Chapter Text
Truth be told, she’d never sat in the driver’s seat of a Formula 1 race car. Sure, she’d engineered the seat to be as comfortable as possible for the one and a half hours that a driver would have to sit, piloting a two hundred mile-an-hour vehicle, screaming around corners and gunning it down straightaways. No pressure, surely.
Anything can go wrong in Formula 1 racing. Tires can catch on corner barriers. The engine could catch on fire from a gasoline leak. Other drivers could turn this volatile and unpredictable sport into a carnival game, better known as bumper cars. The engine could misfire and explode. Literally anything could go wrong. That being said, Formula 1 companies employ the best engineers possible to make sure that nothing goes wrong.
That’s where Waverly Earp enters the scene.
Graduating at the top of her class from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, earning her Ph. D in mechanical engineering from Stanford and an internship at NASA opened a hundred doors for Waverly. She had received a job offer from NASA as an aerospace engineer, one from the United States government and more offers from various car manufacturers around the world. None of them interested her more than the Ferrari Formula 1 team.
Her older sister, Wynonna, was the head driver for Mercedes’ Formula 1 team, which happened to be Ferrari’s biggest competition. Women weren’t common in racing culture, especially Formula 1 racing. Sure, NASCAR had a few women on the racing circuit, but it was certainly a male dominant sport, especially on the engineering side of things. So having not one, but two Earp ladies in powerful positions was something that the two of them were proud of.
Waverly was in charge of making sure the engine could be pushed to the absolute limit without blowing up or breaking in any way. A job that was over-the-top stressful. She essentially held the lives of two drivers in her mind and hands and that responsibility wasn’t something she shied away from.
The Ferrari engineering headquarters is in Maranello, Italy. There, Ferrari had countless assembly lines for their consumer vehicles, one for V8 engines and one for their V12 engines. The factory was immaculate with white walls, stills from famous races blown up to cover the entire wall and the sweet shine of the metal that would eventually be very carefully handcrafted and molded into six figure vehicles. Just outside the factory laid the Fiorano track where all of the cars would be tested for their balance, agility and overall power. It was a 1.862 mile track with 12 turns that would push the cars to their limits, giving the Ferrari engineers the full picture of how their vehicles were performing.
Cars constantly screamed around each of the 12 turns, data would be collected and engineers and mechanics would go back into the factory to tweak the engines and make sure that no matter what, those cars would cross the line with no one ahead of them and in one piece.
But for Waverly, her studio was the most beautiful room. Many of her fellow engineers made fun of her for her choices in decorations, but truth be told, she was the head engineer and they were not.
Fairy lights outlined the room, various mystifiers blew out a lavender scented mist, ensuring that Waverly would be in a clear and relaxed headspace when designing and assembling the company’s future supercar. On her desk laid pictures of the cars she successfully put together, her sister and her when Wynonna won her first race, and a picture of her first car. A red Jeep Wrangler.
She walked into the factory, scanned her very important looking badge, and walked to the back of the main assembly room and into her office. An invitation laid on her desk right next to her “Aphrodite Made Me Do It” mug that had clearly been moved. If anyone knew Waverly well enough, they knew not to touch that damn mug.
She carefully opened the envelope that was sealed in a very expensive looking wax seal and slid the thick paper invitation out.
You are cordially invited to the Ferrari F1 Vehicle reveal
For the 2020 season
February 11, 2020
8pm
Reggio Emilia, Italy
She stared at the calligraphy for a few moments and then tossed the invitation aside.
While Ferrari valued her greatly, she never got to be in the spotlight during the car reveal. The focus was on the driver, the one who would physically be behind the wheel. Not the engineer who locked herself in the factory trying to figure out how to perfect the downforce of the vehicle so it could take turns at a much higher speed.
Waverly knew she’d have to go but she always hated it. She got her five seconds of fame and then the spotlight was very quickly shifted to the car and its driver.
The owner of the team, Henry Holliday, picked her outfit. A gorgeous, red flowing gown and red heels to match. Her hair and makeup would be done for her, which made Waverly feel a little at ease. She was never one to fancy herself up for a day at work. Just a simple ponytail, a blouse and slacks. Nothing too crazy and certainly nothing that would impede her progress in the factory.
