#Swag (GearShark #3) by Cambria Hebert

feathers.”
    Lorhaven made a sound. I glared at him over my shoulder. “Something to add, Lorhaven ?”
    His eyes narrowed and between the slits, they glittered like black diamonds.
    Jace is still in there, somewhere, or he wouldn’t care I called him something else.
    He spread out his hand for me to continue. “I find this fascinating.”
    I just bet he does.
    I turned away from him. Screw him and the car he drove in on.
    Even if it was a sexy white Lotus.
    “Out there on the track, a lot of testosterone is pumping. Men are in a primal form. Be the best. Be the strongest. They’re intimidated by a female coming along and trying to beat them.”
    “You said trying. Have you ever won?” Emily questioned.
    I sat back. “Of course. If I had more print time in these racing magazines and sports channels, you’d already know that.”
    “And what was it like for you after you won?”
    I felt one shoulder shrug. “It doesn’t matter if I win or lose, it’s always the same.” I had to work to keep the exhaustion from my tone. “I’m not wanted; they make it clear. I’m often isolated, left to work on my own. They don’t want to talk to me, but at me. When I try to interject into a conversation, say about engine parts or torque ratio, they suddenly start acting like I’m dumb or a child.”
    “Have you ever been hazed?”
    I felt the weight of a thousand eyes, even though it was just one set belonging to the man beside me.
    I shifted uncomfortably. “The pro racing circuit prohibits hazing of any members.”
    “Spoken like the daughter of a business tycoon.”
    “Another strike against me,” I replied.
    “The boss’ daughter.”
    “I couldn’t possibly have talent or ambition, you know,” I said, bitter. “My daddy buys me everything .”
    “He is your sponsor, isn’t he?” Lorhaven interrupted.
    “My main sponsor, yes,” I replied. “But I have others.”
    “Do you think he sponsors you because you’re his only child?”
    I turned steady eyes on Emily. “My father is a businessman, and I think his accomplishments attest to that. Do you really think a businessman would sink as much money into a racing sponsorship for someone if he wasn’t going to get a return on investment?”
    “For his only child?” Lorhaven mused. “Absolutely.”
    “Don’t you have a wealthy father?” I asked.
    His eyes narrowed. “He doesn’t sponsor me in the NRR. Brickstone Tires sponsors me.”
    “But I guess he’s never helped you in your career. Or bought you a car or car parts,” I said.
    Emily looked at him expectantly.
    Lorhaven shrugged.
    God! What an asshole. Why was it okay for him to take from his father, but not me?
    “What happened to your Corvette anyway?” I asked. “Did you finally wreck it trying to run someone off the road?”
    “Something like that,” he said, looking away.
    “This is all very interesting.” Emily cut in. “I’d like to talk further with both of you. But first, I just really want to know…” She turned to me. “Is it true you’ll be leaving the pro racing circuit for a sponsorship in the NRR?”
    “Yes,” I said, not holding back. This is what I was here for. “I’m finishing out my pro season, and then I will be crossing over.”
    Lorhaven’s boots hit the floor when he sat up all the way.
    “You don’t like pro drivers. You’ve never hidden that fact,” Emily said to him.
    “Nope.”
    “What’s up with that?” she asked.
    I turned to him, waiting.
    “Because they’re a bunch of stuck-up assholes.”
    “Let me guess. You tried out and they didn’t want you,” I said.
    “I wouldn’t let my daddy buy my way in,” he snapped.
    Touchy.
    “We’ll come back to that,” Emily said. “So what are your thoughts on this crossover and a female driver in the NRR?”
    I was dumb.
    Played. With one kiss, one shared name, I’d somehow become forgetful of just who it was sitting beside me.
    And why that one kiss was all we’d ever have.
    “I think she