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Noted.
“You’ll have rooms next to each other this race, so we can easily get footage of you two coming and going from the paddock. We’ll rotate this race; Georgia will drive some, and you’ll drive some.”
Clearly, my horrified face said it all because before I could say anything, Matteo butted in, “Luca, you have to share. You being the only one driving makes it look like a one-sided relationship, and the fans are going to start commenting that you don’t let her drive anywhere. We’re getting ahead of that.” I knew he was right, but still, getting in a Bugatti felt like an offense to all human nature.
“Fine, as long as I don’t have to share a room with her, I’ll do it.”
Henri’s eyes widened, as if he had just thought of the possibility that one day, they would probably shove me and hisbelovedsister into the same hotel room. I chuckled at that.
Oh, Henri, Hermes’ naïve,little golden boy.
* * *
Georgia
We arrived in Monza fairly early, and our shuttle from the private plane took us straight to the hotel Lily and I were staying at. The hotel was a lovely old building in the center of the historic downtown. As I opened the door to my room, I saw what was probably the largest, most lovely suite I had ever laid my eyes on. Within the room were two bedrooms and a vast living room.
Finally, a decent-sized room.
I texted Henri that I had arrived and asked if he wanted to meet up for dinner tonight. Fortunately, I had been spared dinner with Luca this evening since he had an important dinner with potential sponsors and VIPs. Apparently, no one thought we were that ready to be put together at a sponsorship dinner.Fine by me.
Georgia: Dinner tonight?
Henri: Yeah, I’ll text Éliott and Oliver.
Georgia: Sounds good.
I unpacked my clothing for the race weekend. Again, Valkyrie F1 had set us up with some pretty fun items for the week: more sun dresses, blue jeans that matched the car, and various tops for the weekend. Several designers had reached out to the team and asked if they could design better polos than the classic men’s version the rest of the paddock wore, to which Isabelle said, “Of course.”Isabelle wasn’t just here to sell our driving abilities; she would happily sell anything that made the team money. I was convinced she would auction off picnic dates with Lily and me each weekend to make money if she could get away with it. But I didn’t mind hawking the team’s clothes – if I was going to walk around the paddock holding hands with the devil, at least I was going to do it in style.
I decided to take a shower before I got dressed for the day. We had an afternoon meeting with some VIPs at the hospitality lounge, and going drenched in sweat and smelling like an airplane just didn’t seem appropriate for someone trying to convince wealthy brand ambassadors to become sponsors.
As I was finishing up my shower, I heard a banging noise from the main room, and panic began to fill me. Had someone broken in? There were some crazy fans in F1, and not everyone was thrilled that the sport was ‘letting women in.’ Lily and I had received a lot of harassing messages on social media, although they had all fortunately turned out to be hot air.
Must be Lizzie here to fill me in on some extras for the weekend, I convinced myself. Still, usually, she knocked first.
But as I walked out of the shower, wrapped in only a towel, ready to chastise Lizzie for not knocking before entering my room, I saw something much worse –Luca Rossi.As soon as he saw me standing in just a towel,his eyes gleefully raked over my body, and he smirked at the sight in front of him.
“Well, hello to you too. I guess after Miami, it’s only fair Ialsoget to see youshirtless, although you definitely need to buy me dinner first,” he said with a wink.
“What the actual fuck are you doing here?” I screamed, running back into the bathroom. I poked my head out of the door and looked at him, still demanding an answer.
“Well, according to the front desk, this is my room. So, I think the question is, why are you here, showering in my shower?”
“This is my room, you idiot.”
“Well, looks like we’re sharing a room then, ‘cause clearly my key card works,” he retorted, motioning towards the door with his key like a buffoon.
“Absolutely not. No way. Not happening. Now, turn around so I can run back to my room. And don’t get comfortable. I am sure Lizzie will get this sorted.”
Luca chuckled but turned around. The moment he did, I dashed to my room, cell phone in hand. I frantically dialed Lizzie’s number as if she were a radio host, and I was a hopeful fan who was going to be lucky caller number nine.
“Lizzie, thank god you picked up. There’s been a mistake. Luca is in my room, claiming we’re sharing a room! I thought you said these rooms were next to each other.”
“Wha-what do you mean he’s in your room?” I could tell from her voice that she was as equally confused as I was. “Let me call the hotel and get this sorted out.”
I hung up and threw my Valkyrie team clothes on. On the other side of the wall, I could hear Luca's muffled voice, clearly complaining to Matteo on his end. After I got dressed, I walked out of my room and heard the tail end of their conversation.
“… this is not acceptable. You need to fix this,” I heard Luca hiss. “It’s bad enough that I have to spend my downtime in the paddock with her. I need my space in my hotel room!”Luca turned to see me, a stern look on his face as he observed the fact that I was still there.
