Thrust: Bad Boy Racing Romance (Fastlane Series Book 2) (14 page)

“Yes,” I nodded. “I’m well aware of what's been going on. I’ve beaten them out for clients in the past. Why are you so concerned now?”

Leopold waved me off with a flick of his wrist.

“We just are, Dani. That’s all you need to know.”

Bernard nodded. “That’s correct. And that’s why we’ve asked you to give us an update today before we tell you what we expect. I believe we’ve heard enough to move forward with the decision. Don’t you agree, Leopold?”

Leopold glanced at Bernard and nodded. I nibbled at my lip. His tone sounded ominous.

I didn’t like it one bit.

“What decision?”

“You have two weeks, Dani.” Bernard said. “Not one day more.”

“Two weeks?” I scoffed, spreading my arms. “That’s completely unreasonable –– it’s ridiculous. What’s the reason for the change?”

“Competition, Dani…” Leopold began, raising his eyebrows like the answer should be obvious to me. “Plain and simple. Competition.”

I looked away from them for a moment. I might’ve been angry but there was really nothing I could do about it. It was just another one of the pitfalls of not being a partner. I turned back in their direction.

“Fine,” I said, my frustration finally getting the better of me. I pointed at both of them. “I’ll accept that on the promise you
give me the full two weeks
. If there’s something else you’re keeping from me, I need to know it. You can't keep issuing these ultimatums out of the blue.”

Bernard shook his head. “Dani, please, calm down.”

I rocked back in my seat, snapping my arms across my chest.

Leopold raised his palm towards me. “Nobody’s keeping anything from you, Dani. We’re just trying to light a fire under you. You know how much we believe in your ability. Make this deal happen and get the partnership. All right?”

With my arms still across my chest, I exhaled.

“Anything else?” I asked, my voice low.

The two of them shook their heads in unison but didn’t speak. Not long after, Bernard and Leopold exited the conference room and left me alone with my thoughts. The anger I felt a few minutes earlier began to fade away a bit.

In its place, determination took hold. I had to face the reality of my situation. Maybe that’s why their demands bothered me so much. In the thing I prided myself the most on – my ability to close deals –– I’d fallen flat. I didn’t know whether it was the pressure of making partner that was causing the problem, the situation with my father’s health, or the unwelcome feelings I had about Marco.

But none of that mattered.

In a way, Bernard and Leopold’s ultimatum rekindled my focus and gave me the desire I’d lost in recent days. With their demands on the table, there was no question about what I had to do next.

None at all.

DANI

Frustrated, I collected my things and headed back to my office. Once there, I took a seat in my chair and picked up my office phone to call Marco. I didn’t have a single second to waste. But just when I held the receiver in my hand, my cell phone vibrated on top of my desk. I reached for it, flipping it over and looking at the display. It was a text from my mother.

No update on ur dad. He’s been feeling tired. The doctor gave him blood thinners. He’s resting but they aren’t sure what to do. U should come see him or at least have the decency to call.

I exhaled and shook my head. I flipped the display over, tossing the phone on top of my desk. I really didn’t feel like getting into it with her. I’d contact him when I was ready and not because of her veiled threats.

Returning my attention to my office phone, I cradled it between my shoulder and ear while I dialed Marco’s number. He answered moments later.

“Dani, how are you?”

For some strange reason, the sound of his voice soothed me. I hadn’t expected it.

“I-I’m good, thank you.” I stammered, a smile coming to my lips. “How have you been?”

“Oh, you know,” he began. A long exhale followed. “There’s just a lot of loose ends with my father’s estate. It’s been a pain in the ass to be honest.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, Marco.”

“Oh well, that’s not any of your concern.”

There was an awkward pause in our conversation for a few seconds.

“What about you, Dani? Are your parents still alive?”

I swallowed. Right away, his question caused me to think about the possibility of not having my father in my life anymore. My mind wandered and I fell silent.

“Dani?” Marco said after a few seconds. “Hello?”

“Yes, I’m sorry,” I said, trying to refocus. “I'm sorry about that. Where were we?”

“I, um, asked you about your parents. Are they both still alive?”

I leaned over my desk, dropping my forehead into my hand.

“They are,” I replied, exhaling at the same time. “Both of my parents are alive.”

Marco remained quiet for a couple of seconds.

“Why do you sound unhappy about it?”

“I’m not, not at all,” I began, rubbing my forehead. “It's just that, well, I received some bad news about my father’s health a couple of days ago. It’s been weighing on me, but I don’t want to burden you with that stuff.”

Marco exhaled into the receiver.

“I’m sorry to hear that, Dani. It’s nothing too serious I hope.”

Lifting my head, I sat upright in my chair.

“It’s his heart. There are some issues. The doctors are working on it, but the situation – it isn’t good.”

“I see.” Marco replied. “Would you like to talk about it?”

