Page 5 of Down & Dirty (Holden Cove #1)
CHAPTER 5
CORY
MotoMadness Courseside Interview Transcript
M otocross stalwart Cory Ellis to join OTM race team for new combo season. We caught up with him after the last race to discuss the change up.
MotoMadness: “Considering your long career, you’ve had plenty of time to join a true factory team before. Why now?”
Cory: “Honestly, Mike, it’s about timing more than anything. Being a privateer out on my own, or on the sponsored teams, I’ve had a good run. But OTM has a great vision for next season, and I’m amped to be a part of it.”
MotoMadness: “Are you at all nervous about being overshadowed by the other riders they’ve signed on?”
Cory: “You mean because I’m the old man on the crew?”
MotoMadness: “Hey man, you said it.”
Cory (laughing): “I did. And it’s ok. The answer is no. I did my share of winning last season, so I think the aim is for each of us to ride flat out and go for the top.”
MotoMadness: “Speaking of last season. How are you feeling after that spill in the second-to-last race? That was a hard hit on the bottom of the whoops. ”
Cory: “Those little mounds pack a punch if you don’t hit them right, that’s for sure. But I’m fine. Nothing a tall beer and a pretty girl couldn’t fix.”
MotoMadness: “Sounds like the remedy to anything. Thanks for your time.”
Cory: “Cheers mate, see you in Anaheim.”
When I got to the conference room, most of the other riders were already there. They sat at the table with the OTM team management, while their agents and assistants gathered on the other side of the room. I’d told my agent, Bruce, to sit this one out. The deal was inked, his work was done. I didn’t like feeling like a dog on a leash, and he knew better than to crowd me.
“Cory,” Ezra Thorun said, coming around the end of the table and extending his hand. He was the team’s general manager, and had been one hell of a racer in his day.
Giving his hand a hearty shake, I held his gaze. “It’s good to see you, sir.”
“You’re on the team now, Cory. You can call me Ez.”
“You got it, boss,” I replied with a wink. A deep laugh rumbled out of him as he turned to the rest of the men at the table.
“We’re just waiting on one more.”
After making my rounds to say hello to the sea of familiar faces, I settled into a seat and reached for a bottle of water. Just as I took a sip the door opened and the last member of the team strolled in.
Ronnie Stone.
The kid was rocketing up the ranks. He’d had podium finishes in a handful of races last season, even though he’d barely hit the top ten the year before. I was curious as hell who, or what, had lit a fire under his ass to get such a turn around. But I’d never ask. The kid’s ego was already big enough.
“Ronnie,” Ezra exclaimed, stroking the beast a little more.
I fought the instinct to roll my eyes, but a couple of the others lost that battle. I chuckled under my breath. It was going to be a long season if this was the vibe on day one.
Catching the door as he let it fall behind him was a woman who looked familiar, but who I couldn’t quite place. She wore a stern expression, and immediately pulled her shoulders back, tipping her chin up, as she surveyed the room. Her long blond hair hung in straight lines over her shoulders, and from across the table the icy blue of her eyes held an unfriendly chill.
But then she smiled.
And she was fucking stunning.
Not even the freeze she gave off could keep her from looking like she belonged on the cover of a magazine. Long lashes, and rose-tinted lips that were curled up into a congenial grin that Ezra was eating up.
“Skylar, so lovely to finally meet you in person. Did I hear Ronnie right the other day, that you used to ride?” Ezra wasn’t just stroking Ronnie’s ego, it seemed.
For her part, Skylar, appeared less easily wooed, giving Ezra a kind but guarded smile in response. “I taught him everything he knows.”
Ronnie spun, his face scrunched up as if he was ready to contradict her, ignoring the conversation one of the other coaches had been having with him.
“Well, in that case,” Ezra went on, giving Ronnie a comforting pat on the shoulder before he could interject, “We’ll be adding you to the coaching staff.”
Skylar nodded along, but removed herself from the conversation to mix with the rest of the agents in the corner. I got the impression this wasn’t the first room full of men she’d navigated, and she was doing it well, but I forced myself to stop watching her as she made the rounds. She was the kind of woman I could get distracted by, if I let myself. Strong. Capable. Gorgeous. But given what was on the line, that’d be the dumbest thing I could let happen.
Thanks to my arrangement with Cass, my dance card was already full. And even if it wasn’t, a teammate’s sister? Even one that pretty? No thanks. I was as allergic to drama as I was to commitment.
“Skylar Stone.”
