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He leaned forward and I closed my eyes, unsure what would happen next. He gave my forehead a soft kiss “Good night, Kat.” By the time I opened my eyes he was already walking into his room, closing the door behind him.
I sat staring out the window, processing everything that had just happened. “Well, fuck” I whispered to the room.
Chapter Nine
Here’s something Inever told anyone, a secret I always thought I would take to my grave. I’d been involved with a driver before. And not just any driver. With Alejandro.
Ok, well involved is probably a stretch. It was a one-time drunken makeout with some heavy over the clothes petting action. Two years ago at the end of season team party. I was riding high from my first year in the communications management position and he had just finished his first year on our team. We had partied hard, drunk too much, and both found ourselves in an office alone. The next day was the start of the off-season and I had left for vacation while he went back to Spain for a few weeks and by the time we saw one another again neither of us brought it up. I actually didn’t know if he even remembered or if he was too far gone to know which girl I was. It didn’t matter and I swore to never speak of it for both of our sakes.
But apparently I had a type. And this could get me into hot water.
***
RACE DAY STARTED BRIGHTand early for us. We had breakfast delivered to the room and then left for the course so that the guys could do any warm ups they wished before the media and publicity of pre-race excitement began. I served as the drivers’ handler for the day, guiding them from media appearance to media appearance, but that didn’t mean I had any time to talk with them. Honestly I was glad, because the events of the night before had added confusion to my already dizzying hormones. I didn’t even have time to think until I sent them out for the drivers parade, a drive around the course in an open vehicle where they could wave to the fans before the real work of racing began.
Once they returned to the paddock it was time to get them focused for the race. Alejandro notoriously wished to be left alone as he did his final rituals, so I focused on making sure Jason was prepared for the chaos that would await him on the grid. If you’ve never watched Formula One you may not understand just how prestigious track access can be. Everyone from pop stars to professional athletes to world leaders wants to be seen and then some even get invited to watch the race from the garage. I hate those days because then I have an extra person to make sure presents well on camera, because we are always on camera on race day.
“Ok, Jason,” I said, walking over and putting my hand on his shoulder. “You ready for this?” I wondered if his fears from the night before might have spilled over into his pre-race prep, but I need not have worried.
“Yep.” He replied, turning that dazzling smile on me. “I’m hyped and at the top of my game. The only way to go is forward, right?” I nodded. “Thanks for all of the support over the last few days. I’m excited to get out there and really go for it.”
“I’m so glad,” I said as he tucked me against his side for a quick hug. “You’re going to do great. And remember, you don’t have to talk to anyone out there if you don’t want to. If you do, just say you’re excited to get out there and race.”
“Thanks, boss. I’ll see you on the other side, yeah?” he picked up his helmet, slipped in his earbuds, and headed towards the track. I looked to the other side of the garage and saw Alejandro watching me with a bit of a scowl on his face. I gave him a small smile and a wave. He just nodded as he headed towards the grid.
What is that about?I wondered. I chalked it up to pre-race jitters and headed to the front of the garage to stand with the rest of the marketing team as we waited for the anthem to play and the crew to head back. The drivers got in their cars and took off for the out lap, a drive around the track to warm up the tires and give everyone time to get off the track before they came back around to get in position for the race.
I walked back to the monitors in the garage, showing the feeds from the drivers’ cars and footage from television broadcasts. My headset was set to the media coverage so that I would know if anything was said that we would need to respond to.
The grid was set. Alejandro lining up in twelfth, Jason at the back in nineteenth. The tension in the garage was palpable as we waited for the race to start. “It’s lights out and away we go!” shouted the commentator and we all watched as twenty cars gunned it down the straight towards the first corner.
The first half of the race was fantastic. The team had elected to try two different pit strategies based on the drivers’ preferences, so Alejandro was on a two-stopper and Jason a one stop. First stops for each car went well, with the crew clocking in at a sub three second time as we hoped. Jason even managed to stay ahead of a few cars after his pit and was driving at P17 while Alejandro was right up in the battle for P10. We were all excited at the prospect of points and just needed the guys to bring it home.
And then it all went to hell.
Here’s what I saw from the garage. Alejandro came in for his second stop, which went well until one of the tyre guns didn’t detach for some reason. It was an agonizing half-second before they were able to get him out, which slowed him down on the exit and put him into a bit of traffic. He was still on the lead lap, so the cars ahead who had already been lapped by the leader were supposed to let him through. But they were battling it out among themselves, so the standard blue flag that signaled that they were to let the lead lap car through wasn’t shown. And one of those cars was Jason.
