Chapter One
The clacking of quick-fire typing on a mechanical keyboard died with an enthusiastic punch of the enter key.
‘Done,’ Katherine said to herself in the stillness of her home office.
The sounds of London beyond the window returned in full force after the vacuous silence of moments before.
The shelves of her office—lined with books and Lego plants, the only type she didn’t kill—rematerialising as she came back from the place she disappeared into whenever she wrote an article.
She was exceptionally proud of this one.
A feature on Lukas J?ger, former Alpha One champion, currently without a drive for next year, and the man she hated more than anyone else.
Katherine was arguably one of the most popular journalists in the paddock. But it hadn’t always been that way. She’d worked hard to become a key part of the presenter team of the official broadcaster, Aero TV. A position that had also won her her very own column on the network’s sporting site.
It hadn’t all been smooth sailing. Lukas J?ger was the reason for that. The reason she had been fired from her first position as an on-track correspondent for VelociTV, a smaller, but well-respected motorsport news network.
She still remembered that day three years ago when he’d taken one look at her, turned around and walked away.
She remembered the hope that had filled her when she saw her producer talk to him, thinking that maybe he would convince a media-shy driver to give her five minutes of his time.
But that had never happened. That day her producer shattered her dream.
You’re no good to us if the reigning champion won’t talk to you. You’re done here. You’re fired.
Reporting on Alpha One had been Katherine’s dream job, the sport a point of connection with her father.
Something that was just for the two of them.
Growing up, it was during those races that he’d noticed her, given her the attention she so craved but wouldn’t ask for.
Then because of an entitled chauvinist, that dream had almost died before it had even really begun.
And she couldn’t speak about her experience because she’d had to make sure another network or publication would hire her afterwards.
One where a ‘sensitive woman’—which the misogynists would undoubtedly call her—might be no more welcome than at VelociTV.
To protect her dream, she’d had to remain hireable.
Now here she was, writing a feature on the man whose name had constantly been churning in the rumour mill, whether he would secure a drive next season or if his career was over. And she hadn’t held back.
Regardless of how Katherine felt about Lukas J?ger, she was a professional and, giving her article a once-over, she was satisfied with the balance of her reporting.
She had presented the facts. Feeling more than a little pleased, she submitted her article, then took a look at the gold smartwatch on her wrist.
She smiled. ‘I’ll be early to dinner.’ A dinner with her family that she had been looking forward to all week. Well, it was more her parents that she had been keen to see.
She picked up her phone to send a message to the family chat to say she was on her way when she noticed her father’s message.
Dinner is postponed. Paige got into a spot of trouble. Sorry. Love you, Kittykat.
‘Of course,’ Kat breathed. Her high from moments before dulled into the ever-familiar disappointment that came attached to mentions of her sister.
Her twin sister. People often thought twins had to be close.
That they would have to be alike and have a near telepathic connection, but that had never been the case with them.
Where Katherine had succeeded, Paige had languished.
When Katherine had chosen the path of academics and responsibility, Paige had chosen to party and move in the wrong crowd.
And yet Paige was the one doted on by Christopher, their big brother.
Paige was the fun one Nicholas—her younger brother that Katherine had helped raise—wanted to spend time with.
Her parents had focussed most of their time on her siblings, especially Paige, because they needed it more than her.
Katherine was used to this. It wasn’t a big deal, she always had work to do.
And as if the universe had heard her thoughts, the phone in her hand began to ring, flashing her producer’s name.
‘Hi, Robert,’ she greeted.
‘Kat, I need you to pack.’
‘Okay. Should I come by the office?’ Because of course there would be a meeting—an urgent one, by the sounds of it.
And since her dinner plans had fallen through, there was no reason she couldn’t drop everything and rush over before Robert had even uttered a summons.
She glanced at her watch. ‘I can be there in twenty minutes.’
‘Good. Bring everything with you. You’ll be flying out straight after.’
Well, there went dinner, but if Katherine was honest with herself, she would much rather work than sit at a table where she was reminded how different she was from her siblings.
How she would never relate to them like they did with each other.
