One For The Road - Chapter 43: Chapter 43

I walked into the only sports bar I had gotten to know on a personal level, Gilligan's. Of course, it was far from my favorite place with the way I watched Tyler talk about shit me on one of the TVs, and Truscott's nephew insulted me with an offer to put me back in the spotlight, which I never left, thank you.
But ultimately, there wasn't a better place to collect myself even though I had a long night of driving ahead of me. I swore to myself I wouldn't get carried away, but that rarely worked out for me.
Whether it helped me forget just how much my mind spiraled was yet to be determined. How the hell could Drake do that to me? I was the reason his team was back on track, not Josiah.
There had to be someone decent to talk to there, although I really didn't have much that I wanted to say. But there were plenty of cool people outside of the combat robotics arena, hopefully someone who had a goddamn soul.
"Katie," a voice said, and there weren't really many people in Ontario who were on a first-name basis with me.
Truscott's nephew. Whatever the fuck his name was.
"What are you doing here? Don't you work in Toronto?" I asked.
"My boyfriend lives here in London, and this is one of my favorite places in the city. It's not too crowded, especially on a Sunday," he replied.
His last name wasn't Truscott, so I couldn't even call him that. What was his name? My mind was failing me. Again.
"It's Daniel," he said like he read my thoughts.
I laughed. "I knew that, Danny. Can I call you that?"
"I'd prefer if you didn't. So anyway, you come here alone a lot?"
"Only twice, and you've been here both times, so I'm thinking that you're the one with the problem." I sat down beside him. Even if he was a condescending douche who was related to another condescending douche, he was better company than no one.
He chuckled. "Of course. How's the robot life treating you?"
"It's not anymore. I guess I just got fired again." I shook my head. "But I'm not going to bitch about it to you. I'm afraid you'll put it in an article so the entire world can laugh at how miserable my fucking life is now."
"You know I wouldn't do that to you. People like us have to stick together in this industry."
"People like us?"
"You know, gay."
Close enough. "Look, Danny, there's only one person who's ever stuck with me, and I probably need to give him a call right about now."
"Gallagher, isn't it?"
God, it pissed me off how much he knew about me, but I nodded anyway. "Yep. At this point, I don't think I have much of a choice but to head back to Baton Rouge. Do I even have to say that information's off the record?"
"Don't worry about it, Katie. I'm working on a piece for RTR, but it's not about you. It's about Elizabeth Tonkin."
"You're still working on that?"
"Yes, actually. Roger loves her, and we're looking for her to get a spike in popularity like you, but I don't think it's gonna happen anytime soon," Daniel said.
Roger loved her? Not likely. She was a woman. But I decided to humor him anyway. "Why not?"
"She's a dream for management, but she doesn't appeal to real people the same way someone like you appeals to them. Elizabeth is easy to control, and she comes off as fake. It's quite simple, really."
So he got rid of me because he couldn't control me? But I knew that.
There had to have been something else. There had to, right? Otherwise, I was about to look like a complete and utter jackass in front of the entire world.
"Doesn't she get piss-tested all the time, though?" I asked.
"Well, sure, but it's possible that it's just because she's driving your old car. I don't actually know, though," Daniel said. "Do you want anything to drink?"
"Surprise me," I said, and he stood up to get me something. I wasn't quite sure why he was always trying to buy me drinks, but I didn't mind.
How the hell could Truscott adore Elizabeth? How in the fuck was she better for business?
Daniel came back with a bottle of water and handed it to me. "You have a drive ahead of you tonight, don't you?"
I smiled. "Cute. But trust me, as much as I love drinking and driving individually, I'm not looking to get a DUI or anyone killed. Hell, it's part of the reason I didn't want to drive that Alcoholics Anonymous car."
"That really doesn't make much sense."
Of course, there was the other part of the reason that it was clear Truscott was trying to use my favorite hobby against me, but I didn't comment any further on that. "Well, no one ever asks The Black Keys if they'll drive an AA car for Founders' Day even though they're from Akron too."
"Probably because they're a rock band."
I shook my head. "It's about the principle, Danny."
"Well, you pissed off the sponsor, which loses a shit ton of money, which pisses off the owner. You can't tell me that you didn't consider that in your principle," he said.
"So you're saying that it's my own fault that I'm in this situation."
He nodded. "Well, it's partly your fault. You play a dangerous game that wins you fans with people, but it certainly doesn't gain you any friends in management."
