Chapter 2

I held the bottle up and whistled. It was more expensive than I'd ever buy for anyone. Before I could read the note my cell rang and I had to rush to get it out. I flipped it open and put the bottle down sneaking out of the group to take the call. The others grabbed the bottle and the note quickly. The looks on their faces told me they had realized, like me, that the bottle was extremely pricy. The only thing they knew that I didn't was who had sent it.

"Hello?" I asked.

"Miss Eva, its Cassandra." The young feminine voice answered on the other end.

"Oh, yeah," despite our very short relationship I couldn't believe I hadn't recognized her voice. Cassandra was one of my father's many secretaries that he'd had over the years. She was the one on duty when I' won so the day after the race she'd taken the liberty of sending me a large bouquet of flowers. Most of them were pretty nice. And, like anyone else who worked around my father and I, the long list of secretaries knew the relationship, or lack thereof, between the two of us. Normally they got fired around the time they got comfortable enough with him to try and "help" our father-daughter bond. Not the best idea. "What's up?"

"Your-Mr. Wei, wanted me to let you know he'd like you to come up to his office as soon as you arrive." She paused and I held my breath. "I wish he would do this himself. I swear the two of you-"

I cut her off before she went too far. "Thanks, Cassie. Don't worry about the two of us we manage pretty well. And, seriously don't say anything like that to him. He doesn't take it well. I get it you think saying something will change it, the most it will do is get you fired. So please just don't."

"Alright. I'll see you when you get in." her voice is dejected but it's for the better.

I hung up and sighed, making my way to rejoin the group. Thinking about how I would manage the situation gave me a mega-headache. According to procedure I had to take Jordan with me everywhere but if my dad saw him he'd make assumptions and Jordan would be dead along with my career. Not to mention an extreme cut in my paycheck. If that happened I wouldn't be going to the dance two years in a row. In my head a cursed everyone and everything I could think of who could be to blame for all of this. I wanted to scream but knew better, which sucked.

"I got to get to work. My dad needs to talk to about something and he won't say it through his secretary." I gave organ and Chelsea a forced, closed lipped smile without meeting their eyes.

"Your dad doesn't call you himself?" Michael, Chelsea's partner, asked.

I shook my head and Chelsea kept him from asking anything else. Somehow I finally got the note and got a chance to read it. At the bottom it was signed Marc Antony. I ground my teeth at the thought of him signing it with his trademark to cool for you smirk. I stuffed it into my pocket and took back the oil. Placing them both in a safe compartment, I got ready to leave but was stopped by a large male hand grabbing my elbow and pulling me back.

"What?" I growled.

"Remember, we're partners for the next month? I'm supposed to go with you." Jordan said.

"Let me put this as simply as possible for you to understand. Think about where I go to school, the fact that I have a job, look at my friends, and now think. What's missing from the picture? A boyfriend, perhaps? Now why would that be? Maybe because my dad doesn't want me to have one! Last year I didn't do this because my dad threw the world's stupidest hissy fit and made sure no guys came near me. For some reason, this year he forgot and I'd like to keep it that way." I looked him in the eyes daring him to challenge me on this.

"You work for your dad?" Steven asked from Morgan's side, Morgan who was trying to stop him.

"Yeah."

"No offense but you're dad doesn't seem to care about you that much." Jordan said.

The girls stiffened. "He hasn't cared, not since she died."

It was the first time I'd admitted the fact out loud to anyone, even myself. Jordan took a step back apologetically but it didn't help. Pain exploded in my chest, I guessed where my heart was supposed to be and all I could think about was the crash. The orange flames danced across my face and I could feel their heat. There was nothing but the roar of the flames and the shadowy figure before them, staring into my eyes without the decency to apologize. I shivered despite that heat.

I revved the engine and peeled away from the school with the others merely watching. For the longest tie I just felt numb, empty yet heavy. Driving by instinct I was almost blind to the world around me. I finally reached the long drive up to Wei Ind. I parked in my assigned place a new perk but the joy was lost on me at that moment. I walked in and left my helmet at the front desk. Cassie was waiting for me on the ground floor in front the elevator. She bit her lip and muttered into a headset.

