Page 88 of Kiss & Collide
“Yeah, I’m serious. I’m seeing someone.”
Simon shook his head and let out a low whistle. “I never thought I’d see the day when someone managed to put a rope on Violet Harper. Never took you as the monogamous type.”
Her face flushed with unexpected anger. “You don’t know me, Simon—”
He put his hands up in mock surrender. “I meant it as a compliment, Violet. It’s all good. I’ll see you around.”
He gave her a smile and walked off. But hisI’ll see you aroundhad undertones. Like he expected her to blow this up. Like he knew what she would do.
How dare that fucker? But her fury mixed with a wriggling doubt, and a horrible recognition.
Up until now, thatwasexactly who she was and how she operated. And Simon had been around the track. He’d seen it all.
Yes, relationships had felt like a trap, but part of her also feared she’d be bad at it. She and Ian had always been a little dysfunctional, so maybe normal relationships were just beyond her. Maybe an endless string of hookups was the most she was capable of. The most she could give. And she had a feeling Chase could give a lot more.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. Carter Hammond. Of course. Just what she needed right now.
She swiped to answer, ignoring the flush in her cheeks. “Mr. Hammond, hello.”
“Hello, Ms. Harper. Is my son with you?”
“No, he’s entertaining some corporate sponsors over at hospitality.”
“That sounds like Reece,” Carter grumbled. “That’s fine. I wanted to speak to you alone. I understand my son had some … unexpected guests at his little party in Las Vegas last week.”
Violet closed her eyes and cursed silently. Fuck, fuck,fuck. She’d thought she’d managed to bury that incident, but Savannah and Brook must have blabbed to someone.
“How did you hear about that?” she asked when she’d recovered.
“Now that you know Reece, it probably won’t surprise you to know that I have eyes on him all the time. Just to be safe.”
“That’s … good to know.” It washorrifyingto know. Carter had a spy on Reece? What had Carter’s spy seen? What had he reported back?
“My source informed me that you dealt with Reece’s … ill-advised female guests very efficiently. There wasn’t so much as a whisper about it anywhere. Reece isn’t always easy to manage, I know. You did well.”
“Thank you.”
“And I understand you’ve been hard at work raising the team’s profile. This new driver my son chose … Chase Navarro. He’s getting quite a lot of positive press.”
Did he just call her to compliment her? What was going on?
“Strategically, I felt it was important to push Chase forward. He plays well to the media. What’s good for Chase is good for Pinnacle. Every time he’s mentioned, Pinnacle is mentioned, too.”
“I agree. You’ve done a lot of good work in a short period of time. Ms. Harper, you’ve clearly got a good head on your shoulders. That’s why I’ve called to let you know that I’m nearing a deal to sell the team.”
All the air rushed out of her lungs in a whoosh, leaving her lightheaded. Suddenly the sun felt like it was just inches away, baking the world and everything in it. “You’resellingus? To who?”
“Howard Capital.”
She frowned in confusion. “I don’t know them …”
“They’re a private equity group. If they decide to go ahead with the sale, they’ll be looking to cut operating costs while they maximize return on their investment, before eventually selling the team on to other owners.”
Violet closed her eyes and pressed her hand against her chest. Her heart was pounding like a bass drum. Fuck. A private equity firm. Yes, they’d sell the team on, but they’d sell it for parts, after they’d starved it of resources and sucked every ounce of value from it.
Affinity Motorsport had been bought by a private equity firm a few years back. They fired half the staff and cut salaries for the rest, so the best and brightest from the team all took jobs elsewhere. They invested almost nothing in development, and their performance was accordingly dismal. Limping along, Affinity had been sold on to someone else before finally folding entirely.
Being sold to private equity was a death sentence.
