Faster Dirtier (Take Me...#5) (A Team Ferrelli Novel) (3 page)

“Sort of, but not one of the drivers here,” she laughs,
setting Alfie down at her feet. “Racing sort of runs in our family.” She plucks
off her sunglasses and sets them on top of her chestnut curls. All at once, I
know exactly why my teammates stopped to stare at her. And why she looks so
familiar. She extends a hand to me and begins, “My name’s—”

“Siena Lazio,” I breathe, humbled to find myself in the
presence of F1 royalty.

“Siena Davies, these days,” she winks, giving my hand a firm
shake.

I stare at the beautiful woman before me, speechless with
disbelief. Siena Lazio—or rather, Siena Davies—is one of the most successful
women in the world of F1. She’s the daughter of the late, great Alfonso Lazio,
a legendary driver of Italy’s Team Ferrelli. She was born and raised in the
world of F1, and came aboard as the PR manager for her father’s team right out
of college. Eventually, she took over as a Team Ferrelli shareholder after her
father’s death a couple years ago. Since then, she’s been shaking things up
left and right, working to make F1 a more current and inclusive sport. She’s an
inspiration. A true rockstar.

Which begs the question, what is she doing at our dinky
little track?

“It’s an honor to meet you, Ms. Lazio. I mean, Ms. Davies,”
I stammer, grinning like an idiot. “I’ve always been something of a Ferrelli
fan.”

“That’s the understatement of the century,” my brother
chuckles. “You should‘ve seen her bedroom walls when she was a kid. Ferrelli
posters everywhere. Mostly of that pretty boy driver. What was his name, Ace?”

“You must be referring to my brother Enzo,” Siena laughs,
crossing her slender arms.

“That’s the one!” Alec grins, elbowing me in the side. “He
was Ace’s celebrity crush for the longest time. The other girls had N’Sync
posters on their walls, she had Enzo.”

“Way to blow up my spot, bro,” I mutter, my cheeks turning
bright red. I blush at the even the least bit of provocation, but I’m sure
anyone would be a little embarrassed to be called out on their high school
crush. And in front of his equally famous sister, no less. Of course, it would
be a lot less embarrassing if my crush had ceased to exist after high school. I
have to admit, Enzo Lazio is still my number one fantasy squeeze. Always has
been.

“You wouldn’t be the first young woman to fall under my
brother’s spell,” Siena laughs, rolling her eyes. “He’s always been lucky with
the ladies, that one. But to be honest, Ainsley, I’m not too interested in
discussing my brother right now. I’d rather talk about you.”

“Me?” I reply, excitement searing along my nerves.

“You,” Siena affirms. “But why don’t we find a more private
place to chat. Are you guys busy right now?”

“Not at all!” Alec says, clapping me on the shoulder. “Why
don’t you and Alfie come back to our place in Brooklyn? There’s a six pack in
the fridge that needs drinking.”

“Sounds perfect,” Siena smiles, taking Alfie’s hand in hers.
“Will your team mind if you head out, Ace?”

“Are you kidding?” I scoff, “They won’t even notice I’ve
gone.”

“Perfect,” Siena says. “Let’s go. I’ve got a car waiting.”

Chapter Three

The entire drive back to our little corner of Brooklyn is
utterly surreal. Siena is nice enough to give us a lift in an honest-to-god
Team Ferrelli town car. I feel like royalty, being ferried over the Verrazano
Bridge, back to my home borough. Alec sits up front with the driver, while
Siena and I sandwich Alfie in the back seat. I pinch myself a dozen times
during the ride, just to be sure I’m really awake. But it would seem that I’m
not dreaming after all.

We pull up in front of the modest Brooklyn townhouse that
has been home for as long as I can remember. The little gem is nestled on the
west side of Prospect Park, in the neighborhood called Windsor Terrace. My
parents bought this place back in the ‘80s, when the area was anything but
trendy. Alec and I inherited the property when my parents passed away, and
these days it’s probably worth about five times as much as they paid for it way
back when. But even with Brooklyn becoming more gentrified by the day, our
neighborhood still feels like a community. Most of our neighbors have lived
here just as long as we have. A few of them look on with curiosity even now, as
Alec and I step out of our fancy ride.

