Page 3
Author: Jaci Burton
He was stunning. Wet with sweat and smelling a lot like gasoline and motor oil, his hair clinging to his forehead and neck, and with his fire suit unzipped, he was the sexiest man she’d ever laid eyes on. And when he’d directed his warm, whiskey-colored eyes on her, something quivered between her legs.
Evelyn wasn’t the type to go liquid over a good-looking man. Washington was filled with hot men, and if anyone was going to get her motor running, one would think it would be a political type. Business suit with a lock on a major office? Now that was her bailiwick. Not some scruffed-up, needed-a-shave grease monkey who craved a hot track over a hot political race. So her libido firing up over Gray Preston likely had more to do with him being the fastest way to get to the White House rather than his good looks and bedroom eyes. She wasn’t the type to fall for a man simply because he was pretty.
Besides, he was stubborn and uncooperative and in her way, and she could already tell this assignment wasn’t going to be easy. She’d rather be by Senator Preston’s side, where she belonged, helping him onto the presidential ticket in November, rather than hand-hold his son and beg for his cooperation in order to get a few hundred thousand votes, even if those potential votes were important ones.
But she knew she’d do whatever it took, so when her phone rang and Gray told her where they could meet, she grabbed her bag, climbed into her rental car, and drove the short distance to the restaurant.
He was already waiting for her at the front door. And he didn’t look happy about it, either.
Tough. She dealt with unpleasant people all the time. His attitude didn’t faze her.
“Good morning,” she said, pasting on her friendliest smile.
He nodded and held the door for her.
Okay, that’s how it was going to be. She could deal. Eventually he’d have to talk to her.
The waitress, who obviously recognized Gray, grinned, pushed back her out-of-control, overprocessed hair, and hurried them to a booth at the back of the restaurant while giving Evelyn a look she wasn’t certain was admiration or pure jealousy.
“Coffee?” the waitress asked. Her name was Aileen and she looked to be in her forties.
“Thank you, Aileen. With cream,” Evelyn said.
“Same here,” Gray said with a smile. At Aileen, of course.
At least she knew now that he wasn’t suffering from laryngitis.
They looked over their menus, and by the time Aileen came with their coffees, they ordered breakfast. Since Evelyn hadn’t had a chance to have a cup of coffee yet— usually her first task of the day, even before her shower—she took a couple quick sips, needing that caffeine surge. She added a couple more sips, sighed in contentment, then lifted her gaze to Gray, finding him staring at her.
“I can survive without it, but if you want to have an intelligent conversation with me, I’m better after coffee. ”
“Good to know. ” He lifted his cup, and she was struck again by his amazing eyes.
He was very direct in staring at her, too, which she found decidedly . . .
uncomfortable.
She laid her cup down. “Let’s clear the air. You’re obviously not happy with me. ”
“You called my mother. ”
She resisted the urge to smile at the accusatory tone in his voice. Evelyn loved Loretta Preston, one of the kindest, sweetest, most patient women she’d ever known.
They’d had many conversations together, about both her husband and her son. She’d hoped Loretta had some influence on Gray and she’d obviously been right. The woman was fierce about her causes and didn’t take no for an answer.
“Of course I did. You left me no choice. ”
“Sure I did. I said no. That was your cue to walk away. ”
Her lips lifted. “Clearly, you don’t know me at all. I don’t walk away when I’m given an assignment. Working with you is my assignment, and until I exhausted all avenues, I wasn’t about to give up. And since your mother expressly asked me to convince you, I figured she’d be an asset in persuading you. ”
He didn’t answer.
“You don’t like your mother?”
His gaze shot to hers. “I love my mother. ”
“Then I don’t see the problem. ”
“You went behind my back to serve your own purpose. ”
She rolled her eyes. “Do you have a fundamental disagreement with your mother’s agenda?”
He frowned. “No. ”
“Then I don’t see what the problem is. ”
“It’s obvious we’re not going to see eye to eye on this. ”
“That’s okay with me. Did you have a chance to think about the plan?”
He gave her a blank stare. “I didn’t know there was a plan. ”
“Oh. I thought maybe your mother talked to you about the campaign’s objectives. ”
“My mother spoke to me about her objectives, and asked me to help. That was it. ”
Her lips curved.
“Obviously you know her. ”
“Very well. I’ve spent a lot of time with her over the past few years since I’ve been working with your father. She runs a tight ship and doesn’t take no for an answer. ”
“Then you’ve come to know her well, and you know that while she has a soft voice, she has an iron will. ”
“Yes. She’s a wonderful asset for your father, both personally and politically. ”
Gray stared down at his coffee. “My father doesn’t deserve her. ”
She had no idea what Gray’s relationship with his father was, nor was it her intention to pry. Her only job was to work with Gray on his father’s campaign, not to get involved in family dynamics, unless it interfered in the political process. Then she was required to smooth things over, not intervene, and above all, never let things get messy. “So what’s your conclusion?”