Ferrari had signed a new driver that would be announced at the car reveal. The company wouldn’t tell any employees who the driver was, which annoyed Waverly because she liked to design and adjust her cars to fit her drivers’ personalities. Some liked full throttle power, others liked more agile vehicles to bend around corners.
How bad could it be?
Reveal night came around and every engineer and employee that was involved in the Formula 1 race car was at the event. Add in news reporters and F1 fans from around Italy, there were 10,000 people packed in the venue, waiting for the reveal of the car Ferrari had designed and the driver they picked to carry them through the 2020 season.
As the lights dimmed and the spotlight on the stage appeared, Team Principal Mattia Binotto stepped out on the stage, welcomed by an uproar of cheering and clapping from the audience. He began a speech talking about the history and prestige of the Ferrari company like he did every single year.
“Ferrari was founded in 1947 by Enzo Ferrari. He set out on a dream to…” Blah, blah, blah. Waverly could practically recite his speech word for frickin’ word. She busied herself by checking her phone every once and a while or sipping some champagne from a very, very, expensive champagne flute.
“And now, everyone please welcome Nicole Haught, our number one driver for the 2020 season!”
Waverly looked up at the mention of the name ‘Nicole’. A woman? Wow.
Walking out of the left side of the stage curtains was a fair woman, probably around 5’9”, in a navy suit, white button down shirt and bright Ferrari red hair. And with a beaming smile, she stepped up to the podium after shaking hands with Mr. Binotto, and began speaking.
“Good evening everyone,” American. Interesting. “I am Nicole Haught and I am beyond honored to head this year’s team. And before you all ask, my hair is naturally this red so no, I did not dye it for this occasion.” She ended that remark with a smile and a wink.
How do they manage to pick the most pompous, cocky asshole to head the team, every damn year?
Nicole continued, “Racing is my passion. To feel a car going 200 miles an hour in my hands is an opportunity that I appreciate each and every time I step into a car. Driving for Ferrari has been a dream of mine ever since I won my first race so this is a dream come true. I can’t wait to win some races for Ferrari so without further ado, let’s see this year’s car!”
Waverly rolled her eyes. Every driver’s dream is to race with Ferrari. Just because she was a woman who was maybe attractive and was the new head driver for the best Formula 1 team in the world, didn’t make her special.
Several seconds of clapping later and a curtain dropped, revealing this year’s car. A sleak, classic Ferrari red F1 car sat on a circular turntable with numerous sponsorship stickers placed all over it received more cheers than anyone else had that night. It was a beautiful machine, one that Waverly had spent countless hours and days troubleshooting to make it a beast around the track. That vehicle specifically nearly broke the track record around Fiorna, multiple times. She patted herself on the back for that.
Mr. Binotto thanked the engineering team for creating a masterpiece, a shoutout that was merely said just to meet the minimum requirement.
The first race would be over the course of three days in Australia. Festivities would ensue and Waverly got to tag along with the team since she was head engineer. At the track, she’d have to solve issues in minutes rather than her typical few days during the testing period. She was excellent at thinking on her feet, making her a valuable entity on the team. But she would only ever be an entity. But Waverly loved the adrenaline that came with those quick decisions, so it was a sacrifice that she was willing to make.
Ferrari and Formula 1 fans would always place the success in the driver. Of course, they were the ones physically pressing down the throttle and tearing around the corners, but without the engineers, no one would be able to drive the car, let alone get it to start.
Drivers were intelligent and physically and mentally fit. They had to be. To be able to stay calm, cool and collected while behind the wheel of a machine that could blow up at any given moment or crash and break into a million little pieces was a talent without a doubt.
After the attendees left the venue, it was time for the press conference. Basically, Waverly, Nicole, Mr. Binotto and a few other crucial parts of the team would sit at a table and answer questions about the vehicle and the upcoming season.
Waverly stood just offstage behind a curtain and checked her phone. A text from Wynonna.
Wynonna: Hey Babygirl. Hope you figured out the perfect car. Mercedes’ car is bitchin’ this year. All my love xoxo
A voice from behind her, “Pardon me? You must be Waverly Earp.” Waverly slowly turned around and clicked her phone off, “I’m Nicole. Nicole Haught.” Nicole stretched out a hand, Waverly met her and shook her hand. Nicole’s palms were rough but incredibly soft at the same time. Interesting.