“Cory Ellis,” I replied pushing out of my chair and holding out my hand.
A sneer flashed across her face before she took my hand in hers and gave it the fastest shake in history. “Surprised to see you still standing,” she added, her chilly blue eyes sparkling with challenge.
The rest of the group was distracted by their own conversations, so I indulged in the streak of cockiness she sparked. “Yeah, they haven’t been able to get rid of me yet.” I gave her a wink and she rolled her eyes
“ Yet . So, there’s still hope.”
I’d met women like her before. Plenty of them. Smart and headstrong, and annoyed at my every move. She glared at me with barely contained contempt, and I huffed out another laugh.
I wasn’t sure exactly what I’d done to piss her off, but for some reason I relished her disdain. Unprovoked and bubbling below the surface. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d gotten under a woman’s skin this easily. It was kind of fun.
I couldn’t resist goading her a little more. “And here I thought we were on the same team.”
She looked me up and down, judgment bright on her face. “We’ll see how well you remember that on the course.”
I was going to joke that my memory wasn’t what she had to worry about, but before I could respond one of the coaches clapped his hands and we all fell silent. Skylar slipped into the back, and Ezra and the rest of the OTM management ran through their presentation. It was fancier than any I’d seen, but the substance was the same. A lot of “rah rah kumbaya” bullshit meant to rally the troops and get us to be friends.
The fact that even as teammates we were each other’s direct competition never seemed to phase them. But ultimately, our bonuses were tied to the score for the team as a whole by the end of the season, so the incentive was where it needed to be to get us to play nice; on the money.
When they finally cut us loose after the tour of the bike shop, I spotted Billy at the far end of the garage and headed his way. It was a relief to have at least one person there I knew and trusted.
“There she is, Miss America,” he sang, shaking his head as I approached.
His light brown eyes held enough humor for the both of us, and he wiped his hands on a rag before scratching his fingers through the short tight curls he’d worn since the day I met him, even if they sported a few grays now. The man was older than me, and in this gig, that was saying something. But just like his look, who he was had never changed, and that was at the top of the list of things I loved about him.
“Things go okay with the powers that be?”
“Of course,” I assured him, looking over the workspace that he’d already started to claim as his own. “How about you? Getting settled in?”
When I got the call about this gig, the first person I told was Billy. He knew about my back and had kept his mouth shut for years. There was no one I trusted more. Making sure he was being taken care of was important to me.
He looked around, an eager grin spreading across his face. “You know it. The gear they’ve got is pretty nice.” He turned back to me, a sparkle in his eye as he waved his fingers in the air. “Lots of ‘fresh tech,’ they say.”
He chuckled lightheartedly, knowing as well as I did that big money loved nothing more than to make things sound special for no other reason than it cost so damn much.
“Well, we might need it for this long-ass season.”
His humor faded a little. “You still sure this combo title is where it’s at?”
My specialty was motocross. The outdoor tracks had suited me better since the day I’d first gotten on a bike. They were longer. More spread out. It’s what I’d grown up on. But the purse for the overall champion title was hard to pass up.
“It’s wherever they tell me it’s at this year.” I picked up a fancy-looking screwdriver, the metal still sporting a polish. “I don’t like the longer season any more than you do, though.”
He hadn’t said as much, but while Billy loved the chance to make more money, we both enjoyed our down time. Fitting in the photo shoots and appearances I normally did each winter around the supercross racing schedule was going to be a challenge.
I’d already heard enough of Cass’s complaints about it. She hooked me up with women who needed the exposure as much as I did. Models and actresses who benefited from having a polished, but rugged, man on their arm. A bad boy with a reputation paired with an up-and-coming talent. Beauty and the beast for the gossip rags.
It was still the strangest arrangement I’d ever gotten myself into. But it worked like a charm. So, even if I had to fly from wherever we were racing to New York or LA every week, I’d do it.
“We’ll make it work,” Billy said, giving me a supportive nod.
Tooling up the bikes for the two different courses was Billy’s job. Getting my body back into shape so I could handle the different demands was mine.
“You want to grab dinner later?” I tossed the tool back where I’d found it.
Billy reached over to straighten it in the line of others. He was a little particular, and it always made me laugh. It also probably saved my hide more times than I could count, so I never gave him shit for it.
“Only if it’s tacos.”
I sighed, looking out the garage door at the practice course across the street. “Whatever you what, pal. On me.”
“Then I’m getting guac, too!”
Shaking my head, I laughed as I headed for the gym. Our first training runs were in two days. Time to get back to work.