After the NDA I’d just signed, nothing was clearer to me than the fact that I was no longer on this team. I’d never been onthisteam, but the women’s equivalent – ‘just’ the women. And I’d never made enough of an impact to be remembered for anything – except maybe crashing out of my last race.
Slumping into a seat at the back, I took a few moments just to breathe, feeling the air in my lungs the way I’d been taught to while pushing my body at high intensity. God damn it, there had been a good reason I’d asked to distance myself from cycling in my new job. I had enough to deal with before I even added the adrenaline hit of verbally sparring with Colin.
I paid attention to the opening of the session with only half an ear but, when Alan looked over at me, Colin leaped to his feet.
‘Ahhh-hm,’ he began, something alarmingly like a smile on his face as he scratched the back of his neck. ‘Because she’s a friend of my sister’s, I thought I’d… introduce our special guest from PowerFuel.’
I peered at him through narrowed eyes. He must have known Lori and I had never been close. After a pointed look from Colin, Amir leaned over the laptop at the side of the room, connected to the projector, and Nelson jumped up to tap off the lights and slowly – way too late – I realised Colin was up to something.
Chapter 5
Colin
The way Leesa’s eyes widened to the size of a wheel rim was the highlight of my week. I kept my gaze on her as Amir cued the video – not a chore, when she’d gathered her hair in a high, fluffy bun that drew my attention to her neck. Then I cleared my throat to read the script I’d put together.
‘Before she was a marketing genius joining us for the Tour, Leesa Magdalena Kubicka – yup, that’s her middle name – was herself an elite pro with none other than the Harper-Stacked women. Her best results were a stage win and fifth overall in the Tour of Scandinavia and a very memorable first place at the Great Ocean Road Race in her final season, before she retired at the advanced age of twenty-nine.’
Sending another glance her way, I found the scowl I’d expected.
‘We, her biggest fans in the men’s team, have put together this video tribute to present the great achievements of our new guest.’
I’d chosen a hip-hop song with a driving beat that burst from the speakers as the images came up on the screen: Leesa in a helmet and sunglasses looking over her shoulder as she stood in the saddle; Leesa at the front of the peloton, her jaw tight with effort; a still from a photoshoot with one hand on her hip and the other resting on the saddle of an aero bike; Leesa grinning and holding an American flag, her arms covered in dirt.
It hadn’t been difficult to find videos to cut together. She’d been so good at coming up with entertaining stuff for her social feeds, which was probably why she’d landed a job in marketing. Looking through them all had also been an hour I’d happily spend again. She had these breasts that were so tiny, I wanted to give them extra attention.
She was wearing a light dress today, with a floral print and provocative buttons running down the front. It was a far cry from the skintight Lycra of cycling kit that hinted at every smooth line of her body. I couldn’t decide which look I liked more.
I’d picked one video of her and Doortje Stoepker doing some viral dance with bikes instead of dance partners and then some GoPro footage from a tour somewhere in Portugal. She had this way of smiling right to her back teeth that made me want to hold her against me until some of the magic soaked into me. I hadn’t seen that smile yet this time. She didn’t usually give it tome.
Next came a couple of short race videos, one of her and Bonnie Tham clinging to each other, laughing and crying after a race – I didn’t even know which race. Then a clip of her stepping onto the podium in front of the palm trees in Geelong, Australian native flowers in hand, after she’d earned that first place last year – when Lori had been sick after a spider bite.
I’d won the men’s race and lorded it over my injured sister like a dick, but it had been worth it to see her get some fight back – as well as that ludicrous grin on her face when she’d been texting Seb and thought I hadn’t known what she was doing.
Maybe because of Lori’s injury, Leesa had been named lead rider, given all the team’s support and then she’d brought the trophy home. I wondered how she looked back on that now.
Behind me, the light changed and I turned to watch the moment I’d selected to end the clip: slow-motion footage of Leesa hurtling towards the finish line in Geelong, the street lined with supporters behind the barriers. Her face – usually soft and rounded and prone to smiling – was drawn tight with effort, withfight. Her body was bowed over the handlebars, the silver chain she wore bumping against her chest with every pump of the pedals.
As she crossed over in first place, her eyes flew wide and her mouth dropped open and then she threw her fists into the air. There was no sound with the video, but we could all hear the way she’d hollered in disbelief.
God, there was something about a woman on a bike.
Turning back to my teammates and staff with a grin on my lips, a surge of satisfaction rose in my chest. Yeah, I knew it had been a shitty thing to do to introduce her like this without warning but, while I’d apologised for what happened in September, I hadn’t promised to refrain from more pranks. Plus I wanted everyone to know that she wasn’t just a marketing executive, or whatever her job title was.
But when my self-satisfied gaze found her once again, my grin vanished. The scowl was gone, replaced with something hollow. With a swipe at her face, she got to her feet and walked woodenly to the front of the room as the applause tapered off.
Her eyes were deep and huge with betrayal and my skin pulled too tight all of a sudden. Nelson clicked on the lights and she flinched. Oh fuck, I’d screwed up – again. I only seemed to screw up when Leesa Magdalena Kubicka was within ten feet of me.
I wanted to shoo everyone out of the room, protect her from view, pull her onto my lap and rock her while I apologised. But apologising now would only make everything worse and shedefinitelywouldn’t let me pull her onto my lap.
Taking a deep breath through her nose, she faced the team. ‘After that entirely unnecessary introduction, I barely need to say a thing. But I wanted to reassure you all that I hope to have a positive impact on morale, if anything. I won’t disrupt your training or preparations for the Tour. I still really just want you guys to do well – even Colin.’
One of the coaches sniggered. Her voice shook and I found myself silently begging her to snipe at me, put me in my place.
‘Might need to watch your back, ay, Colin!’ called Derek and I flipped him off subtly from waist-height.
‘All right, all right,’ Dad intervened from where he sat to one side, his arms crossed. ‘You’ve had your fun, Colin. Now leave her in peace while we get back to work.’
She stiffened beside me and, for a moment, I thought she was close to tears. But Leesa could give as good as she got, surely. A protective comment from Dad wouldn’t push her over the edge.
