Hustle Page 18

  He seems to snap out of it, waving at someone from outside.

  I look around, the glare from the garage doors forcing me to squint. The approaching figure comes into shadow and I’m surprised to find it’s a young woman—not a grid girl or a reporter, but something else entirely.

  “Andy, this is Sara Young. She’s going to be tailing us on the Championship, make sure you keep up with your sponsorship commitments, smile and so on.”

  The fuck? My ‘sponsorship commitments’?

  She extends her hand and I take it, her grip firmer than I was expecting. “I work for Caliber, New York. We signed on for the season.”

  Bet they paid a sweet couple of mil for that privilege.

  “The fashion house,” adds Steven, like I haven’t got a clue about fashion even though I’m the one on the cover of GQ this month.

  Sara Young—I let the name bounce around my head for a bit. She’s blond, hair drawn back in a tight ponytail, simple blouse that’s corporate and yet casual at the same time, dress pants vacuum-sealed to long legs. She’s curvy in all the right places, sexy as hell and would look even better pressed between me and the shower wall, but I imagine getting her there is going to be even harder than taking the championship. She looks like a supermodel, but everything about her manner suggests ‘off fucking limits’.

  We’ll see about that.

  I realize I’ve been holding her hand a little too long. I let it go, fingers warm. “A pleasure.”

  I paste on the half-cocked smile the press calls me ‘panty dropper’, but the only thing dropping here are my chances of getting through her ice wall.

  She looks to Steven, bringing out her iPhone. I know her type. That five-ounce white brick is her life, all her contacts and connections. She ignores me completely. “I understand there’s a function at Crown Casino after qualifying?”

  “Yes,” says Steven, addressing her tits.

  “I’ll see you there. Suits and shoes for the drivers have already been delivered to their rooms.”

  “I wear what I want,” I inform her.

  She smiles back with precisely zero sincerity. “Not anymore.”

  Guts. I like that in a future fuck-buddy.

  Steve finally lifts his eyes. “Whatever you need.”

  I cut in. “Have you been around the F1 scene before, Sara?”

  She looks to me like I’m wasting her time with small talk when she could be texting her boss or organizing world peace. “This is my first time.”

  “A virgin then?”

  The ice wall remains. Westeros would be proud. She remains completely business-like. “Something like that.”

  A shift of light turns her eyes incandescent and for a moment I am lost. I’m not big on eye contact with the girls I sleep with, but I’m prepared to make an exception in this case.

  She turns and walks away, ponytail flicking from side to side just like the wiggle of her perfect ass, heels clicking on the concrete garage floor. My cock stirs underneath my race suit.

  Easy, boy, easy.

  “Why the babysitter?” I question.

  Steven rounds on me, hands on his hips. “Caliber poured a fucking fortune into our coffers this season, Fortes. If she wants you to get down on your hands and knees and suck off every journalist, blogger or Instasnapper within a hundred miles, you’ll fucking do it.”

  Big talk. “Or what?”

  He knows he’s got me. “Or you can find yourself a nice soap box racer to get around Albert Park in.”

  He takes off in the same direction as Sara, a rattle gun going off at my back as the cars are prepped for qualifying.

  So that’s how you want to play it?

  Steven can threaten me all he wants, but Goodall won’t let me go, not as long as I have that championship under my belt. He’s a little too cozy with Heinz for my liking, too, something I need to look harder at and work out why.

  I’m watching the spot where Sara walked out of the garage, but right now my focus needs to be on qualifying, not pussy. She was probably Steven’s idea. He thinks if she’s around I’ll be too busy dreaming about her instead of steering. If that’s the case, he’s in for another surprise. Nothing, not even a hot piece of ass like Miss Young, is going to fuck up my focus this season.

  *

  I squeeze the steering wheel tight, but not from nerves. No, this is my kingdom. On the track I am king. The car feels good this season. The yaw issue has been resolved and KERs beefed up for the longer tracks, but it’s all secondary. Without a driver the car’s nothing more than an eight-million-dollar paperweight.

