"You have to let me in!" I argued with the security guard as I struggled to keep my place in front of the crowd gathering at the Charlotte F1 Circuit Entrance, where the press conference was being held.

The burly man towered over me. His tattooed arms crossed over his chest and even though he was wearing sunglasses I could tell that he'd just rolled his eyes at me.

"I don't make the rules Miss, if you need to go inside you need a pass." He said monotonously.

In my haste to leave earlier, I'd forgotten the pass Mei had given me back at the Amaterasu Headquarters, and because the Amaterasu team hadn't yet announced their driver's lineup and I had signed a non-disclosure agreement I couldn't tell anyone who I was or why I needed to be inside.

I exhaled sharply through my nose. "I've told you this almost three times now, I am authorized to be inside. You can ask Mei Komatsu, she will verify this! I would have called her myself but I forgot to charge my phone..."

He scoffed. "Lady if you want to go inside so badly, at least come up with a more original story. I've been working here as a guard for over five years I deal with thousands of desperate fans like yourself every day."

I could feel my eye twitching from anger. "I'm not making this up!" I seethed.

"Odette!" A familiar voice suddenly called out from the other side of the gate my shoulders sagged in relief when I spotted Peter's daughter and my best friend Aubrey Alonzo walking towards me.

She stopped in front of the grilled Iron Gate currently separating us and gave me a pointed look, "What on earth are you still doing outside? The press conference is about to start. I've been calling you like crazy, everyone is looking for you!"

My eyes moved to the guard who was now studying our exchange with interest.

I gave him a forced smile. "I would as soon as this kind gentleman lets me go through."

"You weren't letting her through?" She asked sharply. Aubrey's sharp gaze narrowed on the security guard and although he was almost twice her size I could see him start to fidget nervously. Aubrey tended to have that effect on most people but even though she could be terrifying at times, she was also fiercely loyal and incredibly protective of me.

Her hand curled around an iron bar as she gave the poor security guard another scalding look. "I suggest you open this gate this very instant of you want to keep your job! Do you have any idea who that is-" Aubrey started to say but I cut her off before she broke the NDA.

She was one of the three people I'd been allowed to tell about my contract with Amaterasu.

"It's completely fine." I interrupted, trying to save the poor man from Aubrey's wrath. "It's my fault, I forgot my pass. He was just doing his job, keeping everyone safe." I reassured Aubrey.

Aubrey pursed his lips but finally nodded.

"Miss Rhodes?" I heard the man inhale sharply like he'd just come to a realization. "I am so sorry I didn't recognize you. I was a huge fan of your father's. It's a shame what happened." He rambled. "I am truly sorry for stopping you if I'd realized. . ." He trailed off.

A familiar lump lodged itself in my throat at the mention of my Dad. I gave him a stiff smile. "It's okay, like I said before, you were just doing your job."

Thankfully he slid the gate open for me to pass through.

"You okay?" Aubrey asked as soon as I was inside. She gave me a sympathetic look. She knew how much the mention of my father affected me.

I nodded and gave her a small, grateful smile. "Come on, we're already late." I urged and we started walking towards the area where arrangements for the press conference had been made.

Suddenly the crowd behind the gate roared, and I could hear the screams and shouts of excitement. I knew who it was even before I heard someone shout his name. Only one person could evoke such a huge reaction in the Formula One world.

Khai Sylvan.

I saw him walking through the sea of people crowding around him, trying to get his attention. His head held high, expression stoic like always. At six foot five, he stood taller than most.

My lips drew into a thoughtful frown.

I was surprised he'd come. Khai despised media attention and he rarely ever showed up for press conferences. The fact that he showed up today was surprising because his presence today wasn't even necessary, since Tsai had already announced their continuing partnership with him ages ago.

Aubrey's cheerful voice suddenly interrupted my thoughts. "Just so you know, after our phone call earlier, I made five fake accounts and bombarded Axel Reinhardt's Instagram comment section calling him a misogynistic baboon, sexist pig, and also might have insinuated that he looks like he's overcompensating because he has an extremely tiny dick."

I choked on my saliva as a deranged laugh escaped my lips. "Oh my God Aubrey!" I said as I bit the inside of my cheek to stop my chuckles. "You shouldn't have!"

She gave me an incredulous look. "I shouldn't have what? Said the truth?"

