Page 54 of Drive Me Wild
JOSIE
I never thoughtI’d compare myself to a rotisserie chicken, but thanks to the Singapore heat, that’s exactly what’s happening. I chug ice water in the cafeteria, but sweat it out almost immediately. So much for staying hydrated. Theo walking around shirtless isn’t helping my body temperature go down, either. Sweat just adds to his raw sexual appeal.
“I’m in love,” Ella announces. She sits in the chair across from me and rests her chin in her hands.
Despite the fog my brain seems to be caught in, I still manage to sing the opening lines of “I’m ‘N Luv (With a Stripper).”
“David Green is not a stripper.” Ella laughs, her dimple winking. “Although I’m sure he’d look good in minimal clothing.”
I’ve never personally met David, but I know damn well who he is considering I’ve married and smashed him in multiple games of Bang, Smash, Dash in the past year. Besides being the youngest team principal in Formula 1 history, he’s also the most attractive. AlphaVite is flourishing under his leadership and came in second for last season’s Constructors’ Championship, beating out Everest.
“You interviewed him?”
“Yes!” Ella wiggles her shoulders in excitement. “He wassosweet. He even gave me an AlphaVite hat, although I think Blake will go into cardiac arrest if he sees it.”
Blake thinks anyone who’s near Ella is automatically in love with her, but he’s been very chill about her spending time with other teams. He understands its part of her job and is just happy to have her at the Grand Prix with him. Wearing another team’s merchandise is where he draws the line, though.
Ella fills me in on her interview, adding in details she knows I’ll appreciate—like the fact that David enjoys cooking and prefers workout classes to running outside. She also points out that he’s single. He’s thirty-seven, which is a bit out of my age range, plus I can’t handle sleeping with more than one person at a time. Not that Ella knows I’m even sleeping with one person.
I tune in and out of the conversation, my mind circling back to my conversation with Rhys from yesterday morning.
“Josephine!” Rhys greets me. His straw-blonde hair is slicked back like he’s inGrease. If he were holding a cigarette and wearing a leather jacket, he’d for sure be a John Travolta groupie. Instead, he’s in his classic uniform—a white McAllister polo, black slacks, and bright white trainers. A classic ‘dad uniform,’ minus the kids and minivan. “Come in, come in.”
I slip into the sleek conference room titled Progress, praying it’s a good omen.
“Got your email,” he says with a smile. “And love where your head is at. Always driving innovation.”
“That is the motto, right?” I smile and sit in the padded desk chair next to him.
McAllister may drive innovation, but this room may also drive someone to a psych ward. It’s like a creepy shrine to Blake and Theo. Every available wall surface is plastered with their photos. Blake’s feature a stoic look of determination, whereas Theo’s feature his carefree, boyish smile.
“All of your ideas are great.” I sense abutcoming, and right on cue, he continues, “But our marketing plans for the rest of the season are locked in.”
“What about implementing them next season?”
“You know how the big guys feel. There’s no need to rework the wheel if it’s driving just fine.”
Rhys is technically one of those big guys, but whatever.
“Earth to Jos?” A finger snaps wildly in front of my face. “You good over there?”
I take a long sip of my water. “Mm-hmm. Just overheated, I think.”
She nods sympathetically. “I feel you. I’m drained. Plus, I slept like shit. This hotel has the world’s hardest beds, don’t you think?”
“Not comfy at all.”
I hate lying, but my only other option is to admit that I can’t relate because Theo’s bed is heavenly. He not only has his own sheets, comforter, and pillows sent to every Grand Prix ahead of his arrival, he has a Tempur-Pedic mattress topper flown in, too. We’ve come up with an unspoken agreement that in London we stay at my place, but at races, we stay in his hotel room.
I force out a yawn to back up my fib. “Sorry about spacing. What were you saying about AlphaVite’s marketing plan? They want to do driver-cam vlogs?”
Ella entertains me with stories of her interview until it’s time to head to the pit. It’s thankfully a night race, so it’s cooled down a bit by the time we leave the air-conditioned cafeteria.
Blake starts in pole and keeps his position until he crashes in lap twenty-seven and is forced to retire early. If there wasn’t steam coming off his body because of the heat, there’d be steam pouring out of his ears in anger. Harry Thompson better hide unless he wants to face the wrath of Blake.
Blake and Harry exiting the race leaves Theo with a massive opportunity to win. And he does by a whopping seven-point-four seconds. It’s not his first podium win in Singapore, but it is his first first-place win and the celebrations begin the moment the podium ceremony is over.
Rather than go to a club, we swap out flashing strobe lights for a dive bar where neon beer signs cover the walls. Heading to a table toward the back, I pass inebriated patrons yelling at one another over the loud music, making it hard to hear my own thoughts. Maybe that’s for the best.
