Confrontation
Notes: Thank you again for all the reviews! It really means a lot to me!
Chapter 5 Confrontation
Carly weakly got up and started to get dressed. She was supposed to be wearing her red Budweiser polo shirt, with either black pants or a black skirt. She had the clothes laid out in her spare room. She looked at them, and could not bring her self to put them on. If she truly was “out” of her Budweiser ride, there was no need of the Budweiser shirt. And why hadn’t Dale said anything to her last night? That made Carly angry. The odd thing was, Dale acted so natural, that she had a gut feeling that he didn’t know himself last night. So what had Ty done? Called Dale early this morning and made him go on the radio? It just didn’t make sense. But what if this was happening because she and Dale were dating? Now Carly was really angry. They could not do that. There was nothing in her contract saying she couldn’t date a fellow employee. As Carly thought back, she wondered if Ty ever really wanted her to drive for DEI in the first place. Teresa did, she felt sure of that. But Carly and Ty had disagreed over some things in the past. Like her fire suit. He thought it should have had black pants, like Dale’s, and Steve and Kennys, But she wanted red pants. Carly was short, and having the same color all the way down was much more flattering. Ty didn’t see it that way, but luckily for Carly, Teresa sided with her. And that way, she and Dale weren’t exactly alike. She didn’t want to look like his little sidekick. Carly was angry enough now to want to get dressed, and get down to DEI and straighten this out once and for all. And if she was out of the Bud car, she would call Rick Hendrick. She wouldn’t mind being teammates with Jeff and Jimmie, or Terry Labonte for that matter. Actually, she kind of liked that idea.
She put on her white NASCAR shirt, and her black skirt. She got her purse, and was storming out her front door, when she met Steve head-on on her front walk.
“Whoa- where do you think you’re going in such a hurry?” he demanded.
“What did you know of this, Steve?” she questioned.
“Nothing! I just got a call from Steve Waid, asking me what I knew. He told me what he heard. Carly, you don’t honestly believe that do you?” he asked, grabbing her by the shoulders. She was trying to get past him. “Dale Jr. would never do that to you. Never! You have to believe that, Carly.”
“Get outta my way, Steve. I need to get to the office to see what is really going on.”
“No, no you don’t. I’m not letting you drive in your state of mind. I’ll drive you, so you get there in one piece, and don’t take out any innocent bystanders on the way.”
“Steve, I can drive myself. Get outta my way. Now.” She said through clenched teeth.
He grabbed the keys out of her hand. “Get in my truck. Now. We’ll talk on the way.” He demanded. Now he was angry. He grabbed her by the arm and practically drug her to his suburban. He lifted her up into the seat and buckled her in.
“Don’t even think about getting out.” He ordered her.
As they were driving, he tried to convince her that this was probably a rumor. “Haven’t you heard of Silly Season?” Steve asked her. “They make up rumors about drivers going everywhere. Remember what they did to me after my accident a couple of years ago?” he reminded her.
“Yeah, but Steve, Silly Season usually doesn’t start till May or June. It’s March. And you don’t realize what’s been going on? Ty and Teresa know about Dale and I. And there have been times when Ty and I have disagreed on stuff. And Teresa did ask me to drive the ARCA car in Atlanta this weekend if that new chick didn’t work out. And as for Dale…”
“Carly- don’t say anything you’ll regret. Do you honestly think Dale would do that to you?” he asked.
She paused. “No, my gut feeling tells me no.” she admitted.
“Did you actually hear the radio?”
“No. Did you?” she replied.
“No. I didn’t. And your phone is unplugged, isn’t it?” He smiled over at her. “Cause I tried to call you. I’ll bet Dale did too.”
“Ok. I’m not pissed at Dale. But I am pissed at Ty. I don’t think he likes me.”
“CARLY! That’s not true!” he yelled at her.
“I think it is!” she yelled back. They pulled into the driveway of DEI. “Steve – you just don’t understand. He’s pissed at me because Dale and I are always late to those stupid meetings on Monday mornings. He thinks I make Dale late. I know it.”
