Page 63 of Full Throttle
“Have you talked to her?”
“I’ve already told you; Lila is a done deal.”
Liam didn’t think so. Brian was still too shook up every time her name was mentioned. But his own love life was in shambles, so who was he to say one way or the other. He’d done his level best to stay away from Colby the last few days. It had been an almost impossible task. So far, he’d been successful in watching from a distance. No way was he giving up on her. Liam was just trying to think of her needs instead of his own. So, for now, he would steer clear. But after the Atlanta race, he was going to pursue her with dogged abandon. If keeping their relationship on the down-low had to be part of the solution, Liam was prepared for that too. In the meantime, the goal was to get prepared for the race. “Where do we stand on parts?”
Exasperated, Brian slid his hand down over his face. “I think I found a company willing to sell us some tires.” Brian’s phone rang. “I better get this.” He clicked the button on his cell. “Lockwood.”
Liam had to smile a little. He sounded so much like him.
Brian whipped his head around to Liam as he put his phone on speaker. “Yes, I’ll hold for the Commissioner of NASCAR.” Brian mouthed the words,what the fuck?
Seconds later, the Commissioner was on the line. “Mr. Lockwood? This is John.”
“Please, call me Brian.”
“Thanks, Brian. I wanted to reach out personally and officially welcome you to NASCAR.”
“Thank you, but I have to admit, you’re the first.”
“It’s sincere, so I hope that counts for something.”
“It does, and again, thank you.”
“It’s probably also been one helluva week for you and your team. The media has been all over the Colby James story.”
“It has,” Brian agreed.
“You’re doing a fine job of handling it. Look, the reason for my call is to let you know that NASCAR has been working very hard to change our image along with some long-standing issues that have plagued our sport. I wanted to give you a heads up that this week we are announcing the banning of all confederate flags from any of our sanctioned races. They will not be allowed inside any of our tracks. It’s a small gesture, but a big damn deal . . . considering.”
Brian’s mouth almost hit the floor. He spoke with a calm he didn’t really feel. “That’s a good start and a long time coming.”
“I couldn’t agree more. As you’re also probably aware, we only have one African American driver in our Cup series. I hope that we have at least two for our Atlanta race. We can’t change the hearts and minds of our teams overnight, and given the James’ family history, I wanted to let you know that you have the official support of NASCAR.”
Again, Brian’s voice didn’t convey his pure and utter shock. “That’s great to hear and much appreciated.”
“Good luck, and see you at the races.” They disconnected their call.
“Can you believe it? This thing has turned out to be way bigger than I ever anticipated. We have to be in Atlanta in three days for pre-trial runs. What the hell am I going to do?”
Liam had been busy, not just with Plan B but a few other things too. “I have been working on a few things. I’ve got some ideas. You mind if I butt into your business?”
“If it means being ready for the race? Handle it. Do whatever it is you have to do.”
*****
Colby and the team had been practicing offensive and defensive maneuvers. For the most part, they were in total sync. If they had better cars, they might have a shot at winning. Chris and Jordan weren’t too bad. They were good and pushed Colby to her limits. It was a damn shame that they were using her as a stand-in for Asher.
Colby was done trying to fight the good fight. She had decided when this race was over to hightail it back to Washington.
Her dad was fine. Colby needed to get her own life in order. Her dream of racing was just that.A dream. It was time to grow up and step back into the real world. She was thankful that she had only taken a leave from her job and not just flat out quit.
Colby was pulling into the pit when she saw Gonzo run away and up the stairs to the booth. He whispered into her father’s ear, and a smile split her dad’s face in half.
Her father started speaking through her headset. “Apparently, we have a sponsor.”
Whoopee,Colby thought. She didn’t want to be a Debbie Downer and rain on everyone else’s parade. She feigned enthusiasm as best she could. “That’s great.” Too bad her voice lacked any excitement at all. Fortunately, everyone else had enough excitement to mask her lack of it.
“They are at the garage and would like to have a word with the team.”