I sneak up on her, lean down over her shoulder and talk low in her ear.
“Like my gift, princess?” She sighs and gives me the most breathtaking smile.
“It’s perfect, thank you, Luke.”
Taking Robert’s advice, I decided to gift her something she would hopefully appreciate more than flowers.
I called in some favours to make the perfect custom-made notebook for her. It may have cost me some extra money to get it ready in a few short hours; however, seeing her reaction makes it all worth it. Jessica casts a quick look around before quickly leaning up on her toes to kiss me on the cheek.
It may be short, but it sets my nerve endings on fire, nevertheless. I want to give her a proper kiss, but seeing her hesitation about me standing around, Igive her a slight squeeze to the waist instead.
“I’ll see you later,” I say as I stroll away, towards my team bus.
As soon as I reach the bus, my agent calls me into our office, where we hold meetings and occasionally conduct interviews with magazines and other media outlets.
“Morning, Luke. We have some things we need to discuss before you get ready for the race.”
I can already feel the dread settling in my stomach. Whenever Andrea uses that tone, I know it’s going to be something I don’t like.
I sit down just as our PR strategist enters the room, making me even more nervous about what they’re going to tell me.
Did someone photograph Jessica and me last night? We were cautious, but sometimes it’s enough just to be out in a public space, and someone will spot me, immediately taking a picture, especially if I’m with a woman.
Perhaps this is related to her being a reporter. I honestly don’t see how it would be anyone’s business.
We are two grown adults who can do whatever we want, as far as I’m concerned.
“The McLaren team has approached us about a PR situation we think you should consider.”
Okay, so nothing to do with Jessica then. That’s good, at least.
“As you are aware, they are establishing a new league for the women’s side in F1. They have one of the most promising drivers on their team, you may have heard of her, Victoria Jensen, and their team suggests that you make some public appearances together to get the gossip going.”
I freeze, feeling like I’m going to be nauseous from what they just told me.
“You want me to date an upcoming driver just to make the paddock a bunch of gossip bitches on my behalf? Absolutely not,” I tell them, making it clear that this is not up for discussion.
“How exactly would that benefit me?” I add.
“Come on, Luke. You’re the golden boy of F1, but you will only stay that way if the media can write about something other than your lap times and the number of victories you’ve achieved. This would benefit your image, making you seem like the perfect boyfriend as well as the perfect driver.”
I shake my head at them in disbelief.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time they’ve suggested something like this.
When I first got into F1, Iquickly learned that PR relationships were essential if you wanted the media to take a special interest in you.
When I was 20 years old, new to the celebrity scene, it seemed like a good idea, and I had a few PR stints to build my image.
Now, five years later, I’ve told my agent that there wouldn’t be any more of that, which is why I’m surprised they’ve sprung this on me.
“The answer is no.” I stand and walk toward the door, but stop when I hear the PR assistant call after me.
“I wish it were that easy, Luke. We already sent a hot tip to all the big media outlets; the paddock will be swirling already with the news that the golden boy has been swept off his feet.”
I gulp and think about how that statement isn’t so far off as they may think; the only problem is that they got the wrong girl.
Of course, they would have already planted some false information without even talking to me first.
