The Sextet - Entanglements [The Sextet Anthology, Volume 4] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic) (32 page)

Craig eyed her for a moment, and then finished his beer. “I’ll head out with you.”

Smiling, she waited as he paid the tab then walked with him to the lobby where they waited for the elevator. When the doors opened, she walked in and leaned against the back wall while Craig pushed the buttons for her floor and his.

Lindsey watched as the doors began to close, and Craig stepped closer to her. A shiver ran through her, until she heard someone shout, “Hold the door.” A hand slid between the heavy metal doors, causing them to open and reveal a young man that looked exhausted, carrying a sleeping child over his shoulder. He was dragging two suitcases, and his wife followed behind with another suitcase and two more young children who also looked tired.

Still leaning against the wall, Lindsey looked up at Craig and smiled. Even with the now tight quarters, he still had that hungry look in his eyes as he stood facing her. His hand resting on the wall next to her, his body was suddenly pushed against her when the father moved abruptly.

“Sorry about that.”

Lindsey smiled at the man while Craig grimaced. His gaze moved down her body inch by inch, but when it stopped on her chest, or more specifically at the zipper of her sweatshirt, her body blazed to life. He looked as if he would eat her up any second. When she licked her lips, she saw his eyes narrow and was sure he was going to lean in and kiss her.

Instead, the elevator bell rang, and the family began moving, trying to get out. Shaking his head, Craig laughed and held the door open until the last suitcase disappeared and the doors closed again. “I thought they’d never leave.”

Craig’s hand quickly cupped the back of Lindsey’s head and pulled her into a desperate and needy kiss. She felt his body pressing her against the wall as his tongue plunged inside her mouth, caressing her own. The sound of the metal zipper echoed in her head as his hand slipped inside and began to play with her breast.

Lindsey’s hands were all over Craig’s body, feeling his muscles and his cock straining against her thigh. She moaned as her body began to ache for him.

Ding.

Quickly pulling away, she wiped at her lips while Craig stepped away. He pointed his finger at her midsection, and she looked down, grabbing the zipper and zipping it up. The elevator doors began to open, and she heard voices outside.

Craig smiled. “Looks like we missed our floors.”

Looking up, Lindsey realized they were back on the main floor as two men stepped in. Riding the elevator for the second time, Lindsey kept some distance between her and Craig, and when they reached her floor, she quickly excused herself and ran to her room, wondering what might have happened, and aching that it didn’t.

Chapter 9

Since Dover, Lindsey had been trying to keep some distance between her and Craig. She knew getting involved with him was a big mistake, but apparently her head and her heart weren’t in agreement. He was constantly in her thoughts and whenever he was near, her body hummed for him.

That damn kiss. It had sent a bolt of lightning through her body, bringing every nerve ending to life. It caused an ache deep inside her that she suddenly needed filled. Closing her eyes she sighed loudly. How had this happened? How had she started to fall for Craig? Looking down at her desk, she saw the picture of Craig and her in the two-seater car at Charlotte. She smiled as she remembered the day and realized that was the moment everything changed for her.
The day I started to fall for you.

Forcing herself back to work, Lindsey went through her e-mails, handling questions from sponsors first. That’s when she saw the note from Dirk MacKenzie. All thoughts of Craig disappeared, and she was all business—and beyond pissed off. For some reason, Dirk felt that Craig’s latest win entitled him to change his scheduled appearances at some of the upcoming races. He now wanted an autograph signing in Pocono and Michigan, and an extra appearance in Daytona and Indianapolis.

“Hell, no!” She smacked her hands on her desk as she opened her files and looked at the schedules. Schedules that were already filled tight and had been finalized weeks ago. Quickly she replied to Dirk that changes for Pocono could not be made as Craig was already booked for the entire weekend. She did offer up an additional half hour in Michigan to do a signing, but it had to be limited to fifty people. As for Daytona and Indianapolis, there was no way any changes could be made. These were two of the biggest races of the season, and other sponsors had already requested and finalized their time with Craig. She ended the e-mail with a note that contracts would need to be revised and to let her know what he wanted to do. Then she waited for the reply that she was sure wasn’t going to be pleasant.

* * * *

The sun was shining on what looked to be a perfect weekend in Pocono as Lindsey sat in the pit box with Scotty and Rusty, watching Craig speed around the track during practice. “How’s he doing?”

Scotty grinned. “He’s doing great. He’s one of the fastest cars on the track.” He jumped down from the pit box, and moments later, Craig came into the pit for new tires and after speaking with Scotty, was back out on the track.

Lindsey enjoyed watching the practice from the pits. The rumble of the engines vibrated through her body, and there was no place she’d rather be. With a lull in the action, she grabbed her phone and checked her e-mails, finding an unpleasant message from Dirk MacKenzie.

“Damn it!” She sighed.

“Everything all right?” Rusty asked.

“Yeah, just a small problem with one of our sponsors. I’d better go take care of it.”

Lindsey spent most of her day dealing with an irate Dirk MacKenzie who refused to listen to her. He’d hung up on her more times than she could count, and his attitude when he was on the phone wasn’t pleasant. She needed to talk with Craig, but when she walked by the garage and found it empty, she realized the final practice session was about to begin. Turning to walk toward the pits, she ran smack into Dirk.

“Just the person I need to see. Have you reworked things for tomorrow yet?” Dirk stood in front of Lindsey, his arms crossed and glaring at her.

