Smokin' & Spinnin' by Andrea Miller Read Free Book Online Page B

that I am alone in the garage except for a few random crew members who are milling around. All of a sudden, it hits me: “Damn! My bag!” I must have left it on the pit box. I walk back over to pit road to retrieve it. I have to get back to the airport so I don’t miss my flight home.
    I am still upset about the day with Ryan. Being late was my fault, but I cannot handle him being so angry and rude with me. It makes me nauseous. I retrieve my bag just as they are about to roll the pit box away.
    Bobby, Ryan’s crew chief, comes out from behind the box as I begin to walk away. “Whitney?”
    I turn to acknowledge him as he stretches out his hand for introductions. I nod. “Yes, sir.”
    “Bobby,” he says gruffly. “Next week you are welcome to leave your belongings in the hauler. Annalise had a locker where she stored her stuff that you can have now.”
    I wince at her name. “Hauler?”
    Bobby laughs. Here we go again. “Ahh…I had forgotten that they said you knew nothing about NASCAR.”
    They?
    I nod sheepishly, trying to conceal my embarrassment as Bobby explains, “The hauler is a tractor-trailer rig that we take to the track each week. It hauls Ryan’s stock cars, engines, parts, tools, and so forth. The cars are stored in the top portion, and we use the bottom portion as…sort of a command center during each race.”
    I nod again and say politely, “Thank you!”
    Bobby must sense my humiliation. He adds with a slight pat on my back, “You will catch on quick! Don’t worry! Oh! And don’t take any of Ryan’s shit. That is the first thing you need to learn.” Bobby chuckles and shakes his head as he walks away.
Nice!
    I take my phone out to note the time. I have about three hours until my flight leaves. I have to find Ryan to sort this all out before Monday. My best guess is that he is in his luxury motor coach, which I learned about from Sam, Ryan’s driver, during the race. I walk over to where the buses are lined up, but I am in the middle of a sea of forty-five or more team buses that all seem to look alike.
    I walk a couple of rows over and catch a glimpse of Sam, who sat with us on the pit box. “Hi, Sam,” I say. “Is Ryan inside?”
    “I believe so, Miss Whitney,” he responds. “I just got back here.”
    I don’t understand why everyone is so nice except for Ryan. It doesn’t make any sense to me.
    I knock firmly on the bus door. A few seconds pass, and no one answers. I knock firmly again and am almost knocked off my feet when Ryan swings the door open. I step back, stunned. Ryan’s expression changes from suspicious to sheer contempt.
    “What the hell do you want?”
    I roll my eyes. “I need to talk to you for a second.”
    “About what?” he snaps.
    “I’m really sorry for being late.”
    Ryan shakes his head at me with disgust.
    “I…I…” I stammer, but before I can complete my sentence, a half-dressed blonde emerges from the bus.
    “Ryan,” she whines.
    Ryan turns to acknowledge her and says over his shoulder to me, “Go home, Whitney!” as he slams the door in my completely mortified face.

Chapter 7
    D espite tossing and turning throughout the night, I am up and dressed for work by six in the morning. I cannot stop reliving every single embarrassing exchange with Ryan yesterday at the track. I was completely and utterly humiliated in the Nationwide suite. Not to mention the horrifying confrontation on Ryan’s bus with him and the random blonde bachelorette. The more I think about it, the madder I get.
God bless America
!
    I arrive at work very early. It is a little before seven when I take a seat at my desk. Even though Ryan scored a top-ten finish at Michigan, I know the shit will hit the fan sometime today. Especially if he dares to show his face in here, it will be hard for me to keep my cool. But Monday is his day off, so maybe he will stay away for both of our sakes.
    I plan to tell Jerri about how he treated me.
Or should I?
I second-guess myself.