Driven

Chapter Two

Mackenzie's heart was in her throat as she walked through the tall glass doors of GWT Racing. She hadn't yet received her official GWT uniform, so she wore her Rennen shop wear, a Black baseball cap with "Rennen" stitched in white text with a red cross, a white polo shirt with the same logo on the left breast, right above her name (which was shortened to "Mack") and all of their sponsors across the shoulders. She wore a weatherproof zip-up black jacket that had its shoulders capped with Rennen's signature red color, her name, the logo and sponsors all in the same places across her chest and back.

Her black workboots were hidden under long black work pants. She'd shined them as best she could for the day, though had to settle that the scuffed toes would always be scuffed.

She probably should have purchased new boots for this, but who had that kind of time?

Mack nervously gripped the strap to her messenger bag - another Rennen piece of merchandise. Honestly, she was a bit of a billboard for Formula 2's reigning champion.

As if sensing her nerves, the blond woman at the front desk smiled and walked quickly to greet Mackenzie. "Ms. Thomas?"

"Uh, hi." Mack smiled nervously, offering her hand. The woman had a blinding smile that covered half her face, bright blue eyes and dark red lips that were a contrast to her pale complexion. She wore a tailored white shirt and high-waisted tan skirt.

"Welcome to Nürburg, we're all so excited to meet you," she said with a heavy German accent. She turned, walking beside Mack, to lead her past the reception desk. "My name's Wanda, executive assistant for GWT."

"Nice to meet you Wanda, You can call me Mack...or Mackenzie," she smiled, feeling a little more comfortable. Wanda laughed.

"Right now, we're calling you Engineer Thomas, what a mouthful! Until we have clearance to call you by your name, I'll call you whatever you like." Wanda shook her head. "It's so silly - the men thinking they have to hide you like a sin."

Hearing her described in that way made Mackenzie's face fall. A sin? Did they really think her that negatively? Was she looking too deep into it? She started the chew the left side of her lip, trying to contemplate how she felt.

Luckily, Wanda hadn't really noticed her silence and continued to chat as they walked down the bright white hallways. On either side of the hallway, there were open-floorplan offices with floor-to-ceiling glass panes that made up doors the walls and windows. Occasionally, she'd make eye contact with the people in those offices, and waved shyly, to mixed response from their inhabitants.

She knew to expect that working in Nürburg wouldn't be as warm as any racing team in the States. People in Europe, for the most part, were more reserved than Americans, regardless of whether they were in England, Switzerland, or Germany. Wanda seemed to be the exception, not the rule, although her gregarious display seemed to be more for Mackenzie's benefit than her own.

From the outside, GWT head quarter's didn't seem that large. The building's modern style was boxy and compact. However, as they continued to snake down hallways, deep into the building, Mackenzie observed that the offices became more plentiful - until the hallways were dominated by large windows.

Finally, they came to a space that dominated the entire end of the hallway. Through the window, Mackenzie could see Karl Wagner working busily at a massive desk, his cell phone crushed between his shoulder and ear, fingers jabbing at a streamline aluminum keyboard into a computer that was a massive, single-body aluminum computer.

Seeing he was busy, Mackenzie unconsciously slowed her path. Wanda didn't have the same sense of courtesy, and surged ahead, stopping at the huge, glass doors. She punched a button beside the door handle that paged inside the room, jerking Karl from his concentration.