Liam in no way could forget that Colby was a woman.
“You think she didn’t trust that I would let her drive and leaked the video to force my hand?” Brian asked.
Liam shook his head. “No. I’m certain Colby didn’t do it.”
“How are you so certain?”
“I was with her when she found out. She was just as surprised as I was.”
“Right now, everyone is a suspect. I’ve called an emergency meeting with the team to discuss how we will handle this situation.” It was a delayed reaction, but Brian had to back up the conversation. “Wait a minute. You were with her when she found out? Why?”
“We were just hanging out.”
“You and Colby were just hanging out?” Liam’s answer activated Brian’s suspicions. He lifted a brow. “Again, why?”
“We were at dinner . . .”
Brian’s eyes narrowed. “That video was posted this morning. Early this morning. That means Colby saw it this morning. If you were with her this morning and dinner with her last night . . .” Brian stopped talking. He threw his head back as it dawned on him. “You slept with Colby.”
Liam didn’t confirm or deny.
“This situation has just gone from bad to worse. You slept with her, Liam? I knew you were attracted to her, but you slept with her? You couldn’t wait at least until after the race?”
It was as if their roles had reversed. Liam was being the irresponsible one.
“You better keep this on the down-low low low. I can’t imagine how the other drivers would react if they found out you’re sleeping with her. They are going to wonder if that’s why she was put on the team in the first place. Hell, how is Cyrus going to react?!”
“She’s a grown woman!” Liam snapped. He was dead ass wrong and knew it. Despite that, he defended his actions. “Look, I didn’t mean for this to unfold the way it has.”
“You said that already.”
Liam was just as frustrated with himself as Brian was. “I can’t explain it. I’m attracted to her in a way that I haven’t been attracted to anyone else before—ever. Every time I try to ignore it, I end up doing the opposite.”
His words threw Brian. “Like, ever?”
“Ever. For the first time in my life, I don’t know what to do about it. You want to add more insult to injury; she’s pissed at me.”
“What did you do now?” Brian asked.
“She thinks I was just toying with her for sex.”
For the first time since the video went viral, Brian laughed. “She does realize you’re a billionaire and that you don’t need her for that, right?”
“Apparently, not. But that is also part of her charm. She doesn’t give a damn about who I am and what I have. She’s singularly focused on racing.”
Brian sat back down. “This is a clusterfuck. You’re finally interested in a woman for more than her body, we have to win the Atlanta race with shit cars, or lose to the Luccesses, and Lila is literally fifteen minutes away. I’m not quite sure how this situation can get any worse.”
As soon as Brian said the words, the door to his office opened, and Cyrus walked inside, followed by the rest of the team minus Asher. This. This was how it was going to get worse, Brian thought. The only man who knows what the hell was going on would probably kill Liam and quit.
Liam watched Colby take a seat next to her father. She refused to make eye contact with him.
Brian was still pissed at Liam, but he had some compassion for him. For now, all the emotional crap had to be put on the back burner. “I called this meeting because Colby has seemingly become a hot commodity. People want to know everything they can about you. I’m asking that until we get a crisis management team in place that everyone responds to any media inquiries with a simple ‘no comment.’ ”
“Understood,” Cyrus said. Heads nodded throughout the room. Cyrus continued, “I was hoping to keep a lid on Colby driving until we had everything we needed for our cars in place. Word leaking out is going to make getting some of the things we need more challenging.”
“I know. We’ve already lost an engine and two potential sponsors,” Brian responded.
Liam couldn’t keep his eyes from straying over to her.
“We’ll get it figured out.” Cyrus rubbed his chin.
Everyone spent the rest of the meeting trying to map out the next couple of weeks before the race. Cyrus couldn’t help but notice that Colby was unusually quiet. She didn’t utter a single word. He thought it was strange.
Once the meeting ended, Colby was the first up and out of her chair. It was Liam’s instincts to follow her out the door. Brian stepped into his path. “Liam, I could really use your advice on something. Can you stay for a minute?” His eyes bore into his brother’s.
“I’m going to head out to the garage,” Cyrus said. “Let me know if you need anything.”
“Will do,” Brian answered.
As soon as the room cleared, Brian closed the door. “You can’t look at her like that.”
“Like what?” Liam was frustrated.
“Like you’re her lover.”
“I am.”
“Can you at least keep it on the DL until after the race? We don’t need a mutiny. That would be one more thing for someone to tell Asher, and he leaks that to the press too. It’ll be game over for her.”
Brian was right. Liam wasn’t thinking straight. He found it hard to be rational when it came to Colby. Instead of chasing after the woman he was falling in love with, Liam decided to do what he did best. Work.
Lockwood Racing was in a crisis, and that he could help fix.
Chapter 20
Something was wrong, and Cyrus knew it. Colby had been withdrawn all day. She
