Page 44 of Too Fast To Fall
“I know. I know. I mean, I’m not going to talk about it on my podcast. But if I can’t talk about it with Emilio and Piper,who can I talk about it with?” Mia replied.
It got very quiet in the room as it became clear Emilio was expected to give his stamp of approval. “I’m listening.”
Mia leaned in closer. “There are rumbles at Vermillion that trouble is brewing for Tristan Highbridge. The allegations youspoke up about, Emilio, were never cleared. Even though Vermillion said they were. And apparently, these women have receipts.Evidence that senior management at Vermillion either ignored or tried to suppress.”
Piper turned to Emilio, her eyes wide and questioning. He couldn’t blame her for wondering how he was feeling about all this.Emilio couldn’t arrive at an answer, either. He might end up feeling vindicated if that was the case, but it wouldn’t changethe fact that people had been hurt. The damage had been done.
“That would be huge if it turned out to be true.” Piper placed her hand on his bare forearm. Her skin was so soft and inviting.Her presence so comforting.
“Emilio? What do you think?” Mia asked.
Emilio looked down at his lap for a moment, gathering his thoughts. He hadn’t wanted to talk about Vermillion ever, but hefelt safe with this group of people. “I hope Tristan gets whatever is coming to him. Good or bad, I want everyone to get afair shake. But more than anything, I want those women to have their voices heard. They deserve that. That was all I askedfor.”
Xander nodded. “I agree.”
“No matter what happens, you did the right thing,” Piper said. She turned to him again, clear-eyed and determined. “You spokeup for truth and transparency. Not enough people have the guts to do that, especially when there’s a price to pay. You paidthe price. It’s the sort of thing that brings mere mortals to their knees, but not you.”
Emilio allowed himself a fraction of a smile. He so appreciated her approval, even if he doubted himself. She made him soundlike a superhero, when he felt so exceptionally human, especially now, when he was still struggling to regain his old form.
“We’ll see what happens, right?” Mia asked. “And I suppose it all worked out for the best because you and Xander get to beteammates.”
Emilio looked across the table at Xander. “I do love driving alongside this guy.” And that was the truth. He might not bewhere he wanted to be with his driving, but he did have an amazing teammate.
“Same for me, Emilio. Same for me,” Xander said.
Just like it was a car, Emilio steered the conversation away from the topic of Vermillion, and the four of them enjoyed therest of their evening together, through coffee and the three delicious desserts Mia had brought—flan, a Basque cheesecakeand a Spanish almond cake calledTorta de Santiago. It wasn’t quite authentic, but it was damn close, and everyone seemed to enjoy it. There was laughter and lively conversation,and Emilio realized he felt nothing short of grateful for the gathering. For these people. And for this house he’d been occupyingto finally feel like a home.
“Thank you for what you said earlier. About Vermillion. I appreciate it,” Emilio said as he and Piper cleaned the kitchentogether. He didn’t want her to think her kindness had gone unnoticed.
“It’s the truth. I really admire the way you’ve handled it.” She stepped closer to him and planted her hand on his biceps.“And it means a lot you were willing to talk about it. Remember, you told me when I first got here we would not be talkingabout it. Ever.”
He drew in a deep breath and tossed aside the kitchen towel in his hand. “I still don’t like talking about it, but I’m sorryI put up so many walls when you arrived. I was trying to take control of my life.”
“Makes sense to me. So many things happened that were completely out of your control. Probably super frustrating.”
He smiled at her. She had such empathy. So much kindness in her heart. “Thank you for saying that.”
She grinned. “You’re welcome.”
Just then came a bark from upstairs. And another. Then a thundering out in the hall.
“Gus!” he called.
“Sounds like he has the zoomies,” Piper said.
Gus skidded past the kitchen door, then scrambled back into the room, his four legs going in every direction; then he ranright into Piper headfirst. Thank God for Emilio’s lightning-fast reflexes. He caught her against his chest. “Are you okay?”he asked.
“Speaking of things that are out of control,” she said, breathless. “Gus, I love you, but you’ve got to take it down a notch.”
In unison, they turned their heads. Gus stood in the middle of the kitchen, tail wagging, looking right at them. It was likehe wassmiling. Then he turned and trotted out of the room.
In another split-second decision, Emilio decided to hold on to Piper. “We keep finding ourselves in this situation.”
“Maybe Gus has been reading the F1 gossip. It would explain a lot.”
“He thinks we’re a couple.”
Piper looked him in the eye and bit her lower lip. “He doesn’t know it’s fake.”
