Chasing Daisy

you’re not an item?’ She looks from Luis to me.
    ‘Lovely to see you here, Daisy,’ Simon interrupts. ‘How are you finding everything with the team at the moment?’
    ‘It’s great, thanks,’ I reply warily.
    ‘Good. Good,’ he says determinedly. ‘You know, sorry to interrupt, Luis.’ He puts his hand on my arm and takes me to one side, leaving Luis to speak to Catalina. ‘Are you happy doing what you’re doing? Would you like to swap back with Holly to be the drivers’ on-hand girl?’
    ‘No, no!’ I answer vehemently. ‘I’m fine where I am, thanks.’
    ‘Well, if you ever change your mind, you come and speak to me. Okay?’
    ‘Okay. . .’
    ‘Right.’ He turns back to his wife. ‘We should probably mingle, darling.’
    ‘Absolutely.’ She turns away, not giving me another glance.
    ‘That was weird,’ I comment.
    ‘What did he say?’
    I fill him in. ‘Do you think it’s because of my dad?’ I ask worriedly.
    ‘I don’t know. . .’
    I sigh. ‘That’s the last thing I wanted, people to treat me differently.’
    He casually squeezes my arm and looks away. ‘I’m sorry about that.’
    ‘Don’t worry. It’s not your fault.’
    ‘I think you’ll find that it is.’
    ‘No, honestly, I’d rather you said what you said than let that prick get away with his comment.’
    ‘Speaking of whom. . .’
    I follow Luis’s gaze to see Norm jiggling our way.
    ‘Daisy! Luis! Great to see you both!’ He bends down to kiss my hand, then turns to Luis and shakes his. I resist the urge to wipe his slobber away on my dress. ‘WOW! You look stunning!’ he booms at me, and I can actually feel his hot breath on my face from a foot away.
    ‘Thank you,’ I reply, trying not to flinch.
    ‘ Now , you don’t look like a bun tart.’ He shakes with laughter, before adding, ‘I spoke to your daddy a few days ago.’
    My blood runs cold. ‘Did you?’
    ‘Yes. He said to pass on his regards.’
    ‘That’s nice,’ I lie, knowing that my father will have meant nothing of the sort.
    ‘Would you excuse us?’ Luis chips in. ‘I’ve just seen my teammate and have to talk tactics.’
    ‘Of course!’ Norm waves us through.
    ‘Oh, God,’ I say under my breath.
    ‘That’s not good, is it?’ Luis checks.
    ‘No. I don’t think my father knows I work here.’
    ‘Is it likely to be a problem?’
    ‘Oh, yeah,’ I say with absolutely certainty. ‘It’s likely to be a big problem.’
    ‘What do you think he’ll do?’
    ‘I’ll find out soon enough.’
    Quite a few racing drivers are here tonight. Pierre is chatting to Antonio Aranda and Kit Bryson, so we stop to say hello. Antonio seems happy enough to see Luis, but Kit makes his excuses and wanders off. I wonder if Holly was right when she said some of the other drivers were jealous of him.
    It takes two hours and several glasses of champagne before I can relax again. The auction is now over. People have been bidding for items that previously belonged to celebrities, all in aid of charity. Luis didn’t bid for anything, but Naoki Takahashi won a rug that Madonna used to have in her living room.
    ‘Shall we go and join the others?’ Luis asks me. ‘Dan texted me a little while ago. They’re all at some karaoke bar.’
    ‘Let’s do it!’ I squeal a little too loudly.
    ‘We’ll do it later, if you’re lucky, but let’s go and sing some karaoke in the meantime.’
    I whack him on his arm as he stands up and offers his hand down to me. I take it, my head fizzing with all the champagne.
    Holly detains me the second we walk through the doors of the low-lit venue.
    ‘Come with me.’ She drags me in the direction of the ladies’ room.
    ‘Was he there?’ No prizes for guessing that she’s talking about Simon.
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Was she?’
    ‘Yes.’
    ‘Did you speak to her?’
    ‘Hardly. He was a bit weird, though.’ I relate Simon’s behaviour.
    ‘Strange.’ Her brow furrows. ‘Do you think he’s trying to get rid of me?’ she asks suddenly.
    ‘No! Of course not!’ I reply, although I hadn’t actually considered that possibility.
    ‘What else happened?’ she asks morosely, then suddenly seems to notice my appearance and perks right up. ‘Oh my God! That is the most amazing dress!’
    I smile and give her a twirl.
    ‘Did you get it from that shop in the lobby?’
    ‘Er, no.’ I screw my nose up in embarrassment. ‘Luis bought it for me.’
    ‘No way!’
    ‘Yeah, he did.’
    ‘Holy fuck! That’s like,