When Aubrey had called to ask me how my first day at Amaterasu had been I'd tearfully recanted the events to my best friend including the conversation I'd heard between Mei and Axel in Mei's office. To say that Aubrey had been angry would have been an understatement. I had to beg her to not go to the Amaterasu headquarters and cause havoc like she wanted to.

"We're here." I breathed. I felt like my chest was suddenly constricting with nerves. The thought of speaking in a press conference in front of hundreds of people, not to mention it being broadcast for the whole world to see made me feel physically ill. The fact that the last time I'd broken the same news to a group of people it had been a complete disaster didn't really do much to ease my nerves.

"Odette! There you are. I've been searching everywhere for you!" Mei ran up to where we were. "The press conference is about to start we need to get you ready!"

She pulled me away from Aubrey and started dragging me towards one of the trailers.

~~

2 Hours Later

The press conference was taking place in a huge tent that had been set up where the teams set up their garages during races. Right in the front there was a large stage with a long table and twenty chairs put up. Below the stage, there were chairs lined up for the news media, reporters, and journalists.

There were a total of ten teams who competed in F1 races each year selected on basis of how good of a car a team had managed to construct. From the corner I was standing in, I watched the ten team Principals climb up on stage as the press conference commenced.

I listened absent-mindedly as each team principal talked about how they planned on performing better this year, the changes that had been done to the car, their goals for the 2024 F1 season and finally ending with announcing the names of the two drivers they'd chosen to drive their cars this year.

Finally, it was Mei's turn. I straightened when I saw her raise the microphone.

She breezed through all the technicalities of the car we had this year and spoke about how she thought this year she felt like we had a good chance and winning the constructor's and driver's championships. At last, the time came for her to announce the Amaterasu driver's lineup, what everyone in the press conference had been waiting for. I noticed how the room had become deathly silent, waiting for Mei to speak. I also noticed how my lungs suddenly found doing their job difficult.

"I know all of you have really been waiting for Amaterasu to announce their driver's lineup for 2024 and I thank all of you for your patience..." Mei was saying. "So without any further delay, I'd like to announce our drivers for the 2024 Formula 1 season!" Her lips spread into a wide grin. "First, I'm ecstatic to announce that Axel Reinhardt has decided to renew his contract with us for another year!"

The crowd roared in approval.

I felt my heart thundering in my ears. Thud thud thud.

She continued, "As for our second seat... as you all know our beloved veteran driver Peter Alonzo has retired so we had some pretty big shoes to fill. But the person we ended up choosing is someone I have complete faith in and they are someone I know who has the potential to take our team to great heights." Mei tilted her head back in my direction and gave me an encouraging wink before turning back to face the crowd. "For our second driver, we have chosen Odette Rhodes! Although this is her debut season in Formula 1, she's been the reigning champion in Formula 2 for the past three years. She has many accolades and podiums under her belt and we hope she'll continue her winning streak with the Amaterasu team as well."

When Mei finished speaking there was a beat of silence before everything fell into chaos. Reporters were suddenly shoving their microphones in her face and sports journalists shouting questions like "What made you make such a risky decision?" "Why would you choose a woman to drive for you when there are so many better male drivers available?" And my personal favorite, "Do you think you've just kissed this year's championship goodbye?"

Mei answered all the questions with grace, and all those years of media training finally paid off.

Then suddenly the moderator announced that it was time for the Team Principals to leave the stage and for this year's drivers to come up and answer some questions.

All the drivers including myself started to line up as the Team Principals started to step down.

The drivers were supposed to go up on stage based on last year's team rankings. The team that had placed last would go first and it would end with last years Champions waking up on stage at the very end, which meant Axel and I would go after Falken racing but before Tsai who would go last.

As I took my place behind Axel in the line to walk up on stage, I felt a presence behind me. The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood up in awareness as I felt the body heat of this person on my back. I tilted my head back slightly to look and my breath hitched. 

Khai Sylvan

He wasn't looking at me. His entire focus was on the stage ahead, his jaw tense. I took a moment to study him. He was wearing a casual white button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to expose his toned arms. I forced myself to look ahead and tried to get my breathing under control.

We took our assigned seats on the stage behind the table. Axel took the seat on my right with Khai on my left. Axel immediately put on his charming smile for the cameras, waving and the crowd and blowing kisses, it wasn't hard to puzzle together why he was called Formula One's Golden Boy.

