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MAISEY | PRESENT

RACE WEEKEND SEVEN - CANADIAN GRAND PRIX

The world was against me. Over the last week, Theo and I had barely seen each other outside of planned interviews. Between other media engagements, rigorous training, and team meetings while the Kaz team tried to fix a car to their usual standard, it was all hands on deck for Kaz. I had filled my time with more segments, branched out with interviews with Carlos and Nicola. Then they introduced me to more teams and more drivers, and suddenly I was sitting across from a couch that would be filled with six drivers any minute now. Bigger cameras than I was used to surrounded us. Spotlights, a makeup artist, and about thirty people buzzed around a room. I adjusted my pink short-sleeved blouse as I reviewed my notecards. It was an outfit that, at the beginning of the season, I would have never worn on camera since my scars were on full display between the short sleeves and the skirt I was wearing. But sitting here, wearing something that revealed the parts of me I had kept hidden for so long, felt empowering. Today felt so big that I was repeating over and over to myself, “You can do hard things,” like a mantra that would hopefully ease the panic and feed my confidence.

“It’s just one day, just get through one day, then the next. And if that’s too big then get through the one moment, then the next and the next,” my therapist reminded me yesterday during our monthly appointment. It was funny for the same language used when I was recovering from my leg surgery and learning to walk again to be applied to the present day. If only I knew, all those weeks stuck at home in bed being fussed over, feeling so trapped, that I would make it back to this world with my favorite sport.

“Hi Maisey!” Austin greeted, walking in first with a line of drivers behind him. He was in his full Kaz Racing uniform, blond hair done up and perfectly pushed to the side. He smiled with his sweet charm and gave me a thumbs up before sitting down at one end of the couch. Others filtered in. Alexander from Belen Racing and Matteo and Carlos from Moretti Racing came in before I saw familiar blue eyes hit me. Theo walked in last, slightly late considering everyone else had been seated and chatting while hair and makeup touched up their looks and got them mic’d up. He was in a darker version of his uniform, same as Austin had been, but Theo was mesmerizing. Somehow his skin was glowing, and his hair was looking perfectly casual, like he had just pushed his hands through it. His uniform fit him way too well, and I was beginning to think that speaking and being a professional while Theo sat across from me on a couch during an interview might be the death of me.

“Maisey.” Theo nodded as he walked past me toward the interview setup.

Then he leaned down just enough that his shoulder brushed mine, the scent of his cologne wrapping around me, warm and expensive and devastatingly familiar. “Hey, gorgeous,” he murmured quietly. My entire nervous system short-circuited. I was blushing so hard I genuinely thought sweat might start forming at my hairline under the studio lights. Theo pulled away before anyone could notice, slipping into the empty seat beside Matteo with the ease of someone who hadn’t just detonated my brain chemistry on live media row. His eyes were twinkling too, just like back when we were two kids racing on the track, a classic sike out.

Asshole.

A gorgeous, infuriating asshole.

I forced myself to breathe as I sat down across from them in my cushioned chair, straightening my cue cards even though they were already perfectly aligned. Calm. Cool. Collected. I could do this. I had interviewed so many people in the months since the season began. A world champion, team principals, and many extremely talented engineers. I could survive Theo Bauer calling me gorgeous in public.

“Good morning everyone,” I greeted brightly once cameras started rolling. “Thank you so much for joining us today for the PitSpark Paddock Report. We are here with six drivers who represent the top three teams fighting for the Constructors’ Championship.” I looked down to my cards and began with a few ice breakers to get everyone comfortable. Soon, the whole room laughed, and any sticky tension dissolved with it. That was the thing I’d discovered quickly about interviewing drivers: the best moments came when they forgot cameras existed, when the rehearsed media answers cracked apart enough for their real personalities to slip through. I eased into the interview naturally after that, guiding conversation while the producers behind camera gave approving nods.

“So Japan’s race was chaos,” I said, crossing one leg over the other. “Let’s start with the obvious question. Theo, when exactly did you realize your race strategy was either going to make you look like a genius or not so much?”

Theo’s mouth twitched.

“Lap thirty-two.”

“Specific.”

“I am specific.”

I smiled despite myself, shaking my head while Theo’s eyes flicked briefly toward me.

And there it was again.

That look.

Like we were somehow having a completely separate conversation beneath the real one. It made my stomach flip every single time.

“What people don’t always realize,” I continued, shifting smoothly back into analysis mode, “is how much of strategy is adapting in real time. Fans see the final call, but there are hundreds of moving parts before you ever commit to a tire change.” Immediately, the drivers straightened. That was another thing I’d learned: drivers respected when you actually understood the sport. Not surface-level commentary, butreal understanding.

“The safety car window completely changed the race,” Alexander added, leaning forward now. “Especially for alternate tire runners.”

“Exactly,” I nodded. “Because suddenly the degradation numbers didn’t matter in the same way anymore.”

Theo watched me carefully as I spoke.

“And that’s why she’s good at this.” Carlos smiled. “Most interviewers ask us drama questions. Maisey actually understands racing.”

Heat climbed into my cheeks immediately.

“Oh, stop,” I laughed.

“No seriously,” Alexander agreed. “You explain things in a way fans actually understand without making it feel dumbed down.”

Behind the cameras, Evan was practically vibrating with excitement while making frantic thumbs-up gestures at me.