  I feather the throttle, the revs jumping and the engine shouting against my spine. Better than sex.

  I clear my head and focus on the straight. You’ve got this. Walk in the fucking park.

  The grid comes alive with sound as I blip the throttle. I feed off it, let the energy fill me.

  The lights go and it’s fucking on.

  I should be used to it by now, but the initial kick is always such a surprise when the tires bite. Qualifying’s a lone game, but I picture the grid is cluttered, a chess board, and I’m a grand master. I dodge and weave, position myself perfectly for the first sweeper.

  I tap back a gear, dig into the line and cut an imaginary Carl off, full throttle, back strapped hard into the seat, the world and field just a blur. This is what I live for.

  I see Ghost Carl snaking up my right, but I squeeze him out in the second corner, engine screaming, pushing dials into the red, wheel twitching in my hands as the tires struggle for purchase.

  Threat neutralized, I hammer into the esses, let the g-force squeeze me tight in the cockpit. I can’t deny it feels good to be back. By the time I make it back to the straight, I’m pulling a personal best.

  I engage the kinetic energy recovery system, the extra eighty horsepower sling-shotting me past the grandstands and there, between life and death, the car at its absolute limit, I am god. I almost come in my pants crossing the line.

  “Pole position,” comes Steven’s monotone response in my ear.

  Like it was going to be anything else.

  I brake coming into the pits, pulling up and handing my helmet over to the nearest monkey. Another hands me a tablet so I can run through the data. Carl qualified second, but there may as well be an ocean between us.

  The temperature continues to soar into the afternoon, the kind of lung-crushing heat that turns the heels of your boots to putty, but it works in my favor.

  The race goes down just like I want. I take the win and twenty-five points. Carl’s second with eighteen and that is precisely the way it’s going to stay.

  *

  The night’s taken most of the heat away, the post-race party in full swing as I sip on Chandon—yet another sponsor to be appeased.

  A spider’s web of garden lights is overhead on the balcony of the casino, cocktail tables draped in white dot the place and an army of waiters offer everything from mud crab to Tooheys.

  Down on the promenade next to the river the flame towers erupt, fireballs licking at an ashen sky.

  The bird-like reporter interviewing me remains suitably star struck. “And how are you enjoying it here in Australia?”

  I fucking hate these questions. If I had more than a few hours of free time in each country I might be able to answer with some kind of honesty, but instead I have to revert back to the usual.

  “Incredible,” I smile, “everyone’s been great”.

  “And the women?” Reporter girl is blushing as she says it, phone held to my mouth for comment. Her producer probably pushed her to ask it. All I’m thinking about is pushing my cock into her tight little pussy.

  I lean in close, lean in until my lips are practically pressed against the screen of her phone. “Perfection.”

  I spot Sara Young over her shoulder standing alone at a table. Can’t have that now, can we?

  “Excuse me,” I offer, and start to make my way over. Reporter Girl will have to wait.

&nb
sp; Miss Young knows full well I’m approaching but continues to stare off into the distance. I place my elbows on the table, lean in. “Nice night for it.”

  She looks at me dead-on. “A little cold for my liking.”

  She’s light on the makeup, glowing with natural beauty. I like that. I like the airy cutaway at the front of her cocktail dress even more, the soft sides of her breasts exposed. It’s white and bold, a classic choice. It’s a dress that would look even better on the floor of my suite.

  “Oh, you prefer things hot?”

  She doesn’t bite at all, not a single hint of expression. “How’s the suit?”

  I run my hands down my chest, my sides, consider grabbing my crotch but decide that might be taking it a little too far for Elsa the Ice Queen. “A perfect fit. How’d you know my size?”

  I notice the champagne flute she’s holding is still full, more for ornamentation than fun.

  “We have all your measurements on file,” she replies.

