Chapter 8
Savi had never been so glad to be back at the racetrack. After two weeks cooped up at the cabin, avoiding being seen in public and walking around with the curtains closed like she was a hostage, Monza felt like her safe haven.
‘Savannah.’ Marco appeared next to her at the coffee cart, his curls dishevelled. Savi knew he had a girl here with him this weekend, but could he not control his newfound urges?
‘De Luca.’ Savi grabbed three cubes of sugar and dropped them in her deliciously strong pool of liquid. The caffeine hit was needed after the long flight from Tennessee.
‘Good couple of weeks off?’ He nudged her arm in an overly friendly manner. It was just as well the IEC race season was spread out with longish breaks between races, because he was all up in her personal space and she could only handle him in small doses.
‘Yep. You?’ She started walking and he trailed behind her.
‘Wonderful.’
‘Which port was your favourite? Saint Lucia, Dubrovnik?’
‘Hmm, Saint Lucia. Great company. So, which position was yours and Jesse Montalvo’s favourite?’ he challenged.
Savi stopped in her tracks, almost spilling her coffee when he bumped into her. ‘How the hell do you know about that?’ she whispered.
‘You told me the morning of your flight that you were going to Tennessee… Then all of a sudden, photos have gone viral of Jesse Montalvo with a girl with hair just like yours, ’ he twirled a strand round his fingers, ‘in the Tennessee mountains.’
‘Shit…’ Her face got hot.
‘But also, I know you have a tattoo of a horseshoe on your ankle. I saw it at Julien’s party when you jumped in the pool. It was visible in the photos… after I zoomed in which yes, is weird, sorry. Curiosity got the better of me, but it confirmed my theory. You’ve been sleeping with him!’
She kept that tattoo hidden because she’d got it done underage and it was awful and faded. She should’ve known someone would notice it at some point. She was surprised people weren’t roasting her for it on social media, commenting on how bad it was.
‘You can’t tell anyone it was me, Marco. Please. I will do anything.’
‘Anything? Like being my own personal assistant for the season?’ He gave her a cheeky grin and if she didn’t know better, she’d think he was being serious.
‘I’m kidding, I’ve got one of those already.
Your secret is safe with me. But seriously, you’re dating a country music superstar? How did that come about?’
‘It’s not a new thing, we’ve been dating four years. Ever since we met at a county fair back home.’
‘That is the most hillbilly thing I’ve ever heard.’
‘Shut up.’ Savi kept walking, desperate to get away from him.
‘That’s no way to talk to someone who knows what you did in the mountains.’
Marco wandered off to his side of the garage while Savi pretended to be engaged in a conversation with Kodie and Faith, not taking in a word they said about social media schedules or content ideas.
That was the last thing on her mind, and it shouldn’t be that way.
Work needed to be her number one focus. Was Jesse a distraction?
She was entitled to be happy and to have a personal life, but was she happy? She was Jesse Montalvo’s dirty little secret, emphasis on the dirty. If the public managed to link her to the photos, the team could drop her, and they would have every right to do so.
The cabin was supposed to be a sanctuary, somewhere she and Jesse could live as normal a life as possible, and that had been taken from them. Where else were they supposed to go? How were they going to be together now? Was all this worth losing everything?
‘Savi?’ Faith waved a hand in front of her face.
‘Huh?’ She blinked, snapping out of her daze.
‘You on the same planet as us?’ Faith laughed. ‘I said what about a video of you, Kodie and Miko doing a tour of all the different food trucks here at the circuit?’
‘All of them?’ Savi winced. That was a lot of food they probably shouldn’t be consuming during race week, when they were supposed to be eating nutritional, whole foods only. She hadn’t even picked up an energy drink this week.
‘Yeah, you could share. I heard the stone-baked pizza truck does a mango and ricotta one. Lucie and I will finish your leftovers.’
‘Mango on pizza?’ Savi fake gagged.
‘Don’t knock it until you try it!’
‘Can’t believe they’re allowed to sell something like that at a racetrack in Italy. Does Marco know about this? He’s anti-pineapple, can’t imagine how he’d feel about mango.’
‘Marco is keen to try it, Lucie on the other hand? Acted like someone had died when she saw the menu.’ They laughed. Lucie was born and raised in Los Angeles with Italian heritage and was the perfect combination of a classic California girl and a stereotypical fiery Italian.
