Her father tensed at the mention of the Lockwood name.
Tom responded. “It’s no problem. I understand. Since you’re already here, let me introduce you to a few members of the organization. Hey!” Tom yelled. “Everyone, gather around.”
Cyrus released an exaggerated sigh before responding. “Be right over.” He handed the socket wrench to Colby. “Take over for me.”
She nodded as he walked away.
Colby knew this was hard for him. He wasn’t happy about Tom selling Daughtry Racing. It was like watching his life’s work being flushed down the toilet, but what was he going to do? Her father didn’t own enough shares of the team to stop the sale.
Colby peeked over the hood of the car as Tom made the introductions. “This is our crew chief, Cyrus James, our lead mechanic, Ben Johnston, and Alberto Gonzales, another one of our mechanics. Everyone, this is Markos Bankston and . . . I’m sorry. I didn’t get your associate’s name.”
Markos didn’t introduce him. Instead, he reached out to shake everyone’s hands. “Nice to meet you.”
That’s odd, Colby thought. It also caused her to take a closer look at the nameless man. He didn’t say much as they talked. But his gaze was intense. He was quietly surveying everything, and everyone, as he slowly scanned the room. Finally, his probing eyes landed on her and lingered. At first, he seemed surprised, and then it morphed into something else.
Colby returned his stare with one of her own. His eyes slowly swept over her entire body, starting at her dirty white Chucks until they landed back on her large brown almond-shaped eyes. For about ten seconds, neither of them even blinked.
She started to feel strange. His presence loomed large. So much so that the room began to shrink, leaving just the two of them.
What the hell?
Colby bit her lower lip while feeling as if she were in a trance and completely unable to turn away. It was like some type of vampire spell.
A slight frown appeared on the man’s face as he studied her. Colby wondered if he was caught in the same vortex that was swallowing her whole because he also seemed unable to turn away.
The intensity pulsing around them was insane.
Who was he? Who was this sexiest specimen of a man she had ever seen? The other guy, Mark . . . Markos . . . whatever his name was may have been leading the conversation, but without saying a word, Colby knew that he wasn’t the real power. That was the man staring at her.
Colby fought against her natural instincts but was failing. She typically didn’t allow herself to be attracted to the men in this business. As a woman, it was too hard to gain respect, but all too easy to get an unsavory reputation. Colby found the strength to lift her chin in a quiet challenge.
It didn’t work. Instead of him backing down, a hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his lips. And then, as if the entire world hadn’t just shifted on its axis, he simply turned away.
Colby was rattled. But what unnerved her the most was how she felt at the loss of his attention. What was that? She gave a gentle shake of her head to clear it from that dark magic.
After a few more minutes of conversation, their guests left. She was more than a little relieved.
Tom’s voice snapped Colby back into the present. “Cyrus, can we talk?” All the niceties from moments ago were gone. Tom still seemed to be irritated. One didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that it was because of that disaster of a test run. “Are we going to be ready for tomorrow?”
“We’ll be as ready as we can be, but will Asher?”
“I convinced him to show up. I hope you know how important this is for Daughtry Racing and you.”
“I’m not a miracle worker, Tom. You’ve cut our budget to almost nothing. There are things that car needs that a band-aid and rubber bands are not going to fix.”
“Asher said that he knows someone who would make for a great mechanic and Crew Chief for Daughtry. He seems to think that guy might be able to make improvements on our car.” Tom rubbed the back of his neck. “It might not be a bad idea.”
Was he serious? There was nobody better than her dad! Colby strained her ears and craned her neck around the hood to hear more clearly.
Cyrus was seething. “That sounds like a threat. I don’t take too kindly to those.”
“I don’t make threats.”
Cyrus folded his arms across his chest. He stood at his full height of six-foot-two inches and glared down at the balding little man. “I’ve been the crew chief for Daughtry Racing for over twenty-five years. I’ve forged relationships with people that slick talk and money can’t buy. You might want to think twice about any decisions you make when it comes to me and my crew.”
Tom knew that most of the Daughtry organization was loyal to Cyrus. Tom had to hold tight, at least until he’d sold this godforsaken organization. However, a time would come when people wouldn’t automatically defer to Cyrus James. “The bottom line is Asher has the potential to increase the value of this team. He can’t quit before we sell it. We have to do what we can to make him happy. That affects your bottom-line as well as mine.”
Cyrus was seething. Maybe we would be able to
