TWENTY-THREE
I’M TRYING HARD NOT to smile. I mean, really hard.
Emika is on the other side of the room and if she catches me at it again, she’ll want to know the reason why.
Fortunately, Yuto and Charlotte are working from home today and there are no other witnesses, so if she does ask then I can probably get away with pretending I don’t know what she’s talking about.
But, ironically, this time I actually want to tell her the truth, that I’m daydreaming about all the time I’ve spent with Leif recently.
Now that I’ve (almost) decided to come clean about our relationship, the words are on the tip of my tongue, but I haven’t discussed it with him yet and we should really make the decision together.
Then, once we’ve got our story straight, our first stop needs to be HR.
And afterwards – I really do smile this time – maybe I’ll send out a memo.
I reach into my desk for some Post-Its, realize I’m humming to myself and quickly turn it into a cough.
It’s just so hard to hide my good mood. I’m high on endorphins and my body is all relaxed, like I’m floating in a hot, foamy bubble bath.
I have to constantly battle the urge to dance around the room like some kind of loved-up cliché.
I’m so distracted I don’t even register the fact that I’ve answered my phone until Vienna’s voice at the other end startles me.
‘Ava!’ Her tone is sharper than usual.
‘What’s up?’
‘Fucking Philip Sawyer is what’s up.’
‘Oh no.’ My stomach twists. ‘What has he done?’
‘The bastard wrote a newspaper article implying our upgrades breach current regulations.’
‘He’s accusing us of cheating?’ I gasp, putting my phone on speaker. ‘Isn’t that libelous?’
‘Unfortunately not. Our lawyers are looking into it, but he knew what he was doing. He stayed just the right side of getting sued.’
‘Is there any truth to it?’ I exchange a look with Emika as she comes over to listen. ‘I mean, does the car breach regulations?’
‘No!’ Vienna sounds outraged by the question. ‘But now that he’s raised it as a potential issue, there’ll probably be a formal investigation, meaning a heap of bad PR for us, which he knows, the underhand, conniving piece of human excrement.’
‘What can we do?’ I ask, feeling a rush of anger towards Philip Sawyer.
‘Damage limitation. When you’re asked, which you will be in about five minutes, say that we have complete confidence in our cars, our engineers and our team principal.
Then start calling our sponsors. Tell them this is all just a formality and there’s nothing to worry about. Get Yuto and Charlotte on it too.’
‘Right. Do Leif and Corey know yet?’
‘No, but I’m calling them next. They’re going to be pretty pissed off.
Whatever way this plays out, it’s going to be hanging over us when the season resumes next week.
’ She makes a sound somewhere between a sigh and a scream.
‘I’m in London now and I’m meeting Bastian, Mika and Nova in an hour.
We’re going to try and get this resolved as soon as possible.
In the meantime, good luck over there. It’s going to be a long day. ’
‘OK. Let us know how it goes.’ I press end call .
‘Shit.’ Emika looks like she needs a stiff drink. ‘This is bad.’
‘Yep.’ I feel like I could do with some gin myself. ‘We just have to stay calm, right?’
‘Right. There’s no need to panic.’
The words are barely out of her mouth before the phones start ringing. And ringing. And then ringing some more. We’re both so busy fielding calls, it’s over an hour before I get a free moment to text Leif.
Hey. Did Vienna call you?
Yes, he responds straight away. It’s total bullshit. There’s nothing wrong with the car.
It’s crazy here. I’m probably going to be working late.
Do you need me to come in and help?
Thanks, but we’ve got this.
OK. Message me when you’re finished. I could bring dinner to your place?
Sounds perfect x
BY THE END OF the day my throat is sore from talking to journalists and my head is aching from repeating the same lines over and over.
Total confidence, just a formality, a difference of opinion …
I’ve said variations on the same thing so many times I’m pretty sure I’ll be saying them in my sleep.
I only hope I’m telling the truth, because if I’m not then we’ll be back near the bottom of the Standings and it won’t be long before Philip Sawyer gets exactly what he wants.
I clench my fists at the thought. The idea of Rask going under, of being beaten by a backstabber like Sawyer …
We can’t let that happen. This team is too special.
‘Here.’ Emika places a mug of tea and a napkin containing a pink doughnut on the desk in front of me. ‘You look like you need this.’
‘Thanks.’
‘Actually, that’s a lie.’ She pulls up a chair. ‘I need it, but I’ll feel better about the calories if you have one too. Although we must have burned enough just picking up phones today.’
‘Definitely.’ I sink my teeth into the gooey dough. ‘You’re right – this does help.’
‘Have you heard any more from Vienna?’
