Chapter 15 #4
Julia burst out laughing, “I’m going to love having her around.”
“Right, where is she and where are those damn Netflix cameras?”
Julia guided Erik and the crew along to find Ingrid. She was back sitting with Bonnie and Hannah after their conversation.
“Hello, Rookie.” He kissed her on the unbruised cheek. “I see you’re socialising.”
The film crew was capturing it all. Erik would put on a show for them.
“Hello, darling. No, I’ll have you know that I was working before this. Bonnie and Hannah can attest to that.”
“Yes, she was!” Hannah said. “You’re going to have your butt kicked over the radio this weekend.”
“Oh, I am, am I?”
“Well, no. Ingie just told me to warn you that you would.”
They all laughed.
“Alright, ladies, I hope you had a good chat. I’m going to love and leave you, but see you tomorrow.”
“Thanks, Ingrid!” Bonnie and Hannah said.
The producers then asked if they could get a shot of them leaving the paddock together and whether they could also film at the hotel. Erik agreed to one evening at the hotel and thought it best to get it over and done with this evening.
???
The arrival at the hotel was exactly what Netflix had anticipated. Hordes of fans with photos of the couple for autographs. It was almost as if they had choreographed it.
“Would it be ok if we filmed a room scene? How you travel together?”
“I’m not sure what we do in our room after work would be allowed on Netflix,” Erik said.
“Darling, stop being silly, the PG version.” She kissed him on the cheek. “We can do that.”
They went up to the room and let the cameras inside.
“As you can see, we have Erik’s sim set up over there.” She pointed to the corner. “It takes up more space than anything else in the room.”
“And you don’t mind?” The producer asked.
“Oh, not at all, I enjoy watching him race. You see the cushion over there? That’s my comfy spot where I sit and watch.
When I was a kid, I would sit on the floor and watch my twin brother play video games.
This is way more fun. It just gets annoying when he decides to wake up at 2am and do it. ” She winked at Erik.
“I’ve tried to get her to do it herself, but she refuses to drive anything but a road car.”
“Don’t lie! I did try it that one time.” She turned to the producers. “It took me about four attempts to get the car going in the right direction, and Erik was laughing so hard that I gave up.”
They both chuckled at this memory.
“What do you do after work?”
“That’s the part we can’t show Netflix…” Erik said, grabbing her waist and lifting her off the floor.
“Oh, stop it, darling. We usually meet up with Antoine and their trainers for dinner. Or if it’s been a quali day, then it’s the sim and room service.”
“And do you talk race strategy?” The producer directed this at Erik.
“Everyone keeps asking me this. You know, Antoine asked me the other day, too, if you ever helped me before races?” Erik looked at her.
“We hardly ever talk about races, except for general chats like the weather…maybe track conditions, or everyone’s race afterwards.
And she’s never coached me. The only time I could think of was back in Australia when you said to me that you think I don’t care. ”
“Oh, wow, that was so long ago. You got pole that day. I remember,” she said, smiling at him.
“So, you really never help him with anything?”
“No, I don’t need to. We have our ritual before the race, and that’s it.”
He kissed her on the head.
“Sorry to disappoint, but we’re a very boring, normal working couple that happens to love racing.” Ingrid finished off.
Before the crew left, they asked what time they could meet them tomorrow. When the producers heard that Erik and Ingrid were going to the paddock at 6 am, they were surprised but agreed to meet them there.
“Ok, I did your bidding, now come here, V?lva!” He chased her around their room and caught her with a kiss.
“Sorry for delaying our alone time, but I thought, let’s get it over and done with.”
“How was your first day?” He asked, tracing a track on her stomach.
“It was good, thanks. Went exactly how I thought it would. And yours?”
“Apart from Netflix, a very boring Drivers’ Briefing. I don’t know why anyone would want to be head of the GPDA.”
“Power, get to make a fuss about everything, boss you lot around sometimes.” She poked his head.
He unzipped her jeans and pulled them off.
“The only person who gets to boss me around is you, my love.” Putting his head between her thighs. Ingrid let him linger there for a moment.
