Page 40 of Falling Fast
‘I’ll take it straight to a garage in the morning,’ I say. ‘No, wait. I have another meeting first thing. Shit.’ I press a hand to my forehead, thinking through the timings. There’s no way I’ll make it to work on time if I have to find a garage as well. I’ll just have to leave my car for another day and figure out some other method of getting here tomorrow. Maybe I can ask Dan for a favour, or I could call Yuto? He lives in Cambridge, too … ‘Never mind. I’ll work something out.’
‘No need. I have a friend who owns a garage. I’m sure we can arrange something.’ Leif pulls his phone out of his back pocket and quirks an eyebrow at me. ‘If that’s OK with you?’
‘Well …’ I think about refusing, but, honestly, the sooner I can get my car fixed, the better. ‘If you wouldn’t mind? If I could drop it off really early that would be perfect.’
‘I’ll find out.’
Two minutes later, he wanders back to me, tucking his phone away again. ‘All sorted. We can go straight there.’
‘Now?’ I check my watch. It’s 7.30 already.
‘He’s a good friend.’ He strides off towards his car. ‘Follow me.’
‘Wait!’ I call after him. ‘You can just give me the address. There’s no need for you to come too. You’ve done enough …’ I stop talking as he closes his car door.
I guess this means we’re going together.
After their best result of the season so far, Rask must be keen to hang on to their current line-up – both drivers are on one-year contracts. With rumblings of openings at both Quezada and Fraser, however, Olsen and Hammond may want to wait and see what happens elsewhere before committing to the long term …
@MotorsportEchoNews, 24 June
THIRTEEN
BECAUSE IT’S SUMMER, IT’S still light when we pull up outside a garage in a small town on the coast. It looks ancient. The doors are crying out for a coat of paint and the sign is so faded I can’t even tell what it says. As garages go, it’s the absolute last place I would have expected an F1 driver to know about, let alone visit, but Leif has already parked and is waving for me to drive straight inside.
‘Is here OK?’ I ask, winding my window down as two men in overalls emerge from an office.
‘Fine.’ One of them gives me a thumbs-up.
‘Thanks so much for doing this. I’m really grateful,’ I say, climbing out and handing him the keys. Despite its battered exterior, the inside of the garage is perfectly neat and tidy.
‘No problem.’ The man grins at Leif, who’s just walked up behind me. ‘You owe me a favour, Olsen.’
‘Anything you want. How long will you need?’
‘To change all four tyres? About an hour. We’re not a pit crew.’
‘Oh, it’s not all four,’ I protest quickly. ‘It’s only the rear left.’
‘You can’t do one and not the others.’ Leif looks remonstratively at me. ‘It makes them unbalanced.’
‘It’s also four times the cost.’
‘Do all four.’ Leif turns back to the man. ‘We’ll sort the money out later.’
‘Hang on!’ I hurry after him as he heads for the door. ‘It’s my car. I should be the one making the decisions.’
‘I know, but I can afford a few new tyres, especially now that Rask have a new sponsor.’
‘Leif,’ I say in my sternest voice.
‘Ava.’ He stops walking. ‘Safety is important. I can’t let you drive away on unsafe tyres.’
‘That’s a massive exaggeration.’
‘Maybe, but I’d still feel better if you let me do this. You’ve done a lot for me recently.’ He catches my eye and sighs. ‘Look, if you feel that strongly, you can buy dinner to make up for it. There’s a decent fish-and-chip shop on the front.’
‘Fish and chips?’ I squint at him suspiciously. ‘Are you allowed to eat fried food?’
