‘But—’
‘Before we begin,’ Jules interrupts, ‘have you signed the contract?’
She means the most bogus thing I’ve ever skimmed. ‘Yes.’ I reach for my back pocket. ‘Even though?—’
‘You didn’t say anything about a contract.’ Isa’s tone is simultaneously cautious and accusatory.
‘It’s essentially to ensure we both keep to our ends of the deal in a timely manner,’ Jules explains as I hand the crumpled ‘contract’ to my sister.
Timely manner? Who does Jules think she is, the Queen of England?
‘It’s missing a clause about no one falling in love with the other,’ I say, throwing in a chuckle to prove I’m semi-joking.
‘That won’t be a problem,’ says Jules immediately.
Isa grimaces at me. ‘Why would you even say that?’ she hisses in Spanish.
‘I’m a catch.’ And if Jules is half as good as she sounds, I’ll be an even bigger catch in a matter of weeks.
‘You’re twenty-six and live with your parents,’ Isa deadpans, looking over the contract.
‘That’s a choice?—’
‘Did you read this?’ she whispers, even though I’m 99.9% sure Jules doesn’t have a clue what we’re saying. ‘Like, really read this?’
‘Sure.’ I shrug. ‘It’s not like it’s legally binding.’
‘I kinda think it is.’
Wait.
What?
‘Deliverables,’Isa reads in English,‘Tiago agrees to: facilitate a minimum of two legitimate opportunities per Grand Prix weekend for Jules to interact with Tom Webber in an organic setting.’Isa shoots me vicious side-eye, and I pray Lex Luthor’s diverted by her laptop.
I grin with a hard stare. ‘Very doable since we’re such old friends.’
This can’t be real because then I’d… I mean, I was always going to try my best – a deal’s a deal – but trying my best and legally binding aren’t the same thing. I haven’t given the logistics any thought. What if Tom’s a tough nut to crack? What if Martinelli go all Men in Black on my ass? What if I’m simply not capable of doing this? It wouldn’t be hard for Tom to expose me as a total stranger – I’m not the best liar, and I can’t say I know much about him. All it would take is one?—
Stop it. That’s Future Tiago’s problem. Or maybe it won’t be a problem at all. Everything could work out exactly how I want it to and this could all be a funny story by Christmas. Yeah, let’s go with that.
Isa tongues her cheek for a long moment before reading on.‘This arrangement will remain in effect until the end of the Canadian Grand Prix, six weeks from the signing date, allowing for five Grand Prix events to complete the agreed evaluation period.’
‘Easy peasy. Plenty of ti?—’
‘The Parties agree not to create, encourage, or allow any perception that they are romantically involved or otherwise exclusively connected beyond the scope of this Agreement.’Isa looks up at me, features contracted in disapproval. ‘Why would it say that?’
‘How should I know?’ It comes out higher pitched than I meant. I lower my voice and switch back to Spanish for good measure. ‘She probably got it off the intern?—’
‘Why is there a coercion clause?’
‘Huh?’ I lean over her shoulder. ‘That’s not a?—’
‘Neither Party shall threaten, blackmail, coerce, or intimidate the other to gain leverage or alter the terms of this Agreement.’Isa’s eyes meet mine. ‘What did you do?’
Why would she assume it’s not standard practice? ‘Noth?—’
‘Your brother threatened to reveal himself as my new boyfriend at an F1 Academy brunch if I didn’t agree to help recover his profile,’ says Jules without looking up.