“Hi, yes. I’m Waverly. Exciting night?”
“Oh, yeah. Totally. Hoping you guys did your jobs well enough to win some races.” Waverly stopped breathing for a minute and stood shocked. Just when she thought this one would be different, she was proven wrong within a matter of seconds.
“Uh, yeah. If we weren’t good at our jobs, we probably wouldn’t be number one before the season even starts.” Waverly added a little attitude in there, hoping Nicole would realize who was in charge here.
“Nice to see another American here. No accent to think through.” Nicole looked through her phone as if to appear as uninterested in the conversation as humanly possible.
“Yeah.” Waverly quickly responded and stared, hoping Nicole would look up and realize that she was being a bit of an ass.
She didn’t look up.
“Time to go. People to please and all.” Nicole winked and walked on stage, met with the flashing of numerous cameras. Waverly took a deep breath. Time for her fifteen minutes of fame.
The first question came from a well known veteran reporter by the name of Marco Bassilla.
“How much time did you spend working on this year’s car?”
Waverly began, “Well, this year was a tough-” She was cut off by none other than, you guessed it, Nicole Haught.
“The team has put in hours and hours of work and testing to make this year’s car worth the time. I hope I can turn those hours into a few wins.” She winked again. Fuck that wink.
Waverly shrunk into her seat, zoned out and decided she wouldn’t speak anymore that night.
Minutes later, a question that only Waverly could answer.
“Are there any stats about the car that you can give us?”
Waverly cleared her throat briefly, checking back into reality, “Uh, yeah. Uh, the car this year has a push-rod front suspension and pull-rod rear suspension. That gives us plenty of capability to turn around the sharpest of corners without losing much power or speed. We’ve also implemented an aspirator into the engine which basically means that more oxygen can get into the engine faster and in larger volumes which means more power can get to the wheels much quicker. In terms of the body, we’ve worked with our head mechanic, Jeremy Chetri, to make the most aerodynamic-” Cut off. Again.
“As you can tell, we’ve worked hard to make this car the best on the track. We’ll make sure that everyone knows of that when I cross the finish line.” She winked. Again. This time, a gleaming smile with a dimple to sell the deal. Nicole turned to look at Waverly, Waverly didn’t meet her gaze.
Waverly shut up for the night, surrendering the fight to Nicole. It truly wasn’t worth it.
Once the press conference was over and everyone had been thanked for the fourth time that night, Waverly got up and headed for the door.
Just before she could reach it, someone grabbed her by the hand and she spun around ready for the takedown.
“Hey, me again. Just wanted to say thank you for your hard work. I look forward to working with you.” Nicole seemed to have a semi-genuine smile on her face, but it didn’t make up for her asshole antics.
“Yeah, ok. I’m leaving now.” Waverly quickly turned and sped out of the door, hopefully avoiding any more questions or statements from her ‘team’.
Once home, out of that horrid dress and into her lounging sweats, her phone pinged. She excitedly grabbed her phone, hoping Wynonna wanted to know everything about the newly announced driver.
It wasn’t Wynonna.
It was in fact, Nicole Haught. What could she possibly want from Waverly? And how did she get her number?
Unknown number: Hey! It’s Nicole, the new Ferrari driver. Waverly rolled her eyes. I was thinking we could meet up before we leave for Australia to make sure we’re all on the same page about the car and the track. Might want to make a few changes. Let me know. NH.
First of all, Nicole wasn’t an engineer. She was the driver and her job was to drive. Not to modify or change anything on the car that took Waverly nearly 6 months to perfect. No way in hell Nicole Haught was going to change anything. Waverly added Nicole to her contacts.
Waverly Earp: Hi! Sure, we can talk about the car, but I’m afraid there aren’t any changes we can make considering the race is in just a few weeks and that I’ve already pretty much perfected it along with my team. I’m more than happy to look through the track results with you, if that’s what you want. Besides, we head to Barcelona in a few days for pre-season testing, so we have limited time. Let me know a time and day that works best for you.
Nicole Haught: Sure. Does tomorrow work for you? I have some time in between meetings with press and sponsors. Does around 1 work? We can get lunch and talk if you want.
Waverly Earp: Lunch isn’t necessary… I’ll be in my office then. Ask Fernando at the front desk to call me and I’ll let you in.
