MAX
Fifteen minutes later I open the door to the conference room to find Tanya and Lily sitting there, stone-faced. An open laptop is in the middle of the table, and the air in the small room is thick with tension.
"Hallo, ladies," I say, shaking out my wet hair. "It's raining cats and dogs out there."
The two women look up.
"Have a seat," Tanya says, all business.
I sink into a hard, plastic chair, unable to see what's on the screen. For some reason, Lily's not meeting my gaze. This can't be good.
"What's up?" I say.
She turns and slides the laptop toward me. There, on the screen, is a giant photo of Lily and I making out in the lake. I'm unable to contain my shock, and my jaw drops.
"What the hell?"
Lily's elbow is propped on the table, her hand cradling her forehead.
"Has your father seen this?" I ask her.
She shakes her head. "No. Yes. I don't know. He's been calling me nonstop but I haven't had the guts to answer."
"Okay, we could do one of two things," Tanya says, ever the chipper public relations person. "We could deny that's you. After all, the photo is grainy. You can't see your faces. It might be difficult to actually prove it's you, or it could take a few days to confirm it's the two of you."
"I have a pretty distinctive nose," I say, touching the tip.
Lily narrows her eyes at me. "Do you think this is a joke?"
"No," I growl. "But our private life is our private life. Don't we get to enjoy a moment together?"
"Not when you're one of the world's best paid racecar drivers," Lily spits.
Tanya interrupts by putting her hand on Lily's forearm, a move that I'm sure makes her skin crawl. "We could also just embrace it."
"Embrace what?" Lily says in an icy tone.
"Your relationship."
I look at Lily, then at Tanya, who looks at Lily. She's staring at the ceiling. "Holy crap, I can't believe this is happening," she whispers.
Her bottom lip trembles and her eyes look glassy, like she's about to cry. A panicky feeling wells in my chest and out of instinct, I reach for her hand across the table.
She snatches it away while glaring at me. "Tanya, can Max and I have a moment to talk in private, please?"
"Of course, of course. I have to use the ladies' room anyway." She scrambles out, leaving the open laptop and that damned photo behind.
When the flimsy door clicks behind Tanya, Lily stands up and cries, "Max, what the hell are we doing?"
I throw my hands in the air. "I thought we were trying to have a relationship again."
"Is that what you want? Do you really want to ruin your career, and further ruin my reputation, for this?"
I'm shocked she's so angry, and my mouth hangs open.
She slumps into a seat. "I found out about this photo on my way here when I was in the car. Then I was swamped with media shouting awful questions at me. And I can't bear to call my father back. I just wonder if..."
Her voice trails off.
"You wonder what?"
Her face looks so anguished, so conflicted, I feel like she's going to break my heart all over again.