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“You should finish what’s in here.” I raised my eyebrow and gave Luca a questioning look. Why did he care so much? I mean, he had had to care somewhat; he needed this arrangement, too, but even I had to admit he was being awfully nice for us having ‘just started’ our relationship. I simply nodded at him and took a seat on the other side of Henri, who was enjoying being in the middle seat this time.
Henri leaned over and whispered, “Hermes water bottle looks good in your hand, ya know.”
“Oh yeah, you going to give me your seat next year?” I whispered back, earning me a chuckle from Luca.
Before Henri could get another word in, the press conference had started. The journalists started with their usual questions they had for the winner – a discussion on the tires and new track. As the discussion turned to the temperatures, one of the journalists turned to me.
“So Georgia, how are you feeling after that? You looked pretty worse for wear out there at the end of the race.” I nodded, picking up the microphone to respond.
“Yeah, as you know, we’ve been dealing with weight issues, and the team felt it necessary to limit my water. It was a bit of a tough call because we needed to better balance the car due to my starting eighth, but still, I don’t think it’s a call we can make again.” I winced at the last part, probably not what Isabelle wanted me to say, but it was the truth. I couldn’t do that again.
“Well, we’re glad you are ok. But I have to ask since there’s a big push to get more women in the sport, do you think your heat sensitivity had anything to do with the fact you’re a woman?”As the journalist asked the question, I just stared at the guy blankly; dumbfounded was the only way I could express how I felt. I could feel Henri tense up next to me, but before either of us could say anything, I heard a thick Italian accent in the microphone next to me.
“Did you not just hear her? She said the lack of water in the car was the reason. What does that have to do with being a woman?” The voice was rough and laced with frustration. I turned to the right and saw Luca now standing, getting closer to the journalist, clearly expecting an answer. The journalist looked shocked, his mouth agape as he stared directly into Luca's eyes.
“You know, we all struggle with water consumption in the cars. With the weight restrictions, we often have to face minimizing water with our setups, depending on the track temps and our place in qualifying,” Henri spoke up, trying to clear the tension in the air and de-escalate the situation. We knew the press didn’t like me, but we couldn’t risk them starting to turn on Luca as well. Henri stood up and tapped Luca on the shoulder. Fortunately, Luca had already started retreating to his seat, a look of fury still in his eyes.
“Right, yes, sure,” was all the journalist could think to respond, still shocked from Luca's outburst. I turned to look at Luca, who was making a point to glare at the journalist.
“Judging by the fact that Lily was able to complete 98% of the race without passing out, I would say no, it has nothing to do with me being a woman and everything to do with my setup and lack of water,” I said, starting to gain confidence in myself.
“We drive 300kph in temperatures well above 100 degrees. We learned a lot about the car this weekend, and we learned about our limits, and that’s what matters.But what I can say is that I’ll be back next race, stronger than ever. I mean, someone has to show Luca how to get on his home race’s podium.”
I gave Luca a sly smile, and as I turned back to the journalist, I heard laughter coming from my right. I’m not sure if it was shock, but Luca was head back, eyes closed, ‘hand clutching his chest’ laughing. Henri also had a smile on his lips.
“We’ll see about that, Cara, we’ll see,” Luca chuckled, a slight smile on his lips.
ChapterSix
A LOSING DECK OF CARDS, PLEASE
Georgia
After Miami, Lily and I were requested at the factory so we could hop into the simulator, a machine we used to practice our races virtually. The team had further upgrades on the cars, which they wanted to bring to Monza, an exciting prospect for the two of us. The Miami upgrades had been incredible, and I knew that the Monza upgrades would further increase our race pace.
But the best part? After a few days in the factory, I had a solid five days at home in Monaco, just me, Henri, and Lily, who had decided to visit before our trip to Italy.
No Luca, no demands, and most importantly – no journalists.
On my last day at the factory, I was called in for a ‘social media meeting.’ While Lizzie made it sound like we were having a general meeting about both Lily and I’s engagements over the next week, based on the guest list, I knew what we wouldactuallybe discussing. I was going to get the low down on the Monza “fake dating” plan.
When I walked into the brightly lit Valkyrie F1 board room, the first thing I saw was a huge projector reflecting a photo of me and Luca at the Miami Grand Prix. It was a picture of us in the cool-down room. Luca was shirtless, and I had the biggest smirk on my face that I had personally ever witnessed.
Good fucking grief, I thought to myself,please, for the love of God, tell me this is photoshopped.
Before I could react to the photo on the screen, I heard a burst of laughter from behind me. Lily and Chris had walked into the conference room, and both of them were giggling like school girls as they stared at the boardroom’s TV, which conveniently still displayed the photo of me staring at a shirtless Luca, a sultry smirk on my face.
Mortified didn't even come close to describing how I felt.
“Please take a seat, and we’ll get started,” Lizzie said, motioning for me to take a seat next to her. As much as I wanted to take a seat, all I could do was stand and stare at the photo, my face no doubt showing a look of absolute shock.
I felt frozen.
“Georgia would sit, but she can’t stop staring at Luca with those puppy dog eyes,” Chris chuckled. I immediately flicked him off and stuck my tongue out, a childish move, but I had just been caught staring at Luca like a teenage girl who had just been asked to prom by the varsity quarterback, so I was feeling childish.
I sat in the closest seat next to me, still staring at the photo on the screen. It soon switched to an Instagram post, which featured the shirtless Luca photo.
“Oh good, now I know everyone is talking about thelook,” I grumbled to myself. “Lucky me.”Lizzie chuckled a bit but cleared her throat, signaling for everyone to quiet down.
