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CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

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in.your.wildest.reads: You know, even as a woman and a Formula 1 fan, I was unsure about this. Not because I’m opposed, but because I knew how everyone would react, and I was right. It’s been hard to watch. But suddenly my nieces are watching races with me and they care . They’re interested. Thank you, Paragon, for giving me and my nieces something we never had in common before. And @vanlessalennondriver, we can’t wait to see you in République Francaise!

It was gray and chilly today, but that didn’t matter to Formula 1 fans. They were here regardless, ready to see us and the practice rounds this afternoon. River and Ronan were currently on stage, answering questions and being their charming selves as the moderators translated their answers into Francaise.

Lars stood nearby, pointedly ignoring me as always.

Honestly, after the last two races, I thought he would loosen up. Sixth and then fourth weren’t bad placements. And this was a decent track for me, so I anticipated doing just fine during the actual race.

On stage, they wrapped up, and a man with a headset gestured me and Lars up into the wings of the giant outdoor stage. I said nothing to Lars. Whatever energy he served me? My plan of handing it right back to his ass was working.

“Thank you so much to our drivers from Xelerate. And now we have the drivers from Paragon Racing. Please welcome Lars Bachman and Vanessa Lennon!”

We stepped out from behind the curtain in front of the crowd, already waving. And I froze in place.

The audience I expected. What I didn't expect was all the purple. Signs with my name. Signs with my face . At the front of the audience, just beyond the stage, was a sea of girls dressed in the paragon colors. All shouting for me.

They’d come here to see me. So many people wore our colors. It was overwhelming.

My eyes stung as I waved.

I had been those little girls, excited to be at the races, but I hadn't anyone like me to cheer for. Lars was going to have to speak first, because my throat was clogged with emotion and my cheeks hurt from smiling.

The woman on stage smiled and waved us over to where she held the microphone. “You have quite the welcome! What do you have to say about that?”

Lars stepped up, cutting me off. That was fine. My voice was still on vacation. “We’re always grateful for fan support.” When Lars smiled, he could actually manage to look like less of an asshole. A miracle. “It helps more than you know.”

“Only the third race of the season.” She looked between the two of us. “You’ve both done pretty well. What do you guys think your chances of winning this weekend are?”

“My chances of winning are always good,” Lars said. “I always perform well here, so I’m very confident.”

The woman’s gaze slid to mine, and she intentionally took a step around Lars in order to offer the microphone to me. “And you, Vanessa?”

“The chances are always there,” I said with a grin. “I want that win and I want that podium, and I’m always working toward getting it. Will I get it here? We’ll have to see.”

“Well, you have a lot of people here hoping for just that.”

Everyone in the crowd with my picture cheered.

“We’re going to take just a few questions from the audience,” she said, and gestured toward the side of the stage where a line of people waited behind another microphone.

The first one was a guy who couldn’t be older than twenty. He grinned and spoke in accented English. “This question is for Vanessa. Hopefully, you will not break my heart.”

I laughed. “I’ll try not to.”

“Are you single?”

The whole crowd erupted into laughter and cheers, and I flushed red. We hadn’t talked about whether to even acknowledge that we were in a relationship. Admitting that I was in a relationship would send the press searching, and we were careful, but not that careful. But lying didn’t feel right either when I knew as soon as we announced our pack everything would be scrutinized.

So I chose the third option, winking at him. “A lady never tells.”

The young man laughed and clutched a hand over his heart before allowing the next person to approach. A younger girl shadowed by her father. He lifted her up to the microphone. She spoke in Francaise, the woman on stage translating for me. “Vanessa, can I be a driver like you when I grow up?”

Breath caught in my chest for a second. Then I smiled, fighting off another wave of emotion. “Of course you can,” I said. “You can be whatever you want to be. No matter what anyone tells you.”

The girl’s father smiled at me as he carried her away, still waving.

There was already someone else waiting. A woman closer to my age. “Hi Vanessa,” she said, nearly bouncing. Her accent wasn’t Francaise, so she must have come just for the race. “I love your new sponsors, and I wanted to know if there are any collaborations coming in the future?”

The cheering after that told me she wasn’t the only one who liked the idea. “I honestly have no idea,” I told her. “I would love that, but with contracts and such, I’ll have to look into it.”

Next to me, Lars shifted his weight and cleared his throat. No one had asked him any questions yet. In fact, the moderator had switched sides so she could stand next to me and not lean in front of him awkwardly. I could feel him slowly seething in my peripheral.

“Time for one more,” the moderator said.

