Page 112 of Riding the Curve

“He’s off to a good start so far. There was a little spinout toward the beginning, but Em was able to maneuver swiftly around it. Right now, he and Axel Graves are the front runners in their class.”

“Axel . . . Why does that name sound familiar?”

“He’s the one Em bumped off the road—also the one he punched in the face.” Preston smirks.

“Ah yes, it’s coming back now. I hope he beats his pompous ass.”

“Me too, kiddo.”

One night while we’d been swimming, Em had opened up about that last race. I still remember every single word that man said to him. If I ever meet him in person one day, it won’t only be Em’s fists he’ll have to worry about.

“How did the interview go?” Preston hums beside me, and my stomach flops.

“It went really well.”

“That’s great, Hen! We knew you’d knock it out of the park.”

It goes silent between us for a bit. We alternate watching from the windows and watching from the TVs placed on the walls around the room. Preston is rocking back and forth on his heels, and I can tell that he wants to ask me what they offered. Finally, I hear him let out a breath beside me.

“So, did they give you an offer?” he drawls slowly.

Wrapping the ends of my hair, I twirl them anxiously between my fingers.

“They offered me the job.”

Preston’s eyes go wide, and his lips part to ask me more—until the entire room gasps.

CHAPTER 41

Emerson

“Holy shit!” My heart pounds out of my chest and time seems to stand still as I watch the scene unfold in seconds before me.

The BMW prototype a few yards in front of me runs over some debris and instantly pops their tire. The driver tries to recover but runs into the rumble strip and whips his car into a tailspin.

Holding my breath, I play a game of Tetris, working through the group of cars to find the next open spot I can fit through. The hood of the BMW breaks free and splits in two, sending it flying straight for Axel and me.

One of the pieces glides over the top of my car, and I almost let out a breath thinking it missed me when a thud sounds against the back of the car. “Dammit!”

With a quick glance behind me, I see it fall right in front of Axel’s Corvette, lodging straight into his front bumper.

“Yellow flag! Yellow flag! Get your ass in the pits, now!” Eddy shouts in my ear, and I slow down just enough to glide into the pits. Axel follows even slower behind, trying not to cause more damage to his vehicle.

As I inch closer to my pit stall, I can already see my crew waiting and a brand-new spoiler ready for replacement. I pull to a stop and, like a rubber band, they snap into action.

“Four seconds! Go, go, go!”

The sound of drills hums all around me as adrenaline courses through me. Even with the yellow flag, I’m still going to have a few seconds to catch up to the rest of the drivers on the track. And if Axel pulls out first, he’ll have a little bit of an advantage over me in the straightaway that the pit exits onto.

A thud hits the roof of my car just as Eddy shouts in my ear, “Go time!”

I shift into first, letting out the clutch and feathering the gas as I make my way through the pit lane. Axel is yelling at his crew as I pass, and my lips twitch up into a smirk. As soon as I make it to the end of the line, I shift gears and push down on the gas.

“Axel’s pulling out now, Em. This is going to be a close one. Maxton has pulled into the front position, so you’ll have to catch up. After that you just got to hold onto the lead.”

I scoff into my helmet. “That’s all?”

“Yep. Easy.” His laugh scratches into the mic. “Let’s go, Em. Bring us the win.”