The room erupted at once with flashes as the four panellists walked out from behind the screen. Journalists got to their feet, questions started flying around the room, shouts, calls for attention to specific cameras, the works. It was a circus. But I remained seated and stoic.
Aleks found me right away and the tiniest hint of a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. I remembered what he did with that mouth a week ago in my flat. I tried not to smile.
The four of them seated themselves on the curved, immaculate, white sofa and picked up the microphones waiting for them. I recognised Heidi, but I’d never noticed the other woman before. She was tall, bony and had dark but greying hair hanging loosely over her shoulders. Both women looked a little out of their depth, glancing nervously around the room and looking to Richard to control the situation. They were about to get hammered, we all knew it and I couldn’t help feeling bad for them.
“We’ll take a question from the floor. Bill?” Richard indicated the rotund man standing at the end of the front row, one of his favourites.
“Aleks, you’ve built your reputation on discipline and control. Looking back, do you feel your achievements were earned — or enabled?” Bill’s voice was familiar to everyone in the room and the inevitable question hit like a solid punch.
I tried not to cringe and waited for Aleks to answer. He cleared his throat and raised his mic.
“I’ve never taken any victory for granted, and moving forward, I’ll prove why I’m on every podium.”
I smiled and nodded, hoping he caught it. It was a good start. No doubt he’d spent hours being coached on these questions.
Someone further back stepped in with the next question and I turned along with most people as Caroline’s voice cut across the room.
“You’ve worked with the same senior personnel for years. Are we meant to believe you never noticed anything irregular?”
Ouch. I turned back to face Aleks and try to give him a reassuring nod, but his gaze was fixed further back on Caroline.
“I do expect people to believe the truth, yes.” His hand flexed around the mic and I hoped I was the only one to notice.
“Let’s have a question for one of the other panellists, please,” Richard said, reading the room. He called on another man near the front.
“Heidi, how are you managing sponsor retention after the contract terminations and stock crash?”
She answered with practised poise.
“If Obsidian is found to have systematically cheated, do you intend to stay with the team?”
Both drivers said they had no intention of leaving Obsidian.
The panel continued like this for some time and Richard allowed it to run quite a bit longer than most panels. It was understandable that there would be so many questions. Poor Callum Drake had to field questions about his results being put into perspective, and whether he’d been undermined. He was less media-ready than Aleks.
“Aleks, can you look the fans in the eye and say, without hesitation, that none of your success came from illegal advantage?”
Aleks looked like he wanted to lunge for the guy behind me who asked that. His eyes narrowed, his jaw twitched. Thankfully, Richard stepped in at that moment.
“I believe we’ve covered that subject, Dave. Let’s move on.”
I glanced down my list of questions again, crossing off any that were too similar to ones that had already been asked. I knew I didn’t want to ask Aleks anything. He was under the spotlight enough and I didn’t want to ask anything that would hurt him. He was growing more and more uncomfortable with each question and he faced most of them.
I scribbled a star next to my preferred question and got ready to get Richard’s attention. But the next question caught me off guard.
“Aleks,” a woman near the door called out above the growing restlessness in the room. “You mentioned a ‘girlfriend’ in a recent statement. Has she advised you on how to manage this crisis?”
I pressed my lips together and focused on Aleks. He wiped his palm on his jeans before switching the mic to his other hand.
“She’s offered opinions, like most people.” He allowed a small smile and half the room laughed. “But mainly she’s offered support. Absolute, unwavering support and I’m incredibly grateful.”
“And do you want to put the entire internet out of its misery and tell us who this mystery woman is?” The woman by the door pressed with her follow up.
“Not at the current time, no.” Aleks looked deliberately away from me and I tried to keep my face still. “We’re enjoying our privacy.”
“One last question,” Richard said, his gaze landing on me. “Elena Archer?”
I sat up straighter and cleared my throat.
