Page 45 of Rush
‘First question, please,’ a voice called out.
Journalist number one stood from their seat and took the microphone, giving the drivers a little wave. Most of them responded, aside from Julien who leaned back in his seat looking moody as ever. That had always been his thing. ‘I have a question for Kodie. There has been talk of your father starting a NASCAR team. Would you ever cross over to a different championship?’
Kodie laughed sarcastically, but with a genuine smile on her face so she didn’t come across as harsh. ‘Not a chance. I know I haven’t been in the IEC for long, but I can’t imagine ever going anywhere else now. My father can do what he likes, but I’d rather have him involved with the team who gave his daughter a chance. So, who knows, maybe we can convince him to join Revolution Racing in the future.’
‘Julien,’ another journalist took the mic. ‘Will your oldest daughter be going into motorsport? She’s shown a lot of interest in the sport, coming to plenty of races over thepast few seasons to support her dad. Maybe it’s a potential career path for her?’
Julien shook his head. ‘Jasmine is very set on medical school in the US. Soon she won’t have time to come and see me race, but even if she wanted to go into it, I don’t think I want my baby girl in a car that drives that fast.’
‘You stick to the speed limits at home?’ the journalist grinned.
‘Always. Even on the empty roads around the island of Oahu, speed limits are there for a reason. I’d never drive fast with my family in the car, no matter how good I am. The safety precautions just aren’t there on the open road.’
‘Well said, sir.’ The journalist nodded gratefully, handing the microphone back. Jasper looked pleased as punch in the audience. Road safety had been a big thing for the team last season, with Julien participating in an ad campaign in support of stricter speed limits in rural areas after he’d had a minor accident near his home in Malmedy while racing Marco.
‘Marco, what made you decide to settle down so suddenly with a fellow teammate and a rookie, no less? You were seen with several women in the weeks leading up to you and Savi going public, how do we know this is real?’ a female journalist asked, angering Savi.
Shouldn’t a woman know better than to make a comment like that? So what if Savi was a rookie? What difference did it make to how he felt about her? She was getting mad like their relationship was real, but she couldn’t stop herself. It was the principle.
‘I’m not sure what Savannah being new to thechampionship has to do with anything,’ Marco frowned. ‘It took us a little while to figure it out, but when we did, we agreed we might as well go all in. We just decided to stop messing around and face our feelings.’
Savi couldn’t wipe the smug smile off her face. He may be lying to the entire room, but she still felt proud to be associated with someone who was willing to stand up for her. She and the girls had hit the jackpot having such supportive teammates and bosses, and any threats of sexism were quickly shut down. It helped being so closely associated with a company likeGirls Off Trackwhich was focused on advocating for women in motorsport.
‘Savi, do you worry about what people will think of you for dating your teammate during your first season?’ The journalist went straight in for the kill.
Savi may be feeling shaky on the inside, but she wasn’t going to let it show. ‘No, I don’t worry about the close-minded opinions of others. I’m here to do my job and to bring the championship title home for my team. Who I date is totally irrelevant and doesn’t change anything. Marco and I are both professionals and racing comes first.’
‘Hell yes,’ Jasper exclaimed enthusiastically from the far wall, quickly reverting to team principal mode when heads turned to look at him, his head ducking down in embarrassment. ‘Sorry, continue.’
‘But won’t there be a time when your relationship has to come first? Like when you get married or have children?’ That one stung. What was this woman’s problem? Had a racing driver personally rejected her or something?
‘Faith and Julien worked together, as do Brett and Lucie.Both couples are going strong and the only impact their relationships have had on their work has been positive. I’m not sure that our fans are going to take too kindly to what you might be implying here, and I’m also not sure that the choices I may or may not make in the future need to be addressed publicly. I respect that you are here to do your job, but I would very much like it if the questions could be focused on my job, and the job of my teammates rather than gossip surrounding our relationships. If you do want to focus on relationships, why not discuss the team as a whole and how the mutual respect we all have for one another has allowed us to create some fantastic content and win races?’ Savi crossed her arms when she was done, pleased that she’d shut her up but dreading the reaction from her bosses. Until she looked over at them and saw every single person lining that back wall had smirks or smiles on their faces.EspeciallyJasper.
‘Nicely said, Savi,’ Brett piped up. ‘We’re basically all married to each other, at this point. It’s a bit cultish, but we wouldn’t have it any other way, would we, guys?’
‘No,’ Miko smiled. ‘We’re all incredibly proud to be a team.’
The journalist sat down silently, looking mighty ashamed of herself. As she should.
Savi stared at her hands for the rest of the session, answering any questions aimed her way with as few words as possible. She knew she was going to walk out of this room to tension that she didn’t want. Kodie and Miko had already let her know they weren’t happy about having the spotlight taken off them in their rookie season, but nowthis? She knew it wasn’t her fault, but it didn’t stop the guilt clawing at her. Spiking her anxiety and threatening to cause a scene.
With Brett answering the final question, they traipsed out of the conference room. There was an air of defeat lingering behind them and as Savi watched Kodie and Miko enter the trailer, she stopped in her tracks. ‘Woah, Cowgirl!’ Marco knocked into her. ‘Don’t just stop walking like that! Are you okay?’ He kept a tight grip on her to keep her upright.
‘Fine. Just don’t want to go in there.’ She gestured to where the door was slamming shut behind them. ‘But I need to get my things.’
‘Walk in there, head held high, get your team colours on and come back out here ready to put in one hell of a stint. You shine in quali, Savannah. They know it, I know it and Jasper knows it. Hell, the whole motorsport industry knows it by now.’
‘Okay.’ She let out a shaky breath.
‘They can be bitter all they want, but their attitude doesn’t diminish your talent.’
‘Thanks, Mars.’ She had noticed she only used the nickname everyone else used for him when he was being particularly sweet. ‘I’ll see you in the garage.’
‘Not a chance.’ He followed her right up to the trailer door, leaning against the side of the structure with his arms crossed. ‘I’ll wait outside. And if you would feel more comfortable moving into our trailer for the rest of the race weekend, then I’ll make that happen.’
She smiled appreciatively, reluctantly climbing the stairsand opening the door to reveal Miko making a coffee and Kodie sitting on the sofa with headphones on. ‘Hi, girls.’
‘Hey, Sav,’ Miko smiled back at her. ‘Coffee?’
