Page 54 of Formula Chance

I don’t let it show, but his words hit like a slap. My strategy was solid, and he performed well when he followed our advice. That lockup happened because he overbraked on a turn. That’s all on him.

“I don’t even trust her strategy for tomorrow,” Matthieu says to Hendrik, but it’s so loud that everyone in the garage hears it. Hendrik merely puts his hand on his shoulder and walks him to the back of the garage and to the staircase that leads up to the hospitality suites, I’m sure to try to calm him down.

Possibly commiserate since I don’t think Hendrik is my biggest fan.

My face flushes to be called out, and I wonder if his pit crew believes that. They are loyal to him but also privy to our strategy instructions, so they have the complete picture.

“Keep it together,” Nash says quietly as he comes up behind me, his tone carrying more weight than the words themselves.

I realize my hands are curled into tight fists and I exhale slowly. “I am,” I reply, my voice clipped.

We turn to one of the screens on the garage wall and watch the remainder of the Q3 round as the minutes tick down. Now we wait to see if Nash and Matthieu can hold their positions. Nothing else to be done but hope.

When the last car finishes, Nash drops down to P3, which is still fantastic, barely nudging out Reid Hemsworth. Lex Hamilton takes P1 and Carlos Moreno P2. They’re definitely shaping up to be the ones to chase this year.

Matthieu thankfully stays at P6, and I’m grateful only for the fact I don’t want to add any more fuel to his already hot flames of discontent.

There’s a sudden increase in chatter in the garage and I turn toward the commotion. I’m shocked to see Brienne Norcross walking through the ocean of mechanics and tire engineers. She’s followed by an enormous man with long blond hair tied back in a ponytail.

I did my research on Brienne before I took this job, and I know a lot about her ownership of the Pittsburgh Titans hockey team. I know the man with her is her husband, Drake McGinn, who also happens to be the Titans goalie.

She moves through the garage, shaking hands and taking the time to talk to people. Luca is also with her and seems to be explaining things about the car. Drake is completely fascinated, bending over the seat, looking inside. I imagine he’s got every man’s fantasy of wanting to drive one of these things.

“I wonder why Drake’s here with her,” I muse. “Don’t they have their hockey season going on right now?”

“He’s dealing with a groin injury,” Nash says, and of course he’d know. He’s a big hockey fan, American that he is, and while I happen to know he’s a Chicago Bobcats fan, I expect he’ll become a Titans fan before too long, especially with the racing team moving to Pittsburgh.

Brienne looks my way, and I can tell she knew I was standing here all along. She touches Drake’s arm and says something, to which he smiles in acknowledgment. She winds her way around the cars to where Nash and I are standing.

“Well done, Nash,” she says as she reaches us, offering her hand to shake.

“Thank you,” he replies. “Felt good to be back out there.”

“I’m glad. I knew you could do it and I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.”

She then turns her attention to me. “Got a few moments we can talk?”

I blink in surprise because I can’t think of any reason she’d single me out, not when there are people present who are far higher up the chain of command.

“Of course.”

“Is there somewhere private we can go?”

“I’ve got an office upstairs,” I say, motioning for her to accompany me.

I shoot Nash a bewildered look and he gives a slight shrug, but I move through the garage and Brienne follows. When I look back, I see Nash talking to Drake about the car and I’m betting they’re both a little starstruck with each other.

Upstairs in my office, I hastily move to straighten all the scattered telemetry reports from my desk. When we’re seated, I say, “I didn’t know if you’d be able to make the race.”

Not only does this woman own the hockey team her husband plays for, but she runs a multibillion-dollar holding company. I can’t imagine it was easy to find time in her schedule to travel all the way to Australia.

Brienne smiles. “I won’t be able to come to many races given my other responsibilities, but this just happened to work out since Drake is off for a few weeks with an injury. We thought it would be fun, and well… I have a vested interest in cheering on Nash since he was my pick to join Titans Racing.”

“You should be proud of him. He’s really put his all into this team, and his talent and dedication are unmatched.”

“From what I understand so far in talking to Luca, he’s more than earned the number one driver slot, not just in his performance so far but in a leadership role.”

That surprises me, because while I understand that as the owner of this team she would receive direct reporting from Luca, I guess I didn’t think she’d be interested at that level. She seems more like the type who only cares about the end results.

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