Qualify: A Driven World Novel (The Driven World)

by TL Mayhew

  Tonight, I’m not interested in mingling with the few circling around the room like used car salesmen though. They must recognize that fact because none approach. Instead, I’m only offered a casual nod from across the room.

  Fine by me. I can have a drink or two with Grady—in peace—then I’m headed home.

  Glancing around the room, I catch sight of the secluded spaces lining the back wall and imagine the many things I’d have my newly found obsession doing in one of those booths.

  First thing, she’d be wearing a bright red dress, one that barely covers her ass, and allows her legs to spread freely beneath the table where none of the other perverted motherfuckers could get a glimpse. Secondly, her panties would be coming off. No question.

  I’d have her seated next to me where my fingertips would trail up and down her thigh, causing goosebumps atop her skin and wetting her pussy in preparation of my fingers slipping inside.

  Intent on adjusting myself and hiding the way my body reacts to the thoughts of her, I turn away from Grady, headed toward one of those very booths. “I’m gonna grab a seat,” I tell him.

  He tosses a wave over his shoulder in acknowledgement and heads over to the bar.

  I don’t make it but a foot from a dark space in the corner before claw-like nails skim over my shoulder and Gretchen steps into my line of sight. Her hands lace together behind my neck and she presses her body against mine as she leans in for a kiss, which I refuse.

  My dick has a mind of its own because of my earlier thoughts of Berkleigh, and it reacts almost instantly when Gretchen grinds her pelvis against me.

  “Oh,” she says, glancing down and admiring my condition before her seductive eyes meet mine. “Someone is happy to see me.

  Her breath is laced with alcohol. It’s clear to see that although she’s not falling down drunk, she’s at least one sheet to the wind and I’m in no way interested in entertaining her. But with some key players in the near vicinity: the kind that don’t mind throwing money, and whatever product their company sells, at a reckless driver, hoping they’ll earn back tenfold what they’d spent on sponsoring a guy like me, I can’t risk dumping her drunk ass on the floor.

  She sways slightly and I grip her arms, holding her up. Fuck. What is it about women literally falling into me?

  Wrapping an arm around her waist, I lead her over to the booth. “Oh, Kye, I knew you’d give in.”

  “Gretchen, we’re not doing this tonight. In fact, we’re not doing this again. I’ll call you an Uber.” I raise my phone and she grabs at my dick. Luckily, we’re far enough out of view that when I push her off me, she lands on her side in the booth and almost instantly passes out.

  I glance at one of the other tables and consider leaving her there, alone, but can’t bring myself to. Instead, I slide in and take a seat in the middle where the top of her head bumps my thigh, but that’s as close as we get.

  Grady comes back fisting two glasses of whiskey. Setting one in front of me he glances at the girl. “Gretchen?”

  I nod and let out a frustrated breath.

  He slides in the opposite side, staying as close to the edge as possible. Like if something happens and he might flee the country or go dance a tango, I’m not sure.

  “I thought you were done taking a turn on that ride?” He nods across the table, while raising his glass in cheers before sipping on the expensive liquor.

  I do the same, hoping it will give me some liquid courage before answering the not so complicated question. “I’ve sworn her off. It seems she doesn’t feel the same.”

  “Well, if you need any help refreshing her memory, I’d be more than happy to give her a reminder. Show her what the other side is like.”

  “Sorry, man, but just like with Sleek Sylvia, you wouldn’t know how to….” The next words don’t make it to my lips. They’re caught in my throat at who I see floating through the door.

  Berkleigh Shaw.

  Although it’s not the red dress I’d imagined, she’s in a sexy all black number that clings to every one of her fucking curves. From mid-thigh over a toned torso and up over the swell of her breasts where the material just stops, showing off sexy shoulders and the brunette tendrils that brush across them.

  When my arms were wrapped around her in the simulation room, I’d gotten a feel of her size but I never expected a body that fucking hot and tight beneath those overalls. If my dick was hard before it’s like stone now.