Khai was sitting leisurely beside me, his large legs spread wide, and since we were in a confined space I noticed that if I moved my leg by a centimeter my knee would probably brush against his shin.

I shook my head. I had no idea why I was suddenly so hyperaware of this man's presence but I needed to stay focused. This was probably one of the most important and defining moments in my life. I couldn't afford to mess up.

As soon as the last driver sat down, the camera flashes started going off, it was so intense that I momentarily felt blinded by it. I was still dazed because of it when the onslaught of questions began almost all of them directed at me.

"Ladies and gentlemen please calm down!" The moderator instructed, "You will all get a chance to ask your questions so please proceed one by one."

Finally, the crowd quietened and a bald man wearing a navy blue stood up. His sharp blue eyes cut to me, "My question is for Miss Rhodes," He announced.

When I nodded for him to go on he proceeded, "Hi, I'm Marcus from Charlotte's Sports Weekly. Miss Rhodes, why did you decide to pursue a career as a driver in Formula One, a sport celebrated for being exclusively male worldwide? Are you trying to prove that women can do everything men can?"

I picked up the microphone placed in front of me on the table. I looked him straight in the eye when I spoke, "Marcus, I hate to break it to you but when women go after their dreams they don't do it because they want to do everything a man can do they just want to do everything a woman can, by being given the same opportunities, without bias and without limitations placed on them because of outdated stereotypes... That's what I'm here to do as well, I don't want to prove that I can achieve what men in this sport have achieved I want to prove to myself that I'm capable of achieving everything I know Odette Rhodes can."

I took a deep breath and placed my mic back down, satisfied with my answer. There was a chorus of hushed whispers and some people actually clapped but the change was there, a few minutes ago when people had been looking at me with disdain now most of them were eyeing me with curiosity and dare I say . . . admiration? Even Axel looked mildly impressed.

There were some more questions that I was asked but they were mostly standard and I had already prepared to answer them with Mei and the team's PR Specialist.

Finally a reporter stood up and asked Khai Sylvan a question instead of me. "Mr. Sylvan, Amaterasu Racing have been your biggest rivals for over a decade what are your comments about their recent driver's line-up? You didn't look particularly surprised when they announced Miss. Rhodes as their new driver, is there a chance you already knew?"

I swallowed, my throat suddenly felt dry. From the corner of my eye, I watched his hand reach out and pick up the mic.

"I'm not sure about Amaterasu being my biggest rival." He spoke, his voice was deep with a slight rasp to it.

He leaned forward in his seat, "From what I know, I've been beating them for almost a decade now so that doesn't seem like much of a rivalry to me."

I tensed and I felt Axel go rigid beside me as well.

He continued speaking, "As for your comment about my knowing about Miss. Rhodes joining Amaterasu as their new driver, yes, it was something I figured out. Between her suddenly leaving Formula 2 after winning the Championship and Amaterasu suddenly having a new mystery driver it wasn't that hard to piece together if I'm being honest."

I inhaled sharply.

So he had figured it out.

Most people hadn't batted an eye when I had left Formula 2 they'd just assumed that I'd quit and never fathomed that a woman could ever race in Formula One.

"But you have to admit this situation is a little out of the ordinary and certainly surprising." The reporter argued.

Khai straightened. I risked looking at him and found him looking at the reporter who had spoken with an annoyed expression. "It's not unusual." He said in a bored voice. "Drivers who win Podiums and Championships in Formula 3 and Formula 2 get inducted into Formula 1 every year and that's exactly what happened here."

Something warm and an emotion almost like gratitude spread through my chest at his words.

It was refreshing to see that someone had judged me for my accomplishments and not my gender. Even though that person had just insulted the team I was driving for a minute ago.

The press conference continued smoothly for another hour before the moderator finally announced that there would be no more questions.

I looked for Peter, Mei, and Aubrey as soon as I got off stage but Mei and Peter were already surrounded by a mass of people and Aubrey was nowhere in sight.

A camera flash suddenly went off right in front of my face, momentarily blinding me. Before I could properly orient myself someone was already shoving a mic in my face, suddenly everyone around me seemed to be focused on me, they shouted questions at me expecting me to respond. The crowd moved in closer, caging me in.