“Carly, I hate to burst your tiny little bubble, but Dale was always late to those things. He probably thinks Dale is making you late.”
As Steve pulled to a stop, Carly was out of the truck in the blink of an eye. Steve had meant to catch her and walk her in, keeping her under control, but she was too fast for him. She ran through the front doors, down towards where the offices were. She zoomed past Teresa’s office so fast, she did not see Dale in there talking with his stepmom. She didn’t hear Teresa say “Catch her!” She didn’t hear Dale and Steve running down the hall after her. She went straight past Ty’s admin, and heard her say “Wait- he’s got someone in there…” But Carly was so mad, she didn’t care. She burst Ty’s doors open and stormed into his office. Dale and Steve stopped short, and just watched the fireworks.
She looked at the person sitting in front of Ty’s desk. “I am terribly sorry about this interruption.” She said to the tall blonde woman sitting in the chair. “Ty, what the HELL is going on?” she demanded. “Couldn’t you have the decency to tell me before you tell the media?
“Carly, I’m in a meeting. Wait outside.” He said firmly.
“I can’t wait, Ty. Because if this little story is true, then I need to get back to Rick Hendrick, and tell him that I will be driving his Cup car in Atlanta this Sunday. Unless Roger Penske makes me a better offer when I return his calls. And I turned my cell phone off, but I have 10 messages waiting for me. So, no, Ty, I cannot wait. Tell me what the hell is going on.”
“Junior, get her out of my face. I will talk to you in Teresa’s office in 5 minutes. And don’t ever, ever interrupt me again like this!”
“Well, if I don’t work for you anymore, I won’t have to, now will I?” she threatened.
“Good idea!” he grumbled.
Dale grabbed her arm and drug her out of Ty’s office. “Now you’ve done it.” He said to her.
“Me? ME? What have I done, Dale? And what do you know about this??” she demanded. “I get out of the shower, and I get a phone call from Steve Waid, telling me I no longer drive the #81 car, and you were the one that announced it to the world. And I don’t have the right to be mad??”
By this time they were back in Teresa’s office. Dale grabbed her arms and looked her in the face. “It’s not true, Carly. It’s a false rumor. You have not been replaced. You have not been bumped back down to ARCA. You are still going to work on the #2 ARCA car, but only to help out the new driver. You still have your Budweiser contract, that is, unless Ty fires you for your little show back there. And I have a very important question for you, Carly.”
“What.” She said.
“Do you honestly think I would not tell you if this were really happening? Do you really think I would get on the radio and make an announcement like that, without letting you know ahead of time? Do you think I would do that to you?”
“No, Dale. I was shocked when I heard that story, but I knew you wouldn’t do that to me. My gut feeling told me that. I just couldn’t figure this whole thing out. But ask Steve, I told him I didn’t think you’d do this to me. Right?” she looked over at Steve.
“I don’t need to hear from Steve. I believe you.” He pulled her close and hugged her. “This is one of the side effects of professional sports. Rumors fly around like crazy. And they hurt. You need to learn to deal with this. But we’ve all been through it, and we’ll help you. You just need to keep your wits about you.” He held her tight. She buried her face in his shoulder, and held him too.
“Dale, I’m sorry. I just got so upset. You have no idea!”
“Oh yes I do! I’ve been there. And I survived. You will too. I just hope you survive the wrath of Ty! Oh, and guess who that gal was that was in his office?”
“Oh no, don’t tell me.” Her face was still buried in his shoulder. “Please don’t tell me it was…she who shall not be named.”
Dale burst out laughing. “That’s good! “She who shall not be named.” I like that. But yes, Carly Potter, it was her. See what you’ve done? You did exactly what you told me not to do last night. You told me to be calm and matter of fact. You just did the exact opposite. Here I was trying to do what you said, and be good. And here comes Hurricane Carly!” he laughed, and so did Steve and Teresa.
“Ohh…” she groaned. She turned her phone back on, and it rang immediately. She answered it. “Hi Jeffy. I heard. Ok, the rumor is apparently not true. But I just pissed Ty Norris off… Yes…I don’t know…Don’t tell him anything! I’ll call him. And yes, I know Dale wouldn’t do that to me. Thanks, Jeff.” Just then Dale grabbed her phone from her hand.
