eyes, took in a deep breath, and exhaled.
I can do this.
Forcing doubt aside, she reviewed her notes while waiting for the guys. It wasn’t long before Scotty and Rusty joined her at the table.

“So, Lindsey, have you settled in yet?” Scotty asked, taking a seat.

Lindsey smiled. “I’m getting there. I’ve got a full calendar of meetings with our sponsors while we’re at Bristol.”

Rusty laughed. “Craig’s gonna love you.”

Shrugging, Lindsey continued. “Well, one of the sponsors isn’t happy. Apparently, Tom made promises that he didn’t deliver—so Craig’s going to have to turn on the charm if we want them to continue with us this year and sign on for next.” She lifted her phone and checked the time. Craig was already fifteen minutes late. “Any idea on when Craig will get here?”

“I’m sure he’ll be here soon,” Rusty replied with a quick glance at Scotty, who was texting on his phone. “So have you ever seen a race at Bristol, Lindsey?”

“No, I’ve always wanted to. I’ve got season tickets to the Brickyard, though, but I’m guessing I’ll be working this year instead of watching the race.”

“Yeah, that’s a big one for us. Jud loves to entertain there.” Rusty replied.

An uneasy quietness filled the room as they waited for Craig. Lindsey tapped her pen on the table, growing frustrated with each passing minute. It had been clear since their first meeting that Craig wasn’t thrilled with her. Now, it was becoming apparent that he was making it a point by not being at their first meeting.

With her stomach muscles tightening, her anxiety grew.
Do I wait for him to show up? Should I go on with the meeting without him?
She glanced at her phone, seeing they’d been sitting and waiting for almost thirty minutes. Self-doubt began to turn to anger over how she was being treated by Craig. Lindsey had had enough.
I’ll be damned if I have to deal with this kind of attitude again.

“Look, I don’t want to waste any more of your time. Let’s just go over the things we need to discuss and call it a day. Obviously Craig doesn’t respect your time or mine.” Both men looked at her with shock on their face as she grabbed her notebook and began.

For the next twenty minutes, Lindsey went over the calendar of events for the next couple of months. She asked for Scotty’s and Rusty’s opinion on a few ideas she had and enjoyed an open discussion with the men who were happy to answer her questions.

“That helps clear up a few things for me.” Lindsey smiled across the table. “Thanks for your help. Anything you need from me?”

Scotty glanced at Rusty than back across the table. “Look, Lindsey, about Craig…”

“Don’t worry, Scotty. It’s no big deal.” She forced a fake smile on her face. “I’ll e-mail him the schedule and notes.” She closed her notebook and stood up, heading for the door just as Craig appeared.

“I thought we had a meeting.” Craig stood tall in the doorway, with an arrogant grin on his face.

“We did, forty-five minutes ago.” She pushed past him, catching a whiff of his spicy cologne, before turning on him. “Not respecting my time is one thing. But not to respect Scotty and Rusty’s time…” She shook her head. “I guess I thought better of you.” She turned and walked out of the garage, the clicking of her heels on the tile floor echoing through the massive space.
How is it he can be such an ass, yet smell so good?

* * * *

Craig left the conference room and headed toward his office with Scotty and Rusty on his tail. Sitting down at his desk, he turned his attention to his iPhone, not even looking up when Scotty walked in and stood in front of him.

“Where the hell have you been anyway? I’ve been texting you for over an hour about the meeting,” Scotty asked, clearly frustrated.

“I had things I needed to handle.” Craig continued messing with his phone, his fingers quickly moving over the small keyboard.

“Things, huh.” Scotty leaned on the chair in front of him, glaring at Craig. “Please tell me you didn’t blow off the meeting on purpose.”

Tossing his phone on the desk, Craig was silent as he sat back in his chair. It was true. He had avoided the meeting, not realizing that by avoiding Lindsey, he’d wasted his friends’ time as well. “So, are we ready for Bristol?”

“Don’t change the subject,” Scotty barked back. “What the hell’s your deal?”

Craig rubbed his chin as he looked at Scotty. “I told you, I had things to do and was running late.”

“Yeah, right.” Scotty pushed away from the chair and folded his arms. “She’s trying to save another one of your sponsors that Tom pissed off.”

Craig rolled his eyes. He was tired of hearing about Tom. He’d thought they were friends but found out that Tom was just one more person in his life who wanted a piece of him. And now, Lindsey was going to be the same. A thorn in his side that made him do things he didn’t want to do.
But damn if she didn’t have a pair of long legs that led to what he imagined was one fine ass, swaying with each step as she walked away.

Shaking his head, Scotty grew frustrated. “What? No smart-ass comment?”

“What do you want me to say?” Craig yelled. “That’s her job!”

Scotty flipped Craig off. “You’re such a prick.” He walked past Rusty and disappeared into the garage.

Rusty ran his hand down his face. “You’re right. It is her job—but it’s part of
your
job, too.”