This one conversation was enough to drag Savi away from conjuring up every worst-case scenario and she did the one thing she knew how to: threw herself into work. She was underneath the car with a mechanic, looking at the chassis, when Marco called down to her.
She scooted out to find him crouched over her. ‘When did you last speak to him?’
‘Who?’ she scowled, quickly shutting her mouth when he side-eyed her mechanic in a silent signal that he couldn’t say the name out loud with people around. ‘Oh. Yesterday.’
‘How did he sound?’ Marco asked.
‘Stressed…’ How else would he sound at a time like this?
‘Stressed enough to send someone out here?’
‘He what … ?’
‘There’s a guy here. Says he knows you. Blake something.’
She shot to her feet and pulled Marco out of the garage with her. ‘Where is he?’
‘Team HQ. More importantly, who is he? Because he’s not just here for you, Savi.’ Marco looked nervous. ‘He wants to speak to me, too.’
‘What?’ She was more confused than ever. ‘He’s Jesse’s PR rep.’
‘Well, he knew my name and who I was and told me to come and get you. Said he’d wait all day if he had to, and that Jesse sent him here to talk to us both. He seemed serious enough that I abandoned what I was doing, so this had better be worth it.’
‘What the hell?’ She peered through the tinted windows of the team headquarters and saw Blake sitting there with a cup of coffee and a slice of cake, looking very relaxed. He usually did, because it was his job to be calm in a crisis.
‘You can keep standing out here if you want but I’m going in there to find out why I’m being dragged into your shenanigans.’
Marco scanned himself in and held the door for her.
‘Savi, good to see you.’ Blake stood up and reached out to shake her hand, shaking the crumbs from his suit jacket.
‘Hi, Blake,’ she smiled. ‘This is Marco De Luca, but I hear you’ve already met.’
Marco shook his hand and had barely sat down before Blake stopped him. ‘Is there somewhere more private we could go? A conference room or something?’ He glanced around at various team members occupying the tables, all within earshot.
‘My trailer?’ Marco suggested.
They led the way and while Blake made himself comfortable on the sofa, Savi and Marco stayed standing up, waiting for what he had to say. Whatever it was, Savi knew it couldn’t be good if he had to fly halfway across the world to say it.
‘I’ll cut to the chase, Jesse and I have been talking about damage control. Now, Savi, I know your identity hasn’t been exposed but we need to throw people off the scent. Jesse mentioned that Mr De Luca, you, uh… have been dating around, shall we say.’
‘We get it, I’m a man whore. What’s my sex life got to do with Savannah and Jesse?’
‘We think you two should pretend you’re dating.’
The two of them stood there in utter silence, dumbfounded by his announcement. Was her boyfriend out of his damn mind? It made zero sense. ‘Why, exactly?’ She cast a hesitant glance at Marco, who was still quiet but smirking to himself.
‘Think about it, Savi!’ Blake said with genuine excitement in his tone. ‘People are going to be hunting for the girl in the photos, so if you’re already seen to be with someone, it’s unlikely anyone will clock it was you.’
‘But Jesse and I have no links to each other according to the outside world, so how is anyone going to link us? Why would they suspect me?’
‘He follows you on social media, for a start. You know what people are like, that alone can sometimes be enough for the fans and media to run wild with theories. And you grew up not far away from each other. I wouldn’t put it past people, Savi.
Please consider this, just as a precaution.
Jesse doesn’t want to risk it, and we feel that this is a good solution.
Plus, it’s good publicity for your team. ’
‘For the team, maybe. Not for me. An IEC rookie dating her teammate mere weeks into the start of the race season? I’m fighting for my spot at the top of the leaderboard, trying to be taken seriously as an athlete.
I don’t want to be known for my dating history.
’ She could already imagine the derogatory comments, as if women in motorsport didn’t get enough of those.
‘I mean, it worked for Faith and Julien when they got together. The fans love a bit of romance,’ Marco shrugged, totally unbothered by the idea.
‘What, you’re down for this? What about your yacht groupies?’ She narrowed her eyes.
‘I can boot them to one side for a season, Savannah. If it throws people off the scent and helps you out, I’d be more than willing to do it.’
She was suspicious, not just that he was offering to stop sleeping with other women for an entire race season but also that he was acting so nonchalant about it.
