Phobic (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #2)

by Michelle Irwin

  “Let’s get rid of the elephant in the room first, shall we?” I asked with a mock sweetness. “I know many of you don’t think I deserve to be here. That I didn’t earn my place. You might think that because I’m too young. Or because I’m a woman. Or maybe it’s because my dad just happens to own the team that’s expanding into this market by leasing this car.”

  I looked around the room, casting accusatory stares at the worst suspects and daring them to argue with me.

  “All of those things are parts of me,” I added, before turning deadly serious, “but not one of them has a goddamned thing to do with anything once I hit that track.”

  There was a murmur of dissent around the room.

  “I don’t give a shit if you can’t respect me as a person,” I continued, louder than before. I knew how to command a room—I’d been to enough pitch meetings and staff functions to have the confidence I needed. Of course, I usually didn’t let my vulgar language slip, but I felt it was necessary now. “I honestly don’t give a crap if you don’t believe I should be here. Despite what you might think, I’m not new to this sport. I’m not some wet behind the ears driver on my first ever race season. I might not have had the smoothest start yesterday, but I know cars. And when I am out in that car, I am your eyes and your goddamned ears on the track, not only for my own safety but for that of the other cars out there.”

  I slammed the tie rod end down onto the table, causing the three people closest to me on each side of the table to jump.

  “If it was race conditions yesterday and I’d continued lap after lap with this junk in that state, I might not have made it through the race. That could have cost me dearly. Not only that, it could have cost other drivers. This whole fucking team’s hard work would have been for nothing.”

  A few of the guys were looking at their hands rather than at me.

  “So, next time I tell you that there’s something wrong with the car, then you can bet your sweet arse there’s something wrong with the fucking car! Understood?”

  Almost everyone nodded, stunned into silence. Jase just stared at me from the back of the room.

  “Good. Now are there any questions?”

  There were a few stunned mullets in the room, staring at me with mouths agape or at their hands in steadfast ignorance. A few others shook their heads.

  “Okay, get back to work. And someone get a new tie rod end on the car. And check the others while you’re there.”

  One by one everyone left the room, except for Jase. He stared at me, half in contempt, half with what I could only assume was lust. Old pervert probably got off on girls telling him what to do. His words about liking to break the strong-spirited ones echoed in my head.

  “I’m finished here,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

  “I’m not.” He rose from his seat and leaned on the table between us.

  “What do you want?”

  “I heard you were trying to seduce young Xavier.”

  He moved around the table, dragging his fist over the surface, until we were on the same side.

  I rolled my eyes. “I don’t see how Xavier and I are any of your concern.”

  He moved closer to me. “You can’t claim sexual assault on one hand and then go and whore yourself around to the team on the other.”

  “I hardly call being friends with someone ‘whoring.’”

  “What would you call it then?” He was so close the stench of his body odour filled my nostrils.

  I stood to my full height and got in his face, hoping to end the shit with him once and for all. “I’d call it none of your goddamned business.”

  “Watch your mouth.” His hands shot out and he grabbed my shoulders, pushing me until my back smacked the wall behind me, temporarily knocking the breath out of me.

  “Get off me!” I twisted in his hold and tried to shove him away from me. Before I could escape, he grabbed my arms and shoved them to one side of my body, slamming my back against the wall once more. An instant later, his body was pressed flush against mine as he held my hands in a death grip in one of his ham-sized fists, pinning me in place.

  “Or shall I watch it for you?” He clutched at my face, squeezing my cheeks and forcing my lips to pucker.

  With a twist of my head, I yanked my face out of his grasp, but I still couldn’t escape from between him and the wall. “Fuck off.”

  His breath was hot and heavy against my skin. “Go on and pretend to fight, sweetheart. We both know you want this.”

  “I’d rather fuck a sack full of rats than you.” I twisted my leg free, but he just stepped into the space I’d opened up and used the position to grind against me.

