Page 85 of Not So Fast
Mia shook her head. “It’s the truth. I swear.”
“Really?”
“Cross my heart.”
He pursed his lips, seeming to mull it over. “Fine. I will do an interview with you. At the beginning of the season when I’m with my new team.”
“Awesome. I’ll be in touch.” Mia reached out to shake Dirk’s hand just as Xander walked in.
“Did I miss something?” Xander asked.
“Dirk’s going to be a guest onNot So Fast.”
“Fantastic,” Xander said with a note of sarcasm. He was still pissed.
Dirk looked back and forth between Xander and Mia, took a beat, then extended his hand. “Good luck in the race, Xander. I’ve enjoyed having you as a teammate.”
“Uh. Yeah. Okay. You, too, Dirk,” Xander said, his voice expressing deep disbelief.
Mia’s work here was done. And she needed to let Xander work on his race preparations. “I’ll get out of your hair for a bit. I want to go upstairs and record a prerace segment.”
“As long as you’ll be back to give me a good-luck kiss before I head out on track.”
“Always.” Mia exited the garage while Isabel was heading inside. “Thank you for everything this season. I realize it’s been a journey since Miami. I hope I haven’t been a complete pain in your ass.”
Isabel clutched her clipboard to her chest. “Honestly? It was kind of fun to have that much going on. Plus, what F1 fan doesn’t want to see another fan fall in love with one of the drivers? It’s like a dream come true.”
Funny, but it had never occurred to Mia that Isabel might see it like that. “Please tell me you get to take a break after this weekend. You’ve got to be exhausted.”
“I’m off through the beginning of January, so that’s nice.Then I’ll be back at headquarters working on the PR plan and the preseason launch. The reveal of next year’s car. All of that. There’s not really a lot of downtime.”
“What are you going to do for the month of December? See family?” Mia asked.
“A bit of that at Christmas. What about you and Xander? What’s next? Are you moving to England?”
That was an entire procession of questions Mia was wholly unprepared to answer. “You know, we haven’t talked about it, but we’ll see. For now, I’m staying in Austin and traveling to races when I can.”
“I’m sure I’ll see you after the race, but if for some reason I don’t, I hope to see you next season.” Isabel held out her arms for a hug.
This was a line she and Mia had not yet crossed, but Mia was happy to participate, giving her a big squeeze. “Yes. Definitely.” Mia watched as Isabel walked away. Damn, it felt good to have made another female friend.
Mia rushed upstairs to find a quiet spot to record in the paddock club, only to run into Claudia Simon coming out of the food service area and devouring an enormous croissant.
“Mia,” she said with a few crumbs tumbling from her lips.
“Claudia, hi.”
“Apologies.” Claudia wiped her mouth with a napkin. “I’m starving.”
“No worries.”
“I was hoping I might run into you. Cloud Sports needs a replacement for me for about a six-week stint in late May/early June next year. Any chance you’d be interested in filling in? Walk the paddock? Talk to the drivers? Sounds like your cup of tea, doesn’t it?”
Claudia had made this offer in theory before, but never had it been anything so concrete. “I’m not sure.” That would mean a lot of extra work on top of what she was already doing. “How many races? And what are the exact dates?”
“Unfortunately, I can’t give you an exact date. The baby will show up when the baby shows up.” Claudia lowered her hand to her belly.
“Oh. Wow. Congratulations.” Claudia’s announcement put an entirely new spin on it. “So this would be for your maternity leave.”
