Chasing Daisy

him.
    ‘Holly!’ I erupt. She’s had a few too many beers.
    ‘They’re going to find out sooner or later,’ she says to me, giggling at Pete.
    ‘Oh, I’ve already heard about that,’ he says dismissively.
    ‘You’ve heard about it?’ I ask, humiliated.
    ‘Yeah, yeah, Luis was going on about it earlier. Said you could have broken his legs.’
    ‘Broken his legs?’ I explode, humiliation swiftly transforming into irritation. ‘ Figlio di puttana !’
    ‘Son of a bitch,’ Holly casually explains to Pete. She knows as many Italian swear words as I do. One of the undeniable bonuses of working with me.
    ‘Actually, it literally translates to “son of a whore”,’ I point out pedantically, before continuing with my rant. ‘I can’t believe that!’
    Pete just laughs and raises his eyebrows, taking a swig from his beer bottle.
    ‘Don’t worry about it,’ Holly soothes. ‘No one will remember it by tomorrow.’
    ‘ Eeeeeeeeeeeeee . . . BOOM!’ Another mechanic makes a loud crashing sound as he pulls up a chair and joins us at the table. ‘Way to go, Daisy!’ he laughs.
    ‘Thanks, Dan. Appreciate your support,’ I answer, glumly.
    Dan is quite short compared to Pete, who’s enormous at six foot four, but both are broad and muscular, unlike Luis and Will who are about six foot and slim-built. You have to be to fit in those Formula 1 cars.
    Two more mechanics zoom past the table, pretending to screech to a stop.
    ‘Haven’t you guys got anything better to do?’ I call after them.
    I lean back in my seat and watch as a group of gorgeous girls in their late teens strut by. I feel old, and I’m only twenty-six. I know I look older. People tell me it’s the way I carry myself. I think it’s because of the size of my heels. I’m five foot nine, but I never go out in less than three inches. Well, that was back in America. I’ve started wearing flats since I got this job. I’m on my feet all the time and I’m not really a massive fan of torture. Plus, Holly is tiny at five foot one and I look enough like a giant next to her as it is.
    ‘Wicked!’ Dan interrupts my thoughts. He’s looking down at his mobile phone. ‘Luis is coming by for a drink. He’s just left that event.’
    Oh, for God’s sake. I was enjoying myself. Now we’ll have to find another venue to drink at and everywhere is so busy around here.
    ‘Staying true to form, then,’ Holly comments.
    What she means by that is, Luis has a reputation for being a hard-partying ladies’ man. This is his first year in Formula 1. Prior to that he raced in the American IRL – Indy Racing League – series and won the infamous Indy 500 three times in a row, which is why I vaguely recognised him – not that I’ve ever been that interested in racing before. Anyway, everyone speculated that he would have to calm down his wild ways and slot into the fold once he started working for Serious Simon, but he’s clearly sticking his fingers up at that idea.
    ‘I thought you guys were having an early night?’ I say.
    ‘He’s a driver.’ Dan shrugs. ‘I can’t blow him out. Another round?’
    ‘Er . . .’ I’m about to make our excuses about moving on, but Holly’s response is too quick.
    ‘Sure!’ She lifts up her glass of beer dregs. ‘Same again!’
    ‘What did you go and do that for?’ I complain as soon as Dan and Pete have left the table. ‘I don’t want to stay here if he’s coming.’
    ‘Aw, come on, Daisy, we’re having fun. Maybe it’ll do you good to get to know Luis socially.’
    ‘I don’t want to get to know him socially. He’s a dick. I want to go somewhere else.’
    ‘Just one drink? I wonder if Will might join him,’ she muses.
    A strange shiver goes through me at the sound of Will’s name.
    ‘I doubt it,’ I answer, albeit slightly hesitantly. ‘Isn’t he a bit too committed to go out drinking the night before qualifying?’
    ‘Maybe. But perhaps he’ll take some time off for a change. Have a few beers with the lads, you know, good for team morale . . .’
    A tiny glimmer of hope starts to flicker inside me. Dan returns with our drinks and then goes off to chat to Pete and the other mechanics standing on the pavement.
    Unusually for a racing team, our previous drivers both retired at the end of last year, so we started this season with two newbies. Will, unlike Luis, has been in Formula 1 for a couple of years. The British have gone bananas over him, because he’s young, good-looking and