“I guess you and I will be working together. ”
She couldn’t resist lifting her shoulders in excitement. “Wonderful. I’m thrilled about this, Gray, and I don’t think you’ll regret it. ”
“Oh, I already regret it. But this is important to my mother, so I’m doing it for her. ”
Evelyn didn’t care who he did it for. She only cared that she was a success at her assignment. “Great. We’ll hit the ground running. The first thing we’ll need to do is work within your schedule. I know how busy you are. ”
They paused while the waitress brought their breakfast. Evelyn dug into her oatmeal and fruit while Gray pounded down some elaborate breakfast that consisted of eggs, bacon, pancakes, hash browns, and biscuits.
“Where do you put all those calories?” she asked.
“What?”
“That’s a huge meal. ”
“Oh. I work out, and I also sweat it all out in the car. It’s usually over a hundred degrees in there. ”
“My God. That can’t be healthy. ”
He shrugged. “You get used to it. ”
No wonder he had a body like that, so tall and lean. But today he wore jeans and a tight T-shirt showing off some serious muscle. “So it’s like a sauna. ”
“Yup. ”
“You have to stay in shape to drive a car. ”
He scooped up the last of his eggs with his fork, then finished off his orange juice.
“You can’t control a three-thousand-pound raging beast at a hundred and ninety miles an hour without some muscle, honey. ”
Her nerve endings tingled at the endearment. She pushed it aside. “I imagine that’s true, though I freely admit my knowledge of the auto racing industry is somewhat sketchy. ”
“We’ll have to change that, won’t we?”
“I suppose we will. The more I know about what you do, the better equipped I’ll be to integrate you into your father’s campaign. ”
“And won’t that be fun. ”
She pushed her bowl to the s
ide and studied him. “I sense some hesitation. ”
“Not just some. A lot. You should know I’ll be dragging my heels the entire way. ”
“I can work with that. ”
“Okay. I just wanted to be up front about it. ”
She liked him. “Thanks for that. So what’s on your agenda for today?”
“Team meetings, then practice runs. I suppose you need to get back to D. C. ”
She gave him a blank look. “Uh, no. Perhaps I didn’t outline the parameters clearly enough. ”
He frowned. “I don’t understand. ”
“I’m assigned to you, Gray, and only you, from now until the election. I’ll be with you the entire way. ”
FOUR
GRAY ALWAYS LIKED TO BE HANDS-ON WITH HIS TEAM, not leaving anything for them to handle without his involvement. Which meant setting up in the garage and checking out the cars they’d use for the races.
Now that they were in Kentucky, he was overseeing the team meeting for both race teams, and he had control. They went over the wreck last Sunday with the crew and mechanics, dissecting the engine failure. The engine team assured them it wouldn’t happen again, that steps would be taken to ensure the engines for both cars would be in prime shape for the race this weekend.
Gray always kept a mental list of things to cover in team meetings, from tire inventory to which crew members would be on board for the next race. Everyone attended the meetings. It was mandatory. If you didn’t show up, you were replaced on the crew or the mechanics team.
After the general meeting, Donny, his other driver, broke his crew out for their own meeting to discuss strategy for their car, while Gray did the same with his crew chief and team. The meeting went well and everyone was pumped for the upcoming race.
He had a good car and he knew he had a good chance for this season. So did Donny, but Donny was easily distracted. Which reminded Gray that he needed to have a chat with him. After Donny did his practice runs on the track today, he’d pull him aside and have a talk with him.
Donny had looked pale today in the meeting. Gray hoped he wasn’t sick, because that was the last thing they needed. He wanted both his cars to do well this weekend.
He went up to the track where Donny was driving away to start up his practice run.
After a warm-up lap, he got up to speed.
Huh. Maybe Gray was wrong about Donny being sick, because he was taking a fast lap. He had control of the wheel and had precision and confidence on the turns that Gray had never seen before from the young driver.
Impressive as hell. And one of the fastest runs Gray had ever seen the kid drive.
Good. He needed to be great, because Gray had invested a lot of money into adding another car to Preston Racing, so Donny was going to have to do well. Gray didn’t have a lot of time to spend on the kid.
“He’s pretty good. ”
Alex Reed came up beside him to watch. Alex would be doing his practice run at the same time as Gray later. He and Alex had known each other a long time, had started on dirt tracks together back in Oklahoma. “Yeah. Has his head up his ass sometimes, but if he straightens out, he could be a great driver. ”
“Who hasn’t had their head up their ass at that age?” Alex asked. “Remember when all we wanted to do was drive fast and party all night?”
Gray laughed. “Ah. The good old days when making money and worrying was someone else’s problem. ”
Alex slapped him on the back. “I still drive for someone else’s race team, buddy.
It’s still someone else’s problem. You’re the one who decided to go out on your own. ”
“Asshole. ”
Alex laughed and walked away. He knew better, too. Alex was as driven as they came, as focused on success as anyone he’d ever known. He put everything he had into racing, into winning, because it was all he had. Gray at least had the option of walking away from all this. He was lucky that he had money to back him up. Alex had grown up dirt-poor and had raced his way into success. Without racing, he had nothing. Gray couldn’t imagine what that must be like.