Page 48 of Wrecking Boundaries

He motions with one hand, expression dark.

“Mom, I’ll call you once I’m back home. Love all of you.” Itoss my phone on a table and sit across from Derek. “What’s wrong?”

“Joey Fisher was caught yelling at his crew again after inspection. I get he’s under pressure, but so is everyone else.”

“He tried negotiating an early contract renewal, but it didn’t go well. It looks like he’s taking that out on others. Give him a few years to mature, and he’ll improve.”

Derek grunts.

My phone dings.

Sarah: Back in my room. Bring me dinner, or don’t bother wasting my time. I have better things to do.

I bite my lip, trying to decide on a response—something romantic but also a little crass.

Jake: Dinner. Dessert is my dick.

Sarah: You’re disgusting.

Jake: You enchant me.

Perfect.

“Is that her?” Derek asks. “It looks like I’m hanging out alone again tonight if that hangdog expression of yours is a clue.”

I bite my lip because he’s not wrong and smile. “We have plans.”

“Do any of those plans involve telling her you have a fake online persona she enjoys talking with?”

“I deeply regret sharing that plan with you,” I saw with only a tiny amount of petulance. “That’s already solved.”

“How?”

“Soon, Martin will send her a message asking if they can get more serious.”

“You’ll send her a message,” he corrects.

“Don’t get technical. She and I will declare our feelings to each other soon, so she’ll say no. He’ll take it like the honorable man he is, and she’ll never hear from him again. Problem solved like that.” I snap my fingers.

It will work. Sarah’s interest in Martin has dropped substantially since our relationship picked back up. She still sends him messages, but they’re less frequent and more impersonal.

I also want her to end it, so she’s in control. She may be hurt if Martin does it, and I don’t like that, especially after what she shared.

“And her brother?”

“We’ve mostly been professional this season, so he has no reason to be upset. What else is there?”

“You’re on a different team. That doesn’t go away.”

That might change, too. My plans with Sarah remain a secret and will remain so for a while longer. Besides, Bert asked for my discretion, and I’m reluctant to betray him. There’s a chance everything could change, maybe even in a big way. Plus, if I move to a new car, Derek will come with me. There’s no point in raising further alarm.

This is all true, and a niggle of doubt still pricks.

Derek stares at me for a very long time. “You’re a big fucking idiot.”

“No, I’m just your average race car driver with a winning plan.”

“You realize plans fail all the time, right?” he warns.

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