‘Even the greats like Michaels and Rossi are not immune to the far–reaching claws of men and their audacity. Michaels has often been quoted, making thinly–veiled references to how she felt as if she were a commodity, her body for hire to the highest bidder – or sponsor – and now, over ten years later, Rossi comments on the exact same issue.’
‘How is this dirty, dark secret still being swept under the rug? It’s unacceptable and it’s time for change. Firecracker Rossi is pictured above, evening up the score for women in Formula One everywhere. She is caught touching handsome stand–in team principal, Kristian Wright, in the inappropriate manner in which she herself has been forced to silently endure.’
I puffed out my cheeks with a sigh. Okay, this wasn’t as bad as I had been expecting. There was no mention of Bianca and mebeing in a relationship. The journalist had captured a private, intimate moment between us but had jumped to the wrong conclusions. I could work with this.
‘Of course, it is inherently wrong for anyone to touch another without their permission, but I have to say it’s mighty refreshing for this particular stinking boot to finally be upon the other foot. Good for Rossi!’
I flinched as my phone flashed and vibrated in my hands, the screen turning blank with just three words emblazoned across it:Frank Matthews Calling…
“Ah, shit,” I muttered, swallowing before answering. “Frank. What can I do for you?”
“You can start by explaining why I have woken up this morning to a picture of Rossi with her hands all over your arse.” He was pissed, voice tight with tension.
I cleared my throat. “It’s not what it looks like.”
“Are you fucking her?” Frank snapped.
I faltered, mouth opening and closing as I fought for an answer to that question. “I, uh—”
“No bullshit. The press hasn’t caught wind of the full story here, just Davina Geovanni spouting her feminist nonsense, but if there really is more to this photo than meets the eye you need to tell me,” he snarled. When I hesitated a moment longer, I heard a low growl of frustration. “Forfuck’ssake, Wright. Are you fucking Bianca Rossi?”
“Y–yes, but it’s not—”
“Fucking hell…” Frank trailed off with a heavy sigh. “When I brought you in, I thought it was on the explicit understanding that we had a lot of face saving to do after Harold’s fuck ups and this is how you choose to go about it?”
I remained silent. I couldn’t argue with him, it was the same debate I’d had with myself hundreds of times. I’d known I wastaking a risk when I’d chosen to entertain Bianca’s affections and now it was coming back to bite me.
“How many people know about this?” Frank muttered.
“No one, and the article isn’t suggesting there is any affection between Rossi and me – in fact, it’s hinting at the opposite. It’s a piece of feminist literature—”
“Utter hogwash.”
I cleared my throat. “Actually, it’s pretty on the nose. I was planning to speak with you about this once the season was over, but now is as good a time as any, I guess.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The article is an accurate portrayal of what these sponsorship events are like for the women in our team – especially our drivers,” I said. “Rossi had confirmed as much to me, even before this article was published.”
“Well, I mean, I suppose there is an element of some old school thinking,” Frank hedged. “But it’s harmless. It’s part of the job – sponsors attend these events to brush shoulders with the drivers and in exchange they fund our team.”
“It’s not their shoulders I’m worried about, Frank,” I replied sternly. “You cannot seriously be suggesting it’s acceptable to expect our drivers to suffer such treatment? I know this is the first time I’ve managed a female duo—”
“And a mighty fine job you’ve done, hm?” Frank interrupted sarcastically. I ignored him, gritting my teeth.
“—but I know with certainty that male drivers aren’t subjected to the same. It’s not acceptable.”
“That’s a bit rich, hm? Considering you’ve been getting your dick wet with one of these girls you claim to want to protect. Don’t try to pull the wool over my eyes, Wright,” Frank snapped.
“That’s a separate issue. I’m not defending my actions, but my relationship with Bianca is entirely consensual. I’ve made sure to check on more than one occasion,” I argued. “What I observed atthe sponsor function was anything but and I won’t stand idly by and allow it to happen.”
“And when the sponsors pull their funding?” Frank asked.
“We find new ones – ones that don’t think it is acceptable to sexually assault young women in exchange for money.”
There was a tense silence, and I ran my hand through my hair.
“I’m disappointed in you, Wright. You’ve done a stellar job managing the McLaren team, especially in such strenuous circumstances, but I have to say this scandal has left a bad taste in my mouth. There’s a real question mark above your future in this sport.”
