Chapter 3 #2
Piper’s heart fluttered at the thought of seeing the cars on track. “Yes. Please.”
“Gus can’t be in the garage, but you can take him to the paddock club.” Isabel stepped over to a side table and grabbed a
leash.
“All right, Mr. Gus.” Piper clicked it onto his collar. “Let’s try to stay together today, okay, buddy?”
Gus eagerly led the way and she and Isabel wound through the Mega Racing building and back out into the paddock, which was
even more abuzz with activity.
A woman with dark, wavy hair and a big smile approached. “You must be the new dog sitter,” she said to Piper.
“I am.” Apparently, Gus really was going through a lot of dog sitters.
“Piper Murphy, meet Mia Neal. Mia’s an F1 podcaster and soon to be an on-camera commentator for Cloud Sports. Her partner
is Xander Bishop, Emilio’s teammate.”
Piper’s mind was blown by the realization of who this was. “I was just listening to the Not So Fast podcast. I love it.”
“Oh, wow. Thank you,” Mia said.
Isabel reached for Mia’s arm. “Is there any way you could show Piper around? Maybe take her up to the paddock club? I have
a zillion things to do before the race.”
“Sure. Xander’s busy and I’ve already recorded the intro for my next episode.” She held her arms wide. “I’m all yours.”
Piper felt an immense wave of gratitude. Emilio might not like her, but everyone else was treating her like she fit right
in. “Awesome. Thank you.”
“Piper, you can bring Gus back to Emilio’s room after the race.”
“Sounds good.” Piper turned to Mia as Isabel walked away. “So, exactly how much inside info can I learn from you today?” Mia
was well-known for having the scoop on lots of drivers.
Mia’s eyebrows jumped. “Depends on what you want to know.”
“Everything. But first, Gus probably needs a pee break.”
“I know just the place.” Mia walked them through the paddock and off to a small grassy area where Gus could do his business.
Then they made their way into the paddock club, above the team garages with a view of the pit lane and the starting grid for
the race. The club had fairly luxe surroundings, with food, several bars and lots of seating. “Technically, dogs aren’t allowed
up here, but Gus is a VID. Very important dog. Basically, the drivers’ dogs get to go anywhere.”
“I’m a little embarrassed because I didn’t realize Gus was Emilio’s dog. I thought he belonged to Victoria. Gus was all over
her social feeds for a while there.” They took a seat off to the side in one of the lounges near a balcony that overlooked
the track. Piper took off her sling bag and set it on the table. Gus nudged it with his nose. “Let me guess. You smell the
treats in my bag.”
Gus immediately sat and looked at Piper expectantly.
“This guy is smart.” Piper unzipped her bag and pulled out one of her homemade dog treats. She’d developed the recipe over
the past few years and made them exclusively for her clients. “Let’s see what you know how to do. Gus, shake.” She held out
her hand, but Gus only stared at the treat, which was in her other hand. “Huh. Okay. I guess you don’t know that one.” She
switched the treat to her other hand, but held it tightly and offered it again. “Gus. Shake.” Intuitively, Gus touched her
balled-up hand with his paw. She unfurled her fingers to give him the treat, which he inhaled. “Good boy. Very good boy.”
“You probably didn’t know Gus belonged to Emilio because he was never in the photos with him,” Mia said.
“I guess so. Even though I knew he and Victoria were a couple.”
Mia nodded slowly. “Emilio is very private. If you follow him on social, he’s not posting vacation pics like the other drivers.”
“Now that you mention it, I did notice that.” Maybe his preference for privacy was an explanation for why he’d so quickly
left Piper’s presence. “I know there are lots of theories, but do you have any thoughts about why Emilio is struggling this
year?”
Mia shrugged. “Because Mega developed that car to run on a knife’s edge? Xander struggled with it big time. Emilio will get
it. He’s too good a driver not to.”
Piper nodded. “Can I ask what it’s like to date a driver?” Not that Piper had aspirations—she was simply curious. The entire
ecosphere of F1 was fascinating, but she couldn’t imagine what it would be like to live in it.
“It’s a little bonkers, to be honest. For a long time, I thought I couldn’t hack it. I felt like I didn’t belong.”
Piper could imagine she’d feel that way, too. “But you have your podcast. You were already in the sport when you met Xander,
right?”
Mia shrugged. “It’s still a big leap. I didn’t come from money. I’m not famous or the child of a celebrity. It’s just different
being a normal person in this world.”
Despite Mia’s explanation, she still lived in what seemed like a fantasyland to Piper. “Well, you seem like you’re doing great.”
