Colby was surprised to hear that the team wasn’t owned by Brian and Liam Lockwood. It didn’t really matter. At least Brian was showing her father a modicum of respect. That was good. Her gaze panned from Brian to Liam and lingered. He looked like a proud father. It was obvious he was the de facto decision-maker. Colby had to be careful around him. He seemed to notice a lot but didn’t say very much, which made it difficult to tell what he was thinking. He could potentially be the loose lynchpin to blowing up all of her plans.
“Now that we’ve concluded today’s business, anybody know a good place to go celebrate?” Brian asked.
Someone called out, “Georgia’s,” as the room erupted into a celebration.
Leave it to Brian to always find the party spot, Liam thought. He had earned it. Liam glanced out at the group, and one face stood out.
Her smile was dazzling. As if she felt his gaze, her head turned toward him. For a brief moment, they just stared at one another. When Colby realized it, she looked away.
Colby had an energy that was different from everyone else Liam had met at Daughtry. He saw it last night and again today. Those big brown eyes were not only beautiful but calculating, fierce, and filled with a heavy dose of unmasked intensity.
They hadn’t said much more than a few words to each other, but his instincts were always dead on. Something was going on with Ms. James other than the obvious. It stirred something inside of him. Liam wasn’t sure if his feelings were a sense of foreboding or excitement. Maybe it was a little of both.
Colby was a wild card. A blind spot. Liam wasn’t a man who flew blind. He leaned into Markos and whispered, “Find out everything you can about Colby James.”
Chapter 8
Colby was exhausted when she pulled up into her driveway. After sleeping for only a few hours the previous night and with the emotional toll of the day, she just wanted to face-plant into bed.
Colby drug herself out of the car and began walking toward the house while talking on her cell to Gonzo. He was still on a natural high. His mouth was moving a mile a minute, but the sound was going in and out. Colby’s Bluetooth was starting to die.
She quickly switched the phone to speaker as she stepped over the threshold of the door. “Dude. I’m exhausted. I don’t feel like hanging out at Georgia’s.”
“Do you really think it’s a good idea to blow off the new owner’s party invite?”
Colby yawned. “What part of ‘I’m not an official member of Daughtry Racing’ does everybody forget?”
Gonzo pushed. “Why do you only use that excuse when it’s convenient? I’m tired too. But I’m going, and I’m bringing my girl. Get dressed and come party with us. We deserve a lil celebration.”
“Party? Did I hear the word party?”
Colby turned at the sound of the voice.
“Is that who I think it is?” Gonzo asked through the phone.
Colby’s cousin leaned over into Colby’s cell. “It’s me in the flesh! Hey Gonzo!!” She then wrapped her arms around Colby’s body. “Hey, girl!”
Colby returned her embrace. It might not have seemed like it, but Colby was happy to see her cousin. The woman always had energy to burn, and today was no different. Which was the absolute opposite of Colby, who was running on fumes. “I forgot you were coming in today.”
“Gonzo!” she yelled into Colby’s phone. “I’ll make sure this chick is there. It’s been a while since we’ve all partied together. I could use some good music, good food, and to see all of my old friends.”
“Promise?”
“Promise!”
“Okay. Cool. I’ll see you both there.”
Colby hung up the phone. She was trapped. No way was Lila going to let her crawl into bed. “When did you get in?” she asked.
“About an hour ago.” Lila inspected Colby as she ran her fingers through Colby’s hair. “It looks like I got here just in time too. You should let me tame that nest on your head. It’s all over the place. You can’t go to a party looking like that.”
“It’s not a real party.” Colby waved her hands away. She loved Lila, but the woman could sometimes be a tad bit too much.
Lila liked all things soft and pretty. She was a beautiful dark-skinned woman with incredibly smooth skin and super-model tall with a body to match. Whereas, Colby was curvier with rounded hips and a slim waist—and a pair of breasts that Colby would love to downsize. Lila liked to wear her dark hair bone straight with a part down the middle. Colby mostly wore her hair in a big curly natural afro. From time to time, she would flat-iron it straight. The biggest difference between them was the fact that Lila hated cars unless one of her rich boyfriends gifted her one. And unlike Colby, she wouldn’t be caught dead in a pair of gym-shoes. It was heels or bust.
“It’s a work thing,” Colby said.
“Just change into an outfit that you would wear when you attended those fancy parties in Washington because I for sure know damn well you wouldn’t show up in,” Lila glanced down at Colby’s feet and wrinkled up her nose, “those.”
Colby smiled. Some things never changed. Even when Lila was little, she would
