Someone waved their hand in front of Evita's face. She blinked and looked up from her computer screen, where she had been working on editing a photo for the Williams F1 team's Instagram page.

It was Evita's older cousin, Carmen, who also worked in Williams' media department. Evita removed her earbuds so she could listen to her cousin.

"Evita, how loud do you keep those? I've been trying to get your attention for like a minute," scolded Carmen.

"Sorry," apologized Evita. "What is it?"

"James needs you in his office," said Carmen.

That was odd. Evita was only an intern for the media team, not a full-time worker. She had only met James Vowles, the team principal for the Williams team, once or twice. If he had specifically requested to speak with her, it must have been important.

Evita had begun working with the team earlier in the summer. She was in her third year studying Communications and Public Relations at Oxford Brookes University and was offered a position with Williams after Carmen put in some favors. In addition to her studies, Evita traveled with the team, working odd jobs for the media team. It wasn't her initial plan for life, but Evita grew to like her job. She worked mostly with Logan Sargeant, as Carmen was his PR manager. She got along well with the young American, and considered him one of her closest friends, even if they had only known each other for a few months.

Evita saved her work and got up from her desk, heading up the stairs to James's office. She hesitated before cautiously knocking on the slightly ajar door.

"Come in," said a deep voice with a thick British accent.

Evita gently pushed the door open and stepped into the office. It was clean and organized, exactly how she had anticipated it would be. James indicated for her to sit at the chair across from his seat, so she did, politely crossing her ankles.

"How are you?" asked James.

"I'm doing well," said Evita nervously. She found herself picking at her fingernails, a nervous habit that she had picked up over the years. "How are you?"

"I could be better," said James. "I'm sure you are aware of the incident that occurred on Saturday morning."

Evita nodded. Everyone knew about Logan's major crash that had happened during one of the sessions at the Dutch Grand Prix last week. Sadly it had not been the first of the season, the young man had experienced a dreadful year so far.

"You also may have heard the rumors surrounding his continuation in Formula One."

This is what Evita was afraid of. She had heard whispers around the paddock that this crash was the final straw, that Logan would be replaced imminently. She didn't want to believe the rumors; she liked Logan. He was soft-spoken and kind, making the public relations side of her job incredibly easy. And he was a good friend. The pair would go out after race weekends, occasionally accompanied by Carmen. Evita didn't want to see him go.

"I have," said Evita.

"I'm sorry to say, Eva, but the rumors are true," said James. "We can't risk any more crashes. We've made the decision to drop Logan for the rest of the season."

"I understand," said Evita. "But why are you telling me this?"

"We're bringing in a new driver, and he'll need a PR manager," said James. "Carmen has decided to move with Logan to wherever he ends up going. You'd be perfect for the job."

"But, sir, I'm just an intern," said Evita. "I still have another year of school."

"You can finish your degree program while working for us if you choose to accept the position," explained James. "We can negotiate things in the next few weeks before Monza, but I'm looking forward to having you on the team."

"Who would I be working with?" asked Evita. She assumed the replacement would be a young driver from the Williams Driver Academy, but she supposed that on short notice, it could be anyone.

"We're still finalizing a contract, but most pieces are in place," said James. "I can't say anything more than that until everything has been sorted, but I think you'll like him."

This job would be good for her. She'd be stable in this position. And besides, she liked her job. However, she would miss working with Logan and Carmen. There were always risks, but this position would have benefits.

"I'll take the job," decided Evita.

...

an: sorry if this chapter is absolutely awful, personally i thought it was bad, but i'm hoping the future chapters will be better than this one!