Page 79 of Drive Me Wild
Just saw you called. Was in a meeting. :/
Josie Bancroft
It’s okay! How was practice?
Theo Walker
Eh, fine. Pace was off. You around now to chat?
Josie Bancroft
At Gemini. I’ll call when I leave!
Theo Walker
Have a sponsor event in a bit. Chat tonight?
Kelsey clears his throat, the raspy tone making me glance up. “I want you to work with me full-time.”
My phone slips from my hands and clatters to the table dramatically. “What?”
“I want you to work with me,” he repeats with a chuckle. “Call it a gut feeling, but we’ve created something special here, and this is just the beginning. I want to open more spots that areabout more than just what’s on the table—places where people feel completely at home while still experiencing the joy of dining or drinking out.”
“Wells Drink Hospitality,” I blurt out.
Kelsey’s brows curve downward. “Hmm?”
“That’s what you should call the hospitality group,” I clarify. “Think about it. Your last name is Wells, obviously, and it’swaytoo convenient that well drinks happen to be the bread and butter for bars. Hence?—”
“Wells Drink Hospitality,” he repeats back. “See? This is why I need you full-time. I can’t even name places by myself.”
Excitement blooms in my stomach and a million questions come flying out at once. The first one obviously being: are you kidding me? Kelsey answers each one of my questions with the practiced precision of a boxer. He’s direct, honest, and every response packs an exciting punch.
“I’d be remiss to not try to steal you away from McAllister. And with me, you can expand and grow your role into what you want and build your own team,” he continues. “Take some time to think about it, okay?”
All I can do is nod and say, “Sure.”
I finally getahold of Theo right before I go to bed. The moment he answers the phone, we both start talking at rapid-fire speed. If anyone were eavesdropping on our conversation, they’d think we’re speaking gibberish or on drugs. God knows Theo’s the more impatient of the two of us, so I let him speak first. I need his full attention for my news, anyway.
“My tire strategy sucks,” he says agitatedly. “They want me to switch to medium tires on a one-stop strategy. At Zandvoort! It’s bad enough that Pirelli didn’t produce altered tires to handlethe tracks’ banking, but switching me to that? The wear and degradation are going to kill my speed.”
The Grand Prix in Zandvoort has recently been redeveloped, meaning the data to formulate tire strategy isn’t as exact as it should be. Though the team should know enough that soft to hard tires is the move, not soft to medium.
“That doesn’t seem like Andreas.”
Theo snorts. “It seems like Avery, though, right?”
Ah.
“Your strategy could easily change,” I remind him soothingly. “Especially if the weather causes more degradation than expected. How was qualifying?”
“Fine, but I was onsoft tires.” He mutters something to himself, but his accent and low tone make it hard to make out what he’s saying. “I wish you were here, Jos. You make everything better.”
His words send a guilty flush to my cheeks. I’d be lying if I said that the tasting wasn’t worth missing a race weekend, which in Theo’s eyes is akin to blasphemy.
“I miss you, too.” I cradle the phone against my ear and cuddle deeper into the warm embrace of my bed. “Is there anything I can do to help?”
“There is one thing you could do,” he suggests with a low chuckle. “If you’re up for it.”