Nicole Haught: Ferrari’s head driver needing clearance to enter the factory? Unheard of. I’ll see you tomorrow ;)
Waverly rolled her eyes. Prick.
Waverly Earp: Engineer’s policy. See you tomorrow.
Waverly stood up and walked to the bathroom and began to fill the tub with hot water. She definitely needed to relax and she definitely deserved it. As soon as she got into the tub and closed her eyes, the phone rang.
She didn’t bother to read the caller ID and answered, assuming it was Nicole wanting to ask more questions about the validity of her abilities.
“What is it, Nicole?”
A familiar female voice that wasn’t Nicole’s responded, “Listen, baby girl, I don’t know who Nicole is, but last I checked, my name was Wynonna.”
“Oh, Wynonna. Hi.” Waverly let out a deep breath, relaxing into the phone call.
“Tough day?”
“You know how I feel about drivers. Especially the cocky ones.”
“But you love me, right?”
She let out a breathy chuckle, “Of course I love you, Wy. I’m sorry. Just stressed. How was your reveal? Any cool stickers this year?”
“Oh Waves. You know I love the stickers. Uh, yeah. We’ve got a killer car this year. It’s going to be another good year, I think.”
“Well, with you behind the year, every year is a good one.”
“Damn right about that one, baby girl.”
Waverly hummed in agreement, but didn’t say anything.
“Alright Waves. You’re probably neck deep in some hot water right now, so I’ll let you go enjoy that while you can. I’ll see you in Barcelona, okay?”
“Can’t wait.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, too.” With that, the call ended and Waverly tossed her phone across the bathroom. Once out of the bathroom and ready for bed, Waverly looked over vehicle reveals for the other companies and made some notes. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she was asleep.
Tomorrow was a big travel day. Hola Barcelona!
February 12th, 2020. 31 days until the Australian Grand Prix.
Barcelona, Spain
With the reveal done, Ferrari now had 5 days to test the car and make any last adjustments. Time was of the essence and couldn’t be wasted. It was officially crunch time, Waverly’s favorite time. The tests are done on a neutral track, to make sure teams don’t use their own tracks to boast higher than usual test results that would later be published to the other teams.
The Ferrari team packed up their supplies and boarded the 6 hour flight across Europe.
Once at their base, Waverly got settled. Her computer was all set up, mechanics milled around the pit floor and all that was missing was Nicole.
Nicole said she would meet her at 1 but it was 1:15 and Waverly grew impatient. She rang Fernando at the front desk.
“Salve, Fernando! I was wondering if Nicole Haught has shown up yet? We have a meeting at 1 and it’s now 1:15 and you haven’t called me telling me that she’s here.”
“Ciao, Waverly. No, she hasn’t shown yet. Would you like me to let her in once she’s here?”
“Call me before you let her in, please.”
“Ok, Waverly. Have a nice day.”
“Ciao, Fernando.”
Waverly checked her phone every minute, further proving her hypothesis that Nicole was the most unprofessional driver Ferrari had hired in years. Finally, minutes later, Waverly’s office phone rang and a cheery Fernando was notifying that a Nicole Haught had arrived for their 1 o’clock meeting. Waverly granted entry and fully prepared her “you’re late and I’m busy speech” for Nicole.
A knock on her door and Nicole had appeared in Waverly’s very neat and very orderly office. She wore tight fitting jeans, a button down and some stupid sunglasses that she really didn’t need to be wearing inside a factory. She wasn’t that famous. Okay, maybe she was that famous, but really? Sunglasses in a factory?
Waverly sat in her desk chair, arms crossed, eyes piercing, “You’re late.”
“Your office is uh, nicely decorated.” Nicole played with the mystifiers that Waverly brought from Italy and the models of Ferrari’s previous winning cars.
“Don’t touch anything. Just sit down. I’m very busy and you’re very late.”
Nicole slowly turned, taking off her sunglasses, “Yeah. You seem really busy.”
“I am, actually. Being head engineer for a formula one racing team is rather time consuming. The cars don’t build and test themselves.”
Nicole sat down in front of Waverly’s desk, “Well, you know, press conferences can be very time consuming,” Asshole, “Speaking of tests, can I take a look at the results?”
