In truth, there was nothing I despised as much as sharing a car with anyone from my team. I usually insisted I travel everywhere alone. My whole life was a whirlwind of social engagement, whether that be with the team, the press, the fans… Sometimes sitting in a silent car for half an hour was the only quiet time I would get for myself in an entire day. As much as I didn’t relish the journey ahead with Sophia, it was preferable to leaving her here with Kristian.
“Well, we’re both heading for the same press conference.” I shrugged.
At the exit, Sophia and I waited a moment as the chauffeur brought the team car around. He hopped out and opened the door for us to enter. I stepped forward, hesitating a moment as I caught sight of movement from the corner of my eye. Kristian, with his leather satchel draped over his shoulder, came trotting down the shallow stone steps towards us.
“Here, ladies first,” I muttered, hastily stepping aside and shoving Sophia towards the car ahead of me. “Are you joining us, team principal?”
“Senseless to waste fuel when we’re all going to the same place,” he replied tersely.
Sophia clambered into the car, scooting herself across the back seats to the far side. I ducked inside next, my heart thundering with anticipation as I took the middle and awaited Kristian joining us. Sometimes we were given large, seven–seater MPVs to ferry us back and forth between venues, but I’d never been more excited to squeeze inside a tiny, regular five–seater in my life.
Kristian paused, standing beside the open door for a few moments whilst he had a discussion with the driver about something and with the rest of him obscured, I felt my eyes drawn to his lower half. He had an expensive–looking leather belt attached to his tailored suit trousers. I nibbled my lip, eager to unfasten it and run my hands over the tempting bulge beneath. Kristian suddenly ducked, easing himself into the car beside me and I cleared my throat, looking away.
If Kristian was aware of how close we were to one another, he didn’t let on. The whole right side of my body tingled, touching his from thigh to shoulder. He squirmed, fighting with the seatbelt and I nearly whimpered when those lovely hands brushed against my hip as he struggled to reach for the buckle. I’d never felt like this before, such a sudden,intenseattraction to someone. My belly fizzed with excitement, though I forced myself to keep my eyes trained out of the opposite window with cool indifference.
The driver got behind the wheel and the car set off, jostling us against one another. The conference building was about half hour from here and I wondered how I was going to make it that far without internally combusting.
We sat in stony silence for a short while before I caught Sophia’s eye. She cast me an awkward smile that spoke a thousand words. She was uncomfortable, neither of us able to relax with our new, rather intimidating boss beside us. Kristian seemed blissfully unaware. His phone was out once again, and I watched the screen as he answered emails.
He spoke suddenly without looking away from his phone and I flinched. “Are you both ready for the questions you’re going to be asked about Harold Warner today?”
“No comment,” I replied, fighting a smile when Kristian chuckled beside me.
“Good answer.” He paused. “Sophia?”
“Yes, I’m prepared. We’re under strict instruction not to engage in any questions regarding Harold and instead try to redirect the conversation back to the season ahead.”
“That’s right,” he replied. “I have the jet arranged for Las Vegas next week. Details will be in your calendars.”
Sophia and I made noises of acceptance before the car fell into silence once more. I pressed my lips together, body tense beside Kristian’s. I could feel the warmth of him against me and it made me a little breathless. I was curious to know if our close quarters had registered with him at all, and with a barely perceptible smirk, I relaxed a little, allowing my body to grow floppy and the motion of the car jostled me into him.
“Sorry,” I murmured, though I didn’t attempt to move away.
“It’s fine.” Kristian cleared his throat. “It’s a little cramped back here, hm? I’ll make sure the MPV is available to collect us after the conference.”
I scowled. That wasn’t the outcome I’d been hoping for. I gathered my hair up from the nape of my neck, growing a little clammy. Sophia silently offered me a hair tie and I smiled in thanks. I sat forward as far as my belt would allow, tying my hair up in a messy bun. The car took a bend, and I lost my balance, sliding across the leather seats into Kristian, my elbow nearly hitting him in the face.
“Whoa, careful.”
“Fucking hell, sorry. I—” My breath caught in my chest as Kristian took me by my waist, pushing me back into my seat. It was barely more than a second or two that he was touching me, but I felt an uncomfortable heat creep up my back, and I flapped the neck of my t–shirt.
“I’ll ask the driver to crank up the AC,” Sophia said, easing forward in her seat to relay the instructions. Immediately, ice cold air began to blast through the vents, and I sighed.
“Thanks.” The back of the car quickly cooled down, chilling the perspiration on my skin. Goosebumps sprang up over my arms, hairs standing on end and I felt my nipples stiffen. It had been a decidedly hot and humid British summer day outside, but now I was being blasted with freezing cold air, I lamented my choice of thin, lace bra. The lack of padding allowed my stiff flesh to tent through my McLaren team polo shirt and though I plucked the material away from my breasts, there was not much I could do to conceal them.
Just then, Kristian’s phone slipped from his hands, and he scrambled to snatch it back up. “Fuck,” he hissed. As I glanced across at him, I caught his gaze darting away from my chest and my pulse quickened. Had that been a glimmer ofinterestI’d seen upon his expression, or did breasts just possess some curious gravitational pull for the male gaze that they were all powerless to ignore? Either way, I smirked. It was a starting point at least.
The car pulled up outside the venue and we waited patiently for the driver to hop out and open Sophia’s door for her. My teammate was eager to get away from the tense atmosphere, slipping out hastily. I followed behind, sliding across the leather seats, a plan formulating in my mind. I stepped out with one foot, but as I went to heave myself out through the door, I pretended to slip.
I squeaked, allowing my weight to fall backwards and prayed Kristian was going to play into my hands. In his eagerness to escape, the team principal had shuffled up right behind me. I was either going to fall right into his lap, or…
“Careful!” I felt Kristian reach out to steady me, with little thought to where his hands would land. I felt his palms on my behind. Barely a split second later, he realised what he’d done and released me. I squealed with genuine surprise, falling back into his lap as I had originally intended.
“God, sorry,” I gasped, hoping my performance was believable. “I lost my footing.” I took my time squirming against him as I fought to pull myself out of the doorway.
“N–no, it’s alright. I, uh, yeah. Don’t worry about it,” Kristian spluttered, his powerful façade slipping.
I stepped out of the car, tugging my jeans up by their belt loops and righting my polo shirt where it had ridden up slightly. I strode ahead to join Sophia with a shit–eating grin plastered all over my face.