“You’re probably used to nicer digs than this,” my brother
says to Siena, unlocking the front door of our two-story home.

“Actually, I spent most of my twenties in a tiny studio
apartment in the East Village,” she tells us, “This place is downright palatial
in comparison.”

The four of us settle down around our well-loved kitchen
table. I try not to be self-conscious of the oilcloth cover, the mismatched
mugs in the cupboards, the rings of coffee that stain the countertop. But Siena
seems delighted by our place, charmed even. As promised, Alec produces three
bottles of Brooklyn Lager—a personal favorite in our house—and a cup of apple
juice for Alfie.

“I couldn’t help overhearing that you knocked a full second
off your best time this afternoon,” Siena says to me, raising her bottle.
“That’s something to drink to, I think.”

“Thanks,” I smile proudly, clinking my beer to hers. “I’m
pretty stoked about it.”

“You’re very welcome,” she replies. “I’d be pretty happy
with a time like that, if I were you. You’ve got to be the best driver among
that motley crew FullSpeed has thrown together. No offense to you.”

“None taken, I assure you,” I laugh. “FullSpeed isn’t
exactly the A Team it supposes itself to be.”

“That’s for damn sure,” Alec scoffs, leaning his elbows on
the scuffed table. “Those assholes have never given you the credit you
deserve.”

“Is that true, Ainsley?” Siena asks, lifting a perfectly
sculpted eyebrow.

“I’ve been having a bit of trouble getting as much time
behind the wheel as I’d like,” I admit. “Not that I’m complaining about having
to work my way up the ladder or anything.”

“There’s working your way up, and there’s getting passed
over for no good reason,” Siena observes, “Excuse me for being frank, but I
think you’re getting passed over.”

“She is,” Alec nods earnestly. “She’s got the best times of
anyone on that team, and they’re still letting that guy Eddie take the lead.
Just ‘cause he’s one of the owners’ nephews or whatever. It’s nepotism is what
it is.”

I smile over at my big brother. He’s always been my fiercest
advocate and supporter, on top of everything else. He can be a little rough
around the edges sometimes, but I don’t know what I’d do without him.

“On the one hand, it’s ridiculous that you’re getting pushed
aside for less talented drivers,” Siena tells me, as Alfie bounces his ball
against the tabletop. “But on the other hand...that might make my pitch all the
more appealing to you.”

“Your...pitch?” I ask, heart lodged squarely in my throat.

“That’s right,” Siena nods, “I’m a woman on a mission. And
that mission is you, Ainsley. I’ve been tracking your career from afar, and I
have to say that I’m very impressed. Even more so after seeing you drive this
afternoon.”

“Um. Thank you,” I say, “That’s really awesome to hear. Kind
of unbelievable, actually.”

“It’s the truth,” Siena replies. “You’re an excellent
driver, Ainsley. Really. It’s a crime for you to be languishing on FullSpeed’s
roster without ever getting your due. You’re not getting the attention you
deserve. But I’d like to change that, if you’re interested.”

Alec and I exchange a look over our old kitchen table. Holy
shit...could this seriously be happening right now?

“What do you have in mind?” I ask Siena.

“Ainsley,” she begins, laying a hand on mine, “I’d like to
invite you to join Team Ferrelli for the upcoming season as an affiliated
driver.”

I have to clench my teeth to keep my jaw from cracking
against the floor. “You want me...to be on Team Ferrelli?”

“I really do,” she tells me. “You’re damn good behind the
wheel, and we’d be lucky to have you. And, to be totally up front with you,
it’s been my mission as a Team Ferrelli shareholder to stack our team with
amazing female talent. We’ve got more women than ever working behind the
scenes, but you’d be the first female driver to join our roster. If you accept
my offer, that is.”

“That would be such an honor,” I say quickly, a wild grin
spreading across my face. “But you said I’d be an ‘affiliated’ driver?”

