Page 11 of Falling Fast
‘Are you OK?’ His fingers twitch against mine.
‘Yes!’ I let go and take a step backwards. I don’t know what my body is playing at, but it needs to stop it right now. ‘Why wouldn’t I be?’
His gaze lingers on my blushing cheeks for a few seconds before he turns to Vienna. ‘I should go and debrief.’
‘And I should get in there.’ Corey grins, shooting pistol fingers at me as he heads for the stairs. ‘Welcome to the team, Ava!’
‘So, what do you think?’ Vienna asks the moment we’re outside. ‘You’ll be working pretty closely with the drivers. Corey’s easy to get along with, obviously, whereas Leif takes a little more getting used to, but he’s a complete teddy bear underneath that stern exterior.’
I almost snort with incredulity. I can hardly think of anyone who fits the description less. Possibly because I’ve never felt either attracted to or enraged by a cuddly toy – not that I’m prepared to accept either of those reactions. If Leif and I are going to work together, then I can’t let him affect me. I need to stay calm and control my feelings. Put them in a box and bury them deep in my subconscious.
‘Trust me,’ Vienna goes on. ‘Plus he’s an incredible driver. Better than the car deserves at the moment, but hopefully … Wait!’ She stops walking so abruptly I’m several paces ahead before I realize. ‘I have a brilliant idea. You should film a “First Day at Rask” segment tomorrow, a sped-up version of the tour I just gave you. It doesn’t have to be long, but it means we can start posting content as soon as possible.’
‘You mean, with me in it?’
‘Of course! You’ll be our poster girl.’
‘Oh …’ I hesitate because it sounds like jumping in at the deep end. Then again, why shouldn’t I? If Rask are going to have my (temporary and dual) allegiance, why not go all-in? ‘OK. That sounds great.’
‘Perfect. In that case, I’ll let you go for today, but I’ll email the contract over later and there’ll be a security pass waiting for you at reception first thing tomorrow.’ She marches me to the main doors and holds them open. ‘I’m relying on you to start brainstorming tonight. I can’t wait to hear your ideas!’
Hi, I’m Ava Yearwood and I’m the new communications officer here at Rask Formula 1 team. This building is their headquarters, so come with me and I’ll show you inside!
@RaskRacing, 27 May
FOUR
I WAKE UP TWO hours before my alarm goes off, shocked into consciousness by a dream where I’m back in the club in Monaco with Leif. Only this time we’re dancing, his strong hands gripping my waist while his blue eyes bore deep into mine, so intense it’s like I’m the only person in the world. Meanwhile one of his legs is pressing between my thighs, moulding our bodies together, as we move in a slow, sensual rhythm …
I launch myself upright, red hot and horrified, as electric tingles race up and down my spine. I can’t believe I had such an unprofessional dream! It’s so … so …sounacceptable. I practically leap out of bed, shaking my head to repress the memory. If I had a security pass already, I’d get up and go straight to work, but since I don’t – and I’ve planned all my outfits and meals for the rest of the week – all I can do is make coffee and start rehearsing what I’m going to say on my ‘First Day at Rask’ video. First days are stressful enough – especially after a spicy dream about one of my new colleagues – but I guess this is what I signed up for.
I manage to get one of the last spaces in the car park when I arrive just before nine, then film my steps leading up to the entrance. Luckily I arrive in reception at the same time as Emika, the chief press officer I met during Vienna’s whistle-stop tour yesterday, and she waves at my camera as we go in together.
‘Vienna told us you’d be filming a first-day bit,’ she says once I’ve put my phone away and we’re heading upstairs. She has short, tightly curled black hair and immaculate make-up, all rainbow eyeshadow and statement red lips. ‘First things first. Let me show you our fuelling station.’ She throws her bag and jacket on to a desk and then takes me into a kitchen with a state-of-the-art coffee machine. ‘Our budget may be a little tight right now, but Vienna still insists on decent coffee.’ She opens a drawer full of pods. ‘Just avoid the blue ones. Yuto gets possessive of vanilla.’
‘Thanks for the tip.’ I choose an orange pod at random.
‘Caramel? Good choice.’ She smiles at me as the smell of arabica beans fills the air. ‘We’re so pleased to have another person on board. We’ve been doing our best to cope, but we’re so understaffed we’re behind with everything. Everyone’s desperate for some time off and we’re not even halfway through the season.’
‘I’m excited to get started,’ I say, because I really am. After recording my final (for now) podcast discussing the prospects for the Barcelona Grand Prix, I spent last night doing a deep dive into Rask: everything I could discover about their new owners, the Jokkinens (Mika and Nova are brother and sister, not a couple as most people assume), their buyout of Rask, as well as media coverage of their first eight races. Finally, I looked at their social media accounts and … Yeah, I hate to kick ateam when they’re down, but none of it was very inspiring. There are token posts after every race, thanking everyone for their efforts, with photos of the cars and a few statistics, but there’s hardly any personal content, and nothing remotely eye-catching. It’s not surprising, given all the recent turmoil in the team, but it’s not going to win any new fans either.
Fortunately, there issomegood news. Corey, for example, is a publicist’s dream. Originally from Brisbane, he’s funny and likeable, and clearly knows how to handle the media. Like most of the drivers, his main home is in Monaco and, according to his personal Instagram profile, which is in pretty good shape, his spare time is taken up with other extreme sports: surfing, skiing, sky-diving and abseiling. He’s such an adrenaline junkie that there’s a clause in his contract allowing him to be as crazy as he wants. I’m already envisaging some sweaty workout photoshoots.
Leif, on the other hand, is a total mystery. He’s twenty-one, a year younger than Corey, but his official address is still in Norway, and I can’t findanyclues about what he enjoys outside Formula 1. As far as I can tell, he doesn’t even have social media accounts and, judging by the monosyllabic answers he gives to interview questions that don’t involve motor racing, he doesn’t enjoy talking about himself in general. There’s also a total lack of profile pieces about him. All I can discover are basic facts about his career – he got into karting at the relatively late age of twelve, won the World Karting Championship at fourteen, then entered F3, which he won at eighteen, and F2 through the Chiltern young driver training programme. Then, after serving as reserve driver for Chiltern last season, he was chosen by Bastian Aalto as a full-time driver this year.
It’s … surprising. Most drivers come from money or have some kind of family connection to racing. That’s why they call it the billionaire boys’ club. It’s not exactly democratic, but it’s how the sport works. For a driver to succeed through talent and dedication alone is unusual. Impressive. Or it would be, if it were anyone else. I’d rather not give Leif Olsen any more credit than I have to.
‘So, we usually have a team meeting mid-morning,’ Emika goes on. ‘Vienna’s a powerhouse, but only after ten a.m. She generally doesn’t arrive until then, and we absolutely don’t talk to her until the caffeine kicks in.’
‘Not today.’ Vienna’s voice makes us both jump.
‘Oops.’ Emika presses a hand to her mouth, though she’s laughing at the same time. ‘Sorry.’
‘I’d fire you if it wasn’t true. Or if I had any spare staff.’ Vienna’s glower is belied by the twinkle in her eye. ‘Obviously, I’d prefer to start every day at twelve, but since we have a mammoth task ahead of us, I’ve decided today is an exception. You can apologize by making me coffee. You know what I like.’
‘Double espresso. Will do, boss.’
‘Welcome to the deep end.’ Vienna gives me a wry smile before turning to address the whole office. ‘Listen up, people! This is the first day of the new Rask Racing team. I want energy, optimism, focus and absolutely no mention of that bastard Philip Sawyer. Everyone to the conference room – now!’