And there was no other game I'd rather play. Who in their right mind would prefer a few people liking them with their wallets than a bunch of people liking them with their hearts?
"Look, I was hoping that this place would make me feel better since I've been fired for the second time in a year, but please continue to kick me while I'm down. It really shows how great you management people are," I said.
"I'm not a management people, Katie, but I understand that actions have consequences. It doesn't seem that anyone ever tells you these things, so I'm saying them for your sake," Daniel said.
But Drake told me that same shit. Griffin told me that I had to keep a solid reputation. Annie told me I couldn't let my emotions get the best of me. And if I couldn't do it when they asked, what the hell would be different when Truscott's nephew lectured me?
"I should probably get going now. I really don't want anyone else's opinion on my life at this point," I said.
"You want me to buy you another one for the road?" He held up the water bottle that he got for me earlier. I never even bothered to open it.
"I think I'll be fine. I have someone to meet and a schedule to keep," I said.
Annie was at least a couple hours ahead of me, and although I had a tendency to drive pretty fast and she had my house keys, I didn't want her to wait on me for even a moment.
"Are you going to the Talladega race next week?" he asked as I collected my jacket and purse.
"Probably. And I don't want to see you there, so stay the fuck away from me. I'm only there for Griffin."
"Team Moretti's going to be there too, so I don't think you'll have any time for anyone RTR."
I paused. "How the fuck do you know about that? I never said shit to anyone."
"Word gets around fast, Katie. And if you want to take someone's spot on that team, you're gonna have to stop with all the shit-talking. Andre doesn't tolerate any bullshit on his team."
Well, he tolerated Tyler, so how accurate was that?
"Oh, so now you're trying to help me again," I said.
"That's what I've been doing this whole time, but whether you accept it or not is up to you."
There wasn't a single trustworthy Truscott on the entire goddamn planet, so accepting anything from Daniel was out of the question. I wouldn't put it past Truscott to try to ruin any sort of new chance I got in NASCAR.
He knew I could drive, and with an opportunity, I would show him. I would show every single person that I belonged, unlike some others.
Without another word, I headed back out to my Corvette, which was pretty much the only positive in my life. There were two messages on my phone, one from Drake and one from Annie.
I started with Drake's. He couldn't take back anything he said, but I wanted to hear him try.
"Hey Katie," he began. "I'm sure that you're pissed at me right now, but there wasn't anything I could do."
Bullshit.
"I want you driving this robot when the time comes, but you know how Josiah is. Once he calms down, I'm sure he'll come to his senses and realize that we need you, but until then, I can't lose him. With Annie gone, I can't afford anything else to go wrong for this team. Katie, we need you. And I want you on the team. Hell, I want you here."
And he burned the shit out of that bridge.
Just when I convinced myself that maybe we could have something, he picked condoning Josiah over anything else. And how the hell could I drive for someone like that?
Well, I drove for Truscott for a little over two years.
"Tell Annie I say hi and that Josiah says he's sorry. He didn't actually say that, but I want her back too. Hopefully, I'll hear back from you when you're ready. Bye," he said, and I bit my lip.
I'd tell Annie that Drake really cared about her, but lying about Josiah was just too much. I couldn't do that to her. She was probably waiting for that.
I switched to Annie's message. What could she have to say?
"Hi, Katie! First, I just want to say that your car is absolutely gross. Why the hell do you have an old Taco Bell wrapper in here? And an empty thing of mascara? I always somehow lose them before I manage to get to the end of one."
How the fuck could she lose mascara, and why did she check to see if it was empty or not? Everyone was a goddamn critic.
"But anyway, what I actually wanted to say is that I changed my mind. I can't force myself to go somewhere where I know I won't be happy. Lousiana is just so," she hesitated, "southern. And hot."
No, no, no. She couldn't throw away all this progress. Sure, it was all on a whim, but the best decisions were.
"What about New York? I mean, that's where everyone goes when they have a dream. And even though I don't really know what mine is yet, I know I'm never gonna find out if I just stay where I am."
New York? That was a pretty big city for anyone to handle.
But who the hell was I to stop her? If her heart told her New York, then there was nowhere else to go. While Vegas didn't really work out for me, it kept me out of trouble for long enough.
"No, I'm not asking. I'm going to New York. I hope you'll understand. I'll give you your car back the next time I see you. Have fun, and I love you," she said. "Like, as a friend, obviously." She paused again. "Well, best friend. I'll see you soon."
I smiled. I understood it all.