I was suffocating. I had to force myself to breathe normally to keep from hyperventilating. The lights, the noise, and all those people's attention, it was too overwhelming I felt like my heart was going to burst out of my chest. I could feel the precise moment my brain decided to shut down. With every ounce of strength I had I pushed through the sea of people and jogged away from the chaos till I was sure that no one was following me.

I leaned against the corner of a trailer and took in huge gulps of air. I counted backward from ten and then forward once I reached one. I repeated the counting cycle till I felt my heartbeat slow down.

I knew Mei and Peter would be disappointed, they had tried so hard to prepare me but apparently no amount of media training could ward off a panic attack. I'd had my first one after I'd been ambushed by the paparazzi right after my father's crash. I guess the cameras flashing in my face and reporters surrounding me had made those unpleasant memories resurface.

The thought of going back to the tent made me physically ill.

Instead, I decided it was better to just leave quietly with my head down while everyone was preoccupied, no one would even notice I was gone. My hotel was just a short walk away and I would text Mei first thing when I got to my suite and managed to plug my phone in to charge.

~~**~~

It turned out that leaving alone on foot hadn't been my smartest decision. I had managed to leave the Circuit without drawing much attention to myself but I had clearly underestimated how fast the information shared at the press conference would spread.

My biggest problem currently was the group of five or so men that had decided to start following me a couple of blocks back, they were clearly drunk and seemed to be Amaterasu fans and from the lewd comments they were shouting at me, it wasn't hard to figure out that they weren't pleased to have me driving for their favorite F1 team.

I picked up my pace as they started drawing in closer.

My mind started spinning. It was risky to go to the hotel with these assholes following me, even if I managed to call the police they hadn't done anything to be detained or charged, and giving away where I was currently staying seemed too big of a risk.

"You can't keep running forever sweetheart." One of them called out.

"We just want to talk." Another one spoke up.

"We won't bite." One of them said while chuckling. "But you probably like that sort of shit, don't you?"

Anger and disgust churned in my stomach. I wanted to beat the shit out of them but I was outnumbered and I knew confronting intoxicated assholes was never a smart move so I just kept walking.

Even though it wasn't that late into the night the streets were surprisingly empty. The first tendrils of dread started to seep into my veins when I realized that they had started to jog to catch up to me. I broke into a sprint myself.

I turned my head to look back and to my horror, all five of them were practically on my heels.

All of a sudden I found myself colliding with a wall of muscle standing in my path. I tilted my head up and saw a stranger looking down at me. The man was wearing a suit and there was a black earpiece fitted in his right ear. He was huge with thick muscles chording his body.

Now come to think of it, he looked familiar. I recalled seeing him standing at the back of the tent during the press conference.

"Miss Rhodes, I have been instructed to escort you safely to your current place of residence." He spoke monotonously. He fished out a card from his pocket and held it up for me to see. It took me a moment to realize it was an identification card that was given to all Formula 1 participants and employees the blue stamp below confirmed that he was part of the security staff.

His gaze fixated on the group of men behind me and then he took a couple of steps and placed himself in front of me, "Is there a problem here gentlemen?" With a subtle movement of his hand he moved back the side of his suit jacket so that the holster strapped around his waist and the gun tucked into it were exposed.

The men just babbled nervously before quickly dispersing in different directions.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

The man, whose name was actually Laurent from what I'd read on his card, accompanied me silently to the front door of my hotel.

"Thank you," I told him sincerely. "I had no idea what would have happened if you hadn't shown up." I swallowed.

"No problem, just doing my job," Laurent responded nonchalantly.

I gave him a small smile before it suddenly occurred to me, "Oh, and please thank Mei for sending you to look out for me." I told him firmly.

He gave me a confused look.

"Miss Rhodes," He said cautiously. "I was not sent by Miss Komatsu."

My eyes widened in bewilderment.

If not Mei then who? Peter?

"This reminds me." Laurent suddenly cut in. "I was asked to give you this by the person who did send me." He handed me a piece of paper and my eyebrows drew together in confusion.

"Have a good night Miss Rhodes." He said as he turned to walk away.

It wasn't until I'd reached my suite that I decided to unfold the piece of paper and read it. My hand flew to my mouth as a surprised gasp escaped my lips at what I read.

"You've left your ivory tower.

Taking unnecessary risks here is a death sentence, remember that if you want to survive.

Welcome to the Grid, Princess."

-Khai