Without communicating back, Waverly turned her computer monitor to Nicole and pulled up the numerous files that held precious information concerning the test results of Ferrari’s $20 million vehicle.
A few concerning noises from Nicole later, she spoke, “Is there any way to make those turn times faster? I’m a speed and agility kinda gal.”
Waverly huffed and she puffed, “No, there isn’t. One, the car is already at peak turn speed and two, we don’t really have time to make any other major changes, which I’ve communicated to you many times. We only have 5 days to make last minute tweaks and I can’t rebuild the drive shaft in 5 days.”
“That’s disappointing.”
“Excuse me?”
“Nothing. I hope this car can get the job done.”
“Well, Nicole, last I checked Ferrari was the number one team with the best engineers, the best mechanics and the best drivers. I can assure you that we have created the best car for the competition. I hope the driver of this car can press the right pedal and knows their right from their left.” Waverly sat confidently and smiled at Nicole. She was completely done with her condescending, holier than thou attitude and she wouldn’t stand for it.
“Ouch.”
“That’s how this works. If you don’t like it, you’re more than welcome to find another engineer who spends more hours working than she does sleeping.” Another smile.
“Well, Waverly, I hope to prove to you that I am in fact capable of handling this machine.” Attitude rolled off of Nicole’s tongue too easily and stung Waverly.
“I guess we’ll find out, won’t we?”
Nicole hummed and smiled knowing she met her competition, “Shall we have a look at the car?”
“Sure. Why not?” Waverly stood from her desk and Nicole watched her every move. Waverly knew she was good looking, but the look Nicole was giving her set off a charge within her that she hadn’t felt for a long time. Waverly motioned for Nicole to walk in front of her. Nicole responded with a wink.
Gross.
Cars spoke to Waverly in a very unique way. Ever since she was a little girl, she was always tinkering with things, trying to find ways to make them more efficient. She also wasn’t rude on purpose, she was actually voted nicest person in her hometown in Purgatory. Since her first day working in an engineering room, Waverly realized that she’d have to demand for things to be done, rather than ask. She was headstrong, not unlike her sister, and she knew when to push the envelope and when to pump the brakes. With Nicole, it was all gas.
“This is Luna.”
“Luna?”
“Yes. Luna. That’s what I said. Do you have a hearing problem we don’t know about?”
“No. Luna is just an odd name.”
“I finished her on a full moon. So, Luna.” Waverly braced for a comeback from Nicole, but Nicole was enamored with Luna.
“Ah. Makes sense.” Nicole knelt down and started examining the car’s tires. Waverly caught herself staring at Nicole rather than the car and immediately mentally slapped herself. The redhead concentrated intently, her brows furrowed, her jaw flexing at the sight of the numerous screws in the engine and her breath becoming deep and steady when she saw the cockpit. This focused side of Nicole was something that Waverly had never seen and she didn’t hate it.
After many minutes of examination, Nicole spoke again, “Do you mind if I test the car tomorrow?”
“As long as you call her by her name.”
“I’m not doing that.”
“Well then. I guess you won’t be testing Luna tomorrow.” Waverly began to lift the canvas cover for the car.
“Ok fine, Jesus. May I test Luna tomorrow?”
“Why, of course Head Driver Nicole Haught, you may test Luna. Considering that we’re in pre-season testing, you probably should test her.”
“Time?”
“You seem mighty busy with your press conferences so why don’t you let me know what time works for you and I’ll see if I’m free.”
“Sounds wonderful Head Engineer Waverly Earp.”
“The door is that way.” Waverly tossed her head towards the exit.
“I know. That’s where I came in.”
“Be on time tomorrow.” Nicole moved very close to Waverly, enough to make Waverly step back.
“Not without a please first.” Nicole winked.
Waverly huffed and puffed once more and rolled her eyes, “Please be on time tomorrow.” Nicole smirked.
“I’ll see you later.” Waverly simply held a hand up, waving goodbye as Nicole walked out of the main factory floor.
Waverly muttered a few choice words under her breath as she covered Luna.
February 13th, 2020. 30 days until the Australian Grand Prix.
Nicole actually arrived on time and Waverly thought the world was either ending or a miracle had occurred. She actually was very busy with travel preparations and fuel selection for the race, along with troubleshooting issues that kept popping up, so her time was precious today.
