“Yeah, I do,” Sloane said, sobering, something important blossoming in her chest. “There are a lot of reasonsnot tofullygo there with her.” A beat. “She’s younger than I am.”
“There’s that. Eleven years is something to consider.” Another throw of the ball. Veronica caught it. “You also have a professional relationship to think about.”
Another throw. Sloane’s catch. “And I don’t want to be a cliché, chasing after the hot, beautiful, young driver.”
“Well, you’re also the hot one, in case you haven’t heard the chatter.” Veronica caught the ball, held it to her chest, and turned. “But don’t overlook the reasons to leap at the same time.”
“Wow. Coming from someone who wasn’t a Reese fan when she got here? This is a shocking turn of events.”
“I was always a fan, just not so much a believer. She might be changing my mind one race at a time.”
Sloane stared at the ground, as if it were a lifeline, needing it to articulate this next part. “She’s in the perfect spot to get called up, Ronnie. I … I can’t go back to that world. That’s the main thing that’s holding me back.” The reality was that F1 was its own animal. The cars were faster, the demands greater, the pressure higher than ever, and that resulted in more close calls, more crashes, more injuries. Sloane swallowed the uncomfortable lump in her throat, clocking the pickup in her heart rate and trying to dodge the panic.
“So you’re holding her at arm’s length because you can’t watch her get hurt the way you did?”
“Or worse,” Sloane whispered because her voice was overcome. Her breath hitched as she tried to find the oxygen. “On one hand, I don’t think I should get too attached, and that’s hard because … it’s there for me. I feel it in every sense. I really like her, but …”
“Hey,” Veronica said, realizing the severity of Sloane’s fear. “You’re safe. This is not eight years ago, and the FIA has made a lot of safety improvements since … since we were racing,” Veronica finished softly. She stepped closer, voice lowering. “I know your brain doesn’t care about statistics when it remembers how it felt. But this isn’t the same world. It just isn’t.”
Sloane shook her head, eyes still fixed on the floor. “It feels the same,” she said. “Every time she straps in, it’s like my chest tightens before the lights even go out. I watch her take risks, and all I can see is the worst-case scenario.”
Veronica leaned back against the desk, giving her space but not distance. “That’s not nothing,” she said gently. “That’s someone who’s already lost something important and doesn’t want to lose again.”
Sloane let out a shaky breath. “I don’t want to be the reason she hesitates. Or worse, the reason she thinks she has to prove something. She’s so close, Ronnie. One call. One seat. I can’t be a complication.”
“You’re assuming she’s fragile,” Veronica said. “And she’s not.”
Sloane looked up at that.
“She’s strong,” Veronica continued. “Headstrong, yes. Occasionally impulsive. But she’s learning. She listens. And today? She showed restraint. That matters.”
“She almost hit someone,” Sloane said, half a protest.
“But she didn’t,” Veronica countered. “Because she knew what it would cost her. That’s growth.”
Silence settled between them, heavier now, but steadier.
“You don’t have to decide anything today,” Veronica said finally. “You don’t have to leap. You don’t have to run. But don’t shut the door just because you’re scared of what’s on the other side.”
Sloane swallowed. “I don’t know how to want this without being terrified.”
Veronica’s mouth curved into a knowing smile. “Welcome to caring again.”
Sloane huffed a weak laugh, pressing a hand to her chest as her breathing finally evened out. Outside the office, the academy buzzed on. Engines revving, radios crackling, the world moving forward whether she was ready or not.
“I should check on her,” Sloane said quietly.
Veronica nodded. “You should.”
“And Ronnie?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you. For not pretending this is easy.”
Veronica met her gaze. “If it were easy, it wouldn’t be worth it.”
Sloane opened the door and stepped back into the noise, carrying equal parts fear and something else now. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time.