“Well, if I get to boss you around. Then take those pants off, come up here, and kiss me.”
Erik followed team orders. Ingrid could taste herself as he thrust himself inside her. He looked into her eyes, which were starting to get their sharp blue back as the bruise faded.
“I do love it when you’re bossy like this,” he whispered in her ear.
She rolled him over so that she was straddling him. Slowly controlling every motion of their bodies together. Erik had his hands on her buttocks as they steered each other to climax.
“Now I think that was what we really wanted to do after work,” she said as she lay on his chest.
“Yes, much better,” he said, kissing her head. “Especially in your new Wentworth T-shirt.”
She burst out laughing.
The Netflix crew was there waiting for them when they arrived in the morning.
Neither of them had actually expected them to be there.
Erik gave Ingrid a long kiss goodbye as he went to the sim, and she went to the garage to greet the team members there.
One of the mechanics came up to her and asked if she could chat a bit later, so she said yes.
The Netflix crew asked if she had time to do a sit-down interview. For Julia’s sake, she said yes.
“What do you do?” The producer asked.
“If you ask Antoine or Erik, I cast spells.” She laughed. “No, I just observe, listen, pick up problem areas, and then help fix them. I guess you could call me a people mechanic. It is also about small acts of kindness and fun in the workplace to make everyone feel included and welcome.”
“Your big success story from this year is obviously Antoine and his rise to third place in the Drivers’ Championship. But you seem to have affected Erik, too.”
“I think any stable, loving relationship is going to have an effect on someone. I’m not saying you have to be in a romantic relationship for that to happen, but to have someone there by your side who always has your back is a powerful thing.
A lot of my work with Antoine has always been about being there for him, no matter the crazy hour he might need me at.
A romantic partner is somehow different.
You have to understand and love the world that they’re in. ”
“How does it feel working with your partner?”
“I guess with Erik, we have felt like a team for a while now, so it just seems like a natural fit. It’s more than just Erik, though. I love Wentworth. It’s literally in my blood, with my grandfather having worked there.”
“Would you be comfortable talking about the assault and how it impacted you?”
“No, it’s still an ongoing investigation.
What I will say is that far too many women experience gender-based violence and are silenced, or their stories remain hidden.
Mine was made public through that video.
I haven’t hidden anything from the public to deliberately show what he did to me so that the world could see what happens to women who are survivors of GBV. ”
“Do you see a long-term commitment to motorsport in your future?”
“When I got into this with Antoine, I didn’t think this was a life for me.
Everyone called me rookie. It has been my first year on the road with everyone, and it has been exhausting.
I really admire everyone who works on these teams and the commitment and sacrifices they make to be part of this sport.
It is an absolute thrill, so yes, you’ll probably still see me around the paddock after my rookie year. ”
“Thanks so much, Ingrid. We really appreciate the time you took to sit down with us. It’s an unusual situation to have a partner who also works in the sport, and you’ve become so popular among everyone in the paddock.”
“No, it’s been a pleasure.” She smiled. “If Erik gives you any trouble, just tell him I told him he has to do it.”
“He’s always the most difficult driver to track down!”
“Yes, because he deliberately hides from you.” She chuckled. “He’s an introvert and just wants to focus on racing, so he hates all the media attention.”
Ingrid went to find the mechanic who had asked to speak to her.
She had noticed that he was a smoker too, so they went off to have a cigarette together.
He was a slightly older gentleman, and she thought he was of Eastern European descent.
He worked on Antoine’s side of the garage, so she didn’t know him that well.
“How can I help you?”
“It’s more about how I want to help you.” Ingrid had an uneasy feeling. There wasn’t anyone around, and her fight or flight response had gone haywire since the Mark assault. “Remember you said at the factory that everything was confidential?”
“Yes, but there’s a caveat, Vlad. If you’re likely to hurt yourself or others, or you’ve committed a crime, then our conversation can’t remain confidential.”
“Ok, I haven’t committed the crime, so it’s fine.”
Ingrid started to feel relieved.