Chapter 21 – Otis
“Hi Vincent,” I say, giving him a smile. “Is the car more or less in one piece?”
“At the moment we are not discussing the car. We are going to discuss the statement I just heard from Jasper,” Vincent replies, and I’m trying to gauge just how annoyed he is.
“I think that the statement speaks for itself,” I tell him.
“Just to clarify, when Jasper says boyfriend he means in a romantic sense?” Vincent questions, and he gets another plastic chair from the corner and places it beside my bed, sitting down.
“Yes,” I confirm.
“Right, and how long has this been going on?” Vincent asks.
“January,” I state.
“Are you going to give me anything more than just one-word answers?”
“Vincent, you’re the one that is asking questions that only require one-word replies. I’m not sure what else you want me to say,” I reply.
“I would like you to explain why I haven’t been told about this?” Vincent demands as he looks over to Jasper.
“Vincent, that was my decision. Jasper is the first man…” I start.
“Excuse me, only man,” Jasper adds, making me smile.
“Okay, only man that I have been with. Everyone thinks that I’m straight, and I didn’t want them wading into my personal life. I wanted to navigate this myself.”
“So no one other than me knows about the two of you?” Vincent questions, and I look over to Jasper for guidance on how to answer the question. Should I lie or tell him the truth?
“Tell him,” Jasper states. “I’m sure someone would slip up, so he is bound to find out. May as well be from us.”
“Tell me what?” Vincent asks.
“Lars, David and Marcus know about us, and have done from the start,” I almost whisper to him.
“Well that explains a lot of things,” Vincent replies, and I see a smile playing on his lips.
“Explains what?” I ask.
“Why Lars insisted that Jasper have the room next to yours at the hotels,” Vincent explains.
“I had been wondering why that seemed to be happening. I’m going to have to thank Lars,” Jasper adds.
“If you can do that after I have spoken to him about keeping team secrets from me,” Vincent says.
“Do we need to tell Richard?” I ask.
“I think personally we need to tell the whole team. You could’ve come out to us. The team wouldn’t have cared.”
“I know,” I tell Vincent, honestly.
“I’m guessing that you wanted this year to be about your driving and not who you’re sharing your bed with. Like Lars two years ago, which is why you didn’t want to tell the world,” Vincent voices.
“Yeah,” I confirm.
“That I can understand and respect,” Vincent replies, “But I wish you had told the team. I’m going to have to make an announcement of some kind that says secret relationships are now banned.”
“You might be right on that,” Jasper says. “Can I come with you when you put it to Charmaine?”
“Jasper, you are not funny,” Vincent retorts.
“Actually I think that I’m damn hilarious,” Jasper replies.
“Hang on,” Vincent suddenly says, “Is this why I had to send you to get Lizzie when we were in Australia?”
“Yep,” Jasper replies, and a smug smile spreads across his face.
“I should make you pay back the airfare,” Vincent tells Jasper, and the smug look on Jasper’s face falls slightly, until he realises that Vincent was joking. “Now, I need you to decide if or when you tell the team?”
“Do we have to? Can’t we keep the plan as it was?” I ask.
“You can, but I would like to tell Richard and Charmaine,” Vincent adds.
“I can understand Charmaine, but why Richard?” I ask.
“So he can have words with David about keeping secrets,” Vincent replies. “I think David would need to be punished, isn’t that right, Jasper?”
“It doesn’t quite work like that. One person is dominant and the other one is submissive. So it’s David that would be punishing Richard.”
“I don’t think I’m ever going to get my head around that dynamic.” But then Vincent pauses, looks at me then over to Jasper and back to me. “Hang on. Does that mean?”
“It means that I am new to every aspect of being in a relationship with Jasper,” I reply, trying to give a diplomatic answer.
“Vincent, it’s probably best that you don’t think about it,” Jasper adds with a smile.
“That’s something I can agree on. Now, with regards to the team, that is up to you. I would encourage it, knowing this team, they probably already know. Hell, they probably have a bet going like they did with me and Lars. They are crafty fuckers,” Vincent states.
“Can we think about it?” I ask. “We have a three week break right now.”
“Yes, of course,” Vincent replies, “But one final question before we move on, how serious is this?”
“I’m moving in with Jasper over the break, and I will be putting my flat on the market,” I tell him.
“Serious, then,” Vincent confirms.
“Jasper’s house is more secure than my flat and with what has been going on with the press and Marj, it made more sense,” I say.
“Glad to see that I’m just an escape from the press,” Jasper adds with a smirk.
