Chapter 17 #2
Savi couldn’t wipe the smug smile off her face.
He may be lying to the entire room, but she still felt proud to be associated with someone who was willing to stand up for her.
She and the girls had hit the jackpot having such supportive teammates and bosses, and any threats of sexism were quickly shut down.
It helped being so closely associated with a company like Girls Off Track which was focused on advocating for women in motorsport.
‘Savi, do you worry about what people will think of you for dating your teammate during your first season?’ The journalist went straight in for the kill.
Savi may be feeling shaky on the inside, but she wasn’t going to let it show.
‘No, I don’t worry about the close-minded opinions of others.
I’m here to do my job and to bring the championship title home for my team.
Who I date is totally irrelevant and doesn’t change anything.
Marco and I are both professionals and racing comes first.’
‘Hell yes,’ Jasper exclaimed enthusiastically from the far wall, quickly reverting to team principal mode when heads turned to look at him, his head ducking down in embarrassment. ‘Sorry, continue.’
‘But won’t there be a time when your relationship has to come first? Like when you get married or have children?’ That one stung. What was this woman’s problem? Had a racing driver personally rejected her or something?
‘Faith and Julien worked together, as do Brett and Lucie. Both couples are going strong and the only impact their relationships have had on their work has been positive. I’m not sure that our fans are going to take too kindly to what you might be implying here, and I’m also not sure that the choices I may or may not make in the future need to be addressed publicly.
I respect that you are here to do your job, but I would very much like it if the questions could be focused on my job, and the job of my teammates rather than gossip surrounding our relationships.
If you do want to focus on relationships, why not discuss the team as a whole and how the mutual respect we all have for one another has allowed us to create some fantastic content and win races?
’ Savi crossed her arms when she was done, pleased that she’d shut her up but dreading the reaction from her bosses.
Until she looked over at them and saw every single person lining that back wall had smirks or smiles on their faces. Especially Jasper.
‘Nicely said, Savi,’ Brett piped up. ‘We’re basically all married to each other, at this point. It’s a bit cultish, but we wouldn’t have it any other way, would we, guys?’
‘No,’ Miko smiled. ‘We’re all incredibly proud to be a team.’
The journalist sat down silently, looking mighty ashamed of herself. As she should.
Savi stared at her hands for the rest of the session, answering any questions aimed her way with as few words as possible.
She knew she was going to walk out of this room to tension that she didn’t want.
Kodie and Miko had already let her know they weren’t happy about having the spotlight taken off them in their rookie season, but now this?
She knew it wasn’t her fault, but it didn’t stop the guilt clawing at her.
Spiking her anxiety and threatening to cause a scene.
With Brett answering the final question, they traipsed out of the conference room.
There was an air of defeat lingering behind them and as Savi watched Kodie and Miko enter the trailer, she stopped in her tracks.
‘Woah, Cowgirl!’ Marco knocked into her.
‘Don’t just stop walking like that! Are you okay?
’ He kept a tight grip on her to keep her upright.
‘Fine. Just don’t want to go in there.’ She gestured to where the door was slamming shut behind them. ‘But I need to get my things.’
‘Walk in there, head held high, get your team colours on and come back out here ready to put in one hell of a stint. You shine in quali, Savannah. They know it, I know it and Jasper knows it. Hell, the whole motorsport industry knows it by now.’
‘Okay.’ She let out a shaky breath.
‘They can be bitter all they want, but their attitude doesn’t diminish your talent.’
‘Thanks, Mars.’ She had noticed she only used the nickname everyone else used for him when he was being particularly sweet. ‘I’ll see you in the garage.’
‘Not a chance.’ He followed her right up to the trailer door, leaning against the side of the structure with his arms crossed. ‘I’ll wait outside. And if you would feel more comfortable moving into our trailer for the rest of the race weekend, then I’ll make that happen.’
She smiled appreciatively, reluctantly climbing the stairs and opening the door to reveal Miko making a coffee and Kodie sitting on the sofa with headphones on. ‘Hi, girls.’
‘Hey, Sav,’ Miko smiled back at her. ‘Coffee?’
‘No thanks, Meeks.’ She set about gathering her things together: sunglasses, headphones, gloves. All the while, Kodie remained silent. Music blasting from her headphones, competing with the noise of the coffee machine. Savi wanted out.
‘You know,’ Kodie ripped her headphones off, ‘you could have waited. You didn’t have to make it public so soon, Savi. You didn’t have to kiss in front of the cameras, let the whole world know about it.’
‘Ko—’
‘I’m not finished,’ she interrupted, standing from the sofa and throwing her headphones into the nest of cushions.
‘I know you didn’t ask for the attention you’re getting, but you knew you were gonna get it.
And now the only thing anyone cares about is you and Marco and your perfect little love story.
I’m happy for you, I am, but I just wish you’d waited until the end of our first season as a team.
You made a choice, and you didn’t take Miko and me into consideration. ’
‘I’m sorry, Kodie. I’m sorry to both of you, I really am.’
‘I know you are and I’m proud to call you my teammate and to be on this journey with you, but I’m still angry and I still feel let down.
It’s unfair that you get so much attention just because you’re dating De Luca, and it’s unfair that you didn’t at least have a conversation with us about it. You didn’t warn us.’
‘I should have talked to you about it, let you know we were planning to go public. Asked how you felt about it. But truthfully, we didn’t really plan it.
We never talked about the implications, we just got caught up in the moment and suddenly stopped hiding it.
’ Savi felt sick to her stomach for lying, but it wasn’t like she could tell them the truth so she might as well try to salvage her friendship with Kodie.
‘Yeah, you should’ve.’ She grabbed her headphones and stormed out of the trailer, leaving her racing suit still hanging in the closet.
Miko focused on her latte, smirking to herself. ‘You two are as fiery as each other, but I really respect the way you owned up to your misplaced judgement just now.’
‘My relationship with you two as my teammates is just as important as the one I share with Marco, and I hate to think that this is all having a negative impact on your careers. You’re both equally as talented as I am, both deserving of your places on this team.
I don’t want to overshadow you, and I wish I could make it all stop. ’
‘I know, Savi. And Kodie knows it, too. She’s just been having a hard time adjusting to the pressure of this championship and this is adding to her stress, but she shouldn’t have taken it out on you.
It is what it is, and the press will do as the press does.
Just live your life, enjoy Marco.’ She raised an eyebrow suggestively and Savi blushed.
‘But, if you want to keep sticking up for us like you did in there then I’m sure it would go a long way towards making Kodie feel better about the whole thing. ’
‘She isn’t the only one pissed off about it. I am, too. It’s okay in small doses, more so when it’s fans making a fuss, but bombarding us during media sessions is too far.’
‘But you can get all hot and heavy with a super sexy Italian racing driver, so it’s not all bad really, is it?’ Miko grinned. ‘I’ll leave you to get dressed. See you in quali.’
Savi hurried to step into her suit and get her shoes on, making a mental note of everything she’d left in her cubby in the garage.
Her helmet was still in there. She had to admit she was feeling a lot better about the whole thing, but now she was worrying that Jesse might have seen the livestream and noticed how defensive Marco was of her.
Of them. He spoke as though this was real and she was his.
Once again, treating her in a manner Jesse never had.
‘You ready, Cowgirl?’ Marco tapped on the window.
‘I’m coming!’ she called out.
‘About time. You realise we have to be in the garage, like, now.’ He was already walking before she jumped off the bottom step.
‘Well, then. It’s just as well we are literally feet away from it.’ Savi ran ahead, racing him inside. ‘Get a move on, Monaco, we’ve got grid positions to claim!’