  His hand crept along my exposed thigh, pushing my skirt up until it was around my waist. He hummed in appreciation as his cold fingers brushed closer to my panties.

  “Give it up, love. You’ve been parading yourself around here like a bitch in heat every time you come in.” His lips brushed my cheek, his teeth scratching my skin as he spoke. “You can’t blame an old dog for biting.”

  His words gave me a renewed fire and I tried to shove him off again, but his weight and the way he’d pinned me to the wall worked in his favour.

  “Fuck off!” The words trailed off into a scream as his mouth moved nearer to mine and I twisted and tugged at my arms in an attempt to get away. No matter how hard I struggled, how hard I pulled at my arms or how much I tried to kick, he was there. He was too wide for me to escape and too close for me to get enough purchase to fight free.

  “She said git off.” I’d never been happier to hear Beau’s familiar country drawl. Any voice in fact. A second later, the weight of Jase was lifted away from me.

  I scrambled away from the wall and adjusted my skirt. It was then that I realized just how badly my hands were shaking. Tears burned at my eyes and I wanted to fall to the ground. It took everything I had not to crumble as my legs turned to jelly beneath me.

  “What are you doin’, Beau?” Jase asked. “You’re the one who told Cash how easy she is. How ready, willing, and able. That she’d get it on with anyone and everyone if given half a chance.”

  My gaze shot straight to Beau, waiting for him to try to deny the accusation. The tears I’d been able to fight off in the seconds after he’d freed me from Jase’s attack stung my eyes anew. My chest burned as I struggled to find the oxygen I needed.

  Without acknowledging me, Beau shoved Jase away and said, “Just ’cause she’s generous with her affections, don’t give you no right to take advantage and force yourself on her without her permission.”

  His words sent white-hot rage through me. He was the only guy I’d ever been with and somehow that made me generous with my affections? I’d been called all sorts of derogatory names over the years, but not one stung as much as that. I could handle a hundred arseholes like Jase over one statement like that from Beau, someone I’d thought loved me. I could only draw ragged breaths as his words settled over me.

  I balled up my fist, took three steps to cover the distance to Beau, and punched him square in the stomach as my tears fell. “Fuck you, Beau,” I spat before walking away.

  Without pause, I marched up to Mr Richards’s office, wiping the remnants of my tears and smeared make-up as I moved. There was nothing I could do to shake the crawling sensation that crept over my skin. Not until I could get on my bike and find some freedom.

  “How can I help you, Phoebe?” he asked when I shoved my way through the door without waiting to confirm he was free.

  “You need to get rid of Jase. Today.”

  His eyes widened at my tone and my words. “And why would I want to get rid of one of the best team managers and crew chiefs I’ve ever had? Has he been making ‘advances’ again?” The way he’d emphasized the word let me know that I was going to get nowhere, but that wouldn’t stop me from forcing him to change his mind.

  “The arsehole just attacked me in the fucking meeting room. I’m sure he’ll try to play it off as some sort of
practical joke, and I’m positive you’d be more than happy to believe him, but I will not stay in an environment where I am subjected to insults and sexual assault.”

  He stared at me, brow raised, and waved his hand to indicate that I should sit.

  I glanced at the chair, but didn’t take it. Instead, I crossed my arms and returned his stare. “My parents would be very interested to hear that I can’t be provided with a safe workspace. In fact, I’m positive that if that information were relayed to them, they would not only ensure all of the sponsorship dollars were returned, they’d also be inclined to sue for everything possible. You see, they’re a little overprotective of me.” It was a bluff—I really didn’t want Mum and Dad to find out that I couldn’t fight my own battles—but I was willing to say whatever I had to in order to get rid of the arsehole Jase.

  “We’ve never had any serious complaints about him before you started.”

  “Well, I don’t know what to tell you because I have a complaint now. And it’s pretty fucking serious.”

  The door opened again, slamming against the wall.

  “I have a complaint against a staff member,” Beau said, casting a glare in my direction.

