Because Millie, for some reason that eluded him, was the only person he could see himself spending any time with. She was smart, down to earth and surprisingly sassy.
But she was also dangerous.
He hauled in a deep breath, reminding himself that he was Taz De Rossi and that he could easily resist her. He’d walked away from princesses and principal dancers, actors and models without a backward glance, and he wouldn’t allow himself to fall under the spell of his down to earth press officer.
And even on the off-chance he did, he was an F1 driver, the best around, and he regularly danced with danger. He knew exactly how to exit any situation unscathed.
CHAPTER SIX
THE DRIVER PULLEDinto the parking area close to the entrance for VIP passes and pulled to a stop, letting the car idle. Millie gathered her possessions along with her thoughts and prepared to exit the car. Three-quarters of a million pounds? Had she heard him correctly? Just for acting as his girlfriend? That was…
Madness.He was joking…right?
Instead of climbing out of his side of the vehicle, which was on the right side of the entrance, Taz followed her out of her door, took her laptop bag out of her hand and slung it over his shoulder. She heard the roar of the fans gathered outside as they recognised Taz.
Millie looked over to the crowds and the waiting press, cameras in hand. She tipped her head in their direction. ‘You’ve got fans watching you and cameras pointed your way. Try to smile.’
She wanted to discuss his wild offer, but there were too many ears around, too many eyes on them. When she was next alone with him, she’d sit and explain why she couldn’t do it, why that wasn’t possible.
There were seven hundred and fifty thousand reasons why it could be possible. The money aside—she could donate it to the trust she’d set up in Ben’s name—why wasn’t it possible?And why did the voice asking sound like Ben?
You crashed out of my life. You don’t have an opinion anymore, she crossly told him.
You keep saying you want to figure out who you are, where you fit…
I don’t fit in, Ben.
Millie scrunched up her nose and shuffled on her feet. That was what she told herself when Ben invited her to join him at Monaco or Silverstone. Not fitting in and knowing how to handle their rich world was also how her parents justified leaving her alone when they jetted off on holidays to places like Monte Carlo and Ibiza, Jamaica and Rio.
That was then, this is now. How do you know if you don’t fit if you don’t try?
What if I embarrass him?
Dead Ben actually scoffed.Taz isn’t easily embarrassed, and do you think he’d ask you if that was a concern? When it comes to women, Taz is a picky bastard.
And yes, her ego just doubled at the idea of playing Taz’s girlfriend. Millie placed a hand on her jittery stomach and reminded herself of what was important. She was trying to figure out who she was and where she was going, how she was going to navigate the rest of her life, but she wouldn’t be able to do that standing on the sidelines. Taz was offering her a way to step into Ben’s world, her parents’ world.
Of all the ways she imagined coming to terms with her past, with Ben’s death, with her parents and her lack of confidence, she never thought she’d be acting as Taz’s girlfriend when she did it. Her parents had practiced smiles and knew how to stand, when to answer press questions and when to appear mysterious. Taz played by a different set of rules, mostly because he was rich and powerful enough to make them up as he went along. But she was just an ordinary woman living an ordinary life; she wasn’t rich, famous, important or charismatic. She far preferred to stay away from the lenses of any cameras, to live a quiet life.
If she took Taz up on his offer, she’d be thrust into the spotlight and would have the eyes of the world on her. She was, as she’d been told a million times, not cut out to stand in the limelight. She wasn’t even sure she was cut out to do PR. Sometimes her insecurities, fed by a lifetime of her parents’ criticism, threatened to overwhelm her.
Also, accepting his offer was tantamount to inviting her family back into her life. They would barrel back in, blithely ignoring the past and their inattention and neglect. They’d insert themselves into her life, playing at being one big happy family, all the while desperately hoping her relationship with Taz would raise their own public profile. Her parents were publicity parasites.
No, she couldn’t risk that happening…
Millie frowned, annoyed by her reaction. Why was she allowing her parents to influence her decision? Wasn’t she trying to break that habit? Taz was offering her a way to explore whether the messages she received and believed as a child and teenager, that she wasn’t good enough or that she was an embarrassment and didn’t fit in, were true. If she managed to navigate the wealthy, sophisticated world that Taz was so comfortable in, she could rewrite the criticisms she’d been fed and swallowed. Believed. And if her parents swooped in? What would she do then? Millie released a long breath, feeling overwhelmed. She could cross that bridge if and when it came to that. First, she needed to decide whether posing as Taz’s girlfriend was something she wanted to do.
It was a lot of money to turn down. With three-quarters of a million, she could make a difference in many people’s lives and do it in Ben’s name. How could she pass that opportunity up? She couldn’t, could she?
But this wasn’t the time to make rash decisions. She’d consider his offer later; right now she needed to work. She hurried to catch up with Taz’s long-legged stride to the entrance to the track. ‘Your press conference will take place in the press room shortly. The journalists will quiz you on your actions in Shanghai and will have questions about your injuries. And I can carry my laptop bag.’
‘I’ve got it, and you sent me an email briefing me about today’s press conference. It’s fine.’
She braked, not sure she’d heard him correctly. She’d expected him to moan and complain about sitting down for a Q and A. ‘Right, good.’ She squinted at him. ‘Did you hear what I said?’
He gave her a quick eye-roll. ‘I’m not deaf. And if we don’t keep moving, we are going to be swarmed.’
Fans and members of the press corps started drifting in their direction, and Millie started to walk, battling to keep up with Taz’s pace. The noise level intensified as they approached the crowd that stood between them and the turnstiles that would allow them access to the paddock. Millie glanced up at Taz, whose sunglasses covered his startling eyes. A fan asked him to pose for a photograph, and Taz—notorious for ploughing his way through crowds—stopped to take the selfie, then another one. What was happening here? Then, to make things even stranger, he grabbed her hand and threaded his fingers through hers.
