Page 32 (1/2)

"I think there’s a chance"

There was always a chance, Charity thought sadly Just not a very good one

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

JOSH ALWAYS ENJOYED Los Angeles The city was big and sprawling, with an air of self-ie of the country and the ht have the heart, but LA was cool and everyone knew it

He took the elevator down to the baggage-claim level at LAX, then walked toward the petite won that said Golden

"Not that I wouldn’t know you anywhere," she said when he walked up to her "Hoas your flight?"

"Good," he said "Quick"

"I prefer mine to last," she said as she led the way to the town car

She was pretty enough Mid twenties, easy smile and a body no conservative suit could conceal There was a ti her not very subtle invitation Maybe even in the back of the town car Today…not so ht from Sacramento had been less than an hour The drive into Century City took nearly that long Airport traffic was tough, as always, and once they arrived at the high rise, they went underground to find parking

Josh took the elevator to the thirty-second floor, where a tall, thin ant, as was typical for an upscale law fir and the conference rooreeted the people already waiting for hi executive, three for coaches, a representative froner

After introductions and offers of coffee, they sat down at the table One of the lawyers, Pete Gray, went first

"Your proposal was interesting," Pete began, nodding at the folder in front of hiued You’ve lined up excellent sponsors, you have regional and local support The city obviously wants this to happen"

"They’ve offered land and tax breaks," Josh said "It doesn’t get much better than that"

Everyone nodded

Pete continued "We have preliminary bids for the construction itself There was an interesting one from Hendrix Construction The owner, an Ethan Hendrix, asked for the opportunity to undercut the lowest bid by five percent"

Josh hadn’t known about that "His firm does quality work They would be ether a prospectus for our clients," Pete continued "We’re reco they invest On one condition"

Josh had had an idea about this ever since he’d been invited to LA for theHe still didn’t kno he felt about it

"We want you to run the school"

Josh opened the folder in front of hie, he kneas inside The pictures of kids on racing bikes were faram for the facility There would be workout space, an indoor track, classroorate the school into the co in experts to talk about everything fro to different sports for every season

"I’ve never run anything like this," he said

"You have several successful businesses," one of the wo executive "You understand how tocoaches," Pete told hi Josh Golden helps get investors interested My recoetting back into racing professionally I’ve heard so to see how that goes"

Two of the coaches looked interested The third was skeptical

He knew that professional racing was a grueling sport and that he would be facing a hell of a challenge if he planned on co would take over his life He would have to co There wouldn’t be roolory and fame weren’t what drove him Instead he wanted to find that part of hi left to prove If he could get that piece back in a single race, that’s all it would take

"If you were to return to professional racing, do you have any idea as to how long you would be on the circuit?"

"Noit would be a lot less than that

Pete looked at the other people around the table "If he coet by with a temporary administrator" He turned to Josh "Would that interest you?"

"It ued by the idea of the school, what interested hi schoolstable to offer Charity and the baby Soht h

He hadn’t spoken to her since he’d found out she was pregnant Probably a mistake, he told hi, co to try to be worthy, ht, still not able to take it all in He was having a kid

"You’ll let us know?" Pete asked

Josh nodded "After the race I’ll let you know if I’ to run the school and when I plan to start"

"Excellent We want you on board You’re an integral part of this plan"

They all shook hands, then Josh went back down to the parking garage where his car and driver waited

If he didn’t agree to run the school, he would lose the funding he needed It could probably be found elsewhere, but it ht take a while The town needed the school now Which meant it all came down to him

Was that the kind of job he wanted? Could he do it and did he want to?

He thought about the high school kids he rode with several ti anywhere close to theet better and knowing he was a part of the io all the way--be an international contender

The school would be a way for Brandon and other kids like hiet to the next level Of course he wanted to be a part of that But first he had to get back to being the man he’d been He had to compete and win

When he landed back in Sacra to his place or Charity’s office, hefacility Ethan owned He drove around several guys loading the base of a wind and headed for the office

Ethan’s truck was out front He went inside and found his friend in his office

"Got a minute?" he asked as he walked in

Ethan waved at the chair on the opposite side of his desk "Sure What’s up?"

"I just got back froht you looked a little frayed around the edges What’s new in La La land?"

"Ischool The school you bid on"

"Interesting"

"They want me to run it"

Ethan leaned back in his chair "I turned the"

Josh chuckled "Sure you did"