Page 4 of Jump Start

Her long blonde hair fell to her shoulders, and she brushed it out of the way to extend a hand to me.

“Hello, Thomas,” she said. “Great to meet you.” Her hazel eyes darted from me to Chris as she spoke. She was beautiful, and I could tell she was intelligent. I could also tell that she was not going to take any of my shit.

I welcomed the challenge.

So, I decided not to shake her hand and see how she’d take it.

“Now, I’ll let you two get acquainted,” Chris mumbled, before looking at Harper and adding, “And Harper, remember what I said.” He then nodded to the woman as he left the room. Cryptic.

Now it was just the two of us. I was going to have fun with this.

Three

Harper

Monday morning finally arrived, and I was not feeling my usual fresh self. I woke up multiple times throughout the night, which meant I would have to make an extra strong coffee to get through the day. I had never been good at mornings. I detested them. Why would anyone want to get up so early? You know those people who could happily get up early for the gym or go on a holiday? I was neither of those people. I had to admit that I was not good at hiding it, either. Those close to me knew to avoid me until I’d had at least a coffee and something to eat. Croissants were my favourite.

While I got ready, I listened to one of my favourite podcasts to help me get into the right frame of mind for the day. I packed my laptop bag and checked my hair, makeup, and outfit in the floor-length mirror I had by the door. I looked professional despite how tired I was feeling. I smiled at myself and strode out the door, feeling confident about my first day at Echidna Racing.

My journey to the Echidna headquarters was less than desirable. I rarely drove to the outer suburbs of Sydney and found myself stuck in traffic even in the early hours of the morning. My GPS guided me through a few back streets before I arrived in a seemingly rural area where the headquarterswas based. I parked my car in a free spot and gathered my belongings.

As I walked in through the automatic sliding doors, I took note of the large floor-to-ceiling windows before a very well-presented receptionist smiled at me.

“Hello. Welcome to Echidna Racing. How can I help you today?” she asked politely, even standing up from her chair.

“Hello, my name is Harper Allenwright. I am here to meet with Mr Verco and Mr Henry-Jackson.” I tried to match the energy of professionalism she extended to me.

“Certainly, please take a seat. I will let Chris know you are here.”

I took a seat on the uncomfortable chair provided and kept myself busy. I checked my work emails, which was not a good idea because they were already piling up.

“Miss Allenwright, thank you for arriving so early.” I looked up to see Chris Verco standing in front of me, hand extended, so I stood to greet him.

Chris Verco was the owner and founder of Echidna Racing, which specialised in the GT3 racing category. Chris was a very well-respected man in both business and motorsport. Having owned several investment companies in a past life, racing was always his passion. His smile was warm and welcoming. He had a very impressive beard, and a bald head, and was dressed in head-to-toe sponsored Echidna gear.

“Now, I wanted to give you a quick tour before everyone arrives so you can get your bearings. It can get a little crazy here after eight a.m.”

I followed Chris through the large building and up an impressive set of stairs that led to an open-plan office area,separate driver offices, board rooms, and a canteen. Further through and downstairs was the garage, which currently had four very colourful race cars in various states of disarray. I failed to see how any of them would be ready to race in just under three weeks, which I voiced to Chris.

“I know it seems that way, however, we have a very dedicated world-class team of mechanics and engineers who will have all the cars ready to go in more than enough time.”

After my tour was over, Chris made me a coffee with the very fancy machine available to all staff. We took a seat at one of the empty tables in the canteen area and Chris’s face turned serious.

“Now, Harper, I wanted to add that Thomas can be a little difficult at times, so please feel free to pull him into line if you ever need to. I want this to be a rewarding experience for you.”

I thanked him but felt slight butterflies in my stomach at the possibility of meeting a potentially difficult subject.

Sure enough, once eight a.m. arrived, so did the many employees of Echidna Racing. The empty office area was teeming with all sorts of people arriving and turning on their computers to get started for the day. As I finished my coffee, Chris led me into one of the separate offices. He opened the door to reveal Thomas sitting on the edge of his desk, his phone to his ear, and long legs stretched in front of him, crossed at the ankles. He took one look at me from head to toe and then returned to his conversation. Chris rolled his eyes. “Off the phone. Now.” Thomas hesitated but obliged. “Thomas, this Harper, who will be doing the day in a life piece forThe Sydney Daily. Harper Allenwright, this is Thomas Henry-Jackson.”

I moved forward, reaching my hand out to shake his, and smiled. “Hello Thomas, great to meet you.”

Thomas did not move from his position, nor did he shake my hand.Asshole, I immediately thought.

“Now, I’ll let you two get acquainted, and Harper, remember what I said.” Chris nodded at me and left the room. I smiled after him. He had been so accommodating, which was more than I could say for the six-foot-two race car driver in front of me.

I stood in the centre of the room, my laptop bag slightly falling off my shoulder. Thomas noticed this and stood up straight, finally, then pulled out a chair for me and motioned for me to sit.

“Thank you,” I said. He nodded and rolled his office chair around to sit opposite me. “So, Thomas, tell me a little bit about what I can expect this week.”

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