*
When I arrive home around six o’clock in the evening, I phone Brooke to inform her of my new job status. She screams like a teenager into the phone, “Oh my God!”
My ear is ringing! She oozes with jealously when I tell her that I am working for GCR Racing.
“Shut up! You are not serious!” she says, still in teenager mode. The very first question out of her mouth is, “Did you see Ryan Carter?”
I groan, “How do you know who he is and I don’t?”
I can tell by her voice that she is rolling her eyes at me. “Whitney! I have lived in Charlotte for the past three years! NASCAR is big business here!”
I joke, “So I have been told!”
Brooke whines like an impatient child, “Did you see him?”
“Yes!” I exclaim. And Brooke shrieks
again
like a giddy teenager. Then she begins pumping me with information about the infamous Ryan Carter.
According to the gospel of Brooke, Ryan is Garrett Ryan Carter Jr., son of NASCAR legend Garrett Ryan Carter Sr. He is the ultimate bad boy, hothead, and general troublemaker of the stock car racing world, not to mention the only heir to the GCR Racing throne. Brooke goes on and on about Ryan.
“He only dates Victoria Secret supermodels and the like, but he never dates them long.”
“Brooke, stop!” I interject. “First of all, how do you know all this information about him?”
I can hear Brooke gasp. “Whitney, he is a major celebrity. He is all over
People
magazine. In fact, he was just featured in the ‘Sexiest Man Alive’ issue. I mean…have you been living under a rock?”
“Why yes, I have!” I snap and then groan. “Well, secondly, I know why he doesn’t keep a girlfriend long.”
“Oh?” Brooke responds. “Why is that?”
“Because he is a straight-up jackass!” I exclaim.
“Ugh! Good God Almighty! I don’t even care. He is just that hot!” Brooke cries, breathless.
“Brooke, seriously, calm down!” I say flat out.
She guffaws at me. “A million girls would kill for that job!” she shrieks.
“Oh…OK! You don’t have to go all
The Devil Wears Prada
on me,” I quip. “Because I assure you this is not a dream job. After our episode in the elevator today, I can tell you that he has an insanely huge chip on his shoulder. I mean, he is one arrogant son of a bitch!”
“Elevator!” Brooke screeches again. My eardrum has got to be busted. “What happened in the elevator?” she asks impatiently.
I shake my head and whine into the phone as I give her all the gory details of my first encounter with the one and only Ryan Carter.
Chapter 4
I n the blink of an eye, two hectic weeks have gone by. I am settling into my new home and finding a good stride at work. In those few weeks, I have learned a tremendous amount about the GCR Racing team. I actually know what those initials stand for now. Plus, I am building my knowledge base on NASCAR itself. Thanks to my
NASCAR for Dummies
book that I downloaded into my iPad the day I was hired, I may actually survive this job.
GCR employs three drivers for the Sprint Cup Series. The drivers are Colton Johnson, Garrett Ryan Carter Sr.—who only races in certain events due to semiretirement—and Mr. Pompous Ass himself, Ryan Carter. I have yet to meet Garrett, but I have seen several pictures of him around the office.
I arrive early at the office on Monday. I take a seat at my desk and begin to get organized for the day. It should be a good one. According to the race results, which I now follow, Colton finished in the top ten, while Ryan crashed his car.
Loser!
I actually managed to watch the race broadcast for a few minutes, but didn’t get to see Ryan’s accident. It was incredibly boring, so I switched it off. The cars go around and around and around, not much action whatsoever.
Complete waste of my time! I laugh out loud to myself!
“What’s so damn funny?” I hear a familiar voice question me.
I look up and into the glowing eyes of Ryan Carter.
Oops! I wasn’t aware that I