by Kat Ransom
Digby lets us inside his building and I’m doing my best to keep an eye on that phone in his pocket without being obvious. His hands are all over my ass as we climb the stairs. My gut sinks as he opens his flat door and we step inside. This is happening.
Don’t delay, get to it then get out.
“I want you, Digby,” I lie through my teeth and wrap my arms around his neck.
“And what of my teammate, the disgraceful Mr. Gibbes?” He asks, squeezing my ass.
Shit, is he buying this? Ramp it up, Mallory. Fight.
“He’s humiliated me for the last time,” I look in his eyes and prey on his sick need to destroy Lennox. He likes that. I continue. “I know where my bread is buttered.” He smiles. He likes this game.
Please, Lennox, forgive me.
“He’s not half the man you are,” I reach down and cup his groin. Newsflash, Digby isn’t a quarter of the man Lennox is, by any measurement.
Digby hisses and his lips drop to my neck.
“Mmm,” I moan, “go take a shower so I can run my lips all over you.”
“I thought you liked it dirty,” he mumbles around my neck.
Damn it you filth pig, just get in the shower so I can destroy your life already.
“I’m the dirty girl, you’re the sexy powerful man, Digby. Come back smelling like a gentleman and do very ungentlemanly things to me.”
He lifts his head and I’m not sure if I’ve been made or if he’s going to humor me. “I expect you naked on my bed in two minutes,” he says as he holds my chin and then he heads to the bathroom.
“Hurry,” I fake giggle and kick off a high heel past him. I won’t need them anyway and it sells my story.
The shower turns on and he hasn’t even closed the door. Great, one less thing, I was prepared to kick that fucker down. All the flats have the same hollow remodeled interior doors and well, Celeritas will need to replace mine after I practiced.
Creeping toward the restroom and pretending to unzip my dress in case he sees me, I pass the breakfast counter and snag his keys. I tuck them into my cleavage and keep creeping toward the bathroom where water is running. I wait until I hear the glass shower door close and pause a few seconds to be sure.
I peek my head in. His back is turned and he’s soaping himself up.
Boom, the gym shorts are on the floor with the wires of the earbuds dangling out! I crouch down and take two steps in, reach for him gym shorts, and I’ve got them, the phone is in there!
“Hey!” Oh no, Digby has turned in the shower and sees me.
I grab the shorts and run for my life. Through the living room, I fling the front door open and tear down the hallway.
“You bitch!” I hear him scream in the distance; he’s not in the hallway yet.
I skip several stairs at a time and haul ass out of the building clutching his filthy gym shorts with the phone inside. I dig his key out of my cleavage and sprint barefoot across the campus. I just need to round this corner and the parking lot will be in sight.
I turn back and Digby is running out of the residence building door with a towel around his waist. Fuck, hurry hurry hurry, I won’t be able to outrun him!
I round the corner and see her right where she should be. Of course she is.
“Throw me the key!” Aria screams.
I fling it to her and through an act of god, the throw connects and she catches them and unbeeps the doors. She has two small bags we packed on the hood and throws them inside moving at the speed of a woman possessed. She opens the passenger door then as she gets in the driver’s side, “Hurry!” She screams.
I don’t look back, I just hear Lennox’s voice saying, “He’s dangerous, Mallory.” I put everything I have into my legs and run like I have never run before in my life. I dive into the open car door and Mallory already has it in reverse and hits the gas before my door is even shut.
She throws the Hummer into drive and as I sit up and get the door closed, Digby lunges just feet away, but it’s too late. The doors are locked and we’re speeding away while he stands in the parking lot wrapped in a towel.
I’m lit up with adrenaline, on fire. I roll the window down and hang my head out and scream as loud as I can, “Ha! Fuck you, you fucking wanker!”
“Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit,” Aria chants as she keeps the Hummer floored and we make it onto the main road off of Celeritas grounds. “We just stole a car, Mallory!”
