Page 9 of In the Cockpit

I blinked at him and realized I had stopped breathing for a moment. I took a reflective step backwards to steady myself but of course I stepped right into Alejandro, his strong chest blocking my momentum like a brick wall. A warm, sculpted, sexy brick wall. Heat flared in my belly and raced to my extremities. “Oh, sorry” I started. But instead of backing away or pushing me off of him, he just stayed where he was. And looked at me in a way that made my stomach flutter.

“Yes, Kat.” he said, low and deep. “The young pup is right. I too will do whatever you need.”

Standing between the two men my mind went completely blank as I contemplated what they were saying to me. Was this a game? Payback for the job I was asking them to do?

Surely they didn’t mean anything like that, right?

Just then the elevator dinged and the door opened to our floor.

Saved by the bell I guess.

Chapter Seven

The rest of the nightpassed in a daze. As soon as the elevator doors opened I bolted into our suite and straight into my room, pressing my back against the door once I was inside.Stop thinking sexy thoughtsI told myself. There was no reason to think these men were doing anything more than teasing me. They had been at odds for so long that now they were finally finding a shared interest – competing to see who could make me the most irritated.

The next morning I woke up early. Qualifying didn’t start until late in the day, after the final practice, but we had a lot to do until then. I went into the bathroom and made sure both doors were securely locked before jumping into the shower. While washing my hair I processed my to-do list. First up was obviously breakfast. We wouldn’t be eating here in the hotel, but rather over in the paddock. Entering meant running a gauntlet of cameras, but fortunately the big streaming network was not focusing on our team for their documentary series this week, so we just had to hold it together until we got into the building. Normally the guys would drive themselves over but due to the new team orders we would take a car together.

After breakfast was the team meeting, followed by the driver’s press conference. This would be the first big challenge of our new “friendship” storyline because the press knew our guys didn’t like each other and were sure to ask some leading questions. If everyone could just hold it together through that we’d be in the clear. No one would expect them to be cheery and friendly in the hours leading up to qualifying. At least that was my hope.

I got out and put on my race weekend uniform – polo shirt and pencil skirt. I wished I could pair it with some heels, but in concession to being in the garage I wore a pair of white tennis shoes. I pulled my hair back into a low bun and put on my favorite pair of simple diamond stud earrings, a gift from my parents when I landed my first real job out of university. My phone and notepad went into a small crossbody bag and my ID hung on a lanyard around my neck. Taking a deep breath I glanced at myself in the mirror, smoothed down my shirt one last time and walked to the door.

The guys were already in the living area when I exited, both dressed in their team polos and dark pants. Alejandro was seated on the couch scrolling on his phone while Jason was pacing back and forth in front of the window. Their words from the night before floated back into my brain, but I shook my head, sternly reprimanding myself. “You both ready to go?” I asked.

They both looked over. “Yep!” said Jason, walking over. Alejandro simply stood and nodded before heading towards the door. We all filed out into the hallway and got onto the elevator. The air between us was not as friendly as it had been yesterday, but as we rode down in silence no further innuendos were spoken.

A car waited for us out front and I once again got into the front. Turning I looked at both men. “Ok, I’m going to take some video for our insta stories, so time to turn on the charm. Try to be as natural as possible, but be friendly. Got it?”

Alejandro smirked and slid his arm around the back of Jason’s seat. “Got it.” I saw Jason instinctively go to remove his arm, but I already had my phone turned on him so he settled back into the seat, still looking uncomfortable but with a smile on his face.

“Ok, go.” I said, hitting record.

“Hello!” Said Alejandro waving. Jason waved as well and said a quieter “Hi.”

“We are on our way to the circuit here at the Australian Grand Prix to get ready for qualifying. This is my buddy Jason here’s first time driving in a Formula One qualifying." He gave Jason a squeeze around the shoulders before removing his arm. “How are you feeling, man?” he asked.

“Well,” said Jason, “I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous. But mostly I’m just excited to get out there and show everyone what I’ve got. I think we have a great car and have a chance to get a good result for the team.”

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