Page 35 of The Player Penalty
“Is that your best insult?” Boone stops his machine to stare me down. “I’m not even bothered. You want my honest opinion?”
“Is there any other kind?”
“If the funds work out, I’d happily put you in another car. It’s good for the team. You care about developing talent, and that matters to me. A lot. Do it more. Also, you’ve had the best performance so far this season between the three of us. You keep it up and have a shot at the Cup.”
Bristol was already my second win of the season. My performance has been stellar, primarily because of increased discipline, not that I’d admit it to Boone. “I’ve been working hard.”
“You know what I have planned for this place? You’ve heard me say it enough times. It’d be great if you stepped up and took on a bigger role with junior talent. The toughest lesson of these past two years is that I can’t do it all, and I hate that. You’re capable of more, Julian. Your recent performance proves that when you spend less time going out or finding another blonde to mess around with, you get better. How about you try keeping it up?”
“I don’t know what to say.” I truly don’t.
“And for fuck’s sake, be careful with Lily Webb. I need Pete around as long as possible, and messing with his daughter is a perfect way to end that.”
“She’s ten years younger than me,” I say while also wondering who I’m trying to convince. “Nothing is going on between us.”
That’ll need to be printed on a banner and attached to an airplane soon enough.
“Madelyn raves about her, so maybe some of her influence is rubbing off on you, or maybe you’ve learned some discipline on your own. So, tread lightly in that direction. Don’t discard her like all the others, because then your problem is my problem.”
“Got it. Are we done here?”
Boone shrugs, not even bothering to acknowledge the anger in my voice. “I’m aiming for another thirty minutes.”
“Great. See you in the garage later.”
“Perfect, and congrats on the new junior development role. You’ll be fantastic.”
Two wins so far this season, and this is the reward?
∞∞∞
My head throbs.
Today has delivered an accusation of lusting over a younger woman and the damning judgment of low expectations. I’m still tempted to track Boone down, shove a finger in his face, and threaten something about proving them both wrong.
Unfortunately, Boone and Pete skirted uncomfortably close to the truth. There is nothing between Lily and me, at least not sexually. That doesn’t mean I don’t think about it. All the time.
Boone’s accusation regarding my past performance is a fair one. Would adopting his attitude improve my career, or did Lily’s appearance do the trick? The subtle insinuation that I wasn’t good enough on my own isn’t worth acknowledging. My dad said nearly the same thing the last time we spoke, and he can go fuck himself sideways.
And that reminds me….
“Hi, Dad, it’s me, Julian. Your son,” I say as soon as his voice stops. “How was your Christmas? Mine was great. I spent the day arguing with myself about whether to call you. New Year’s was even better. I got drunk off my ass and woke up next to some woman whose name I’d forgotten. Anyway, did you see Bristol last weekend? Probably not. I won- me, Julian. Your son. I’m going for it all. A Cup win. Maybe you should check it out. Or not.”
I slam the receiver against my desk several times before hanging up. The worst part of cell phones is that they don’t allow you to get physically violent over a voicemail message.
At least the headache is gone.
“You seem upset.”
“How do you sneak up on people like that? I swear, you were a spy in another life.”
“I didn’t mean to.” Lily approaches my desk and sets down a blue strip in the middle of it. “I started this Sunday during your race. It took a little while.”
“It’s a bookmark.” A 33 is woven into it with black thread. “It has my number.”
“There’s another one in yellow. It’s not done yet, so it’ll be mine.”
She gave me a present. It’s the first one I’ve received in years. “Nope, that one’s mine, too. Thank you, Lily.”
