Chapter 3
three
SAKHIR, BAHRAIN
“I’m going to call it a day and head up.
What time do we need to leave for the airport in the morning?
” she asked her dad. She was going to hitch a ride on the team’s chartered jet back to Southern California with the staff and the car itself, where the team’s engineers had their work cut out for them.
They’d have to work from dawn to dusk all week to improve the car’s speed before the next race, which was merely a week away.
“How about one drink before you head up?” her dad asked, his face shining. “We can catch the last few minutes of the Lakers game at the bar, for old time’s sake?”
“Okay, one drink,” she said. “For old time’s sake.” Avery smiled, remembering fondly the nights from her childhood when she was allowed to stay up late with her dad to watch Kobe.
They found a table in the lounge with a view of the TV.
Her dad sat down on a couch facing the screen, and Avery grabbed a seat on the opposite sofa, facing him.
Avery couldn’t remember the last time she and her dad got to hang out, just the two of them.
The rare alone time would be nice, a chance to show her dad how much she’d grown up.
“Michael, nice to see you!” a gray-haired gentleman interrupted.
“Ron, this is my youngest daughter, Avery. Avery, Ron runs partnerships for Aurelia Strap Watches, who you, of course, know is one of the team’s biggest partners. Ron, please, join us.”
So much for that one-on-one time. She could practically hear her crisp hotel sheets calling to her. But getting up from the table now, when one of their biggest sponsors had sat down, would not only be rude, it would be bad business for the team, and for the foundation.
Avery’s attention and eyes wandered back to the hotel’s entrance where another Silver branded vehicle was pulling up.
Maybe Stacey, the team’s physical trainer, who also was her closest, only, female friend on the team, was back, and could rescue Avery from this conversation.
Avery and Stacey’s friendship went back generations.
Stacey’s grandfather had been one of the first Australian F1 drivers and an early investor in the team that Avery’s father later bought.
Neither of the young women could escape the siren call of motorsport.
But it was Teddy who emerged first. Avery had never seen Teddy in street clothes before.
He was wearing wide-legged designer jeans, Golden Goose sneakers, and a clean, short-sleeved white v-neck tee, giving her a glimpse of biceps.
The smooth tan arms that had been hidden by his racing suit earlier made her breath hitch.
A middle-aged woman spotted Teddy and shrieked with excitement, alerting the whole lobby to his presence.
The woman ran up to him, waving her camera phone in his face, and a small queue formed in front of him.
Avery cringed. There would be no sport without the fans, but it seemed like more and more often the fans forgot that the drivers were real humans, who may want a little personal space.
Teddy patiently stood in place for each selfie, flashing a megawatt smile.
Wow, he really is handsome. But he probably had a huge ego like all the rest. It came with the territory, she supposed, being one of the twenty best drivers on the entire planet, insanely fit, with women of all ages throwing themselves at you no matter where you were around the globe.
Normally, she’d completely ignore this type of scene, roll her eyes at a driver who hammed it up for his fans, but she kept watching.
There was something about Teddy that was different.
Between his big smiles, his face turned serious as he greeted each fan.
He didn’t wave them off. Instead, he shook hands and thanked people for their support. It was unusual.
“Teddy, come over here, there’s someone you need to meet,” Michael shouted over the high-energy lobby.
When Teddy finally reached their table, after being stopped for photos several more times, they all stood and Michael proudly introduced his new driver to their wide-eyed, star-struck sponsor.
“Teddy, sit, and I’ll get you a Perrier so you can hydrate,” Michael insisted.
Teddy accepted the invitation and looked around for a seat.
Any driver who had made it this far knew the importance of building relationships with the money guys.
Formula One was a multi-billion-dollar business, after all.
She had long ago accepted that driving was a small percentage of the drivers’ actual week, but how did Teddy feel about it?
Had he been disappointed to learn that his dream of making it to Formula One included so little time in the car?
His hair, which had been mostly tucked away under a ball cap or helmet earlier, now spilled out over his ears.
It was longer than she’d expected, but still neat.
It looked damp from the shower and probably smelled fantastic.
And here I am, still coated with dried sweat and in the same ugly outfit as earlier.
“May I?” Teddy asked, cocking his head at her.
Right, the only open spot at their table was next to her on the leather couch, which she suddenly realized was more of a loveseat.
Awesome. The super-hot race car driver who I have to work with is going to think of me as the girl with the B.O.
for the rest of time. But there was nothing she could do now without being rude, or worse yet, awkward.
“Oh, uh, yes, sure,” she scooted as close to the armrest as she could.
She looked away as Teddy sat down next to her, and despite her wiggling over, their thighs touched, sending a little burst of heat up and down her legs.
“I’m sorry you finished out of the points today, I’m sure it’s not how you imagined your first race with Silver,” she said softly.
