Thrust: Bad Boy Racing Romance (Fastlane Series Book 2) (22 page)

Still in disbelief, I stood there shaking my head while I filled the box back up with the pictures and mementos I’d taken out of it. Last, I picked up the manila envelope, put the letters and certificate inside and placed it on the very top of the stack.

Grabbing the lid, I started to close it when something caught my eye inside of the box. Along one of the interior walls, which faced in the direction of my bed, I noticed a small object. Something didn’t seem right about it. It was modern. Plastic.

And blinking.

“What the hell?” I said, muttering and reaching for it. It was small, round and stuck to the interior wall of box. For a few seconds, I attempted to pry it loose, but it wouldn’t budge.

Letting go, I removed my arm from the inside of the box and stepped away, trying to locate it through the front, which had series of holes lining it. After a couple of seconds, I saw it covering one of the holes and leaned in, studying it more thoroughly. Extending my index finger, I inserted it into the hole containing the object and pressed against it.

It felt hard and smooth, like glass. I pushed harder, and eventually the object popped loose. I looked over the edge of the box once again, reaching down inside and grabbing the object for closer examination. It was barely the size of a quarter and about as light. I pinched it between the tips of my fingers and pulled it out.

“Is that?” I began, turning it back and forth and squinting. “A camera?”

DANI

I’d only been home for a few hours when the knock came at my door. Listless since returning to New York from Pennsylvania and the disastrous visit with my family, I dragged myself off the couch to answer it. I opened the door. Chloe stood there in front of me.

“Hey,” I said, turning away from her and shuffling towards the kitchen. “Do you want anything?”

Chloe came inside, closing the door behind her.

“Lock it?”

I didn’t bother turning around. Nearing the refrigerator, I shook my head.

“No.”

It was probably the fifth or sixth time I’d opened the fridge. I wasn’t even hungry. I didn’t know what I was. I closed it and turned to look at Chloe.

“Shit, sorry…” I began, gesturing with my chin towards the refrigerator. “Did you say you wanted something? I-I wasn't listening.”

Chloe stopped a few feet in front of me and leaned against the wall in my kitchen.

“That bad, huh?”

I’d done a lot of crying since I left them. I honestly didn’t think I had any tears left. But, no sooner did she speak those words than I walked over to where she stood.

“Oh, sweetie,” Chloe began, opening her arms and inviting me in for a hug. “Come here.”

I staggered towards her, resting my head on her shoulder. She alternated between caressing my back and rubbing my head. What little moisture remained in my eyes pooled in my tear ducts and dribbled down my cheek. Exhausted and leaning my weight into her, I knew that if I didn’t sit down I would probably fall down. While I wept and sniffled, Chloe remained quiet, holding me close.

At last, I let out a final shaky exhale and raised my head.

“I think I need to sit.”

Chloe reached for my cheek and using her thumbs, brushed away the streaks of wet heat from my face.

“I think so too. Totally, let’s go sit.”

I’d been too upset to talk when I called her to come over after arriving back in New York, so I spent the next fifteen minutes or so telling her about everything that happened. I wasn’t sure what to expect from her. In the past she'd always tried to look at conflicts between my parents and me with a balanced point of view. But, when I told her what my brothers said and what my mother demanded of me, it angered her.

Sitting next to me on the couch, Chloe turned her upper body in my direction and reached towards me.

“That’s so terrible, Dani,” she began, stroking my forearm with her fingertips. “I’m sorry you had to go through all of that alone.”

I shrugged and shook my head.

“I’ve been dealing with that stuff from them for years. It didn’t surprise me. But I thought that, just for once, because of my dad, they would act different.”

I looked at Chloe. She sat there listening to me, her lower lip protruding a bit.

“How did you feel about seeing your dad?”

I looked away from her, exhaling and feeling her question in the pit of my stomach.

“Horrible,” I began, the tone of my voice turning sad once again. “Absolutely horrible.”

Turning back towards her, I continued, “They don’t think… he’s probably not going to…”

The words got caught in my throat. I couldn’t make them come. She didn’t need to hear them to know what I meant. Chloe leaned towards me, opening her arms and trying to close them around me in another embrace. I shook my head and held up my hand, blocking her.

“I’m okay,” I said, doing my best to hold back another onslaught of tears. “I’m just angry with myself.”

“Angry at yourself? Why?”

Shrugging, I replied, “I just let the situation get the best of me. After my mom demanded I help pay for my dad’s care, I lost it.”

“That’s understandable, Chloe. Like, anyone in that situation would do the same thing.”

“Okay, but, I still shouldn’t have left. I should’ve stayed there. I mean, what if he dies? I don’t know if I could live with myself.”

Chloe shook her head.