  She takes a step farther inside and waits, glancing behind her. All my attention is on the curve of her ass until I hear the sweetest laugh and I follow her gaze. Catching a glimpse of blond hair and light blue eyes.

  He closes the door and saunters up to her side and she smiles at him sweetly. My blood runs cold. Who in the fuck is this guy?

  “Kye?” Grady asks.

  I feel his annoyed stare on me but ignore him. There’s no way I’m taking my eyes off the two of them. Out of my peripheral vision I see Grady turn, following my stare.

  “Well, fuck me. Is that—”

  “Yes,” I answer before he has a chance to say anything further.

  He lets out a low whistle. “She cleans up nice. Wonder who that is with her?”

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out.” I’m about ready to shove Grady off his seat and confront her, but I don’t get the chance before her eyes are on mine. A shy smile teases those full lips, and she takes a step toward me. The guy she’s with doesn’t leave her side.

  Gretchen chooses this exact moment to stir in the booth. Holding her head as she raises up from behind the table. My heart sinks when Berkleigh’s eyes flit to the woman next to me, and all the color leaves her face.

  She glances from Gretchen to me and back, and it’s in that instant I know there’s more between us than I’d originally thought. The pain shooting through her chest mirrors my own.

  Turning in a haste, she bumps into the man she came with before saying something and then disappearing back through the door. He turns a narrow, I’m going to fucking kill you stare, before heading after my girl.

  In an instant, I’m shoving Grady out of the way.

  “Hey, man, watch it,” Grady complains, then steps to the side as I brush past. “Kye! Where are you going?”

  His words fade quickly as I rush after her. Bursting through the door, I’m shoving past people on the dance floor until I find a small opening near the bar. Turning in circles I scan the entire area, hoping to catch a glimpse of her or where she might’ve gone.

  The place is packed. There’s no way I’ll find her with all the sweaty bodies bumping and grinding everywhere I look.

  I’m about to slip my phone from my pocket, to have Teresa bring the car around, and then go in search for Grady to let him know we’re leaving, but fate is in my favor.

  The man Berkleigh was with is leaning against the wall just outside the women’s bathroom door.

  I stalk over to him as quicky as my steps will carry me without flat-out running. Several people recognize me and call out, but I’m only interested in talking to one person and I have a feeling I know exactly where she is.

  My target is the women’s restroom door but when I push on it, the man grabs me. “Hey, fucker, you can’t go in there.”

  Without thinking twice, I turn on him, pinning him against the wall, my forearm against his neck. “And who’s going to stop me? You?” I can feel the rage burning in my eyes.

  His lips turn up in a grin. “Yeah, because I kind of just did.”

  Catching his meaning, I raise my fist, fully prepared to knock that smug grin of his arrogant face.

  “Kye Kingston! Let go of my brother!” Berkleigh orders at the top of her lungs.

  Did she say brother? With the adrenaline pumping through my veins, my pulse is distorting what she said. I direct my attention back to him, letting off his throat slightly. He shrugs and that fucking smile is back.

  I glance over my shoulder where Berkleigh stands, with hands on her hips, and a look
that would scare the shit out of anyone crossing her path. Anyone but me. She’s fucking adorable with her angry red face and the heavy breaths pushing her chest in and out with each one.

  Turning away from the man she calls brother; I release him and focus all my attention on her.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” she asks, her brows scrunching together.

  For once I’m at a loss for words. I open my mouth to apologize but she doesn’t give me the chance. Instead, she closes in until she’s standing only a breath away.

  “Oh, that’s right! You weren’t fucking thinking.”

  “Language, Berk,” the brother says, stepping around me to stand at her side, in case she needs protecting. If I wasn’t so pissed right now, I’d be grateful for his chivalry.

  She uncrosses her arms and pokes me in the chest. “I have no use for your macho bullshit, Kye. Especially after I just saw you not five minutes ago with some blonde bimbo’s head in your lap and…”

  “It’s not what it looked like,” I tell her, standing straighter yet finding her feisty attitude quite amusing.

