Read Chasing Daisy for Free Online

gravel pits – designed to slow down the cars that have run off the track – and we watch on the screens as he gets out of the car and track marshals swarm over it.
    Simon is sitting at the control desk on the pit wall in front of a bank of computers and one of the television cameras zooms in on the side of his stony face. Another screen shows Will starting the trek to the pits.
    Holly tugs on my sleeve. ‘We’d better get back,’ she says, ever the professional.
    I follow her reluctantly, wishing I could be there when Will arrives.
    Twenty minutes go by in the hospitality area and Holly and I are kept busy serving drinks and canapés to the guests watching the race on the big screens. Luis hasn’t managed to overtake Kit, but he’s given it a good shot a couple of times. I’m standing there watching the action when Will walks in. The crowd applauds him and he waves his acknowledgement, then makes his way towards his private room.
    He’s all alone. No girlfriend, not even his parents to comfort him.
    I wonder if he needs anything?
    My feet are walking in the direction of his room before I can properly stop to think about it. Even when I start to doubt my actions they just keep moving and finally I’m outside his door and my hand is lifting up to knock. . .
    What am I doing?
    The door opens and he’s standing there, his overalls stripped down to his waist and his naked chest gleaming with sweat.
    ‘Er, hi.’ He regards me warily.
    ‘Sorry to bother you,’ I quickly tell him, the words stumbling out of my mouth. ‘I was just wondering if you wanted me to get anything for you. A drink, some food, some clean clothes . . .’
    ‘Actually, I can’t find my team shirt. There was a whole stack of them here, somewhere.’ He glances around his room.
    ‘Shall I take a look?’ I ask.
    He stands aside and waves me in. The drivers’ rooms at the various tracks around the world are not big, but they’re big enough for the drivers to relax in and get some peace and quiet.
    My fingers tremble as I open drawers in a small cupboard and hunt out Will’s shirts. There’s a small black team carry case identical to mine sitting at the bottom of one cupboard.
    ‘Could they be in here?’
    He shrugs, so I pull it out and unzip it. It’s full of team clothing.
    ‘Aha!’ he says. ‘I hadn’t got that far, yet.’
    ‘Such a boy,’ I tut. I unpack the shirt he should be wearing today and hand it over. ‘What about your pants?’
    He tugs on the elastic of his boxer shorts, poking out from beneath his overalls. ‘What about them?’
    My face immediately starts to burn. ‘I meant your trousers! We call them pants in the US . . .’
    He chuckles. ‘I know, I’m only teasing. Don’t worry, I can take it from here.’
    ‘Okay, well, good.’ I back out of the room, trying to regain my composure. ‘Is there anything else I can get for you? A drink? Something to eat?’ Yes, that was good, Daisy. Keep it professional!
    ‘Nah.’ His face becomes serious again. ‘I should probably get out there and show my face to the sponsors.’ He points his thumb in the direction of the hospitality area.
    ‘Okay, then.’ I turn and make a run for it.
    ‘Thanks!’ he calls after me.
    ‘Where have you been?’ Holly asks when I reappear. ‘Have you just been in Will’s room?’ She looks at me with disbelief.
    ‘Er, yes.’
    ‘What were you doing?’
    ‘Don’t get excited, I was just helping him find his team shirt.’ She casts her eyes heavenwards as I hasten to explain. ‘You know, since Jennifer got the sack, the drivers don’t have a dedicated person on hand to look after them.’
    Jennifer was the front-of-house girl assigned to look after Sandro and Marcus last year – Will and Luis’s predecessors. She’s the cretina who sold her stuff on eBay.
    ‘Hmm,’ Holly says, jokily suspicious. ‘Fair enough.’
    ‘Better attend to that lot.’ I hurry to the kitchen and load up another tray of canapés.
    A few people