“Not ideal, but we knew going into today that the car didn’t have the pace for a win, but at least Zack got some points for the team. And now we will look ahead to next week,” he replied in his very polished, rehearsed way.
She nodded at him, holding back an eye roll. He’d probably said the exact same things to reporters as soon as he’d gotten out of the car.
“Well, that’s a very nice way to look at it.
But, I’m not a reporter, Teddy.” She angled herself toward him, no easy feat sitting side by side on the loveseat.
“You’re among teammates here, you don’t have to give me the party line,” she challenged him.
Was this guy a handsome robot? Or was there anything underneath all that floppy hair?
He blinked his eyes, which she noticed were a warm hazel now that his face was literally inches away from hers.
He cleared his throat. “Are you planning to come to many of the races this season?” Teddy asked her, quickly changing the subject.
Not going to open up, then.
“Yes, definitely,” she answered. “One of the best parts of working with the Silver Foundation is that I have an excuse to travel with the team when there’s a chance to raise funds or highlight our causes.”
“Well,” said Teddy a bit coyly, “Do let me know how I can be of service, Avery.”
“I certainly will,” she said, her heart beating faster as neither one of them looked away.
His seemingly flawless face from a distance was perfectly imperfect up close: slightly stubbled rather than clean-shaven, and a white scar cutting across his bottom lip.
Avery fought the urge to reach out and touch it, and then trace the outline of his heart-shaped lips.
“I have one large Perrier,” a waitress chirped, interrupting their prolonged eye contact.
“That’s for me, please,” Teddy replied.
“Oh, wow, yes, you’re welcome.” The poor woman nearly tripped over herself as she realized who she was serving.
Teddy took it in stride and gave the flustered woman another one of his dazzling smiles and winked as she unscrewed the top and started pouring, staring in disbelief at Teddy.
Avery rolled her eyes. Good grief, if she doesn’t take her eyes off Teddy and focus on her job she's going to miss the glass entirely and pour the bottle all over him.
The whole interaction was so cheesy. She knew being gracious with fans was part of the job, like taking the time to talk to an owner and a sponsor.
Teddy reached for his glass.
“How about a toast to the season ahead?” Teddy suggested, returning his attention to the men across the table.
“Here, here,” her dad said, tapping his glass with Teddy’s, then Ron’s before taking a sip. What am I, invisible?
“Teddy, what did you think of the car’s new side pods today?” Ron asked, hoping for some inside scoop. “Do you think the team should stick with them or go back to the drawing board?”
Teddy launched into a rather technical explanation of the strengths and weaknesses of the current car design, toeing the line between giving an important sponsor the VIP/insider treatment he so clearly wanted and not giving away so much information that any trade secrets were divulged to someone not on the team payroll.
“What about Alpha Fuerte’s design with no side pods? Is that something we should look at?” Avery interjected, trying to insert herself into the conversation.
“Say, next time in SoCal, do you think I could get on Teddy’s simulator?” Ron asked before anyone could respond to her. “That’s about as close as I’ll get to experience what Teddy here is describing.”
Avery took a deep breath. She was used to it by now - men like Ron tuning her out when it came to the technical side of the business.
Sure, she was Michael Silver’s socialite daughter, someone they recognized from the society pages.
But, she also knew way more about motorsport than a guy who sold watches for a living. It made her blood boil.
“Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me, I have an early flight tomorrow,” Avery announced politely.
Her dad stood and gave her a quick hug, “Sleep well, sweetheart.” Again with the sweetheart, no wonder men like Ron don’t take me seriously.
“Good night, Dad. Ron, nice to meet you. Teddy, see you again soon?”
Teddy stood up, “I’ll walk you to the elevator. My trainer probably has some disgusting shake for me to drink before I call it a night. Ron, a pleasure to meet you. Michael, I’ll talk to you soon.”
“Avery, shall we?” he gestured toward the elevators.
Avery was hyper aware of the space between their bodies as they walked side-by-side around the corner.
Teddy looked back over his shoulder. “What a wanker,” he said quietly in Avery’s ear.
Her chest expanded with validation. “I know, right,” Avery said enthusiastically.
“Thank you for giving me an opening to exit that conversation. I doubt he’d let me go before I promised him my first-born child.”
Avery giggled, “No, thank you. I... it… can be lonely being the only one my age on the team,” she paused. “And I’m glad you were there tonight.”
The elevator doors chimed and slid open before them.
“After you,” he said as his hand hovered over the small of her back. Even so, Avery’s spine tingled with his phantom touch as they stepped inside.
She was certainly intrigued by him. The drivers had always thought of her as a kid sister, and the rest of the team as the boss’s daughter.
But maybe Teddy could be something else entirely—an ally, someone to share a knowing look with when the boomers said something inane.
That is if I can ignore how attractive he is, how my heart rate picks up and skin tingles every time he gets close to me.