Page 81 of Rush
I wasn’t sure if I should write this article, but I can no longer let those photographs dictate the way I live. I also need other victims to know that someone else making an active choice to tear you down is no reflection on you. I have chosen to no longer live in fear of being exposed as the woman in those photos. I am the woman with the horseshoe tattoo, and I am taking my power back.
‘Thoughts?’ Savi frowned at his expression; he gave nothing away.
‘I think I want to kill everyone who ever shared those photos around, whether it was on news platforms or social media or groupchats…’ Marco’s jaw tensed and he grippedher phone, his knuckles turning white. ‘How can anyone do that to someone? I was angry before, but reading it all in your own words like that makes me furious.’
‘I’m with you.’ She pried her phone out of his hand. ‘Do you think Jesse is gonna be mad?’
‘Who gives a shit?’ He threw his hands up.
‘My lawyers.’
‘Valid point.’
‘I think Jasper is ready to unleash the Revolution Racing lawyers on him or anyone else who decides to take offence to this. Gabriel, too. They’re angry, defensive. Protective of me, because the IEC is a family. They want to throw all the power they’ve got at the situation, and don’t get me started on theGirls Off Trackteam. They want me to do a podcast episode, and then lead a workshop about how to tackle sexual harassment in the workplace.’
‘Has that ever happened to you in the workplace?’
‘Yeah, but not to the extreme that it had serious implications on my mental health. I’ve seen that happen before. A mechanic from my last team would consistently touch me inappropriately when I was getting in and out of the car. He was caught and fired, but that’s not the point. He had normalised it in his own mind, and it was all kept hidden from the press to save face for the team. I’ve witnessed worse, heard stories. It’s a very real issue that isn’t talked about unless it involves someone high up.’
‘What can we do, as male drivers?’ he frowned. ‘I’m not sure I’ve ever witnessed anything serious happen, but I guess it’s in the little things. Subtle moments that we as men wouldn’t take notice of. I remember in Faith’s firstseason, there was an issue with a driver at one of Julien’s parties. He got too close to Faith when she was drunk, we made him back off.’
‘That. That is what you can do as men. Call it out when you see it, listen to us when we tell our stories. That’s really all we can ask. Being a woman in this industry is hard, even on the good days. But also, the way female fans can treat male drivers sometimes is equally as abhorrent and we’ve all come to accept it as part of the culture.’
‘I fucking hate the world.’ He lay down, his back flat against the wooden deck.
‘Me too.’ She patted his chest, ‘But come on, I want to turn my phone off and go for a spa treatment. Hide away from the real world again for an hour.’ She knew she would return to thousands of notifications, and she had already decided she wouldn’t be addressing any of them. What needed to be said had been published, and although she would use her voice when needed or when asked, she would like to move forward.
‘Savannah…’ He sat up again, looking into her eyes with an intense gaze. It was like he was trying to hear everything she wasn’t saying. ‘I need you to tell me you’re okay.’
‘I can’t tell you that.’ She bit her lip, and he immediately pulled his legs out of the water, swivelling to face her. It was the first time she’d felt truly vulnerable around him.
‘I’m so sorry, Cowgirl.’ Marco’s eyes welled up with tears, and the vulnerability she had felt morphed into admiration for the man he was. It was no wonder she had always felt so safe around him, so at ease. So free to be herself. He made her feel seen.
‘It’s fine,’ she shrugged. ‘Well, it’s not fine. ButIwill be fine.’
Marco reached up to tenderly brush his fingers along her jawline, smiling softly as his brown eyes melded with her own. ‘You should be so proud of yourself. You’re not just a superstar, Cowgirl. You’re a fucking supernova.’
34
‘Thank you so much for doing this, Savi.’ Lucie led her across the carpeted floors of theGirls Off Trackheadquarters, her long dark hair swishing as she walked. That woman was always in a rush, and Savi hurried to keep up with her.
‘It’s my pleasure. Thank you for thinking of me. I know you didn’t exactly have a gap in the schedule for this, but the fact you made space…’ She offered a shy smile which Lucie couldn’t see, because she was still too far ahead. ‘It means a great deal to me.’
‘Are you for real?’ Lucie stopped and turned. ‘Sav, there was no way we weren’t having you on ASAP. That exposé you did raised so many important issues, and there must be so much you wanted to say but didn’t have the word count for.’
‘Some things I legally probably shouldn’t say in this podcast, either.’ She grimaced. There had been zero backlash from Jesse in the few weeks since the article went live, in fact there had been radio silence. Sapphire hadn’t heard a thing, either. He hadn’t even been spotted in public. He must be hiding in the cabin, so Savi didn’t want to rock the boat.
The internet trolls had come out in full force to attack her, but she tried to focus on those who defended her and shared their well wishes. It helped that her teammates,Marco included, had helped her through the worst of it. Marco had taken charge of Savi’s social media for a couple of days so he could block accounts and delete comments.
‘We’ll try to keep this focused on the motorsports industry, make it more an informal discussion between friends and coworkers about some of the things we have seen and experienced as women,’ Lucie said, gesturing for Savi to enter the recording studio.
Savi would never get used to how special it felt to be standing in theGirls Off Trackstudio. The neon pink sign filled the wall behind the sofas, with pink-on-pink chequerboard wallpaper and plush velvet sofas. Bea’s influence was written all over it, and she looked mighty proud as she waved her over.
‘Hey, Sav!’ she smiled. ‘Come sit down! Faith is just grabbing drinks for us all. Talking non-stop for two hours is thirsty work.’
‘Two hours?’ Savi blinked.
‘They’ll cut it down,’ Lucie laughed.
