Pole Position: A Standalone Contemporary Racing Romance by Valerie Wolf

Author:Valerie Wolf [Wolf, Valerie]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Winter Woods Publishing
Published: 2024-01-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER

TWELVE

SOPHIA

I don’t even make it to the pit wall before I’m surrounded.

“Sophia, how do you explain Stellaris’s poor performance today?”

“Is Jude Alexander okay? What happened out there?”

“Jude’s always been aggressive. Why did he let Oscar Mitchell pass him on the last lap?”

I stop, planted in the middle of the paddock, and force a smile. “I promise I’ll answer all your questions in a moment, but I need to check on Jude first.”

A few of the reporters grumble, but they make a path for me to hurry through. I can hear the rest of them barking questions at me as I approach the garage, and I take a deep breath to steel myself. This is what I signed up for when I took over as Team Stellaris’s head of PR. The media is relentless, and there’s no greater test than when things go wrong. And boy, have they gone wrong today.

The garage door is open, and I find David pacing back and forth in front of it. His face is red, and he’s muttering under his breath. As soon as he sees me, though, his expression softens. “Sophia. Thank god you’re here.”

“Where is he?” I ask.

David jerks his thumb over his shoulder. “Back in the office. The doctors are checking him out now.”

I nod and hurry past him, through the door that leads to Team Stellaris’s temporary headquarters for the Monaco race weekend. Jude’s mechanic is sitting on one of the couches, his head in his hands, and he looks up at me with wide eyes.

“Sophia,” he says in a strangled voice.

“How is he?”

The mechanic swallows hard. “He . . . He’s not doing great.”

I clench my jaw and continue down the hall to the office. The doctor is just leaving as I approach, and she gives me a tight smile.

“He should be fine,” she says. “But he’ll need some time to rest.”

“Thank you,” I say. “Can I see him?”

She nods and steps aside, and I push open the door to find Jude sitting on the edge of a cot with his racing suit half-off, bunched down around his waist. He looks up at me with bleary eyes, and my heart lurches at the sight of him—bruised and battered and looking so much smaller than usual.

“Hey,” he says. “Can you tell these fucks that I’m perfectly find and to stop pecking at me?”

“I’ll do my best.” I close the door behind me and cross to him, resting my hand on his cheek. “You gave us quite a scare there.”

He leans into my touch, his eyes fluttering shut. “Sorry.”

I sit next to him on the cot and take his hand in mine.

“You have nothing to apologize for,” I say.

The doctor clears her throat behind me. “I’ll leave you two alone.”

Jude tries to sit up straighter, but winces in pain instead.

“Don’t be an idiot,” she says with a chuckle. “You’re not going anywhere for a while.”

She leaves us alone, shutting the door behind her.

“What happened out there?” I ask once we’re alone.

Jude shakes his head.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.