  She scoffs at my response, turning to her brother, mocking me, “It’s not what it looked like.” Her eyes gloss with tears. “That’s the response of someone who’s guilty, wouldn’t you say, Elliot?”

  Her brother looks between us, probably realizing just now there’s more going on than whatever she might’ve told him.

  “I may be a lot of things, Berkleigh, but I’m not a liar,” I tell her, pulling her attention back to me before he has a chance to say anything. “Once you’ve had a chance to calm down, I’ll explain everything.”

  “Calm down? Really?” Tears spill over her lids as she points at me, “You—the one getting a blow job right out in front of everyone—are telling me to calm down?” As soon as the words leave her mouth, she slaps a hand over it as though she’s just realized what she said, and in front of all these onlookers too.

  As though she’s unsure what to do or say next, her eyes dart from side to side and she takes a few steps back.

  Her brother, apparently done with where this conversation is going, puffs out his chest and grabs her arm possessively. “We’re leaving.”

  I take a step forward, fully prepared to physically remove his hand from her, sweep her up in my arms, and take her home, but Grady grips my shoulder stopping me.

  As much as I don’t want to, I get his meaning, and after looking between the two of them, I step aside and let them pass.

  Berkleigh doesn’t give me a second glance. She leans her head against her brother’s shoulder, and he wraps an arm around hers, guiding her past the crowd and out the door.

  Grady’s hand is still on me when he asks, “You wanna tell me what the hell just happened here?”

  I shake free of his grip on me. “No,” I tell him, slipping my phone from my pocket and stabbing at the screen, searching my contacts. and tapping on Teresa’s number.

  She answers on the first ring. “Leaving so soon?”

  “Bring Sylvia around, I’ll be waiting out front. No detours, Teresa.”

  “You got it,” she confirms and ends the call.

  The ride back to the downtown office is silent until I pull in the empty spot next to Grady’s truck. Without a word, I drop the gearshift into reverse, and stare at the concrete wall ahead, waiting for him to exit the car.

  He also waits. The stubborn motherfucker waits because he wants an explanation, and I owe him as much. Although, I’d have preferred it had been sometime in the future, like years from now, but he’s not going to wait another five minutes.

  On a huff, I push in the clutch, shift into first, pull the emergency brake and shut Sylvia down. Turning in my seat to face him. “You want to do this right now?”

  He nods.

  “Fine.” I swipe a hand through my hair before letting out a deep sigh and face forward again.

  This is going to take some time so I might as well get comfortable. “I know her from college. Well, the college she went to. It was when I was giving that lecture on safety at the university in Williamstown, Kansas. I’m sure you remember the one. I’d told you about the confrontation between Donnelly and that woman.” I glance in his direction to ensure he’s still listening.

  “Go on,” he says, nodding.

  “Well, I won’t go into details because I don’t know what all happened, plus it’s her story to tell when she’s ready but... Berkleigh was the woman.”

  I hear him take in a sharp breath; he stays quiet otherwise.

  We both know William Donnelly from pitting on Jameson Critchet’s team. His goal in life was to become a driver. But he didn’t want to work his way up. He’d wanted someone to hand him the keys and a helmet and tell him to go for it. Racing if you’re not careful will suck every dollar and then some straight out of your wallet.

  With no money and his inability to earn it through sponsors—they wouldn’t work with someone who had a history of assaulting women—it seems his career path changed.

  He got booted off the team for some other shady shit he was into, then somehow landed a job at the university, which until this very moment didn’t seem like a big deal. But now I’m wondering why they wouldn’t have done a background check.

  Maybe they did but as with everything else he’s fucked up in life, he found a way to sweep it under the rug.

  “She was a mess that day. A beautiful blubbering mess. Had the circumstances been different, I would’ve canceled the lecture and spent the day convincing her to have dinner with me. When she stumbled into me, again, at Dragoo’s, I knew dinner wouldn’t be enough. I’d wanted to take her back to my place, or any place for that matter, and fuck her until morning.”

