Total pages in book: 78
Estimated words: 73568 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73568 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 368(@200wpm)___ 294(@250wpm)___ 245(@300wpm)
Lex touches my elbow, and I feel it all the way through my body. I glance up at him. “I’m going to head over to shoot some clays.” He nods that way. “Come join us. It’s a lot of fun.”
He’s gone by the time Maeve reaches me.
“How are you, love? Did you settle into your Airbnb?”
“I did, thanks,” I reply, smiling at her.
“Then we must get together for that drink soon,” she chirps.
“I’d love that.” My eyes slide from her over to where Lex has joined the group around the skeet range. Spencer is there, as is Ronan and other people I’ve met over the past week. Harley has a gun in hand and looks like a natural.
Maeve follows my attention and nudges me, a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. “You and Lex sure are joined at the hip.”
I feel a blush from the roots of my hair spreading all over my head and creeping into my face as I stammer, “Well, he’s my Crown Velocity liaison for the article I’m writing.”
“Of course he is.” She nudges me again. “Just poking a bit at you. But I suppose if you have to be tethered to one of the drivers here, he’s better than Ronan.”
“Oh yeah? Why’s that?”
I can immediately tell Maeve did not mean to open the door to my line of questioning and given her position as the communications manager, she’s not about to say a bad word about anyone at Crown, most especially to me. She’s about to backpedal.
“Oh, they’re both fine fellas,” she says brightly. “It’s just Lex is a little more outgoing and willing to do press-related stuff. So he was the natural choice.”
I suppress a laugh since I think Lex got stuck with me because he had to be brought into line and the threat of a negative article was Harley’s power over him. While he hasn’t come out and said it, I think he’s probably on thin ice with this team.
When Maeve doesn’t elaborate further about why Ronan wouldn’t be a good choice, I don’t push the issue. I have my own suspicions but it’s not really all that important. I hopefully won’t have much interaction with Ronan and if I do, at least Lex is trying to make him be nice.
We chat for a while, catching up on the last few days. Maeve is just as delightful as she was the first time we met, and I’m grateful to have her as a friend here. She’s the kind of person who instantly makes you feel like you belong. At one point, she introduces me to a few more members of the team within the marketing department, all of whom are just as welcoming. It’s easy to see why Crown Velocity is so successful—there’s a real sense of camaraderie here.
“Have you spent much time with Harley?” Maeve asks as we stroll past a group of guests.
“I have, actually,” I reply, thinking back to my time with her. “She’s amazing and I don’t know how she manages everything.”
“Right? She’s involved in every aspect of the team, from logistics to sponsor meetings. It’s really inspiring to see her in action. I’m so lucky to work for her.”
“It seems she’s got a lot of respect in the sport, which I assume isn’t easy to come by as a woman.”
Maeve nods. “It definitely helps that she’s raced cars herself. She’s been in the thick of it and understands all the pieces of the puzzle.”
“I noticed there aren’t any females in FI, and I know Harley was an anomaly as a female driver in the States. Is there just no room in the sport for females? I mean… seems to me they can drive just as well as men do.”
“I’ve asked that same question myself and it’s a complicated answer.”
“I’m all ears,” I assure her.
“Well, it’s a combination of a few things. Historically, motorsport has always been seen as a male-dominated field, with old stereotypes suggesting that women weren’t suited for the physical and mental demands of racing. It’s hard on the body and many think women aren’t physically capable of withstanding the rigors of the sport.”
“Ridiculous,” I scoff. “Harley proved a woman can do it. Female fighter pilots face the same g-forces that drivers do.”
“Oh, for sure,” Maeve says, her curls bouncing with her fierce nod. “But another big factor is how drivers move up through the ranks. Most start in karting at a really young age, but not many young girls have had the same opportunities or support to progress through the junior formulas. And it doesn’t help that motorsport is incredibly expensive, and finding sponsors as a female driver has been much harder, so women just get discouraged from trying.”
“That’s depressing,” I mutter.
“It is, but there’s one female driver in FI2 who’s setting the track on fire. There are rumors that she might get picked up next season by an FI team.”