Chapter 171

Liam’s POV

“A buyer? New owner? What are you talking about?” I asked, immediately confused. “The team isn’t for sale.”

“Of course it is, silly,” Joanna replied. She laughed as she spoke, acting like I was the one who was being ridiculous. Given what we just talked about, I guessed to her, everything and everyone was always for sale, if someone offered enough. “I emailed you his offer. It has a lot of zeros.”

“I’m not interested, Joanna. I don’t care how many zeroes there are.”

“Well, don’t forget you aren’t the only shareholder.”

“But I do own the most,” I said. “The team can’t sell without my consent.”

She sighed. “I don’t know why you are being so stubborn. You should take advantage of this offer. We don’t know how many more come along.”

“I don’t care how many more come along. I have no intention of selling now or ever.”

Joanna rolled her eyes. “When you leave to take over the family business from Markus, the team will need new management and ownership. Since we’ll be married, I, of course, will travel with you away from here. So I won’t be here to run things. Why not hand over ownership now and not drag this out?”

“I’m not going to give up ownership,” I said firmly.

“You do realize how big your father’s company is, right?” she asked, frowning at me. “It will be extremely difficult to run both that company and this team. I know this is your passion project, Liam, but you need to accept when it’s time to let this go.”

She sounded just like my father, telling me to grow up and get a real job, ignoring how much I loved my current work and that I was making a considerable living off of what I already did. Just because I didn’t make all the money in the world ever didn’t mean that I was unsuccessful.

I had more than enough to support myself and my family. What did I need even more money for?

But I decided not to say any of that to Joanna. She had already shown that she was incapable of thoughts like that. Everything had a price tag. To her, everything was about money. If I wasn’t actively chasing more of it, then she probably thought I wasn’t really living.

Or that I was wasting my time.

Talking to her was like talking to my father. Or to a wall.

“I will never let this go, Joanna,” I said. “This is my life. The one I have chosen for myself.”

“But your father –”

Abruptly, I stood. I was growing too angry. Frustration was prickling under my skin. I didn’t want to fight with Joanna. Honestly, I didn’t care about her enough to. She had no place in my future, despite what she thought. It didn’t matter if I could convince her to my way of thinking.

As I walked to the door, she spoke out again. “Where are you going?”

“For a walk,” I told her.

She huffed with impatience. If she cared to actually say anything else, I didn’t hear it, already out the door.

I needed some fresh air, so I found my way outside to the track. Not wanting to bother the drivers or the staff, I stood up on the bleachers, watching the cars go around.

I’d always been a driver at heart. Something about being behind the wheel, the adrenaline surging, with nothing to worry about but the track and the drivers around you. On the course, all of my other problems felt so far away. I didn’t think about my father, or my mother’s passing.

Being a spectator did not offer the same comforts, but watching the cars, I could almost imagine how it felt to be behind the wheel again. Yet, I could not outrun my problems then or now, not even at such high speeds.

My father continued to chase me. Joanna haunted me. And now I might lose Aria…

Down on track behind the pit wall, Aria stood with Jackson’s manger and other members of the staff. She was beautiful, even from this distance, even with that bulky headset over her ears.

Here, she was in her element, listening and calculating. She was one of the best in the series at her job, despite what anyone else thought. The numbers proved that. She was also incredibly passionate. Her eyes fixed on the cars, when she was here, she was entirely focused – just like I had been when I was behind the wheel.

Maybe that was one of the reasons I fell in love with Aria. We were both passionate about our work.

Because of that, I’d never interrupt her here, even though I was eager to talk to her about everything that had been going on. Maybe that wouldn’t help, though. I had a habit of making things worse every time I opened my mouth.

Samuel was a doctor. He could offer her a good life.

The thoughts made my blood chill, yet even so deny them. Maybe she would be better off with him…

Aria’s POV

“That was a good run, Jackson,” I said as he exited the car and walked closer to me. “How are you feeling?”

“The car’s a little loose,” he said, “But I feel alright. I don’t know about this new diet, though, Aria. Those protein bars taste like dog food.”

I frowned at the description. I’d heard as much and wasn’t impressed by the one I’d tried. The nutritional value wasn’t any better than the supplements that I’d previously had the drivers on.

Once again, I wasn’t sure the trainer who had taken my place was in fact a real person and not just an AI inside of a computer somewhere. No one had yet to see the person in the flesh, and all of my emails were returned to me suspiciously quickly.

“I’ll mention something to the head trainer,” I said. Per Joanna’s rules, I wasn’t allowed to touch the trainer’s nutrition plans without the head trainer’s written permission. So far, all of my requests had been denied – something that Jackson knew.

Which was probably why he sighed. “Guess I’d better get used to it.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled.

“Not your fault,” Jackson replied. Something in the stands kept catching his eye. “Is that the boss over there?”

I looked back over my shoulder to the stands and indeed saw Liam standing there, looking down at us. When our eyes met, he quickly glanced away, moving his gaze back toward the track.

I turned back to Jackson, who was looking between the two of us, a growing concern on his face.

“He was looking at you,” Jackson said.

“I’m sure it was nothing,” I replied quickly.

Jackson glanced back up at Liam. “He’s doing it again.”

My cheeks heat up. “It’s fine.”

“I’m not sure it is,” Jackson said.

“Don’t worry about it. It doesn’t mean anything.”

Jackson focused on me again. His brows pulled together and worry filled his eyes. “Aria, are you in some kind of trouble with the boss?”

“Absolutely not,” I said. “We have a fine working relationship.”

My words weren’t enough. Jackson narrowed his eyes.

“Aria. Is Liam harassing you?”