Chapter 2
Demetrious
I was looking for answers in a sea of 10 faces. Handpicking my crew was a painstaking ordeal. I thought for sure they were above reproach. It was glaringly obvious one of them was playing fast and loose behind my back.
“Are you going to tell me what’s wrong? You don’t have the same skip in your step that you did a couple of months ago. I know we’ve had some problems to iron out.” The one time my car blew a gasket in the middle of a race was one thing.
To have it happen four times with different things to push me to the back of the pack was sabotage. I was on the cusp of signing a deal with a multimillion dollar corporation. I couldn’t let anything jeopardize what had become my passion.
“Peter, you have been with me from the very beginning. You can’t tell me it’s not concerning. This fire was the latest in a long line of accidents. It was lucking I was here to put it out” It was a good thing I had gone to the garage early. I couldn’t sleep.
I ran my hand through my dark black hair. I pulled at the strands with this nervous energy surrounding me. My sister had called about having dinner with Angela. I thought I had gotten her out of my system. I wondered how I was going to react when I saw her.
“Demetrious, you can’t lose your head over these things. You’ve had more than your fair share of accidents. Signing this deal will put all of that behind you.” He had unruly brown curls, but it was a perfect complement to his fuzzy beard.
There was a long line of broken hearts. Girls thought that they could change me. They were wrong.
“I would get going and you know how your sister is about punctuality. Have a couple of drinks and relax. I’ve done my best to mitigate the damage. None of what you have gone through has gone to the press. Finley will be here to make things official by signing on the bottom line. He won’t do that until after the race tomorrow.” It bothered me that I couldn’t foresee every variable.
The racetrack was in walking distance of my house. It had become a guilty obsession every night growing up. Hearing the engines revving to life had me wishing I was in the driver’s seat. Angela was the only one who understood. I thought it was a pipe dream, but somehow I was able to see that dream come true.
“I don’t know how you can be so calm. Everything hinges on that deal being signed. Somebody is purposely undermining me. I have no doubt it has something do with money. I can’t trust anyone. Present company excluded. I’m exhausted from trying to find those little things that could go wrong. I can’t keep up this pace for long.” Getting away from it was necessary for my mental health.
I felt the stubble of my beard and I couldn’t remember the last time I had shaved. It wasn’t like me to shirk my duties when it came to hygiene. Getting to sleep wasn’t easy when I was tossing and turning with worry.
“I’m reminded of something somebody said to me once. Let me know if you have heard it before. I fix the things I can, and I try not to concern myself with anything that is out of my control,” I punched him in the arm lightheartedly in a gesture of friendship.
“I believe I said something similar to you when I first hired you,” Poaching him from a rival was one of my crowning achievements.
I took one last look underneath the hood. It was definitely an inside job. I had a good understanding of the mechanics, but something small and significant could slip my attention.
I wiped my hands on a dirty rag. My sister had insisted I dress for the occasion. I was more comfortable in a pair of jeans. I was going to go along with this pony show for the sake of my sister. She was already in the kitchen when I got up in the morning. The medley of spices and different scents assaulted me from the kitchen when I had my coffee.
“You have a reason to have a preliminary celebration. I have hired additional security to keep an eye on the garage and the car.” I had a team of nine and each one of them was on the bubble of suspicion.
“I know you’re trying to make me feel better, but it’s not working. Money has the tendency to make people look the other way. A greased palm isn’t uncommon in this business. Everybody is trying to get ahead one way or the other.” I was taking this seriously and this wasn’t one of my fly by night adventures.
I didn’t have time for a love life. I had intimate moments, but they never lasted any longer than a cup of coffee in the morning. There were groupies throwing themselves at me after a race. It was mainly a way to get one out of the chamber. The excess adrenaline from being in the cockpit of a jet with wheels had to be burned off somehow. What was better than twisting in the sheet for a few hours of decadent delight?
I was 6 feet of muscles I had sculpted in the gym with dedication and perseverance. I wanted to be proud of what I saw in the mirror. It gave me confidence with this cocksure grin to bag any woman I set my sights on.
“You haven’t exactly hidden the way that you feel about Angela. You talk about her all the time without even realizing you’re doing it. I don’t know why you don’t see it. Tonight might be your one and only chance to tell her how you feel.” He didn’t know the extent of how much I had thought about her over the years.
“She’s my sister’s best friend. I can’t in good conscience make things awkward by putting the moves on her. She was like family growing up.” My thoughts revolved around obscene acts of depravity unfit to print in penthouse.
“You’re not related to her. You’re letting your sister have too much power over you. Just between you and me, I believe that you are using it as an excuse not to be happy. It’s interesting to see you acting gallantly. You’ve never had that problem with one night stands after drinking too much at a bar.” He had seen me at my best and at my worst.
“I need to get home to take a shower. I still want you to get the financial records of everyone who works for me. I’ve learned from different cop shows it’s all about tracking the money. A significant windfall will determine who can’t be trusted.” It sounded easy, but those records were sealed away from the scrutiny of the public eye.
“I don’t know what you take me for. It would be nice to have people in low places to do that kind of dirty work. Unfortunately, I don’t have the necessary resources to make it happen. It doesn’t matter how many times you say it.” I was grasping at straws trying to find an inkling of proof to make the accidents stop.
“Going above the call of duty is something you’re good at. Don’t underestimate the influence you have over others. They all signed a nondisclosure agreement. The fine print states clearly that their life is an open book. Use that against them. I really don’t care how you do it. Get it done.” My Greek temper was raising its ugly head.
It had the tendency to do that at the most inopportune moment.
“Don’t talk to me like I’m an underling. We are partners. I’m going to forget what you said to me. I can see how your nerves are frazzled. Have fun tonight and get some rest. We have less than 24-hours before the race.” I felt bad for using my authoritative voice on a friend.
“I apologize. This is very important to me and I don’t want to leave anything to chance.” I needed somebody I could trust implicitly to make sure there weren’t any problems with my car.
The number of 35 stenciled on the car was in honor of my parents being married that long.
I couldn’t even bring myself to go to Angela’s father’s funeral. I didn’t want the stark reminder of how life was over within the blink of an eye. I did send my condolences, but it seemed a pale comparison to being there in person.
Tonight was going to be my way of making it up to her. I could still remember the way that her eyes were bugging out of their skull when she saw me naked from the shower.
It was a look that I was never going to forget for as long as I lived. The fire burned between us and time stood still until she giggled like a schoolgirl and ran down the hall.