Emilio was hopelessly distracted. He couldn’t stop ruminating over the moment he got sucked in by the new dog sitter. So she
was cute. Bubbly. Shiny blond hair and big blue eyes that stopped him dead in his tracks. So she’d reacted in a very sweet
way to the fact that Gus had tried to lick her to death. What was the big deal? He needed to shake it off. He needed to focus
on the task at hand—the race.
“Everything okay?” Emilio’s teammate Xander strolled into the garage with his helmet under his arm. “You seem distracted.”
“Just a lot on my mind.” Emilio longed to tell Xander more. He needed a confidant. He and Xander had been friends before this
season, but never teammates. That added a whole new layer of complexity to their dynamic. It wasn’t a great idea to get too
close to your biggest rival.
Xander nodded. “Isabel told me you got a new dog sitter for the day. That’s got to take a load off your mind.”
Xander was right. Gus was taken care of. Now he needed to focus on the only other thing he cared about. “Yes,” Emilio said.
“And now it’s time to go racing.”
“What’s your take on Emilio getting forced out from Vermillion?” Piper asked when Mia returned from the bar with fruity mocktails
and truffle fries for them to nosh on. The race would be starting any minute—they needed refreshments.
“It’s a travesty, really. Emilio loved racing for his old team. But the team principal is untouchable, especially Tristan.
He owns a big chunk of the team and everyone is afraid of him. Emilio made the mistake of speaking out against the one person
on that team you never cross.”
“What institutions will do to protect powerful men, huh?” Piper asked.
“Right? As good as Emilio is, Vermillion has always seen their drivers as temporary. And I suppose that’s true of every team.
There’s always someone younger or better coming up in the ranks and they’ll do anything to take your place.”
“And that’s what Vermillion did. They brought up the rookie from their driving academy and he’s done pretty well in Emilio’s
seat.”
Mia slid Piper a sly smile. “You know your stuff.”
Piper felt a swell of pride. Mia was so well-known for having a nearly encyclopedic knowledge of the sport. “My life is pretty
simple. Being an F1 fan is one of the most exciting things I do.”
Mia jutted out her lower lip. “Hopefully, getting to come to a race is a big upgrade.” She looked up at the television. “Welp.
Looks like they’re starting the formation lap.”
Piper scanned the screen, excitement bubbling up inside her. “I wonder if Emilio can get up into the points from twelfth place.”
Her heart raced as she watched the cars zigzag on the track to get temperature into their tires. She really did hope Emilio
would do better than his starting position suggested he might. She sensed he was an unhappy guy. Maybe a better result would
turn that around.
Miami Grand Prix
The lights came on. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Then out.
Emilio gunned the throttle and aimed to go right up the middle.
Unfortunately, Kenji Matsumoto had the same idea and got there first.
Emilio gripped the steering wheel tightly, jamming the brake, trying to find that right balance between speed and not crashing.
There was so much traffic ahead as Emilio headed into the first turn.
He sensed he was about to get squeezed, and then he did, the tires of cars on either side of him coming dangerously close.
He eased off the gas to get through to the first straight unscathed.
Finally, a bit of room. He wasn’t certain, but he would’ve sworn he’d lost at least one place. Possibly more.
“Gah. Down to fourteenth. What a nightmare for Emilio.” Piper frantically scanned the screen. Under the table, Gus booped
her hand with his nose. “Hey, buddy. You’re right. I need to give you some love, don’t I?” She gave him some scratches behind
his ears, then encouraged him to put his head on her lap, so she could stroke it. She’d always been very attuned to dogs’
feelings, but she sensed that Gus might be on another level. It was almost as if he knew she was concerned for Emilio.
“He should be able to make up a few places,” Mia said.
“Xander’s doing great. Already up to fourth.” Piper popped a French fry into her mouth. “One more and he’ll be on the podium
if he can keep his position.”
“They’ve got another fifty laps to go. A lot can happen.”
This was a grueling race. It was unbelievably hot in the cockpit, and Emilio felt like he’d given everything he had for thirty-nine
laps. By lap forty, he’d made up three spots and was up into eleventh place, but there were no signs that he’d be able to
get into tenth place and the points. “Can we do anything?” he begged to his race engineer. “A second tire change? Van Dijk
is struggling with the rear of his car.”
“We are checking.”
Emilio didn’t like to dwell on the past, but he couldn’t help but think about where he’d finished at this race last year.
He won by over twenty seconds. He qualified in first, got away cleanly, and no other driver managed to be a threat.
Boring, sure, but it was nice to win. He’d kept it clean. Minimal mistakes. Would he ever be that comfortable in the Mega