Page 19 of Full Throttle

Cyrus had asked Colby to go inside because he was afraid she would ruin any chance of her working with the new team. He knew it had stung, and Cyrus would apologize later.

Liam didn’t speak until after Colby had gone into the building. “Colby is your daughter, right?”

Cyrus’ chest was puffed up like a peacock. “She sure is.”

“There aren’t many women in NASCAR,” Liam said.

“Drivers? No. There are more than folks think but definitely not enough. Especially African American women. We have a long way to go before minoritiesandwomen are given a fair shake.”

Tom didn’t like the direction of the conversation and welcomed the opportunity to change it. He was happy to see their number two driver coming around the corner. He clapped his hands together. “Jordan has arrived. I’ll introduce you while we give the mechanics a few minutes to get the car together.”

Tom could only hope that Jordan would put on a good showing so that he could sell this godforsaken team and get the hell out of racing.

Tom was yammering about something. Uncharacteristically, Liam had checked out of the conversation. He glanced over at the door Colby had walked through. Liam found himself more interested in learning the motivation behind all the passion in her eyes than the practice race.

*****

The negotiations were going about as planned. Brian stepped up in a big way. He asked all of the right questions, and Liam couldn’t have been prouder.

“When do we get to meet Asher?” Brian asked.

“Soon. Very soon,” Tom answered.

“We understand contractually he’s bound to Daughtry for one more race. Any deal we make is contingent upon our meeting with him.”

Tom didn’t like the sound of that. “Of course. We’ll make it happen. With your purchase and investment into the company, I’m confident Asher would like to stay on with the team.” That was a bald-faced lie, and Tom knew it. He honestly didn’t care one way or the other. Tom just wanted out of racing, and Asher was the key.

Cyrus had been invited to this meeting. He had only been included because of his shares in the company. He hadn’t said much. He sat up and folded his arms on top of the long conference table. “Why do you folks really want to buy Daughtry? Racing is too expensive to be a hobby.”

Cyrus commanded the attention of everyone in the room. He suspected most of them had forgotten he was even there. Brian hadn’t been prepared for that question and wasn’t about to tell him the real reason.

This had been Brian’s meeting up until this point. Liam had taken a back seat and had no intention of stepping in unless he was needed. One look over at Brian, and it was apparent now was the time.

“Why does it matter?” Liam asked.

Cyrus leaned back in his chair. “It matters because Daughtry’s a family, and I need to know my folks will be taken care of.” Those were words Tom should have said.

“Now, Cy.” Tom started to talk, but all Liam had to do was lift his hand to silence him.

“Can I have a word with Mr. James privately?” Liam asked.

“That’s not necessary,” Tom responded.

Liam cut his eyes over toward him. “If you want to sell this organization, it’s necessary.” The authority in which he spoke left zero room for argument.

Tom’s face reddened, but after a moment, he stood. It cued everyone else in the room to stand as well. They quickly cleared it—everyone except for Cyrus and Brian.

“I thought it might be easier to put all our cards on the table if we were alone.”

Cyrus nodded. “I think that’s the only way to handle anything.”

Liam agreed. “This organization is bankrupt. Ten percent of something is better than ten percent of nothing.”

Cyrus nodded his head slowly. “That’s true if the only offer on the table were yours.”

Liam raised a brow.The Luccesses. Damn.It had to be them.Who else would want to buy this team?It was only a matter of time before they found out.They were probably watching Brian’s every move and had been lucky to have gotten this far without their knowledge. Brian needed one hundred percent ownership of Daughtry. The Luccesses just made it necessary to move quickly on this deal. If they bought Daughtry and the Luccesses got Cyrus’ ten percent, it would be all they needed to launder their dirty money using the Lockwood name as a cover. Or even worse, they could buy it from Tom outright. Either way, they would be fucked. Liam’s poker face didn’t slip. He showed no signs that Cyrus had the upper hand. And to his surprise, neither did Brian.

Liam steepled his fingertips together. “What we are offering is fair, considering you have a driver who doesn’t want to be here.”

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