Another woman stepped up into the microphone, and beside me, Lars swore quietly. Not quietly enough to not be picked up by the microphone, which was why the moderator’s eyes widened, and people in the audience glanced at him. But still quiet enough that people might wonder if they heard it.

“Not a question,” she said. “Just wanted to tell you that we’re behind you, Vanessa. We’re all waiting on that first win, because we know you can do it.”

I smiled at her. “Thank you so much.”

“Lars Bachman and Vanessa Lennon everybody!”

The crowd cheered, and we walked off the other side of the stage. River and Ronan were nearby, signing some autographs for people who had snuck around the stages, and I saw River look in my direction.

“What the hell was that?” Lars asked me.

Startled, I looked at him. “What do you mean?”

“All the questions went to you. Did De Clare make that happen? Did you?”

I didn’t even try to play it cool. “Of course not. I know that you think I’m some kind of secret agent trying to take down Paragon or Formula 1, but I’m not. I’m here to drive and win races, the same as you. You don’t have to believe it, I guess, but it’s still true.”

“You’re right. I don’t believe it.” He stepped into my space. “Because I’m the senior driver in this team.”

“That’s not a thing.”

“ No ? You don’t think people consider Daniels the senior driver? He is. I am. So stop taking up attention you haven’t earned yet.”

At least one of the reasons he hated me clicked into place. He thought this year was the year his teammate would be a support for his championship bid. And in teams like Xelerate, where someone like River was so dominant, it often ended up that way. Because winning the Drivers Championship was good for the team and usually went hand in hand with the Constructors Championship.

Usually.

But that wasn’t what was happening here. Neither Lars nor I had proven beyond the shadow of a doubt who would rank higher because we were evenly matched. He’d finished before me so far, but I was catching up and he knew it.

At least that made more sense than a blind hatred of me because I was a woman, though I got the feeling that was still part of it. Not only was I taking up attention he didn’t think I’d earned, I was doing it while female.

“If you’re going to intimidate someone, keep my name the fuck out of it.” River’s voice came from my left, and I released the breath I’d sucked in when Lars invaded my space. “And though you clearly don’t deserve it for how you’re treating a teammate ,” River nearly growled, “I’m going to remind you to get your head out of your ass, think about where we are, and the fact that you’re already going to be in deep shit for swearing into a hot mic.”

Ronan stood behind River, watching the space between Lars and I closely. My teammate’s mouth curled into a smile that made my skin crawl. “You enlist them to help you too?”

“I didn’t, actually. Funnily enough, just like the way I earned my way onto this team, all on my own, I can fight my own battles. Ronan will be happy to vouch for that fact.”

“Fuck yes I will.” Ronan laughed, and River’s eyes burned .

“The way you think needs to change, Lars. I don’t need saving. That’s not why they’re here. They’re here because you are out of line, and you decided to bring their team into it. Now you are going to back the fuck away from me. Hate me or not, we are both on this team. Get used to it, because I’m not going anywhere.”

He smiled again, the movement raising the hair on the back of my neck. And he took his damn time stepping out of my personal space. The way he did it didn’t read like a concession and didn’t feel like a victory. It felt like a predator deciding to pick their battles.

It was very apparent after he walked away that there had been eyes on us. And cameras. But thankfully, in this instance, I wasn’t worried. There was no way I’d come off like the bad guy here.

“You all right, Vanessa?” Ronan asked.

Smiling brightly, I flipped my hair over my shoulder. “Never better. Why do you ask?”

Both of them laughed again, but River’s eyes were still full of fire. “No reason.” He checked his phone. “See you later, Riv.”

“See you,” he said quietly, waiting until his teammate had completely disappeared. The Revas drivers were now exiting the stage.

“Are you actually all right?” River asked, hands flexing like he needed to reach for me.

“I’m fine.”

“Nes—”

I shrugged my shoulders and lowered my voice. “There’s nothing I can do about it, River. All I can do is meet him where he’s at. I’ve made it clear I’m willing to cooperate as teammates, and he’s the one turning down that opportunity.” I forced a smile. “Like we talked about, I’ve been dealing with men like him for a long time. I’m fine.”

He stared at me, and it wasn’t that he didn’t believe me. River fought his own instincts, and I stood with him, because I knew how difficult it was. “Thank you for backing me up,” I said quietly. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

“Yeah.” His voice was rough. “I’ll see you later.”

I was the one to walk away this time, so River had a chance to breathe and center himself. But I still took a deep, steadying breath. I was fine, but going toe-to-toe with Lars wasn’t going to get easier. I needed to do the only thing I could to fully shut him down. I needed to win .