Page 60 of Full Throttle 2

The room remained quiet, and it didn’t seem as if anyone planned on telling her. “Well, Mark, since you opened the can of worms, and you’re on my payroll until I say different, you might as well tell me the rest of it.”

Mark managed to contort his body enough from Brian’s grip to toss Colby a large manilla envelope.

“Colby, don’t open that!” Liam pleaded.

She didn’t listen and opened it, pulling out a glossy magazine with her face on the cover. Colby gasped as she read the title:

“Colby James, the Self-appointed Savior of NASCAR: Her Plan to End Racism and Misogyny Among the Fans, Her Peers, and Owners”

“My god! They just put a giant-sized X on my chest.”

“Exactly!” Mark said. “We need to get to work on this ASAP before it goes live.”

Colby wore a pained expression as she looked up at Brian. “You weren’t going to tell me about this?”

“No. I wasn’t.” He had no qualms about it. “At least not today and not when you just got out of the hospital after a major accident.”

Liam nodded. “We were going to tell you, just not today.”

Brian snapped at Mark. “Why do I feel like I’m always asking why you aren’t already working on this?!”

Mark returned Brian’s anger with his own fire. “My team has been working around the clock to prevent this article from coming out.”

“Hello?” Colby was furious. “Am I invisible?!” She stretched her arms wide as she got out of bed. She continued to study her body as if she couldn’t see herself. “You are talking about me like I’m not even here. What don’t you all get?!” She beat her chest. “This ismylife and career! Mine. I get to make the decisions about what’s best for me. Everybody can’t be my handler.”

Angrily, she turned to Mark. “You’re fired.”

His eyes widened in shock. “You can’t be serious. I’m the one who told you about this.”

“You’re also the one who should have figured out a way to shelve this story.” Colby’s eyes were blazing. “I can’t and don’t trust you. Now, please leave!”

Gonzo grabbed Mark by the shoulders and yanked him out of the room.

Cyrus put his hands out in a pleading gesture. “We were all thinking of your well-being.”

Colby took several deep breaths to calm down so she wouldn’t be disrespectful. “Please, Dad, can everyone give Brian, Liam, and me some privacy.”

After a few tense moments, Cyrus nodded. He and everyone left the room except for Liam and Brian.

Colby waited until they were all gone before she spoke. “This arrangement between the three of us...is not working.” Colby took a moment to gather herself. “Brian, I think it might be best that at the end of this season, we reevaluate my role with Lockwood Racing.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Brian couldn’t speak. His eyes were wide with shock. He wasn’t even sure he was breathing. “You can’t be serious.”

Liam wanted to burst out in a shout of victory until he saw Brian’s face. He wanted Colby out of racing but never really thought about how it might impact Brian.

Colby nodded. “Yes. I am. I can’t thank you enough for taking a chance on me, but I can’t continue to do this.”

Liam and Brian spoke at the same time. “Do what?”

For a moment, Colby closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. “Liam, my father works for Lockwood.”

“He’s actually a partner,” Brian corrected.

Colby rolled her eyes. “Either way, he doesn’t know how to keep my professional and personal life separate, which is a conversation I plan to have with him later.”

“He just worries about you,” Liam countered.

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