I felt a lump gather in my throat. I knew that if I did talk about it, I’d probably get upset and from that point forward having any discussion with him about the agreement would be difficult, if not impossible. I shook my head and gathered my wits.

“No. No thank you, Marco. I appreciate the offer though.”

“Not a problem.”

And then, my mind went blank. For an instant, I’d almost forgotten why I called Marco in the first place. I hadn’t expected to talk to him about my father, much less have him show any interest in talking to me about it. My brain felt like mush.

At last, Marco broke the silence and brought my attention back to the true purpose of my call.

“I suppose you’d like to talk about the agreement?”

While he spoke I inhaled and readied myself to speak.

“If you’re able,” I began, sensing a vulnerable tone in his words. “Have you been able to give it any further thought?”

Marco exhaled a deep breath. I didn’t like the sound of it. More often than not a noise like that usually meant what would follow wouldn’t be good.

“I have, Dani. Yes.”

I waited for a couple of seconds, readying myself for the ‘but’. However, he didn’t say anything else… not a ‘but’ or an ‘except’ or even, an ‘unless’.

He just stopped speaking.

“And?” I said, careful not to allow too much eagerness into my tone.

“Well,” he began, clearing his throat. “I can tell you that I’m not ready to sign the agreement. Not yet, anyway.”

I
knew
it. While it wasn’t what I hoped for, it still wasn’t a ‘no’. I decided to press him on it.

“Well, is there anything I can do? Do you have questions about our offer? Is there something you don’t understand?”

“No, no. It’s nothing like that, Dani. I’m quite clear on the terms of the offer.”

“All right,” I began, leaning back in my chair. “Can you be more specific?”

“Yes, I can be, Dani. I’m going to need to discuss this with you in person before I make up my mind.”

Confused, I replied, “In person?”

“That’s right. I need to see you face-to-face. Is that a problem?”

I shook my head.

“No, that’s not a problem at all.”

“Excellent,” Marco said. “How soon can you get to Monte Carlo?”

“What?” I asked. “Monte Carlo?”

Marco chuckled.

“Yeah, it’s where I live remember?”

“Right, I know, it’s just that…”

Marco cut me off.

“I’ll make this real simple for you, Dani. If you want me to sign the agreement, you’re going to have to come here and get it from me in person.”

Without hesitation, I replied, “That won’t be a problem. I’ll take the first flight I can get.”

“Very good. I’m looking forward to it.”

A few seconds later, we said our goodbyes and I hung up.

Afterward, I leaned back in my chair, exhaling a deep breath and looking up towards the ceiling. While he hadn’t come right out and said so, the fact that Marco wanted me to come back to Monaco… it boosted my confidence I'd get this deal done once and for all. And that lift in my spirits couldn’t have come at a better time.

I’d promised Chloe I’d attend a fashion show of hers later that night. Based on the way we left our conversation at the restaurant, I had no doubt she would be grilling me about Marco the moment she had a chance.

Not long after, my mind wandered to thoughts of my dad. I picked up my cell phone and swiped it on. For five minutes, I just sat there staring at my dad’s phone number. If I called, I knew I would get a lot of pressure to go see him, especially from my mother. I exhaled and placed it on top of my desk.

“I won’t be gone long.” I muttered. I slid my fingers into my hair and shook them free with a vigorous motion. “There’s just no time to deal with this right now.”

DANI

After Chloe’s show, I made my way backstage to find her. I didn’t have much time. I had to get home and pack since I’d managed to get a flight to Monte Carlo first thing the next morning. Fighting my way through the crowd of people, I finally spotted her chatting with some of the models and drinking champagne. It wasn’t long before she saw me and came running.

“Oh my God!” She squealed. “I totally didn’t see you in the crowd. When did you get here?”

We hugged for a few seconds until I pulled away.

“What are you talking about, Chloe? I’ve been here the whole time.”

Chloe’s expression turned serious.

“Okay. You need to be
for real
honest with me,” she began, bringing her thumb to her mouth and biting on its nail. “What did you think?”

I smiled at her and reached for her hand, pulling it away from her lips.

“For real, I think you need to relax.”

“Uh! Dani! Seriously!”

“Uh! Chloe! I am being serious.” I replied, reaching towards her and squeezing her upper arm. “Everything was
fabulous
. The designs were beautiful, the models stunning. I don’t see how it could possibly have gone any better.”

The worried lines creasing Chloe’s forehead softened. She smiled.

“I love you so much!” she said, leaning in for another hug. “You’re the best friend anyone could hope for, Dani.”

We embraced again.

After she introduced me to several of the models, it wasn’t long before things began to wind down backstage. Soon, there were only a smattering of stagehands milling about and cleaning up. Chloe and I sat in a couple of chairs that were used for hair and makeup and started to talk.