“That’s right,” Siena allows, “I wouldn’t be able to offer
you a full spot right off the bat. We have a few other guys we’ve been
training, and it wouldn’t be fair to fast track you like that. You’d spend the
offseason as a Team Ferrelli affiliated driver, or a test driver, if you will.
You’d be helping us fine tune our machinery and our strategy. And you’d be
getting some great experience and exposure.”

“But there’d be hope of me becoming an actual driver,
right?” I ask. “Don’t get me wrong, Ferrelli is in a whole different universe
than FullSpeed. But I don’t want to go from sitting on one bench to sitting on
a fancier bench.”

“Of course not,” Siena agrees. “Make no mistake, I want you
to become an integral part of our team. When the time is right.”

I sit back in my chair as the whole world spins like mad
around me. I can feel my entire life reorienting around this singular moment.
This is truly the opportunity of a lifetime, or at least that’s how it feels.
But that begs the question—

“So, what’s the catch, right?” Siena takes the words right
out of my mouth.

“You read my mind,” I admit, watching as Alfie scrambles off
his chair to chase his red ball across the kitchen tiles.

“That’s a good question, and you’re right to ask,” Siena
nods, “I wouldn’t be making this offer if I didn’t think Team Ferrelli would
benefit from your presence as well. Like I said, I’m committed to making our
team more diverse. You’d be helping to make that happen. But while you’re still
an affiliated driver, your role will be as much about PR as it is about
performance on the track.”

“Are you saying she’d just be a pretty face for you to tote
out at parties?” my brother cuts in with a grimace.

“Alec,” I hiss warningly.

“It’s all right,” Siena tells me. “He’s not far off, in a
way. You would be very good in front of the cameras, Ainsley, there’s no
getting around that. But I want to assure you that your appearance and appeal
are just perks on top of your being an incredible driver.”

I bite my bottom lip, trying to sort through my warring
impulses. Of course I want to go and be a part of Team Ferrelli—but only if it
means I’ll actually get a shot at driving. I don’t want to move halfway around
the world just to be a cardboard cutout for the press.

“How’s this,” I finally say, laying my palms on the table.
“I’ll agree to join up with Team Ferrelli, if you can guarantee that you’ll
help me get my
FIA
Super License
within the next couple of seasons.”

It’s a big ask, and I know it. The
FIA
Super License is
all that’s standing between me and the racing career I’ve always dreamed of.
It’s the qualification you have to come by in order to race in the F1 World
Championship, and it ain’t cheap either. It would be worth spending a season or
two as a test driver if I knew my Super License was waiting on the other side.

“You don’t mess around, do you?” Siena asks.

“No ma’am, I do not,” I assure her.

“I like you more and more every second,” she smiles, looking
me up and down across the table. “Luckily, what you’re asking for is something
I’m quite willing to give. I’d love nothing more than to help you get your
license, Ainsley.”

“Seriously?” I ask, hardly daring to believe it.

“Seriously,” she confirms. “So, what do you say? Do you want
to be Team Ferrelli’s first female driver or what?”

“Hell yes I do!” I grin, slapping my hands against the
table.

“What’s going on?” I hear Alfie ask from the vicinity of my
knees.

“All kinds of good stuff, Alfie,” Siena tells her son,
hoisting him up onto her lap. “Ainsley is going to be a part of Mommy and Uncle
Enzo’s team.”

“Really?!” Alfie asks excitedly, his big blue eyes fixed to
my face.

“Really,” I tell him, ruffling his adorable blonde curls.

“I think you’ve got your first mega-fan right here,” Siena
laughs.

“Well, it’s mutual,” I smile.

“I think this calls for another toast,” Alec says, raising
his beer to me. “To Ace!”

The three of us clink our beer bottles once more, drinking
to our new partnership.
I’m
going to be on Team Ferrelli
, I think to myself.
I’m going to be Enzo Lazio’s teammate.
And if
I’m totally honest, that last bit has me just as excited as anything else.