  “Measurements?” I glance down between the table and my pants. “All of them?” She walked right into that one.

  She looks down for a moment before holding my gaze again, little given away. “I’m here for business, Mr. Fortes.”

  “Andy, please.”

  “Andy,” she corrects. “I hope there’s no… confusion about that.”

  I put my hands up. “No confusion, but we are allowed to get to know one another, aren’t we? After all, we will be working in close proximity.”

  “I look forward to it.”

  God, she’s giving me nothing to work with here. Most girls would have their hand down my pants by now, but Sara Young remains a human Bermuda Triangle. What’s it going to take?

  I undo the top button of my suit jacket, get casual. “Let’s start over. How’d you get this gig?”

  I have the impression she wants to leave, but she’s not rude. No, someone in her position can’t be. They’ve got to remain personable at all times. “I originally worked for Caliber as a designer, working my way up to become PR Manager. It’s a dream job.”

  “So you’re a fan of Formula One then?”

  “Honestly? No. I have no interest in motor racing, but I do enjoy travelling. What better way to see the world?”

  Sitting on my cock. “Cooped up in hotel rooms and press conferences?” The thought of being locked up with her in a hotel zoom stiffens my dick further. Any more of this and I’ll be walking around the party with a pyramid in my pants.

  She leans forward, her breasts compressed together. “I’m just happy to be here.”

  The conversation falters and for the first time in a long time I’m speechless, not a single thought entering my head.

  Bail. I pick up my glass. “I’ll leave you to it.”

  I’ll leave you to it? My brain backfires immediately, but it’s out there now. Her mouth opens and I wait, hopeful, but her lips press back together, whatever she was going to say gone.

  I make my retreat, furious at myself for failing to make progress, but I will.

  I always do.

  I’ll take the championship and I’ll take Sara Young. There’s not a single thing that’s going to stand in my way. Not Steven, not fucking Ikea Carl and certainly not a lack of perseverance.

  CHAPTER TWO: BAHRAIN

  Sara

  Melbourne was hot, but Bahrain’s a freakin’ frying pan. Heat rolls off the track in waves. Andy and Carl walk ahead in linen shirts from the Caliber summer catalogue. They could almost be twins from the back. It’s exactly the kind of panty-melting perfection the brand needs. I look left to Andy’s butt, right to Carl’s. It’s butt tennis, back and forth, back and forth. Hell, I could play all day.

  I take a break from team duties to meet suppliers over lunch. Bahrain is a beautiful city, the architecture leaning towards the extreme and obtuse, a giant art gallery, culture mixing with futurism.

  The funny thing is, I constantly have to stop my mind from wandering to thoughts of Andy. It’s stupid. He’s arrogant, a player. Those lines? I mean, who’d he pull those from? Barney Stinson?

  They were kind of working for a moment there.

  Yes, a moment—misguided and foolish. It takes more than a bit of swagger and a good suit to win me over, not that I’m ever going to wind up as a scribble in Fortes’s black book of sexual conquests. I’ve seen the kind of girls he goes through and I definitely do not want that badge of honor for my belt.

  Back in the safety of the hotel, I take a long shower, let the water and a lone finger take care of my rampant libido. My last lover was a shady guy I met in a Chicago bar after too many rusty nails. Suffice to say, that didn’t end well.

  Pity it wasn’t Andy.

  I mentally slap myself for the thought. I look down at my fingers, still lingering over the juncture of my thighs. “And you guys… tsk, tsk.”

  I’ve got bigger things to worry about than Andy’s ‘measurements’. There are press kits to compile, an email inbox heading for the quad digits and a wardrobe of clothes to assemble. No one said it would be easy. The jetlag was an unexpected pain in the ass, but so far things were going as well as could be hoped. This is what I’ve always wanted, to become the Carmen Sandiego of the fashion world. I thought keeping boys like Andy and Carl on a leash would be hard, but so far neither has made my life difficult. Carl, especially, is the epitome of a gentleman, which makes me question his air-headed choice of girlfriend. I mean, really, who dates a girl whose biggest hit is ‘My Ass, Your Ass’?