This was a huge PR stunt, and there would be rules.
Enforced by Jesse, who she was equally suspicious of because what man wanted another guy’s hands all over his girl?
‘What’s in it for you?’ she questioned, noting that Blake was still smiling away while they went back and forth.
‘Nothing, but I’m your buddy, remember? We’re teammates. I don’t take that relationship lightly, Savannah. If you need me to do this, I’m all in. Plus, you know… if there’s even a tiny chance that it might get Esme riled up then even better.’
‘And there it is,’ she scoffed. ‘You’re still not over her?’
‘Nope, which is why I need to get under you. You know, in a metaphorical sense.’
‘Uh…’ Blake interjected. ‘This isn’t a physical agreement.’
‘No, no. I am aware. Savannah and I are not… Wouldn’t dream of it. But, how are the fans going to think we’re more than friends? We have to do something to suggest that there is a romantic element, a kiss on the cheek here and there. If it’s not believable, fans aren’t going to get invested.’
Savi studied Marco’s features, trying hard to admire him in that kind of light.
But she wasn’t going to lie, as attractive as he was, there was nothing there.
Her body didn’t react in the slightest. How was she supposed to kiss him without standing dead still, arms glued to her sides and her lips unable to move with his?
She had always been awkward around guys, but the chemistry between her and Jesse had been undeniable.
She wasn’t so sure she could be convincing enough for this.
‘Jesse will write up a contract if that’s what you both want, make sure the lines are clear as day, but he trusts Savi enough not to worry about it.
A contract is just another thing that could be exposed in the press, so it would be better to do it without one.
However, Mr De Luca, he would like to make it very clear that he is also trusting you , man to man.
No crossing boundaries, and Savi is to be the one who sets them. ’
That hurt Savi’s heart. Shouldn’t Jesse at least be talking to her about it?
Not only was he actively encouraging her to pretend to be in a relationship with someone else, but he had no interest in putting anything on paper.
It was bizarre. This whole thing was out of pocket, and she still didn’t know if it was a good idea. For anyone.
‘I can talk to him. Tell him what’s what. If he wants. Other than that, just tell us from a professional perspective how you think we should launch this relationship into the media, and we’ll crack on and chat to our PR team, assuming Savannah is keen.’
‘Keen might not be the right word,’ she grimaced. ‘But if you think this will work, then let’s give it a go. Just for a couple of months until all the fuss about the photos has died down. There’s no need to drag this out over a whole race season.’
‘Well, actually… Jesse thinks we need to give it six months minimum. So that will take us through to November. You can announce a break-up before the festive season, then you’ll have the winter break to “heal” before you see each other at work again in January.’
‘He’s really thought of everything, huh?’ Savannah’s tone dripped with sarcasm.
‘You don’t have to do this, Savi. But we’re doing it for you. It doesn’t make a difference to Jesse if you’re linked to the photos, his privacy has already been violated, but you’re a rookie in this championship. It’s not a good look for your sponsors.’
She felt her skin getting hot under the pressure of having to make a decision that had seemingly already been made for her. He was right and everyone in this room plus Jesse knew it.
‘Okay,’ she breathed out, wiping her wet palms on her race suit.
‘You sure, Cowgirl?’ Marco looked to her for reassurance.
‘No, but we can try.’
Blake started to rise from his seat, his business here done the second she’d agreed. ‘You can back out of this, Savi. Just understand the consequences. And I strongly suggest you have a word with your team principal, plus Esme.’
‘Esme?’ Marco crossed his arms.
‘She knows about Jesse and I.’
‘Yes, and she needs to think you two broke up. If you have to tell anyone, the only people who can know you and Marco are faking it are you two, Jesse, your PR team, your boss, immediate family, and me. That’s it.
’ If this was such a serious matter, why no contract?
It wasn’t adding up, but she trusted Jesse.
She didn’t tell Blake that she would absolutely be telling Esme the whole truth; no way was she lying to her best friend.
She’d already kept the secret about Jesse for four years, and she trusted her with her life.
She regretted having to ask her to lie to everyone, but she knew Ez would do it in a heartbeat.
‘So, what’s the first step?’ Savi asked as Blake reached the door, ready to see himself out.
‘That’s up to you two to figure out.’ He shrugged, and without so much as a goodbye, Blake was gone. Leaving Savi and Marco to process what the hell had just happened.