Page 103 of Racing for Redemption
Maybe I'm still just a kid, and busy people are supposed to feel like this—alone, dejected… abandoned.
That's such a shitty feeling.And here I thought being in the same sport would help us be together more frequently. Boy, was I wrong.I've never felt this much distance in my life.
“Blake,” I say quietly, “is she coming to the next race?”
He hesitates, just long enough for me to know the answer before he speaks.
“She’s dealing with Gritt Tires. They’re threatening to pull sponsorship after today’s crash.”
Another piece of bad news in a growing pile. My shoulders slump. “Tell her I’m terribly sorry,” I say, though I’m not sure what exactly I’m apologizing for. The crash? Missing her? Wanting more than she’s willing to give?
Blake squeezes my shoulder. “Rest up, kid. This streak of bad luck won’t last forever. You showed us that early this season.”
But as I close my eyes, all I can think is that the best thing that’s happened to me so far this season—Violet Colton—might already be slipping through my fingers, like so many missed opportunities on track. And I don’t know how to hold on and not lose her.
Chapter 28
Fighting on the clock
Violet
Ismooth my hands over my tailored suit, the only sign of nerves I allow myself before entering the boardroom. They turn to me—some curious, some skeptical, all waiting for explanations over the clusterfuck that has been the past two months of poor to mediocre results that are barely different from last season's.
My mind is reeling. I've gone over the details and feedback from Blake, Johnson, and the engineers accompanying the team on the road. We don't understand what we're failing at right now. Yes, the car is two seconds slower than the top three, but we should be improving as the season progresses, not reverting to last year's model. We're doing everything, running around like busy bees, desperately trying to find answers, solutions, something. Anything. Then, the questions begin.
How to salvage a sponsorship.
How to manage a reckless driver.
How to keep Colton Racing from slipping back into obscurity after our brief taste of points in Melbourne.
I hide the exhaustion of flying between continents for two months straight. But hell, I just want to rest. For a bit. A brief while. And resting doesn't include falling asleep in hotel, or airport lobbies. And hell if I don't miss him, even more now after the scare that was his accident on track with Nicholas. From the tone in his messages, he's starting to drift away from me. Keeping a distance. Gradually not getting in touch. It's a weird feeling. I take ages to reply to messages, but I always do, and not seeing anything from him lately… It worries me.
“Ladies, gentlemen,” I say, taking my seat at the head of the table. My voice doesn’t waver. “Let’s begin.”
The projector flickers to life, displaying our current standing: P7 in the Constructors’ Championship. Still holding on, despite everything.
“As you can see, despite recent setbacks, we’re maintaining our position from Melbourne,” I say, clicking to the next slide. “William Foster has shown exceptional skill in extracting performance from the car, though luck hasn’t been on our side.”
Chairman Reeves clears his throat. “Luck, Violet? Or poor strategy calls and subpar machinery?”
I meet his gaze steadily. “Both, if we’re being honest. The safety car timing in China was unfortunate. The incident with Bertrand in Bahrain was outside our control. As for the most recentcrash—”
“That’s precisely what we need to discuss,” interrupts Amelia Chen, our newest board member, tapping her manicured nails against the polished table. “Gritt Tires is threatening to pull their sponsorship. Twelve million euros, gone, because Nicholas couldn’t keep his car on the track.”
I nod. “I’ve been in discussions with them for the past week. And now, they’re concerned about the negative publicity from the crash, but more so about Nicholas’ behavior. The drinking, the missed simulator sessions—” He's always been like this, but only now has it come to light. He's a necessity for our financial liquidity, but a ticking bomb that doesn't give back anything of value in terms of performance on track.
“So, you’re saying it’s a driver problem, not a team problem,” says another board member, leaning forward.
“I’m saying it’s both,” I admit. “Which brings me to our first order of business—potential new sponsorship.”
I click to a new slide showing a sleek logo: Belforte Construction. “They’ve expressed significant interest in a primary sponsorship position. Initial discussions suggest a package worth nearly double what Gritt is providing.”
Murmurs ripple around the table.
“And what’s the catch?” asks Chairman Reeves, ever the skeptic.
I draw a deep breath. “They’re a relatively new player in the sector. Their financials look solid, but I want complete due diligence before we proceed. The last thing we need is to discover we’re laundering money for someone.”