  I towel my hair dry and open the wardrobe. The press conference before qualifying is two hours away.

  “My darlings,” I tell the assembled wool and cotton, pleats and cuffs, “time to get to work”.

  *

  I bump into Steven on the way to Andy’s suite.

  He smiles, eyeing my chest. I don’t think the guy knows my eyes are in my head. “Sara, how’s everything going?”

  “Well.”

  “Caliber’s happy?”

  “They are.”

  “The boys are behaving themselves?”

  “Surprisingly, yes.”

  Eyes up and… there we go. Yep, that is my face.

  “Well, if you need any help, especially with Andy, you let me know and I’ll whip him into shape.”

  Steven may be the Goodall Team Manager, but I can’t imagine he’d be able to whip anyone into submission, let alone Andy. Rumors were rife of the tension between the two of them last season. As early as this morning people were speculating on social media that Andy’s already shopping around for a new team.

  I look past him, holding a pile of clothes. “Sorry, I’ve got to…”

  Steven steps aside, eyes dropping again. “Sure, go through.”

  I squeeze past him and make my way up to Andy’s suite on the top floor of the hotel. I don’t know how he managed the best room at The Domain. The thing has to be upwards of ten grand a night.

  But I do know. His family’s rich from ranching and he’s rich from racing. He’s been around money his whole life.

  I knock on the door.

  His husky voice comes from beyond. “Enter,” a sultry summons.

  I open the door and step in, fumbling and almost dropping the shirt and cap I brought for him to wear at the press conference.

  I collect myself. “I’ve got some items here for—”

  I stop midsentence as my eyes lift. Andy’s standing with his back to me, one hand against the glass that looks out over the bay and diplomatic area below, which is fine, except for the fact he is one-hundred-percent, shield-your-vagina naked.

  He turns around and I drop everything.

  There’s no missing that.

  “Sara,” he smiles, “what a surprise”.

  My cheeks are on fire as I turn around, hands sweeping behind myself on the carpet for the shirt and cap.

  “Allow me.”

  His voice is close, way too close. I sense him stopping beside me. I glance behind myself, enough to see he’s f
ound a towel to wrap around his waist. Still, he’s crouched, the dark space between his legs daring me to look deeper.

  Do not, Sara Elizabeth Young.

  I stand. “I’m so sorry.”

  A highly detailed image of his appendage/third arm flashes through my head. It’s going to be seared there for all time, fodder for my spank bank. Do girls even have spank banks?

  He sits on the back of a sofa. “No need to apologize. I just got out of the shower.”

  I keep looking down. “I see that, yes.”

  I detect a hint of amusement in his voice. “Can I get you anything?”

  How about a quickie?

  I flick the devil on my shoulder away and hold out the clothes, my business cap firmly in place, doing my very best to ignore the sculpted, moist chest only feet away dotted with watery diamonds. He’s tatted up more than I expected, the ink faded with age. “I’m fine. I have clothes for the conference press, uh, press conference.” Get a grip, girl! “The cap’s really nice.”

  What the hell, Sara? ‘The cap’s nice’? Really?

  Andy takes the cap, trying it on, strands of wet, inky hair poking out the sides. “Yeah, it is.”

  “Limited edition, calf leather. It tested really well amongst the 20-40s.”

  Like he cares.

  “I see.” He’s smirking, knows he’s got me backed into a wall here.

  I’ve got to get out of this room before I either burn alive or suffocate on my own stupidity.

  He holds the cap in his hand. “How much does it retail for?”

  “Three-ninety-nine.”

  “Jesus, dollars?”

  I nod.

  “And I thought the twenty bucks I paid for a Starter in high school was rich.”

  Like you couldn’t afford it. “I suppose it is expensive in context, but our brand has a certain… reputation.”