Page 2 of Retrograde

It certainly softened the blow when they’d posted photos of the new studio on the business’s social media accounts.

In an age where podcasts were the in-thing, and with Faith and Bea’s history with Across The Line , their engagement from that post alone had been astronomical.

It had been the first post they’d made about the new office, and weeks before the opening, their follower count was sitting at a million.

The paddock was excited. There was a buzz about it; drivers were spreading the word, begging to be on the podcast, signing their daughters and sisters up for workshops.

Girls Off Track was working, and they had barely got started.

You couldn’t walk ten feet through any race paddock now without seeing a young girl wearing their merchandise.

They were still struggling to keep up with stock demands, having only just signed a contract with a new manufacturer, and they were working on building a merchandise shop in the office’s reception area.

A new collection was high on their agenda for this season.

‘So, tell me, how was Sri Lanka?’ Faith confiscated the hosepipe from Ford’s mouth in an unbelievably calm manner considering water was still dribbling out of the end as he flung it around, soaking her.

‘Incredible. You two need to go!’ Lucie gushed. ‘The hotel was probably the best I have ever stayed in, and the food . Wow.’

‘We’re so sorry we couldn’t make it! Jasmine was stressed about exams so we wanted to be in Hawaii with her. We figured by your lack of updates that you were having a fab time! Brett made your birthday special?’

‘We hiked to watch the sunrise at Ella Rock and he presented me with a picnic breakfast. I think he paid someone at the hotel to do it, but still. It’s the thought that counts.

’ Lucie laughed as she remembered wondering where Brett could possibly have managed to get all the ingredients together for the picnic. He’d even got a wicker basket.

Sri Lanka had originally been a group trip planned for Lucie’s birthday week, but as each of their friends had to drop out for various, very valid reasons, she had wanted to cancel the whole thing and visit her family instead.

Brett had refused to let that happen because he knew Lucie was desperate to tick Sri Lanka off her bucket list, so he had bought the non-refundable tickets and hotel rooms from everyone and paid for Lucie’s parents and siblings to go with them.

Lucie rarely saw her siblings, who lived in Los Angeles, and had been slacking on visiting her parents in Tuscany.

She’d ended up with the best of both worlds and the only person out of pocket was Brett.

But that was Brett. He did that a lot. Threw his money around like it was nothing, bought Lucie anything she wanted and refused to take things back to the store when she told him it was too much.

Fancy dinners, trips away with all the luxuries when she had originally planned something more budget friendly, more in keeping with her salary and lifestyle.

His world had exploded in line with the IEC’s new approach to social media, and he had more followers and brand deals than he knew what to do with.

She knew he had boatloads of money, and an actual boat.

Or two. All the Revolution Racing drivers did, as did most of the grid.

Yachts in Monaco were the norm. But it made her uncomfortable when he spoiled her like a husband would spoil a wife when Brett and Lucie were just…

Brett and Lucie. They were co-workers, best friends. But that was where they drew the line.

‘I cannot wait for Vegas.’ Julien was practically buzzing as he snapped Lucie out of her thoughts.

Now that his daughter was a couple of years older than when he had first met Faith, he was able to travel a lot more freely with the team in between races, and it meant he could finally come on their annual Vegas trip for Brett’s birthday in a couple of weeks.

‘You,’ Faith pointed a finger at him, ‘need to focus. Put the paintbrush down, stop gassing, and get your ass inside. Your racing sim awaits.’

‘I’m a master at what I do, babe. I have time for another coat.’ He pouted like a child being told off.

‘Julien, you haven’t been on it at all today. You won’t be one of the best racing drivers in the world if you don’t work at it.’

‘My mind needs to keep busy with other things.’ He waved his paintbrush for effect.

‘Your hands need to keep busy, too.’

Lucie watched them bicker back and forth like she was watching a tennis match.

‘My hands will be plenty busy later on tonight.’ He gazed at her with a disgustingly lovey-dovey look on his face.

‘Oh, ew ! Not in front of the children.’ Lucie covered her ears.

‘Inside.’ Faith gestured for him to leave, not taking any of his shit.

Wrangling Julien, Brett and Marco was much like running a crèche, but nobody was better suited to the job than Lucie and Faith.

Although they were only their social media managers, they were trusted to keep the team in line because they had the whole close relationship thing working in their favour.

People often came to them and asked them to talk sense into them or push them into the right headspace before or even after a race.

After all, Revolution Racing were a team, and that went beyond the three drivers.

‘I’ll tell you what, Jensen.’ Lucie breathed in the fresh air, the scent of pine and earth filling her nostrils and making her feel relaxed. ‘It feels good to be back.’

‘Here’s to one hell of a season.’