The Red Bull Party Girl |ON HOLD|

27. Belgium Part 2.

Upon hearing the team principal's words Seb let go of James and stepped back away from him. The garage had fallen eerily silent as everyone had turned to look at us, the only sounds that could be heard was the crowds of people outside and the constant clicking of cameras. The whole bloody thing would no doubt be in tomorrow's press, Britta was going to have her workload increased very soon. As Seb began to walk away from James he briefly stopped to take my hand, I gave his hand a squeeze to try and give him some reassurance before he let go, now he was going to have to race with this weighing heavily on his mind. Chatter soon returned to the garage and I forced myself to look at James and then Christian.
"Why don't we step away for a moment." Christian broke the awkward silence that had formed between the three of us. "Emma, please take Andrew to Dan's garage." He added making me look at the other two, Emma gave me a sympathetic look as she walked past with Andrew following close behind. "Shall we?" Christian gestured towards the back exit of the garage.
"Of course." James nodded his head and we followed Christian out. My stomach was going around like a washing machine on a spin cycle, and my mouth had dried up. What the fuck was going to happen? We ended up in Seb's little room.
"I thought here would be more private." Christian closed the door, he stood for a second pinching the bridge of his nose. The last time I'd seen him do that I'd really fucked him off. "Ok." He took a deep breath. "I won't ask what's gone on because I've seen it. The whole bloody thing, it's unfortunate that Sebastian stepped in before I did."
"The press will have a field day with him." James scoffed beside me. "Sorry." He mumbled as Christian glared at him.
"One thing I will not tolerate, whether it's from my team or our guests, is sexual harassment of any kind and James, you crossed a line touching Harper inappropriately like you did." He put his hands into his pockets as he stood there.
"Me and Harper know each other, it's fine." James put his hand on the small of my back, I flinched making him retract his hand immediately.
"Her reaction then and just now tells me that she's not comfortable with you touching her." He replied. "And certainly not in front of Sebastian either."
"Are you saying it's ok for your driver's to behave like that?" James' mouth fell open and he crossed his arms.
"Not at all, and I'll be talking to Seb later this afternoon, but I can understand his reaction when you're making his girlfriend uncomfortable. Harper knows full well that part of her role is socializing with guests and helping to make sure they have a good time with us but she's not here to be touched and fawned over like that." Christian's words began to make me think that, for once, I might not be in the shit here. "Now please apologise to her and then we'll let go so you can return to Dan's garage where you can rejoin your friend and watch the race."
"Certainly." James turned to me, I could see his face was full of remorse. "Harper, I am truly sorry for my behaviour."
"Its fine." I gave him a weak smile, I actually felt a little sorry for him, his afternoon had been ruined, but then it was all his own doing. I didn't ask for his remarks about my relationship with Seb, nor did I appreciate them. I knew how much Seb loved me and that I definitely wasn't playing second fiddle to his career. "Please, don't let this stop you from enjoying the race." I added for good measure, to look good in front of my boss.
"We'll say no more about it." Christian opened the door for James to step out and I went to follow. "Harper, one moment please." He held his hand out in front of me and I watched as James walked away from sight before the door closed. Shit, I obviously was in trouble too, and not for the first time either. "Are you ok?" He looked at me, his eyes looking straight into mine as though he was trying to read my mind. "That can't have been very nice for you."
"I'm fine, really. Thank you." I looked down, breaking away from his eye contact, inside I was starting to panic, I needed to know that Seb would be ok in all of this. I could feel the air leaving my lungs. Oh no. Not in front of him. My heart started to race, intense anxiety weighed down on me making me feel as though someone was pushing down on my chest, trying to stop me from breathing, I started to pant as though I'd just ran a lap of the track.
"Harper?" Christian was now looking very worried. He quickly placed his hand on my arm and guided me to the small sofa that was in this room, making me sit down. "Harper, just try and relax, everything will be just fine." He squatted down in front of me. I was looking everywhere but at him as I began to tremble, I was struggling to catch a breath now. I was terrified as to how quickly this had escalated.
"Seb." I gasped. "Tell me....." I looked at him and gripped on to his hand. ".......be ok?" I could barely speak but I was desperate to know that he'd be ok. I could feel my chest moving up and down at a frantic pace, I was starting to feel faint. I could hear a car start up outside, the roar of its engine telling me the pit lane would now be open, but I could also hear my heart thumping in my ears.
"Seb will be absolutely fine, now please Harper try and relax." He looked panicked himself now, he hadn't got a clue how to help me. I kept my tight grip on his hand. Suddenly he leapt up and opened the door. "I need some help in here!" He yelled. Emma came running in along with Britta and Antti.
"Oh my goodness!" Britta exclaimed as soon as she saw me, she came straight over to me, got down on to the floor and took hold of my hands.
"She's having a panic attack." I heard Emma say. "This is exactly what happened when she found out that Emilie was pregnant." She came and sat next to me. "Harper, you'll be fine chick. I promise."
"Can you all leave the room please." Britta spoke firmly. "You will make her feel crowded."
"I'm staying." Emma shot back.
"No, you will go. Antti, please take Emma with you. Noone is to come in here until I say so." She kept a tight hold of my hands as the others filed out of the door. I felt as though I was on a knife edge between passing out and staying conscious, my head was spinning as I gasped and fought for breath. "Harper, I want you to focus on me. It's just you and me now." She smiled at me, trying to reassure me. "Just focus on me, focus on my breathing. You're ok, you're absolutely safe with me."