“Shut up you twat. You know that I love you,” I retort.
“Oh God,” Vincent groans, “You two are going to be a pain in the arse. I can see it.”
“Yep,” I confirm. “I like having a pain in my arse.” Forgetting that it’s my boss sitting in front me, and I swear I think I see Vincent blush at my words.
“Actually I have one more question, because I’m sure that Charmaine is going to ask me. Are you identifying as gay? When you come out to the press what was your plan?”
“I have thought about that question a lot,” I reply .
“And if you were to ask my mum, she would say I’m gay, but I’m not sure what I am.
I know I like girls even when the relationships never felt right.
My plan when it was time to tell the world, was just to say that I’m seeing a man and leave it at that. ”
“That would lead to more questions, you know that, right?” Vincent explains.
“I figured, but all I know is that I have liked Jasper from the second I met him, and he makes me incredibly happy,” I say, and I feel Jasper squeeze my hand before looking over to Vincent.
“Vincent,” Jasper says, and I spot that the tone of his voice has changed. “Do you know what caused the accident?”
“Yeah, looks like Otis was hit by another car,” Vincent explains, “causing the other car to swerve, travel across the track and hit the wall.”
“Is the driver okay?” I ask.
“He was taken to the hospital to be checked out,” Vincent explains. “You were very lucky.”
“So was the race stopped? Can I still drive this afternoon?” I ask.
“You’re kidding?” Jasper exclaims.
“No. Doctors have said that I’m fine. So, I can race.”
“Like hell you are racing today. If it wasn’t for the fact that I know how much you love racing, I would be begging you never to get into a car again,” Jasper says.
“Jasper it’s okay, Otis is not going to be racing again today,” Vincent adds.
“Why? Come on.” And I can hear the whine in my voice.
“Otis, no,” Vincent replies more firmly.
“Thank you, Vincent,” Jasper says.
“Oh you don’t need to thank me. I would let him race if we had a car, but we don’t. We are only allowed to bring two, as you know, Otis, and yours is currently being transported back to the factory for repair.”
“Fine,” I reply. I had forgotten that my car had been totalled, and there was no way I was going to beg Vincent for Lars’s seat. He deserved to drive the home grand prix as much as I did.
“You’re just going to have to watch the race from the sidelines like everyone else,” Vincent adds.
“Can I maybe go back to the hotel?” I ask.
“Mum is there, I think being in here brought back too many memories of Dad.” Mum wouldn’t want to admit it, but when she walked into the room, the look on her face reminded me of the day in the hospital after Dad’s accident.
The fear and worry were etched into the lines of her face.
I had hoped never to see that look again, but I saw it today.
“I think that would be a good idea, but I would like you to rest, too,” Vincent adds. “I know the doctors have said that you’re fine, but your body still had a shock to the system.”
“I will, and I promise to come back stronger in Spa,” I add.
“I don’t doubt it, but I also want you to be safe. There have been too many accidents within the team over the last few years, and I’m getting far too old to deal with it.”
“Bullshit,” Jasper blurts out. “You love it all.”
“Fine, I love it,” Vincent confirms. “But the cost of new cars, not so much. Your crash is going to hurt the old bank balance.”
“Sorry,” I say.
“Otis, it’s not your fault and it’s part and parcel of owning an F1 team. There is no escaping the fact that the cars cost money. Right, I’m going to head back to the team and give them an update on your condition.”
“Vincent,” I call his name as he gets out of the chair, “is there going to be a press release?”
“We’re going to have to release something, just to confirm that you’re safe. The whole world watched that crash,” Vincent adds, “but I will make sure that it’s simple.”
“Thanks, Vincent,” I reply.
Both Jasper and I remain quiet as we watch Vincent leave the room, before Jasper is turning to me.
“Well, that went better than I thought,” Jasper comments.
“Yeah. He took it better than I thought he would,” I reply.
“I think he’s getting used to drivers keeping secrets, and at least we came out earlier than Richard and David.”
“That is true,” I confirm. “What do you think Richard is going to say when he finds out about us, and hears that David knew?”
“No idea,” Jasper confirms, “but I would love to be a fly on the wall.” And the pair of us burst out laughing.
“Actually scrap that,” I say once our laughing has died down. “I want to be a fly on the wall when Vincent tells Charmaine.”
“Oh God, do you think that he’s going to have to give us PR training again? I was so shit last time,” Jasper whines.
“You’re the one that called the press ‘vultures’ to their faces. Stuff like that doesn’t usually go down well.”
“I was defending my friend,” Jasper argues.