"We need to get up there." She said nervously.

"What's going on?" I asked taking off my riding jacket a backpack.

"Your father expected you here five minutes ago. I did fib and say you got caught behind a minor accident on your way here and were thus detained. Remember that." She checked something on her info pad. "After your meeting you have an appointment with the training staff and then an experiment run around the outdoor track just to make sure you're still fit to fly. And then you have a meeting with Jeffrice Benway, he wants your team to do some work on his racer."

"What's this meeting about?"

She turned and looked at me shaking her head. "I don't know. He won't tell me anything but the President, THE President, is here." I gave her a look of disbelief. "I know. I don't think you're in any trouble or your father but he still wouldn't say!"

"It'll be ok." I handed her my belongings as the doors opened. "Everything will be just fine."

She put my things behind her desk and took her seat. Pressing a button on her intercom she announced to my father I had arrived. He didn't respond but she continued to motion me in to my father's office. I took a deep breath and entered. The President turned as I did so but my father didn't even look up. I stood up a little straighter and opened my mouth to ask either of them the purpose of this meeting but the President beat me to it.

"Ahh, you must be Ms. Wei. It's a pleasure to meet you and I'm glad to be able to congratulate you in person." He said taking my hand and shaking it.

"Thank you and the pleasure is all mine I assure you." I said glancing at my father who still sat stiffly at his desk avoiding looking at me. "May I ask what this is all about?"

That jolted my father out of his daze. "You are not going to use her like this!" He said.

"What's going on?"

The President looked me in the eyes and motioned for me to sit. "Recently, the Earth Coalition has made a peace agreement with the kingdom of Nourasia. Talks are going well and the Nourasian leaders are coming here to finalize the peace treaty. The young Prince is a racer of sorts himself and we would like you to race against him in an exhibition match."

"Why me?" I asked leaning forward.

"They were here when you won your race against Tarum, they thought you would be a challenge for their son. They are here if you would like to meet them…"

"Unfortunately, Eva has a meeting with the training staff now. Perhaps later." Icy black eyes locked on to my own and I took that as my hint to leave.

"Perhaps they could watch your processes to get an idea of Ms. Wei's abilities."

I bit my tongue not wanting to be in the middle of the conversation. The man across from me may have been the President but he was on dangerous ground. Lucky for him my father couldn't touch him. I, on the other hand, was his child and employee. He would slash my paycheck and limit my time in a star racer if I didn't do as he said or if the President somehow got me to be this Prince's opponent. I stood up and gave my father a short nod. Then I turned to the President.

"It was nice meeting you but I really should get going."

I didn't give either one a chance to respond before I rushed to the door and to the elevator. Down on the second level was where all the trainers worked including the medics and doctors who worked in rehabilitation and diagnostics. I changed into some running clothes and went in for my physical. They checked my vitals and then it was time for my endurance test. By the time they had me wired the President and his entourage arrived in the viewing room. I did my best not to focus on them and when I was done I did my best to leave quickly.

"How is she?" my father's voice was slightly concerned but I just rolled my eyes.

"She's fine; everything is on par with her last checkup. Her stress levels are up but that could be for any reason, she was being watched." The head doctor said.

I caught the Prince looking at me with deep blue eyes. I made a face and pulled on a long sleeve over shirt before leaving. Changing once again, I headed out to the track where a ground crew already had my racer waiting for me. I got in the cockpit as soon as my father escorted the group once more out to watch me. The engine purred to life beneath me. I took a deep breath and rolled my shoulder, preparing myself for a go around the track.

"You ready Ms. Wei?" my coach asked.

"Yeah," I said revving the engine.

"Go."

I accelerated to full speed on the first lap before I gained the speed necessary to do y customary loops and rolls. In the middle of my third lap my coach startled barking orders for moves I was sure were being dictated by my father. I performed each move with precision. Still when I exited the cockpit I was ready for my usual harsh evaluation. The surprise came when my father didn't even come over to talk to me afterward. Instead it was the Prince that came to greet me after my go around the track.

"That was amazing, I have never seen anything like that. Where did you learn to do that?" He asked.

"I didn't learn them, I just do them. They're in my blood." I started to walk away until the President called me back.