  “Beau, I—” An apology was on my lips for the punch to his stomach, but he silenced me with a look.

  “I’d like to speak to Dale alone,” Beau said, nodding toward the door.

  “I was in here first.”

  “Phoebe.” He growled my name as he closed his eyes. His breath was choppy, the anger radiating from him palpable. “Go home.”

  “Are you fucking kid—”

  “Phoebe,” Mr Richards cut me off, “perhaps it would be for the best if you do go home and take some time to consider the allegations you’ve made.”

  Despite the inroads I’d made that morning with the team, I was straight back to being silenced and disregarded, thanks in part to Beau. My voice had been swept aside and I was bound and gagged. Fuck him!

  “Phoebe, go!” Beau barked as he stared me down, and motioned for me to leave again, this time holding his arm out toward the door.

  Once again, Beau had tried to take away my power. Only this time, it was my professional life he was messing with, and I couldn’t allow that.

  I wouldn’t.

  I glanced between the two of them, dying to give them both a piece of my mind. “I—”

  My voice cut out at the glare Beau gave me. Clearly not satisfied with the time I was taking to leave, he moved to the door and opened it. “If you will, darlin’.”

  “This is bullshit,” I seethed as I grabbed the knob of the door and then left the office, slamming the door behind me.

  No doubt Beau and Jase had already come up with some clever way to try to make me look like the guilty party.

  Well, fuck them.

  How could I work somewhere that wouldn’t support me when I was attacked?

  I made it as far as my bike before I saw anyone. Xavier was waiting for me in front of the Honda.

  “What happened in there? The whole place is going crazy.”

  “Oh nothing. Just that apparently deciding to come to work here made my vagina public property.”

  Xavier’s eyes widened at my words. “What?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Apparently it’s not that important.” I’m not important. The thought was almost enough to see me march straight back to Mr Richards’s office and demand to be heard.

  “They said you punched Beau,” Xavier said, distracting me from my anger. “Did he do something to you?”

  “No. In fact, he helped me.” At least before he went to throw me under the bus.

  “Did you punch him though?”

  “I’m sorry, Xav. I really can’t get into this now.” I climbed onto my bike and started it up. “I just need to go. I need some distance from Beau, from this place, from everything.”

  “Oh. Okay. Well, if you want to talk about it, you can call me, or drop by to see me at Bee’s.”

  “Thanks.” As soon as the word was free, I was weaving my way through the car park and getting ready to ride.

  For nearly an hour, I went anywhere but back to my apartment. I blasted around the back streets and did everything I could to take my mind off what had happened. It wasn’t the first time I’d had to deal with some arsehole trying to force himself on me. It was the first time that arsehole was supposed to be part of my team though.

  When I arrived home, there was an all-too-familiar truck parked out the front. Ignoring the giant red beast that belonged to Beau as I drove past, I parked my bike in the garage and headed for my apartment. A minute after I was through the door, my buzzer rang. Knowing who it was, I ignored it. I didn’t want to talk to him. Didn’t want to face him. Didn’t even want to acknowledge his presence.

  I dropped my keys in a bowl by the door and headed to grab a drink from the fridge. As I did, my phone rang. Although the number didn’t come up, I was certain I knew exactly who was calling. He was freaking persistent, I had to give him that.

  “How’d you get this number?” I asked as I answered the call.

  “Dale gave it to me, darlin’. He agreed it’d be best if I talk to you ’bout what went down today.”

  It was the last thing I needed. What I wanted was to go and have a shower, a nice long one to clean the day off me. “Do we really have to?”

  “Yeah. I think we do.”

  “Go on then, say what it is you want to. Tell me off for hitting you. Tell me how you’ve rallied with the boys and I’ll be painted as the bad guy once again. And how I’ll just have to smile through my gritted fucking teeth and take every insult.”

  “I think it’d be better if we talked in person. Let me in. Please?”