  “Man, you have it bad. If you, king of bed ‘em and leave ‘em, had even the slightest inkling of letting her sleep over…”

  “There would’ve been no sleeping involved. Whatsoever.”

  He chuckles. “That would have put a wrench in our plans of hiring her on the team. Don’t you think? I mean she’d be fucking the boss?”

  I cringe as soon as he says the words, because maybe he’s right.

  The guys could hate her for it. See it as she’s using me, but I don’t think they would, especially once they met her. If they did, I’d set them straight.

  She’s different than anyone I’ve met before. And when I’m with her, even if it’s from across the room, I can feel her. Drawing me in like a fucking magnet to steel. Does she know she does it? Fuck no. That’s one of the reasons I find her so intriguing. But he has a point.

  “You’re right,” I tell him.

  “I’m sorry, what was that?” He cups his ear and leans against the console. “I don’t think I heard you correctly. Did you say I was right about something?”

  “Get the fuck out of my car, asshole. We’ve got a lot of stuff to discuss tomorrow and I need to take care of some things before I call it a night.”

  He opens the door and climbs out, but ducks his head back inside. “Too much information, man,” he teases, before shutting it, and blocking my comeback.

  I give him the finger then turn the key. Sylvia purrs to life.

  With the press of my foot, I give her a couple of revs before pulling out of the space and pushing my foot to the floor.

  Sylvia’s tires squeal, echoing throughout the concrete space before they find purchase and she fishtails. After a beat I straighten her out and breeze past the security station, just as the caution bar lifts enough to not scrape across the roof.

  Chapter 12

  The ride home is a thick silence. Anger and shock course through me, forcing a random tear down my cheek. Elliot said I was in no condition to drive, and he was probably right, but sitting on this side of the car gives me too much time to think about what just happened.

  Granted, I have no rights over Kye and I shouldn’t care who he’s with, but seeing him with her was like a slap in the face. Especially after the simulation room, I thought something had passed
between us. I should’ve known better.

  Turning toward my brother, I notice his stoic expression and am reminded of the reason we’d went there in the first place. “I’m really sorry about you not getting to see the sponsors, El. I’ve ruined your trip,” I mutter.

  He lets out a deep sigh and pulls off on the shoulder where it’s safe. Putting the car in park, he turns in his seat. “You need to get that out of your head right now. You didn’t ruin anything for me. There will be other days, Berk. I plan on being here at least until the end of the week. If I can’t catch up with them by then, it wasn’t meant to be.” He takes my hand in his. “Right now, we’re going to concentrate on you. And that starts with you telling me everything when we get back to your apartment.”

  My eyes dart to his. “El, I can’t…”

  “Don’t give me that look. Whatever you have to say stays between us…for now. But you can’t keep things bottled up. Your outburst at the bar, even if he deserved every word you spewed, should not have happened. Not in a public place and not in front of Kye’s fans. I suppose it’s all over the internet about now.

  I suck in a breath. I’d never even thought… “Oh God!”

  He pulls the car out onto the main drive and heads in the direction of my home. “Oh God is right. If you were afraid of Dad knowing anything about your personal life, I suspect he’ll know soon enough.”

  We sit in a turn lane, waiting for the green arrow, when he glances over at me again. “I’ll text Dante and ask him to keep Dad away from any racing news outlets for the next couple of days.” But once the realization at what he said sinks in, his expression turns soft and a smile forms on his lips.

  “That’ll never happen,” we both say in unison.

  I think back to what all I said at the bar. Most of it I can get away with, the thing I’m most embarrassed over is blurting out blow job. I mean, if it was true and he was, then I don’t feel a bit bad about saying it. But what if I was wrong?

  Kye had honestly looked confused when I was accusing him. And I hadn’t given him the benefit of the doubt, but why should I? The evidence was there. He was sitting, she was lying. She lifted her head from beneath the table, and her hair was tangled mess.