Chapter 8
eight
LONDON, ENGLAND
The next morning Avery pulled her hair in a low bun at the nape of her neck; her hair was as good as it was to get.
It was raining buckets outside. The Silvers had done fantastic in the sunny conditions during the previous day’s qualifying rounds.
Zack would start in third and Teddy in fourth place for the race today, a team second row lockout.
But now the track would be wet, which could change everything.
She always cared about the Silver team, but she’d never felt so personally invested in any particular driver as she did with Teddy.
She put on one of her larger pairs of diamond stud earrings, and swiped on a brighter-than-usual shade of lipstick.
As a general rule, Avery didn’t usually wear much makeup, but having grown up in the circles she had, and with her family’s means, she generally kept up her appearance with regular facials and mani/pedis, which gave her a natural looking glow and put-together vibe despite her low maintenance nature.
Her phone rang right as she was about to nibble a bit of the avocado toast she had ordered up from room service. She picked it up, the acid churning in her stomach had killed her appetite anyway. She looked down at her phone: her mom was calling. She braced herself.
“Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, darling. I just saw the article on ESPN. You and Teddy are dating?!”
I guess the article is now live.
“I’m a little offended that they got the scoop before I did. You know you can trust me to keep a secret.”
Ha. Her mom, keep a secret? It was laughable. Sharon Silver was the last person on earth you should tell your secrets to.
“I’m sorry, I wanted to tell you,” Avery apologized. “We were trying to keep it quiet as long as possible for the sake of the team.”
“Not to worry. Really, I’m thrilled for you,” Sharon said.
Avery winced, and moved her phone away from her ear. Sharon was obsessed with celebrities and her volume increased with her daughter confirming the news she was dating one. It would make for a great humble brag at the country club.
“Thanks, Mom. Appreciate the call. I’ve got to get going.”
“Wait, does your father know?” Sharon asked, her tone turning from giddy to serious.
Her mom had a point. If anyone should have heard the news directly from her first, it was her dad. “I haven’t told him, but I’m sure he knows. Teddy told Brandon—that’s what the HR manual instructs.”
“I can’t imagine he will be too pleased that his shiny new driver is falling in love during the season. But at least it’s you—he doesn’t have to worry that you’ll do anything crazy that could mess with his performance, like break his heart mid-season.”
“No, Mom, he doesn’t need to worry about his driver getting his heart broken mid-season.” If she only knew. “Mom, the shuttle is waiting for me to go to the track; I really have to go. But, thanks for the call.”
Avery grabbed her new trench coat instead of a logo half-zip sweatshirt and baseball cap. She took one last deep breath before she headed out of the quiet, safe space of her hotel room, ready as she’d ever be to hard-launch her faux relationship.
* * *
When she arrived at the circuit, James beckoned her over to where he was standing with Nora Maimon, the beautiful dark-haired wife of Zack, Silver’s lead driver.
“Avery, let me get a photo of you and Nora together cheering on your other halves,” James said.
“So nice to see you, Avery,” Nora said in her velvety accent as she leaned in to give Avery an air-kiss on both cheeks, her large hoop earrings brushing Avery’s hair. “Where would you like us, James?”
“Let’s get you two ladies right in front of the garage there,” he answered.
James got the shot fairly quickly and showed it to them for their approval. It seemed that as soon as they had both nodded their heads in agreement, the photo appeared on the team’s social media with the caption ‘The ladies behind the men of team Silver here to cheer.’
There was no hiding now. She ignored the tightness in her chest. Avery looked over and saw that Nora was already re-posting to her own account, tagging the brands she was wearing and adding the dancing girls emoji.
I guess I’m supposed to do that too. She copied Nora and added the picture to her story, tagging Nora, Zack, and Teddy.
She braced herself for the comments that were about to flood in.
Nora took her by the arm and led her into the hospitality suite. “Welcome to the club, you’ve got this.”
Avery took her time saying hello to every big wig in attendance, talking up the work of the foundation and hinting at the fundraiser.
She got lots of promises and had several sponsorship leads she would follow up on during the business week.
But were they only talking to her because she was Teddy’s new girlfriend or Michael Silver’s daughter?
Her stomach churned. This deal with Teddy wasn’t exactly going to help her stand on her own two feet this year.
Eyes on the prize, Avery. It doesn’t matter why they buy tickets to the fundraiser—as long as they come and donate.