Page 34 of Red Queen
I know we only slept together once, and I’ve known her for what, three weeks? But still. She’s the only woman I wanted to keep. And that’s a big thing for me.
When we land, a truck is waiting for me at the airport, and we make our way to my mother’s house. She’s been calling me non-stop since Thursday, asking me about Mona, and I told her what happened, but of course, that didn’t reassure her. She’s still worried that it’s going to go sideways.
“Mamá!” I call out at the entrance of the house, the familiar view easing my nerves. It’s nice to come home every once in a while.
“Mi amor!” I spot my mom running out of the kitchen to pull me into her arms, like she hasn’t seen me in years. “I missed you so much, hijo.”
“I missed you too, Mamá.” She ushers me into the living room, making me sit on the couch as she pulls an armchair to face me and sits down.
“Now, tell me, what’s with all that stuff they’re saying about you? I couldn’t understand a thing you said on Thursday.” She sits back comfortably, waiting for me to spill the tea like a kid waiting for the bedtime story.
“There’s this woman I hooked up with, Mona. It turned out she was a journalist, and two weeks after the fact, she accused me of giving her confidential information about Moscardi.” I keep my eyes on her, trying to figure out whether she can keep up with the story or not, but given her weird expression, I doubt it. “What do you not understand, Mamá?”
“So you…slept with her, then gave her confidential information. Or at least that’s what she’s claiming.” I nod at her response. “But why? Did you do something to her before? Why is she doing this to you?”
“I wish I knew. I’ve never met her before. It’s going to take a while, though. There’s evidence that I was with her that night. Everything points in my direction.” I sigh, letting my head fall into my palms.
“But you have good lawyers, no? And you didn’t do anything. You’re innocent.” I look up at her, furrowing my eyebrows. It sounded like she meant it to be a question, rather than a statement.
“Yes, Ma. Of course, I am innocent.” I scoff, leaning back against the couch.
“Good. Then stop worrying.”
“It’s hard to, when I can be sued any time. And of course, Barney isn’t so fond of this happening in the middle of the season.”
“Hijo, I will worry instead of you, esta bien? If you didn’t do anything, then the truth will come out eventually.” She moves to sit next to me, rubbing my back in a soothing way.
“Yes, but I don’t really have time, Ma. I’m fighting for the championship, and this has good chances of fucking the whole season up.”
“Hey!” She hits my back lightly for the use of a bad word, but I can’t help it when I’m angry at myself for being such an idiot. “You have your home race coming up. Focus on that.”
“I know. I’ll do my best.” I lift my head up to smile at her, and she leaves a small kiss on my cheek as she turns to go back to the kitchen.
She always loved cooking. Maybe that’s where I got my love for cooking as well. She went to competitions when I was little, and I was so proud when she won a local one. She taught me early how to cook, but even today, when I’d like to help her out, she shoves me out of the kitchen. She was always an independent woman, even while he was with my father, and I always admired that about her.
That’s why I vowed to pay her back everything one day. Now that I’m gone for most of the time, she can’t really cook for anyone. She once told me that she’s dreaming of opening up a small restaurant, and I want to be the one who helps her make it happen. She made my dreams come true, and I want to do the same for her.
Two weeks fly by when you’re at home with your loved ones. Ma invited over every single person we know in Spain to show them that I’m home safe and sound, proudly talking about my achievements. I really thought she stopped doing that, but I guess most things never change.
At least I got the chance to meet up with my cousin. He recently moved in with his girlfriend, and they rescued a puppy from the shelter, so it was time to visit them.
I’m finally done with media day; another day suffered through. I’m still getting bombed with questions about Mona, and of course, they didn’t forget about Rosa either.
They keep asking who the mysterious girl is, and honestly, I want to know too, given that she basically lied about who she was, but at the very least hid it from me. I’m getting tired of answering the same questions over and over every single week. Give me a break, for god’s sake!
Now, I’m sitting in the car with my manager, publicist, and PR manager, all three accompanying me on the way to my home. They asked for a meeting, and I already muttered a prayer as we got into the car. If these three want a meeting, it means I’m in big trouble.
“Okay. Can we talk about whatever shit I fell into here? I don’t want my mom to hear it,” I say to break the silence.
Enzo is the one to speak up. “We had a meeting with Moscardi’s PR and HR team. He was also there.” He, as in the team principal. In a meeting with my people and the team’s HR people. Sounds fucking awesome.
“They told us they want a solution for this. Or else… They’re going to start an investigation, publicly. And that means, you’ll be suspended until it ends.” My mouth falls open, and I’m not even blinking. Suspended? From my job? They want to kill my whole career, or what?
“And do you have an idea for the solution?” I finally asked, still in shock from the news.
“Yes. We proposed an idea that you won’t like, but you’ll have to do it,” Vickie now says. That definitely does not sound interesting, but I nod, motioning with my hands for them to go on.
“First things first, we are in connection with a private investigator. He’s one of the best, and he will clear your name. He’s going to snoop around; you’ll have to talk to him a lot, but the more he knows, the sooner he can finish up,” Clover continues. I’m not a fan of a stranger snooping around in my life,but it could be worse. If it means he can make this nightmare end, then I’ll be at his service.