If she was working, it would mean that she was being responsible.
Ensuring that she was successful. Being the daughter her parents never had to worry about.
The one who would one day take care of them in their old age because her siblings wouldn’t be able to.
Take care of Paige, the free spirit—a nice way of saying ‘selfish and irresponsible.’ Katherine had to.
Her parents would never be able to retire, never be able to relax if there wasn’t a safety net for Paige. They would always be run ragged.
At least, thanks to Paige, Katherine wouldn’t have to run out on dinner, leaving behind a father who was proud of his Alpha One journalist daughter and a mother who was disappointed that Katherine wouldn’t settle down to a quiet life of marriage and children.
Bear the grandchildren she so desperately wanted that Katherine had no interest in. They had their hands full tonight.
‘What’s the rush? What am I covering?’ Katherine asked, her curiosity well and truly piqued at the urgency.
The season was over. Teams were on winter break.
News was less urgent right now. Well, apart from the fact that a couple teams hadn’t confirmed their driver line-up for next season yet.
It was unheard of for them to wait quite so long but she had a sneaking suspicion that Lukas was at least a part of the reason why.
‘Lukas J?ger’s publicity stunt.’
She let out a noise of frustration. ‘Robert… Anyone but Lukas.’
‘I don’t care, Kat. You will be there interviewing him,’ her producer said firmly. ‘It’s a closed track, he’ll be driving, you’ll be asking questions.’
The very last thing she wanted was to be stuck in a car with him for hours on end.
‘Viewers love seeing you two together and we’re going to leverage that.’
She knew what the viewers thought. It was in the comments of every social media post that showed them together.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if Lukas and Katherine dated?
There’s something between Lukas and Katherine. I guarantee it.
#lukat for life!
There absolutely was something between her and Lukas: mutual hatred.
‘I have no choice, do I?’
‘None.’
You’re doing this for your career. You need to be a success. You’re not going to end up like Mum.
‘Fine,’ she replied. ‘Where am I going?’
‘Please tell me you’re joking.’ Lukas J?ger stared his manager down. ‘I’m not going to Lapland with Katherine Ward, Dominic. Anyone but her.’
‘Tough.’
Lukas let out a growl of frustration and walked away from his friend.
The man who had managed his career from the moment he graduated from karting at fourteen and was ready to step into the feeder series.
Now at thirty-three, he’d known Dominic for two decades, trusted him, and yet couldn’t remember a time when he’d been more annoyed with the man than he was right now.
He stepped out onto the terrace of his Carré d’Or penthouse apartment looking out at Monaco, the bite of the chilly December air on his skin a welcome distraction.
Lukas didn’t want to be anywhere near Katherine.
He had worked so hard, his family had sacrificed so much for him to achieve this life.
To be an Alpha One world champion. And he had done it not once, but thrice.
But that didn’t matter to Katherine. She’d taken every opportunity to cast doubt on his talent, on his character, on his commitment.
So much so that he could see how it affected the way people treated him.
Affected how many offers he received from teams, because it cast doubt on his talent…
his ability to race in the future. When he’d lost his seat at the team, she’d gone out of her way to promote the driver who had taken his place.
It had massively impacted the way the public viewed the change.
Footsteps sounded behind him but he didn’t turn to look at Dominic. Instead, he folded his fingers around the metal railing that wrapped all the way around his three-storey apartment.
‘You know how I feel about her,’ Lukas said, eyes fixed on the steel-coloured water.
‘I do, but, Lukas, this has been a bad season…’
‘You—’
‘It was a bad season because you didn’t win the championship.
Yes, we both know the car was a big reason for that,’ Dominic said, cutting him off and coming to stand beside him.
‘The second half of the season did a lot of damage. You had no pace in that car to mount any kind of challenge, and I know what it took for you to drag it to the podium. But regardless of the reason, you lost your drive. You need some good PR.’
‘She’s the reason I need good PR, Dom.’ Lukas turned to face his manager. ‘The shit she’s been saying about Easton Rivers is exactly why no one cares how unfair it was that I lost my seat.’