When Nicole arrived, she was already dressed in her safety gear. Jumpsuit on, helmet in hand, Nicole was ready to race. She donned her sunglasses and kept pushing her hands through her wavy, red hair. She was… something.
Shit.
“Right, chief. Let’s see what Luna can do.” Nicole sauntered up to the car and examined her once again as if to make sure the tires were put on the car correctly. That same concentrated face was painted on, brows furrowed and mouth slightly agape, tongue slightly out, as if she was doing math in her head.
“Come on, Nicole. I’m busy, remember?”
“Right, yeah. Sorry.” Nicole shoved her helmet on and jumped in the cockpit. A few mechanics that joined them for the testing, fastened Nicole into the seat.
Waverly walked up to the side of the car, “Remember not to push too hard. We’re just testing her. We’re not jockeying for first place in the championship race.”
Nicole simply saluted and Waverly stepped back. As soon as Waverly stepped back far enough, Nicole floored it and tires spun, bits of rubber flying off, hitting some of the mechanics.
Waverly rolled her eyes, took a deep sigh, apologized to the men standing behind her and took her place behind the analytics computer. The car was outfitted with technology that could tell Waverly the amount of force and power being pushed to each tire at any given moment, the amount of windforce the car was battling and how much power the engine was exerting. Waverly got to wear a headset that was linked to the driver’s helmet so she could communicate various statistics that would be vital to the driver’s decisions.
Nicole went around the track a few times, trying various speeds at various spots around the track. She was actually giving Waverly some really informative numbers that Waverly could use for her small improvement projects.
After about an hour, multiple tire changes and fuel refills, Nicole was done testing. She hopped out of the car and took off her helmet. Her hair was held down by sweat and her pale skin glimmered in the sun and all Waverly could think was, wow.
“Not bad, Earp.”
“Not bad? 6 months of endless work and testing and all you have to say is ‘not bad’?”
“Oh, I’m sorry. Let me have a redo.” She walked back to the car, turned around and began again, “Wow, head engineer Earp. What a magnificent vehicle you’ve constructed.”
Waverly grabbed her clipboard and her printed stats, “You don’t have to be an asshole,” And walked back into the mechanic floor.
“Waverly! I’m sorry!” Nicole shouted, hoping Waverly would turn around.
She didn’t.
Ferrari had a massive database that held every vehicle’s test results. Everything from aerodynamics to aspiration to the torque power ratio. It was all in one place, which made Waverly’s Virgo soul very satisfied.
After plugging in all of Nicole’s test figures, she heard a knock at her door.
“Yes?” Waverly expected a mechanic or an engineer at her door, not Nicole Haught, “What can I do for you, Nicole?”
“Just wanted to see what you thought of my test results.”
“Well, they’re pretty good if I’m being honest.” Waverly crossed her arms and leant on the desk.
“There’s a ‘but’ in there somewhere.”
“But, our primary test driver, Raffeale, was faster.”
“No way.”
“Way.”
“I pushed that thing--”
“Luna.”
“I pushed Luna to her limit. There’s no way he was faster.”
“Numbers don’t lie, Nicole.” Nicole seemed almost offended by the information provided, and Waverly seemed satisfied to have momentarily knocked Nicole off her pedestal.
“I want to go again.”
“Not today. Luna has to calm down and we have to tweak her slightly for your next tests.” Nicole looked like a little kid who was just told that, no, they couldn’t go to the park today.
“Tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
“Time?”
“You tell me.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that, Nicole got up and left, leaving no wink or snarky remark. Was something wrong? Surely, that wasn’t the case.
February 14th, 2020. 29 Days until the Australian Grand Prix.
Flowers and chocolate. Waverly hated flowers. But, Waverly loved chocolate. It was a tradition that Wynonna would send Waverly chocolate every Valentine’s Day no matter where she was in the world. So, who were the flowers from?
She dialed a number on her desk phone, “Fernando, hi. Do you know who left these flowers here for me?”
“Nicole had them sent over. I put them in your office. I know you don’t like them so if you’d like, I can come and remove them.”
Waverly stared at the flowers and seemingly forgot that Fernando was still on the phone.
“Signora?”
“Oh, uh. No, Fernando. That’s okay. A little bit of life never killed anyone, right?”