“Hey Gordo. She’s not going anywhere. She’ll call you back. Later, dude.” “beep” he hung up. He pressed the off button again. “You don’t need anymore calls right now.”
Just then Ty burst into Teresa’s office. “Just what the hell is your problem, Carly?”
“I think you know by now what my problem is, Ty.” She answered.
“Your hot temper and big mouth?” he replied.
She looked at Dale, Teresa and Steve. “Well, I’ve been called worse. That was a fair assessment, I guess.”
Ty looked surprised. He was expecting a fight! “Look- You have got a lot to learn. But the first thing is to keep your nasty temper under control. Don’t…”
“Nasty” temper?” She said. “Did you just say I had a “Nasty” temper?” Carly was pissed all over again. “You haven’t begun to see my “Nasty” temper. That was only my “Bad” temper. You wanna push it, Ty?”
“Whoa, whoa there honey!” Dale said, grabbing Carly. “Ty, it was not fair to use the word “Nasty”. You brought that one on all by yourself.”
“Ok- Ok- you’re right.” Ty agreed. “But what you did was wrong, just plain wrong. Don’t ever burst into my office again like that, when I have someone in there. That was bad news all the way around.”
Dale let go of her. “Don’t attack, ok, babe?” he laughed.
“Ok- you’re right. It was a bad move.” Carly said. “But I have never been so pissed off in my life! How would YOU feel if you got the phone calls I got this morning?” she said.
“Yeah, I’d be angry. But I would not react the way you did. You crossed a very big line today.” He wagged a finger in her face. “You had better really watch it. I don’t want to ever see that again – and I’ll guaran-fucking-tee you that the NASCAR officials won’t ever want to see that. It was bad enough that you pulled that here – but what if you ever pull that at a racetrack? You are a loose cannon, my friend. I’ve seen what you do in a racecar. And I’m telling you, so has NASCAR. You had better get under control, or you just may find yourself out of your ride for real. And Rick Hendrick or Roger Penske won’t be leaving you any messages then.” He had been getting closer and closer to Carly, but she never backed away. Now he was only inches from her face.
“Anything Else?” She said.
“Is that all you have to say?” He was angry now! “I think you need to apologize!”
“Do you?” she whispered.
“DAMMIT TO HELL!” he screamed. “Who to you think you are?? Some fucking prima donna? OH MY GOD!” he yelled. “DO YOU ALL BELIEVE THIS?” he looked at the others.
Carly smiled. “Ty, I do apologize for bursting into your office unannounced. But, you know, my friend, I think YOU are a loose cannon too. You also need to watch your nasty temper. If you want me gone, I’ll be gone. Just say the word. If you think I am a liability to this team, I’ll leave right now. I never thought you wanted me here in the first place. You hold all the cards, pal. Just tell me what you want me to do.” Two big crocodile tears flowed down her cheeks, but she managed not to actually cry.
“I…I did want you here. What do you mean by that?”
“I never felt you really wanted me to drive the #81 car. I think you don’t like me. So tell me the truth, Ty. I’m tough. I can handle 42 men in racecars trying to run me off the road, and an occasional psychopath or two. But I don’t need to be where I’m not wanted. So if it makes your life easier, I’ll go.” She started to walk past him. He swung around, and put his arm around her shoulders. “Come to my office, where we can talk in private.” They left the room.
“Uh oh!” Steve said. “You don’t think she’s leaving, do you?” he said.
Dale smiled. “Steve-o, she has him right where she wants him. Just wait and see.”
Just then, Jade came in the room. “I have the tape from the radio station. Dale, are you sure you didn’t talk to anyone about Carly this morning?”
“No! Absolutely not. Why?”
“Listen.” He pushed a button on his tape player.
“Yeah, Carly will be driving the ARCA car. I don’t know about Bud. Probably not. She’ll be gone. This weekend.”
They all looked at Dale. Jade spoke. “That’s your voice. What was that all about, Dale?”