“Go two miles then take a right. We ditch it at the end of that road,” I tell her as I fish the cell phone out Digby’s gym shorts and find the photo folder.
“I remember,” Aria pants, clutching the steering wheel and racing this behemoth, idiot vehicle down the road. I would never have been able to be our escape driver. I’d have wrapped us around the very first telephone pole we came across. Lennox would be proud of how Aria’s driving. He would have been prouder if it were me driving, but he can’t have everything. I know when I’m bested.
“They’re here, the videos are here!” I scream.
“Do it!” Aria yells, never taking her eyes off the road.
I select the videos and start following the upload instructions I memorized. I watch the bar move as they upload and Aria fishes my cell phone out of her back pocket and hands it to me.
My fingers are shaking but I dial the number I programmed. He picks up on the first ring.
“Mallory?”
“Max, do you have it?” I yell into the phone.
“It’s coming through, you did it.”
Thirty
“I’ve been around the world, I’ve seen a million girls. Ain’t one of them got what my lady she’s got. She’s stealing the spotlight, knocks me off of my feet. She’s enough to start a landslide just walking down the street.” - AC/DC - Girl’s Got Rhythm
Lennox
It’s Thursday before race weekend, press day. All of my life I’ve hated this day the most, the day a roomful of journalists in a stuffy conference room grill us for an hour about the upcoming race. Today I’m looking forward to it. Today I start the fight that matters, to get her back and redeem myself in the ways that matter.
“Are you sure?” Matty asks inside the motorhome at Silverstone. The support staff is buzzing with the extra preparations for the home race celebrations. The executives and team bosses are out of sight though, behind closed doors dealing with the situation I handed them this morning on typed letterhead from my attorney.
“Aye, I’m sure. It’s done.”
Matty puts his head in his elbows on the table and rubs his eyes. His forehead wrinkles. “There has to be another way.”
“There isn’t. I can’t stay here anymore. I don’t like the person it’s turned me into. I need to focus on what’s important and I can’t do that while I’m not even worthy of her. I definitely can’t do it watching her work for DuPont the rest of the season.”
“Why can’t we just get Celeritas to fire her, again?” This would be one of those times Matty says things that offend people and he doesn’t mean to.
“He’s in love,” Jack slaps Matty on the arm and grins like a fool.
“Aye,” I pause. “I won’t help destroy her dreams. If I leave, hers are still unbroken. She’ll be able to do anything she wants, go anywhere she wants. If I leave, DuPont won’t be able to use her as leverage and will lose interest.”
“If you stay?” Matty asks.
“They’ll destroy us both.”
“You’re falling on the proverbial sword,” Jack clutches his heart and I roll my eyes at him. “Hey wait, what about my dreams?”
“Your only dream is to get paid,” Matty grimaces at Jack. “Though this does bring up a valid point,” he raises an eyebrow at me.
“You can always move back in with Mum and Pop,” I laugh. I’ll do whatever I can to help Matty and Jack land on their feet, wherever they want to go or whatever they want to do. Both will surely be able to stay in F1 if they choose. Good physio’s and PA’s are hard to find.
Jack is more optimistic. “There’s always next season, right?”
“Not likely with me resigning and breaking my contract like this. There are more important things in life.”
“Like what?” Matty asks, horrified at my response. Such a bloody pessimist.
“Like her, for starters. Like having pride in myself again. I used to stand for something but along the way, I’ve forgotten what that might be. I can’t be complicit in this shit anymore or I’m no better than DuPont.”
Matty and Jack both cringe at my last statement, but it’s true. I want to be a man my parents are proud of. I want to be a man Mallory can be proud of. I want to be happy and I need her for that. I guess that makes me a selfish asshole, but I can live without racing. I can’t live without her.
“The fine?” Matty asks.
“50 million. The lawyers can work it out,” I shrug. I may have to cool it on the supercars, but I’ll be fine. I’d live in a bloody fort and drive a Yugo as long as Mallory was in the passenger seat.