Lindsey swallowed, trying not to let him intimidate her. “Dirk, I’ve told you numerous times, Craig has thirty minutes tomorrow morning. That’s it.”

“And I told you to make it happen.”

“No, and if you keep harassing me, I’ll cancel the entire thing tomorrow morning.”

Dirk’s hands moved to his hips, startling Lindsey. “You can’t do that. I’m a sponsor, and we have a contract.”

“You have a contract for a thirty-minute meet and greet with twenty-five people. A contract that you signed and agreed to.”

“Look here, bitch…”

“Excuse me?” Part of her was waiting for him to hit her, but the other part was tired of being pushed around today. Before he could say or do anything else, Rusty appeared from inside the garage.

“Lindsey. Dirk. Everything all right?”

“Fine.” Her eyes never left Dirk. “I was just explaining to Dirk here that he’s got thirty minutes tomorrow and that’s it.” Dirk turned and huffed off, clearly pissed off at Lindsey. Taking in a shuddered breath, she turned and saw the worry on Rusty’s face.

“You really need to tell Jud about this.”

“Yeah, well, I’m thinking I really need to get drunk.” She walked away on a mission to finalize everything for Saturday—and to find a bar.

* * * *

It was just after five on Friday, and the final practice had ended, so Craig and the team were in the garage closing up for the day.

“Anyone seen Lindsey?” Craig asked, looking around.

“I saw her earlier today.” Rusty paused. “She’s had a bad day with Dirk. Matter of fact, I saw them in a heated conversation.”

“How heated?” Craig asked, growing angry.

Rusty let out a long breath. “Very heated.”

Craig could feel his blood begin to boil as he tried to call Lindsey. Her phone rang and rang then went to voice mail. “Lindsey, it’s Craig. Call me right away.” He looked at Rusty and then sent a text message to her as well. He waited for her to reply but again got nothing. “It’s not like her to not reply.”

“Maybe she’s busy with something,” Rusty suggested.

Craig dialed her number again then hit
end
when her voice mail clicked in. “Fuck. Where is she?” He checked his e-mail through his phone, making sure there wasn’t anything going on this afternoon that would keep Lindsey from answering. Then he called again.

Rusty wiped his hand down his face as he stared at Craig. “She did say something about wanting to get drunk. I thought she was kidding.”

Cocking his head, Craig grew more concerned and dialed her number again, but this time Lindsey answered.

“What do you want, Craig?”

Surprised by her tone, he wasn’t sure what to say. “Where are you?”

“Look, the day’s over, and I’m done. I’ll see you tomorrow morning.”

Craig stared at the phone in his hand, realizing she hung up on him. She was angry and upset, and based on what Rusty had said, he knew why. He called her again.

After several rings, she finally answered. “What?”

“Where are you?” His voice may have sounded calm, but he was really anything but. Since the incident on the elevator in Dover, things had been awkward between them. That worried him, but this worried him more.

“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m getting drunk.”

Craig choked out a laugh. “Okay, but
where
are you?”

“Why do you want to know? You goin’ to yell at me, too?”

He heard the emotion in her voice, and it made him even angrier with Dirk. “Lindsey, just tell me where you are.”

She was quiet for a long moment, and when she spoke, her voice cracked. “I’m at the bar in the hotel, so you don’t need to worry about me. I’m not driving anywhere. I’m just getting drunk.” The phone went silent again, but at least this time he knew where to find her.

* * * *

Craig walked into the bar at the hotel looking for Lindsey. He finally spotted her in a booth in the back corner. Walking up to the table, he saw her holding her head in her hands, looking miserable. “So how many have you had?” he asked taking a seat.

“I’m not counting. I’m drinking.” She finished off her Guinness and motioned for the waitress to bring her another.

“Can I get one, too, and maybe an order of nachos.” The waitress smiled as she walked off to get their order. Craig turned to Lindsey. “So you want to tell me what happened today.”

“Nope. I just want to get drunk.”

He huffed out a laugh. “You know you’re not supposed to drink alone.”

She looked over at him with a somber expression. “Don’t really have a choice since I am alone.” She wiped her finger up and down her empty glass.

Craig looked at Lindsey. Her normal fight was nowhere to be seen in her eyes, and he had a feeling why that was. From what Rusty had said, Dirk was acting just like her old boss, and he knew how that affected her. She’d told him that night at dinner. The night he realized how much more there was to her. “What happened with you and Dirk?”

She closed her eyes and shook her head. When she opened them again, they were far too shiny for his liking. Leaning back against the booth, she placed her hands on the table and looked at him. “Let me guess. He called Jud and you and complained about his appearance tomorrow.” She choked when her breath caught. “Hell, he’s probably even trying to get me fired.”

“I haven’t talked with Dirk—which is probably a good thing, because based on what Rusty told me, I think I’d have to kill him for how he’s been treating you.” Lindsey stared at him until the waitress appeared with their drinks and nachos. “Why didn’t you tell me he’s been giving you trouble?”

Lindsey looked away from him. “It’s my job to handle him, not yours.”

“True, but I thought I made it clear to you that you’re part of the team, that you’re not in this alone, and that I have your back.” She squirmed in her seat, still not looking at him, but he saw her swipe the lone tear that fell down her cheek. She reached for her glass and took a couple of gulps while he snatched a nacho and took a bite. “These are really good. You should try them.”

Reaching over, Lindsey grabbed a chip and took a bite.