Chapter 8 #2
“Yes, they’re both acting ridiculous. The only public affection Sister shows to any men in her life is to my father and me!” Oliver added.
Ingrid liked that the siblings had found common ground. The four of them were having a good time, which boded well for the week ahead. They were going to need a team for the upcoming media ambush.
???
It was time for Miami. Erik hated this race week. It wasn’t just a weekend but a packed week of press and silly games. He wished that they could have stayed in their New York bubble a bit longer. The decision was to throw Operation Scandi out and manage things their way. Antoine was on board.
“Oh, good, I also thought it was a bit stupid,” he agreed. “I’m happy to help, mon pote.”
Ingrid was going to the beach the next day with Daniela, Oliver, and Sigrid, taking photos to post to their Instagram stories.
It would kick-start normalising the situation.
They all went out to dinner that evening, including Mark, Nico, and Carla.
Photos were taken throughout to support the normalisation.
A few brave and giddy female fans approached the table to get autographs and photos with the drivers.
It was nice not to have to sneak Ingrid up to his bedroom for once. Oliver was staying in the one that was booked for her.
“Looking forward to your beach day?” He asked as he was taking her dress off.
“I am, actually. A book, some sun, relaxation, it will almost feel like a holiday!” She laughed.
“I’m glad you’re getting a holiday! I have to go pretend to enjoy throwing footballs or some bullshit tomorrow,” he said, kissing the top of her breasts as he undid her bra.
“Oh, come on, you enjoy it!”
“No, I’d prefer to be on the beach with you. I think we should take a beach holiday soon.”
He moved back up to her neck.
“We have to make it through silly Operation Scandi first.”
“Oh, stop worrying about that.”
He kissed her and took her to bed. Operation Scandi was soon forgotten as he put his head between her thighs.
Finding the spot he knew would make her lose control.
He watched as she gripped the sheets and knew it was close.
This was far more fun than what he would have to be doing the next day.
Ingrid gasped, and he knew he’d won that session.
She looked at him, and he knew it was time for her to take the wheel.
He let her. It was the only time a ‘crash’ felt good.
After he was done playing games with other sports personalities, he checked his phone. There she was with her wavy hair and blue eyes, looking sexy on the beach. She was wearing the necklace he had given her with their initials. Julia caught him as he was heading into the briefing room.
“Erik, you’re a naughty boy,” she said.
“What have I done now, Jules?” He grinned.
“This,” she said, showing him the photo of Ingrid and Sigrid at the beach together. “Also, I do believe she’s wearing a necklace with ‘I’ and ‘E’ on it?”
He leaned in closer. “Oh, yes, she is,” he said innocently.
“Any other surprises I should expect?”
“We loved your plan, Jules, but just have the media statement ready if it’s necessary. Antoine is on board, too.”
The same group met for dinner at the hotel, but Gaetan and Jimmy replaced Nico and Carla, who were staying at another hotel. It was good to have family around. Everyone at the table now knew about them.
“So, are you finally making it public?” Mark asked.
“Yes, if it’s necessary,” Erik said.
“Soft or hard launch?” He kept probing.
“What does that mean?” Antoine asked.
“Oh, sweetie, you really need to learn some English slang.” Daniela laughed. “It means are they going to leave people guessing or walk around holding hands, stuff like that.”
“Oh, hard launch,” Antoine said, smiling. “The teams are so scared.”
Erik looked across at Ingrid, and her eyes were laughing because of this innocent comment from Antoine.
Back in their room, Erik watched as Ingrid got into her PJs. He could see the slight tan lines from the day starting to appear. She kept the necklace on.
“Are you sure you’re good with this?” He asked.
“Of course, darling, I wouldn’t have agreed to it otherwise.” She came over to the bed and gave him a peck on the lips. “This way we’re in control of how it comes out instead of some paparazzi photo.”
“I also mean with us.”
“Yes, I thought I made that clear a while ago.” She smiled at him, and he felt less anxious.
“I guess I’m always worried that I’m going to lose you or that you’ll change your mind.”
“Really?” She frowned and stroked his head. “I’m sorry I’ve made you feel that way. I just needed time to adjust to all of this. I also wasn’t sure about whether you really wanted a relationship or if you were just lonely.”
“Oh, I was lonely, even in those relationships. I never feel lonely with you.”
He tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her.
“It’s strange. I never thought I was lonely until I met you.” She said.
