Darren finally looked up at me. I waited for a reaction, but he didn’t say anything to me. Instead, he looked over at Quentin and his father.
“I got this,” he said.
He didn’t give either of them a chance to say anything before he grabbed me by the hand and pulled. He was insistent, and I didn’t really have a choice but to follow him wherever he wanted to take me.
7
Darren
I was totally going to count this as a belated birthday present from the universe.
It was a complete shock to go into the garage and find Kelly standing there with my father and brother. At first, I had no idea what to think or why she would be there. It was possible she had hunted me down to talk to me, but that didn’t seem to make a lot of sense. First of all, I gave her my phone number so if she wanted to get in touch with me, all she had to do was call. And the look on her face when she first saw me standing there at the door didn’t look like somebody who’d found the person they were searching out. She’d looked shocked and like at any second, she was going to break out in a full run just to escape being near me.
I was surprised, too, but in the best way. I couldn’t believe she was there, and I couldn’t believe it even more when my father told me she was the candidate they were interviewing for the mechanic position. We’d been looking for a new mechanic for a few months to fill a gap left by one of our long-standing team members who’d decided to retire. So far there hadn’t been any particularly promising prospects. Some came with skill and experience, but without the personality to fit in with the rest of us. Others had the idea that a bike racing team didn’t really need a skilled mechanic and that they could just have basic abilities and skate by.
The worst were the ones who came onto the complex pretending to be interested in working with us but were obviously sent by other teams. They were assigned to scope out our facilities and spy on our operations so they could report back and use that information to better themselves and their potential in future races. As much as they would have liked to think they were good actors and could fool us, they were easy to spot.
I was starting to get frustrated, but the week before Dad and Quentin let me know they got an application that looked impressive and were going to be interviewing the candidate on Monday. They seemed optimistic, but I’d wait to have any sort of investment in it until they went through the first stages of the interview process and it was time for me to get involved. As the former owner and current owner of the company, Dad and Quentin were the first barrier when it came to anyone joining the team. With the exception of people working in the office without direct involvement with the racing itself, they were the ones who met the candidates first, talked with them, and decided if they were qualified to move on to the next stage. That next stage was me.
Meeting me meant getting grilled about their skills, asked questions about how they would handle specific issues related to the bikes, and put through tests of their abilities. So far not many had gotten to me, but this time there was something in Kelly they both saw that got her all the way down to the garage. I was stunned the instant I realized she was who they were interviewing. It was like the universe was giving me exactly what I wanted, and no matter how thrown off by the whole situation we both were, I wasn’t letting her get away again.
Taking her by her arm, I pulled Kelly with me to my office. I rarely used the room. I much preferred to be down in the garage or on the practice track. But this situation necessitated some private space, and my office was the best thing for that.
As soon as we got into the room and I shut the door behind us, I let go of Kelly and turned to face her.
“Why are you here?” I asked. I needed to hear it from her.
“Your dad just told you. I’m here to apply for the mechanic position,” she told me.
“You didn’t know this was my family’s company? That I was the rider here?” I asked.
She shook her head adamantly, and I believed her. There was no way she could fake that look of shock on her face.
“I didn’t. I had no idea. You never told me your last name or that you race bikes.”