chapter353

Nathaniel nodded right away. Yep, that was exactly what he'd been thinking.

Chris let out a laugh. "What's wrong? Can't handle losing?"

Nathaniel glared at him, eyes practically on fire. "My King."

"There it is. Good boy."

Nathaniel almost lost it. He clenched his teeth. "Chris, don't push it.

Seriously. He'd lost the race, but not to Chris. That made all the difference.

He shifted his attention to Lydia, suddenly humble. "Hey, would you be interested in joining our team? If you want, I'll step down as captain. You can have any salary you want. Just say the word."

Chris couldn't help rolling his eyes. Was Nathaniel for real?

Lydia's answer was instant. "No thanks."

Nathaniel was stunned. Did she have to shut him down so fast?

Chris started laughing. "You think she cares about your salary? Just give it up and go home."

Nathaniel's face was red with anger. Chris was seriously asking for it.

He was about to argue again, but then he caught Connor's impatient stare. One look was enough. Nathaniel sighed, rubbed his nose, and led his team away, all of them looking pretty defeated.

Chris was absolutely delighted. Finally, Nathaniel had to eat his words for once.

Hey, Lydia, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Chris slid closer with that mischievous grin, but Connor didn't even let him start. "She's busy. She's not joining you guys for any races."

Chris looked crushed. She hasn't said no yet. We're heading abroad for a race in a few days, and if she joined us, we'd have the championship in the bag."

Lydia thought about it. "Is the race in France?"

Chris stared at her, surprised. "You know about that?"

"I've heard of it. I can help out with training when the time comes."

Chris's face lit up. He was over the moon. Connor, though, just looked at her in surprise. "You're going abroad too?"

"Yeah."

Connor had been planning a trip New Zealand, but now he was already thinking about

Changin

his

plans. If Lydia was going to france, he wanted to be there too.

Deal! Chris was practically jumping with excitement. With Lydia on their team, there was no way they'd lose.

"Oh, by the way, did you know Nathaniel is actually your cousin?" Chris asked.

Lydia blinked. Wait, that red-haired guy?

Chris saw her confusion and explained, "Mrs. Norwood probably never mentioned it. Not that it

matters. She cut ties with the

Robinson family ages ago.

Lydia raised an eyebrow. Looks like there was a whole story she didn't know.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel and his team were leaving Hurricane Canyon, totally defeated.

He'd been looking forward to a night of racing, but instead he got completely wiped out. Now he just wanted to disappear.

He pulled over, got out of the car, and lit a cigarette, the frustration obvious on his

face.

Evan followed, speaking hesitantly

"Boss, if we're talking family ties,

Connor is actually your cousin. Chris

only got lucky tonight because of

Connor and his new girlfriend.

Nathaniel just felt worse. He hated the idea of losig to his rival. It was like stabbing himself in the chest.

"I only lost because I was letting Connor's girlfriend win, for his sake," Nathaniel muttered.

Evan nodded quickly. "Exactly, that's what happened.

He turned back and called out to the rest of the team, " You guys hear that? Nathaniel let Connor's girlfriend win tonight!"