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “Please? I promise I ain’t gonna try anything like Jase did. ’Sides, you got a mean right hook on ya that I wouldn’t wanna meet again.” His voice was filled with amusement as he said the last part of his statement.

  “I won’t sit and listen to you defend him.”

  “I ain’t gonna. That’s what we need to talk about.”

  “Five minutes. That’s all you get,” I said as I hung up the phone. I walked over to the intercom and buzzed him in.

  Barely any time passed between me letting him into the building and him knocking on my door. Certainly not enough to prepare myself for seeing him again.

  “Beau,” I greeted as I opened the door.

  “Phoebe.”

  “It’s back to Phoebe again now, is it? Not easy? I could have sworn after today you’d be back to trying to make that name stick.”

  He hung his head. “That’s what I needed to talk about. I’m sorry I said anythin’ about us to any of the guys. That I let them think you were . . .” He trailed off.

  “That I was what, Beau? An easy target. A whore.”

  He cupped my chin and met my gaze. The amber and chocolate depths of his eyes blazed and filled with sorrow. “I made a mistake, and that mistake nearly cost you today. I won’t forgive myself for that.”

  I tore my chin from his loose hold before I could get completely lost in his eyes. “Don’t lose any sleep over it.”

  “I know things between us got a little twisted.”

  I scoffed. “Twisted?”

  He sighed. It seemed to be our familiar dance lately. “I’m tryin’ ta be nice here.”

  “Don’t bother on my account,” I said, walking away to put some distance between us. “Just tell me what it is you came here to say.” I was certain he was going to tell me the consequences of my wayward fist.

  “Dale has agreed to let Jase go. Effective immediately. So I wanted to discuss options for his replacement.”

  I froze in place before slowly spinning around to face Beau. “He’s gone?”

  “Ya don’t expect us to keep him at Richards Racing after what he did today, do ya?”

  I crossed back to Beau, barely believing what he’d said, and what it meant. “So y
ou weren’t there to defend him this afternoon?”

  “Defend him? Did ya not hear me when I entered the room, darlin’? I was there to make a complaint.”

  “You were complaining about Jase?” It was impossible to remove the surprise from my tone with my head spinning the way it was.

  “Of course. Why, what did ya—” He stopped and stared at me for a moment before his eyes widened. Then his fingertips traced his brow. “Did ya think I was there to complain about you?”

  “That made the most amount of sense. Especially with you kicking me out. I didn’t even get to have my say.”

  “I didn’t want ya in there because I had my own confessions to make. Confessions that had nothin’ to do with you.”

  “Oh. It’s just, well, I thought . . . I mean, I did punch you.”

  “I was a li’l outta line with what I said, so I can forgive that. ’Specially under the circumstances.”

  “Still, I am sorry I did it. Thank you for being on my side with Jase.”

  “It was the least I could do. No one deserves to endure what he did to you, no matter how they live their life.” When he said the words, he sighed and paced away from me. He spun back around and was in front of me in a couple of steps. “And no matter how beautiful or temptin’ they might be.”

  I cleared my throat and stepped backward. He may have fooled me with his sweetness once before, but I wouldn’t fall for it again. “So, what did you want to discuss regarding the vacancy?”

  His gaze fell to the floor as he sighed. “We need to have someone in place as soon as possible, so I suggested to Dale that Cash take the role. He needs a little trainin’, but knows most of it.”

  “Isn’t he unreliable though? I don’t want someone I can’t rely on, someone with no experience, not while I’m still new to this and not in such an important role.”

  “If you’re okay with it, we’re gonna put Cash on my team and move Jackson to yours. Jackson is the best. I’d trust him with my life.”

  I wasn’t certain how much of it was him thinking it was the best for the team and how much was just wanting to make sure his friend was looked after. If it wasn’t going to affect me though, and I didn’t have to put up with Jase, I was happy to go with their plan. It meant Mum and Dad didn’t need to find out what happened because there wouldn’t be any new staff to vet. “Works for me, I guess.”