He flings his hand towards the door.‘Andiamo.’
That’s me dismissed. The lack of a hug shows Lorenzo’s about as angry as he gets with me. He’s known me since I wastwelve, I don’t have an overbearing dad, and I’ve won them two World Championships. I’d have to do quite a lot more than snog a presenter to warrant a wrench being thrown at me.
‘How’d it go?’ Georgie asks when I’m back in my driver room.
I beam angelically. ‘Butter wouldn’t melt.’
She flicks me with a team polo I need to autograph. ‘You’re such a jammy bugger. You know the pit crew are terrified of him?’
‘Bollocks. He’s a right teddy bear.’
She crosses her legs on the couch. ‘How’s Minnie taking it?’
‘Fine.’ I lean against the wardrobe. ‘We had a good chat this morning. She was shocked, obviously, like me, but I managed to talk her down.’
‘Is she getting a publicist?’
‘Nah, she doesn’t need one. The comms team here will sort it.’
Georgie shifts, suddenly looking like she could breathe fire. ‘Wake.’ She claps. ‘Up.’ Clap. ‘Jack.’ Clap. ‘For you. They’ll sort itforyou.’
Why’s she yelling at me? I haven’t done anything wrong. ‘Yeah, but by extension?—’
‘No, not by extension. In fact, they’d happily throw her under the bus. It makes clearing your name easier.’
Where does blame come in? We were both drunk, both stupid, and are equally accountable. ‘I don’t know why you’re getting so lairy with me,’ I say, crossing my arms tight.
‘Because you’re being a mug! She’s a journalist, Jack, and to make matters worse, she’s a woman.’
Gee, I hadn’t noticed. I blink at her, waiting for more.
‘The paddock’s one big food chain and, spoiler alert, you come out on top,’ she says.
Still none the wiser. ‘So?’
‘So, she’s really vulnerable right now.’
‘Vulnerable fromwhat? It was one kiss! Tiago’s always getting caught with strippers.’
‘She’s not a stripper,she’s a fucking F1 journalist!’ She slaps my arm and shitting hell it stings.
‘Ow!’
‘It’s not enough that she’s been humiliated online; her professional opinion’s now shot to smithereens. She’ll be trolled for months. Her team’s trust will have been seriously knocked. She could even lose her job over this.’
Wait… is that all true? My stomach sinks. I thought Minnie was overreacting. I thought she’d get a rap on the wrist like I did. ‘You think?’ I ask quietly.
‘Yeah, I do think! I don’t even know her and I know she’s not ok. You’re supposed to care about her.’
‘I do care about her!’
‘Then you and your privilege need to help her, or I promise you’ll be doing chin-ups ’til kingdom come.’
Chapter 38
MINNIE
It seems the whole of social media thinks I’m a gold-digger/slut/prostitute/nepo baby/devious/unworthy/ugly/thick/fat. Some think all of the above. The ‘shipping’ and defence arguments are far outweighed by memes, GIFs, conspiracy theories and charts comparing me to the WAGs. They pick hideous stills of my coverage where I’m mid-word or blinking. I knew I shouldn’t have looked online.