‘Not yet.’ I wipe my mouth and glance at the clock on the wall. ‘I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad sign.’
‘It has to be good.’ Emika sounds like she’s trying to convince herself. ‘I mean, Bastian is a stickler for the rules. There’s no way he would have breached them.’
‘Unless it’s some kind of technicality? That’s happened before …’ Suddenly I wish I didn’t know quite so much about the history of F1. I don’t want to think about those other instances.
‘At least one good thing’s come out of all this.’ Emika taps at her phone and then hands it to me. ‘Take a look.’
I find myself staring at an online article about Philip Sawyer. According to the byline, it was written by one of the friendlier journalists I spoke to this morning and the headline makes me splutter with laughter.
‘“Sawyer Grapes”?’
‘It basically accuses him of trying to stir up trouble for his own ends.’
‘Wow.’ I skim-read the article. ‘It really goes for him.’
‘There are others too, and it’s all over X, so at least popular opinion is on our side.
’ She looks thoughtful. ‘You know, if his claims are dismissed, in a weird way this could actually end up being good for the team. And if he realizes he’s destroying his own reputation, he might finally stop trying to ruin us. ’
‘I hope so.’ I quickly swallow a mouthful of doughnut as my phone lights up with Vienna’s name.
‘Hello?’ I put it straight to speaker.
‘No case to answer!’ Vienna sounds triumphant.
‘Already?’ I jump to my feet. ‘How did you manage to get it dismissed so quickly?’
‘It turns out, Nova can be very persuasive.’
‘That’s such a relief.’ I practically hurl myself across the desk to hug Emika. ‘So what now?’
‘Now we need to put out a press release telling the world we’re back in business.
Then we need to get everything ready for Monza.
We’re going to own the second half of this season!
We’re going to be faster and better and we’re going to show the whole world exactly what we think of Philip fucking Sawyer!
’ She sounds ferocious. ‘Are you with me? With Rask?’
‘Oh, we’re so with you,’ Emika answers. ‘One hundred per cent.’
‘Um … yes.’ Guilt makes my voice a lot smaller. ‘We’re with you.’
‘HI! WHAT ARE YOU doing here?’ I ask, smiling at the sight of Leif leaning against the wall outside my flat, dressed in baggy jeans and a vintage hoodie. I texted him when I was leaving work, but I told him not to worry about dinner because it was so late.
‘I brought you this.’ He holds up a bag. ‘Beef and black bean, your favourite, just in case you were hungry after all. And I wanted to make sure you were all right. It sounded like a rough day.’
‘It was. You know, when I joined Rask I wanted a challenge, but I never expected anything like this.’ I reach up and kiss him. ‘Thanks for the food.’
‘You’re welcome. At least it all worked out for the best.’
‘It did.’ Somehow I manage to sigh and yawn at the same time. ‘We’re in the clear and you’re free to go back out and win races.’
‘I’ll try.’ He steps aside so I can unlock my door. ‘Now I’d better get going. I don’t want to intrude and you look like you need some sleep.’
‘I do, but you’re not intruding. I want you to stay.’ I reach a hand out, curling my fingers around his and tugging him after me through the door. ‘Once the season starts again, I’ll hardly see you for almost two months. I want to get as much of you now as I can.’
‘Then I’m all yours.’ He closes the door behind us. ‘You have no idea how much I’m going to miss you.’
‘Oh, I think I do.’ I drop my blazer to the floor and walk into his arms. The next race after Monza is Singapore.
After that, it’ll be S?o Paulo, then Mexico City, Austin and Las Vegas.
With such a punishing schedule, the plan is for Leif to stay mostly in the Americas so he won’t get too jet-lagged.
It’s another reason why I want to tell Vienna about our relationship.
I’m hoping she’ll take pity on me and find me something to do at one of the races.
‘Ava …’ Leif’s tender expression turns serious all of a sudden. ‘I know this isn’t the best time to talk, but there’s actually something I need to tell you and I don’t want you to hear it from anybody else.’
‘Is it about your career?’ I feel a flutter of excitement.
‘Yes. I’ve felt conflicted about what to do for a while, whether to sign with a bigger team or stay where I am, but today clarified things for me. So I’ve finally made a decision.’ He tightens his arms around me. ‘I’m signing a new contract with Rask.’
‘What?’ I stiffen because I must have misheard.
‘I’m signing a two-year contract. I’ve decided to stay.’
My mind is reeling. ‘What about your other options?’
‘I like Rask.’
‘But they –’ I pause to correct myself – ‘ we can’t win a championship, not yet anyway.’
‘I know, but we will one day. Bastian has a vision and I want to help him achieve it.’