“This is an awfully big risk, mate,” Jack rubs his head. “What if she won’t even forgive you?”
I nod. I’ve thought a lot about that, but this is still something I need to do. “Guess I’ll spend the rest of my days trying. Maybe go back to karting. Maybe I’ll be a ballerina,” I smile.
Jack checks his watch, “Now that I have that image fried into my brain, we have five minutes until press time, shall we go?”
“Aye, let’s enjoy the last one.”
Mallory
Max had the driver waiting for us right where he said it would be. By the time we made it to our prearranged hotel room under someone else’s name in London, all the files were uploaded and Max was headed to the airport. Sixteen videos in all and Max says there may be a lot more his team can access when they finish analyzing the hardware. His reporters are already knee-deep digging into every nook and cranny of Digby DuPont’s life.
But of the sixteen videos we have now, it’s more than I could ever have imagined. Prostitutes, drugs, and enough seedy shit is in his search history to make a trucker blush and to tank a career politician.
Maxwell Cooper thought I was calling him about the piece on Lennox, but what I gave him instead is far bigger. He’s been only too happy to help. Very soon, it’ll all be public.
Cody has called several times to check on me and remind me that no matter what happens, he’ll be there to pick up the pieces. The fallout will be intense, but I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. We talked all night about what this means for me and my parents. It will be the severing of our relationship, permanently, as was always threatened. Cody says Mitchell Media is on its last legs, the board is threatening to fire my father, and his daughter giving a blockbuster exclusive to his largest competitor may be his push off the cliff.
He didn’t need to tell me that Dad has seen several lawyers now trying to find anyone who would take his libel case after his in-house attorneys refused. My mind was made up before hearing that, but it does ease the guilt I’ll probably always carry. I’ll handle that on my own two feet with my head held high, though.
I’m doing what’s right despite the personal consequences. And while Lennox will never forgive me, in a million years, for what I had to do to get these videos, he’ll be able to race again. He’ll be a world champion again. I believe in him and will watch him on TV every other Sunday from wherever I am in the world. I’ll be his biggest fan quietly supporting him in secret, for the rest of my life.
I just need to get through this press conference.
Max and Aria are here by my side because we have no idea what Digby is going to pull. Celeritas has called a special press session ahead of the normally scheduled driver interviews, so he knows something is up and we’re expecting a real shit show. We’ve been on the lamb, only just turning up for the press conference, so it’ll be a surprise for everyone. I’ll never see my little flat back in the London countryside again, but it will all be worth it.
“It’s time. Ready to do this, kid?” Max asks me.
“Damn skippy.” I link arms with Aria who I couldn’t imagine not coming with for the piece de resistance, and the three of us walk through the ‘Press Entry’ door.
The room is filling up with journalists from around the world, far more than usual because of the special session Celeritas called. Several Celeritas bosses are lining one wall but I can’t see Lennox, he’s nowhere in the room. I guess he never was one to attend any press meetings he was not forced to be at, but I had hoped he would be here. This is for him as much as it’s for me.
“Incoming,” Max taps my arm and looks toward our favorite coke fiend storming toward us, his red face scrunched up and so mad he could spit.
“What are you doing here?” He seethes at me. “You were fired! You can’t be here!”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Dickby, you must not have seen my new paddock badge.” I hold up my neck lanyard for him to see. “I know reading is not your strong suit so let me spell it out for you. See, it says Cooper Media, VIP All Access.” I run my finger along the words like a real smart ass. It’s glorious.
“What? This is outrageous! You can’t do that!” Digby huffs. This may be the first time in his life he isn’t getting what he wants. Welcome to the real world, pervert.
“I can do that, and I did to that. I win, Dickface, you lose.” I probably should be more professional standing next to Maxwell Cooper, CEO of one of the most influential media corporations in the world, but my need for justice outweighs workplace etiquette.
