[b][center][h2]Joel Nicolosi[/h2][/center][/b]

Joel opened the binder and propped up one foot on a rear tire and started flipping through the pages as he got hear the tired spill of, ‘[i]cars don’t keep you warm at night[/i]’ again. Lighthearted advice as it was, he smirked a little as he scribbled a signature and flipped a few pages, looking for the next line. He’d heard similar versions of that old saw for no less than the past decade. Some similarly to Max’ tone while others were more determined in their attempts to shame him for his perpetual singleness. No, a car could not keep a man warm at night, but lots of money could certainly do the job effectively. He could feel Marlin’s eyes on him and he shrugged a bit at her comment regarding the dangers of taking on the challenge agreed upon with her grandfather. Some dark part of him hoped he could punch out of existence in such grand style instead growing old and falling apart slowly. He never felt more alive than when he seeing how close he could come to touching that point. 

His eyebrows lifted slightly at the rare seal of approval voiced by Marlin as he signed another line without looking up. He’d done it so many times, it was nearly muscle memory on some of the forms, but a shipment from Europe carried slightly more legalese than one from Asia. He placed his finger on a page to study a block of text more carefully. “Worried I’m gonna get hurt?” He said finally glancing up at Marlin and clicking the pen closed. His tone with neither teasing nor serious and was more a statement than a question. He flipped the binder closed with his other hand and handed it back to Lucile. “I’m racing for the Germans this weekend, we have the Vineyard Rally in the southern mountains,” He said turning back to Max. “Then we’re off to Argentina in another couple weeks.” He looked back at the car briefly. “Everything looks good,” He continued. “And with some help from the mayor, the airport authorities are good with our terms as far as testing here so we should have plenty of time to shake things down before the Fall when I’ll see you in Wales.”    

[@PrinceAlexus]