“Let’s sleep. We have a fun day tomorrow.”
Erik held her tightly. He felt sure for the first time in a long time. It didn’t matter what happened tomorrow; they would get through it together.
Ingrid was up before the 4 am alarm. The energy felt off. It was in something Erik had said about feeling like he would lose her. She felt like they hadn’t been sure enough about each other to do this, go this public yet.
Erik woke up with the alarm and found her sitting up in bed.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
“I don’t think we should do this yet.”
“Do what?”
He sat up and looked at her, stroking her arm. She could tell he was worried.
“I don’t think we should go public.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Ingrid, I thought you were ready?”
“You already said last night that you were worried that you were going to lose me. I think we have to communicate better about these things.”
“If you aren’t ready, then you aren’t ready. I know I am.”
He got up and went to take a shower. Ingrid was the one left behind for once. Erik took a long shower to think about things. When he came back, he didn’t say a word initially.
“Ingrid, I’m tired of playing this game with you. I’m going to work now. When you’re ready to be in this relationship, you can call me.”
He left. The Operation Scandi group got a message from him saying, ‘It’s off’.
???
Ingrid and Antoine met for breakfast to have their standard session ahead of media day. She still had her work to do and was less focused on the relationship crash that had just hit her. Antoine was his usual, cheerful self. The only thing on his mind was today's press conference with Mark.
“Do you think they’ll bring it up?”
“Who knows? You’ve been seen having dinner together and hanging out around the paddock, so probably not.” She predicted.
Antoine looked at his phone.
“But Ingrid, what happened last night? You two were so happy?”
“I don’t want to talk about it,” she responded. “Plus, the focus is on you today, and only you.”
She struggled to smile and just played with her necklace.
When they arrived at the circuit, she and Antoine walked through, stopping only for fans.
Ingrid could see Erik signing some autographs.
He looked like his usual self, as if nothing had happened a few hours earlier.
Erik looked at her, and she looked as if nothing bothered her either.
The flames showed in her eyes when she saw him, though.
Erik also noticed, from her slightly unbuttoned shirt, that she was still wearing the necklace.
“Are you ok?” Antoine asked her.
“Yes, I’m perfectly fine,” Ingrid said, smiling. “Ok, you go do your fanzone. I’m going to go smoke,” she said, walking off.
Oliver found her in the smoking area.
“What the fuck happened, Ingie? All we got was that message from Erik.”
Ingrid explained the early-morning conversation to him and that she would be needing to share his room. Oliver took her into a hug, and she started to cry for the first time since that morning.
“Oh, Sister, what a mess. How is it possible that you always manage to fix everyone else’s lives and then make such a mess of your own?
” Oliver let her cry like that for a bit and then dried her tears.
“Ok, stop. Remember that you’re Dr Ingrid Hansdotter, the smartest, hottest bitch in this paddock and go out there with your head held high. ”
With these words in mind, Ingrid made her way back. As she was walking through the paddock, she bumped into Jonathan. They had never officially met but had greeted each other in passing.
“Ingrid, just the person I was hoping to see!”
Ingrid thought maybe he wanted to discuss the Erik situation.
“Hello, Jonathan,” she put out her hand to greet him.
“Please call me Jonny, everyone else does. Do you have a moment to chat?”
“I do, if we can do some of it as a walk and talk?”
“Great,” he started. “Did Erik mention our situation with Mark?”
“Well, we brought it to him, so, yes, I’m aware. How can I help?”
They started walking toward Dunham.
“Are you a free agent?” She looked at him quizzically. “I mean, are you free to take on other clients within the paddock?”
“You want me to work with Mark?”
“Yes. If you could?”
“I’m not saying no. Mark clearly needs some professional help. I would have to ask Antoine if he feels comfortable about it. Also, I only work with clients who want to do the work. I’m not sure Mark is in that space.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
They had reached Dunham and stopped. Ingrid gave a quick look around. She had become acutely aware of the cameras and paddock gossip, so wanted to wrap this up as quickly as possible.
“Let me get back to you about it once I’ve spoken to Antoine. I might also be able to have an informal chat with Mark and see where his mind is at on this.”
“Thanks, Ingrid,” he said, touching her elbow in a friendly manner. “Erik has finally made a good choice.”
Ingrid kept silent at these words because, obviously, no one had told him the big reveal was off.
Antoine and Henry had just returned from his interview. They were going over the topics that had come up.