“Lose? We’ll just see about that. Your caveman lover boy will be the biggest loser this sport has ever seen by the time I’m done with you two!” Digby has his hands on his hips and sashays his head at all three of us.
I snap when he insults Lennox. I’ve had to be quiet for too long. “That caveman is more of a man than you will ever be!” I poke Digby in the chest as hard as I can. Aria tugs on my arm but I am on a roll and Digby is going to hear me.
“You have to buy your way in here and fuck with his car in order to win. You’re a pussy!” I poke him again. “Also, your dick is fucking tiny! Tiny! That’s right, you have a tiny little dick! Your arch-nemesis, though, that caveman you speak of, huge dick, I mean huuuuu…”
Aria is tugging at me again despite me swatting her away while I unleash my fury on Digby. “Mallory!”
“What!” I finally snap at her. Her eyes are huge and she points behind us with one finger.
Oh shit, Jack and Matty are behind us and have heard my out of control rant that devolved into dick sizes. Their jaws are both hanging open in stupor. Even stoic Matty is slack-jawed.
“What is happening right now?” Matty asks no one in particular as my face flushes from embarrassment.
I come to my senses and focus on the mission at hand. “Is Lennox here?” I ask them but they’re both looking at me like an insane person. Of course, I look like an insane person, they don’t know anything yet other than whatever Celeritas told them about this press conference, and I just announced to the room that I know Digby has a tiny, tiny dick.
Shit. If I ever got the chance to talk to Lennox again, I wanted him to hear the explanation from me, but now he’ll be blindsided and hurt again when his friends inevitably tell him what his psycho ex has done now.
“Please take your seats,” the FIA Press Officer says over the microphone at the podium.
Max takes my arm and starts leading me away. “Come on, let’s move upfront. We’ll let Celeritas do their schtick first so we can respond after. The AV guy has the file and is ready to put it up on screen at your command.”
Aria, Max, and I move to the front of the room while Jack and Matty continue to squint their eyes at me like I have two heads. I’m so nervous, I’ve never seen the press room this full. It’s standing room only with media personnel from every sports network around the world.
Fake it ’til you make it, girl.
“Ladies and gentlemen, let’s
get started,” the Press Officer states and the room gets quiet. “As you know, this is a special media session requested by Celeritas Racing. We will start with driver number fifteen, Lennox Gibbes.”
“What?” I say aloud, to no one. The Press Officer steps from the podium and Lennox enters the room from the side door the drivers use to enter at the last minute. He’s in jeans and a grey button-down I bought him to make up for stealing half his clothes. He should be in Celeritas gear. There are so many people packed in this room he doesn’t even see me.
He clears his throat then starts speaking. “Thanks for coming, everybody. Over the years you and I have had our disagreements.” The room of reporters chuckles. “So, some of you will probably enjoy what I have to say today and some of you may not. But honestly, as long as the right person hears me today, that’s all that matters.”
“What is he doing?” Aria whispers.
“I have no idea,” I whisper back and keep my eyes transfixed on Lennox. He looks bright and strong and healthy, better than he looked the last time I saw him at my hotel room door. He’s so blindingly handsome, his brown hair perfectly messy in that way that looks deliberate.
His voice is deep and strong, there’s no hesitation. He has no script and looks the reporters in their eyes. “I started racing when I was five years old, competition is all I’ve ever known. But someone recently taught me that there are more important things in life. I’m here today to tell you that this weekend will be my last Formula 1 race. This morning I resigned from Celer…”
“No!” I scream, my vocal cords possessed, my body acting without thought. Every journalist in the room turns their head toward me at the front of the room.
Lennox scans the crowd until he finds me. “Mallory?”
“No!” I scream at him again, my body flushes with a surge of adrenaline. Every emotion I have encountered over these past weeks rises in me and they boil over as I scream, “You will not! You will not do this!”
