Lacey Reyes is a Spanish F1 driver racing in her first season for Aston Martin. She quickly befriends many of the drivers as she aims to prove herself on the track and off. A certain Mclaren driver takes a special interest, but Lacey has been down a...
I had been up for a few hours on Saturday, managing to get in a workout, breakfast, and a shower before Javier texted me.
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"¡Joder!"
I rolled my eyes and set my phone down, expecting Julie to attempt to call me at any moment. The only downside to joining Aston Martin had been their insufferable PR manager, Julie. I had only been on the grid for a few months, but she had already tried to have me dye my hair, delete half of my Instagram photos, and act like I had a crush on Lance. Luckily, Javier had managed to talk her down from most of her outlandish plans, but I knew that after some photos leaked from Monday night there was nothing he could do for me now. The impromptu Zoom meeting on Tuesday afternoon had been pretty humiliating as Julie called me a "chancer" and accused me of "acting the maggot" in her Irish accent. I was told that I needed to keep a low profile for the time being and to inform Julie of any planned outings in my remaining time in Miami. I had conveniently forgotten to mention Saturday's party. Javier must have made his own friends around the paddock to have found me out. I was annoyed at him for only a moment before I reminded myself that he had a job to do too.
My phone rang and I wondered how long I could get away with ignoring her, but decided to get it over with sooner rather than later.
"Dígame Julie"
"Lacey I thought we were clear on Tuesday. I don't like the idea of a Saturday night in Miami with Daniel Ricciardo."
"I can keep it low-key. I just have to tell the guys. I'm sure they'll understand."
"No. We know the risks. Need I remind you that you're the one who will have to deal with all the questions from the media on Thursday?"
In the back of my mind I knew she was right. The media wouldn't hesitate to dig into my personal life. Not like Daniel, Max, or Lando would receive the same treatment. I'm sure they partied with their PR managers. I didn't really care though. I had spent all week looking forward to this night. Daniel had been texting me updates and confirming who was coming. He had gotten us a table at LIV Miami and had assured me that we would definitely see some celebrities. He seemed to fail to remember that half of the grid were celebrities themselves. I had mostly been enjoying fitting in. I could bear any sexist questions on media day if I knew that at least some portion of the grid had my back, just like Seb had during my first panel.
"But Julieeeee," I dragged out her name. "We're celebrating my birthday. I promise it won't be crazy. Por favor?"
There was a long pause on the other side of the phone. I heard a sigh.
"You need to be home by 11. I need you to call Javier when you're back. No clubs. And if I find out that you don't follow my rules, I promise you that partying will be off the table for the rest of the season."