“Dani, you can’t sit here beating yourself up over this. If you want to go back to Pennsylvania, then you should just go. Sitting around here -- it’s not going to fix anything. You know?”

I looked away from her.

“I don’t understand, Chloe. Why aren’t they proud of me? I mean, look at my brothers… their lives are a mess, not to mention their marriages. All I’ve ever done is achieve in life. And now, because of that, I’m the one that’s being punished and is expected to pay for everything? It doesn’t make any sense.”

I dropped my head and muttered. “It just doesn’t make any sense.”

Chloe didn’t say anything right away. There really wasn’t anything to say. Soon though, she did speak again.

“Well, what are you going to do?”

“What do you mean?”

Chloe eased back into the couch.

“I mean, like, do you think you’ll just give in at some point, or are you going to stand your ground?”

If she’d asked me that question the day before I went to see my dad in the hospital, I would’ve told her absolutely not - no way would I give in. But seeing him lying there like that, suffering… even though I was angry and disappointed, the honest truth was that I didn’t know.

“I’m not sure. At this point, the only way I can deal with this whole thing is from one minute to the next.”

“I understand, Dani.”

I turned to look at her again. Chloe had such a sweet spirit. Growing up the way she had, I often wondered how she managed to stay so positive. I felt lucky to have her as my friend.

“I’m sorry,” I began, dropping my hands in my lap. “I feel guilty for dumping all this on you.”

“You’re not
dumping
anything on me, Dani. That’s what friends are for, right?”

Nodding, I continued to stare at my hands.

“I guess. I still feel bad though.”

She remained silent for a few seconds.

“Let’s talk about something else. Okay? I think you’ve been through enough over this for tonight.”

I glanced towards her. The idea hadn’t occurred to me but she was right, obsessing about this was exhausting me.

“Okay, well, what do you want to talk about?”

Chloe looked up towards the ceiling, trying to come up with an idea. After a couple of seconds, she snapped her fingers.

“I know…”

DANI

“How about something completely different?” Chloe began, her mood brightening. “What’s the latest with Marco? How was the trip?”

Since leaving the hospital and all the drama with my family, I’d completely forgotten about the agreement. Of all the things going wrong in my life right now, at least that wasn’t one of them. A hint of a smile came to my lips.

Chloe leaned away from me, narrowing her eyes at me in suspicion. “What? What happened?”

“I’ll be right back,” I replied.

“What?” Chloe began, wrinkling her brow in confusion. “Where are you going?”

Ignoring her, I stood from the couch and made a quick trip to my bedroom to get my purse. While I was gone, I heard Chloe yelling at me from the living room.

“This is totally not cool, Dani!”

Chuckling, I reached inside my purse and pulled out the signature page. After making my way back in the living room, I walked up to her with my hands behind my back.

“What are you doing?” she said, craning her neck and trying to sneak a peek. “Why are your hands behind your back? Dani!”

I looked down at her, shaking my head and smiling wider than ever.

“This is just killing you… Isn’t it?”

Chloe leaned back into the couch, crossing her arms and legs at the same time.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, turning her head to one side. “I don’t care what you have behind your back. It doesn’t bother me in the slightest. It’s like, the last thing on earth I care about right now. Seriously.”

“Uh huh,” I nodded. “Okay then, well, never mind.”

I turned and started to walk away. Before I could take a single step, Chloe shot to her feet.

“Dani!”

Enjoying the first good laugh I’d had in days, I spun in place and faced her again, swinging my hand around in front of my body. Chloe covered her mouth with her hand and after dropping it away, she pointed at the signature page.

“Is that what I think it is?”

I shrugged, finding it more and more difficult to keep a straight face.

“Well,” I began, turning it towards me and pretending to read it. “If you’re thinking that this is the biggest contract in the history of the investment firm, then yes, it is what you think it is.”

Before I could lower the page away from my face, Chloe leapt towards me, shrieking.

“Oh my God, Dani! Oh my God!”

She snatched the page from my grasp, nearly ripping it in the process.

“Hey!” I began, trying to settle her down. “Careful with that.”

Ignoring me, Chloe spun it around and began to scan the page. She finished reading and lowered her arm, holding the paper to the outside of her thigh. Drawing my gaze up to her face, I noticed the beginnings of tears in her eyes.

“No,” I said, wagging my finger at her. “God, please don’t do that. I can’t take any more crying right now.”

“Uh! But Dani!” she exclaimed, her voice cracking. “But like, this is totally unbelievable! This is everything you’ve ever wanted! You’ve finally done it!”

I smiled at her enthusiasm. On the one hand, she was absolutely right, I did get the agreement signed. On the other hand, Bernard and Leopold still had to
actually
follow through on their promise to make me a partner. I didn’t think they would go back on it but I’d been around long enough to know that until the deal is signed, there is no deal.