Instead, I grabbed the room service menu and ordered a few things that sounded good. While I waited for my food, I went over the plans for the weekend. We got in Thursday, so we would have plenty of time to settle in before the events started. Even though it was only an exhibition, there was still a degree of pressure. Our team wanted to make a good showing so Darren could bring in the prize money and give his reputation even more of a boost. He was already extremely popular. This would only earn him more devotion from the fans, which translated to more income and opportunities for the entire team.
The exhibition wasn’t just about racing. We were also setting up one of Merry’s famous block parties at Friday night’s opening race. These events had become a huge draw for the fans at our usual races. Originally put together as a onetime thing to increase fan engagement, the parties were now a mainstay of local races and drew in crowds of fans. We had food and beer trucks, played music, and sold merchandise. The shirts and hats designed specifically for those events were collectors’ items among the fans. I’d heard many of them talking in the stands comparing what events they’d been to and showing off their merch like badges of honor.
That Friday night’s event was special among those events. With specialty items designed just for the exhibition and a local band coming to play a set for us, it should get the weekend started on a great note. We also had a few surprises in store, including a local brewery we’d been working with over the last few months to offer a custom beer for the event.
One of the big draws, at least I hoped, was going to be the customized bike service Freeman offered. A side business headed up primarily by my father but anchored by Kelly and Darren’s exceptional craftsmanship, the service let fans and enthusiasts design their own bike. Whether it was restoring an old one, amping up an existing one, or building something completely new, this was all about giving them their dream.
It was an expensive service, but this was the place to market it. The exhibition was full of mega fans and people with a passion for motorcycles. I was going over the marketing materials and party layout Merry gave me, making sure I was ready for that evening. It felt strange trying to put on one of these events without her there. But I was going to do her proud.
Room service arrived and I brought the food in to spread across the table by the window. I had just started eating when a thought flickered through my mind.
Why had I called Quentin? He was at home with a new baby, and while he was friendly with Lindsey the way everyone was, he didn’t have any strong connection with her. Nick was her best friend. My phone call should have been to him.
It hadn’t even occurred to me to call him after I heard from Lindsey. My mind went straight to Quentin. I tried to figure it out as I ate, tried to come up with some reason why it would have been Quentin that came to mind as my solution to make sure Lindsey was safe while I had to be away.
Then the realization hit. I propped my phone up on the table and video called Nick. He gave me a strange look when he appeared on the screen.
“Decided we just absolutely had to have lunch together today?” he asked.
“No,” I said, shaking my head. “This is about Lindsey.”
His face dropped. “What’s going on? What happened?”
I explained the situation and that I called Quentin to ask him to keep an eye on Lindsey. “It was because of the conversation we had in my office.”
“What about it?” Nick asked.
“Lindsey said something that always bothered her was that Grant accused her of sleeping with you. He was determined there’s something going on between the two of you and that maybe she even cheated on him with you. That’s going to be brought up in this battle. Especially since Lindsey is now going after more time with Remy and not just fighting off Grant’s case. This is going to get nasty, and he’s going to bring up everything he possibly can to make her look bad. Including his suspicions about you.”
“So, what are you getting at?” Nick asked.
“You need to spend less time in public with Lindsey. And I should take over. If they’re going to assume she’s in a relationship with someone, it can be me.”
A second of silence came before a cascade of laughter. My brother laughed so hard tears started streaming down his face. I really didn’t see the humor in the whole situation, but I sat and gave him his moment. Finally, he got a hold of himself.