Page 5 of Jump Start

He raised his eyebrows. “Well for one, I would probably wear less dangerous heels tomorrow,” he said, completely ignoring my question.

I sat up straighter. “What does my choice in footwear have to do with anything?”

“They’re completely impractical for this place. You’re at a racing garage, not a fashion show.” His reply was quick and blunt.

“Well, thank you for the suggestion.” I folded my arms, intent on not letting this arrogant man intimidate me.

We sat in silence for a moment, neither of us wanting to speak, until finally he gave up and his expression softened just a little.

“Well, today we have a driver meeting, and then I’m going downstairs to check on my car. I also have a few media commitments via video call. Testing will start on Wednesday,so I guess you’ll be there for that, too,” he added as more of a statement than a question.

“Yes, I will be here all week, but I do have other work to do, so I won’t get in your way too much,” I answered, trying to match his tone. I could tell this was going to be a long week. I unpacked my laptop and set it up on a small glass table that was in the corner of the room. I eyed off the couch towards the back wall but settled for the table.

“Mind if I set up here? I don’t want to get in your way.”

Thomas nodded and said, “Sure, no worries,” before he proceeded to shift his chair back to his side of the desk. I waited for my laptop to start up for what felt like an eternity and felt comfort when the home screen finally appeared, displaying my company’s logo.

Almost immediately, I received a message from Meredith:How goes it with the baby lamb-holding hottie?

I rolled my eyes and began to type,No sign of him here.

My thoughts were interrupted when Thomas stood and started walking towards the door.

“Driver meeting’s now,” is all he said, and proceeded to walk out the door without me.

I quickly gathered my phone and notepad and tried to trail along behind him into the conference room. As I entered the room, Chris introduced me.

“Everyone, this is Harper Allenwright fromTheSydney Daily.She is doing a piece on Thomas. Please make her feel welcome. This week, she will be working from our office and then, later on, attending testing.” His introduction was met with a very warm greeting from the other two drivers and staff members.

I reluctantly sat down next to Thomas and used an Echidna-branded pen from the table to take notes.

“So, this week we need to focus on maintaining tyre preservation and driver fatigue since the first round will be an endurance race,” one of the head engineers suggested to the group.

I was fascinated by the conversation but had no idea what they were talking about. The other drivers on the team were a young reserve rookie by the name of Landon and Thomas’s teammate, Will. I noticed immediately that Will was very handsome. He was tanned with dark brown hair and brown eyes.

Will looked over at me and smiled. “You’ve got your hands full this week. If you feel like you need time with a real professional, you’re welcome to jump ship over this way.”

I nodded and thanked him; however, I felt his offer was less than savoury. Thomas had been fairly quiet during the meeting, but as I looked over at him, I noticed his hand quickly contorting into a fist before slowly releasing. Was that about his teammate’s comment? I wondered if they didn’t quite get along.

After the meeting, I returned to Thomas’s office, listened to the recording of the driver meeting, and made some of my first notes for the piece. Moments later, I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt Thomas reading over my shoulder.

“Will and I get along fine, actually.”

“Bloody hell! Are you right?” I asked, slamming my laptop shut.

“I just thought you’d like to know so you can make sure your story has at least sometruth to it.”

I stood up to face him. “What makes you think my story won’t be truthful?” I could feel my anger brewing.

“Well, you’re a journalist. You fabricate the truth and sensationalise the rest.” Thomas concluded his statement by sitting back on his chair, arms folded in front of his chest, looking me dead in the eye.

Each time he opened his mouth, he managed to infuriate me. I leant over his desk, placing both of my hands flat on it, palms spread. “Let’s get one thing straight,Thomas,” I sneered, “trying to intimidate me by insulting my line of work and my integrity is not the best way to start our week together. Now, you either get on board with this piece Ihaveto write on you, or if you prefer, I can get a man assigned to this. If that is your problem. Now, I have some of my own work to do, which I think I will do in the canteen.”

I straightened back up, loudly packed my belongings, and slammed his door shut behind me, leaving him with his mouth slightly agape.

I was too furious to do any actual work and instead, ended up walking around the block to cool down. I called the one person whose opinion mattered most to me, my dad.

“Look honey, it sounds like he’s a bit of a spoilt brat. Just keep giving it to him like you are. He will realise that you are not one to be disrespected, and if he keeps being a prick, then let Chris Verco know. I’m sure he is aware of this young man’s attitude.”

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