Fernando chuckled, “Si, signora. Have a great day.”
“Thank you and Fernando, Nicole is coming by today. No need to call, just send her back.”
“Si, signora.”
“Ciao.”
“Ciao, Waverly.”
As she picked up the flowers, a card fell from the vase.
Waverly,
Thank you for putting so much time into Luna. She really is an amazing machine.
I look forward to seeing you today.
N.H.
Maybe she wasn’t an enormous asshole.
Maybe.
Later in the day while Waverly was working on Luna, Nicole entered the factory.
“Waverly?” She shouted as if the giant red car wasn’t a dead giveaway.
“Over here!” She shouted from behind Luna.
A few moments later a wild Nicole Haught dressed in her racing suit appeared behind her.
“What are you doing?”
Waverly stood and dusted off her hands. When she worked on cars, she wore her sister’s Purgatory Hockey shirt and a pair of leggings. Sometimes, she’d spend 7 straight hours working on a car, so comfort was a big priority.
“I’m tweaking the engine.”
“Yeah? Like what?” Nicole took off her leather jacket and her sunglasses, “Would you please show me?”
Waverly was suspicious. Nicole was much less, well, like an asshole. Something was off and Waverly couldn’t figure it out.
“Uh, I’m tweaking the fire rate on the pistons to hopefully get a few more horses out of her.”
“Oh, interesting. How do you do that, head engineer?” There she was!
Waverly cleaned her hands on a dirty rag, “It’s actually not as complex as you might think.”
“Wait, I thought you were an engineer, not a mechanic.”
“I am an engineer, but I’m also a mechanic. Mr. Binotto lets me tweak the cars because I’ve got the mind of an engineer and the hands of a mechanic. And Jeremy is at lunch and going over numbers with his team so it’s just me for right now.”
Nicole looked down at Waverly’s hands and got lost for a minute, staring.
“Nicole? Do you want to see?”
Nicole shook herself back to reality, “Oh, yeah. Totally.”
Several minutes passed by and Waverly showed Nicole how she tweaked the engine without having to take the whole thing apart. It was customary for mechanics to take the engine apart, but since Waverly was Waverly, she found a way around that.
The two women spoke the whole time, well, Waverly spoke and Nicole intently listened, brow furrowed. Nicole rolled her sleeves up about 2 minutes into the conversation which stopped Waverly dead in her tracks. It was well known that F1 drivers had to be physically fit, but holy shit, this was different. Nicole’s forearms flexed while tinkering in the engine, causing Waverly to feel her heart rate speed up just slightly.
She mentally slapped herself, again, and continued explaining the engineering and physics behind an engine. When Waverly neared the end of her explanation, she had found out a lot about Nicole.
She was from Arizona. She has a brother and she used to race dirt bikes which got her into Formula 1 racing and her family hasn’t been incredibly present during her career, only when she wins a decent sum of money.
“This is the last screw and you’ll be all set to test her out.” Waverly connected the head of the screwdriver to the screw, but it wouldn’t budge. She tried and tried and tried, but the damn screw just wouldn’t go in. Waverly rubbed her eyes, smearing grease across her cheek.
“Here, let me.” Nicole offered.
“Sure.” On the handoff, the screw dropped through the engine and spun around on the floor, under the car. As Waverly bent over to grab the screw, she lost her balance and fell back.
Nicole caught Waverly’s hand and pulled her back to standing. There was nothing wrong with that except for the fact that Nicole held onto her until Waverly pulled her hand back.
“Here. You have a little something…” Nicole reached her hand to Waverly’s cheek, wiping off the mark of grease. Her palms weren’t calloused and her touch was delicate. “You ok?” Nicole asked with caring, puppy dog eyes.
Stop doing that.
As she stared into Nicole’s eyes she saw something. They must’ve been stars, the way the light made Nicole’s brown eyes shine. Waverly had never seen anything quite like it before. She snapped out of it, finding her balance once again.
“Uh, yeah. Just tired. You know, crazy hours and all.” She nervously spit out words trying to distract herself from the obvious contact. Nicole simply chuckled in response.
After another few moments, every screw was tightly in their rightful places.
“Is it time to test her out again?” Nicole looked like she was a little kid that was about to be released into a Lego store.
“Yes, I believe it’s about that time.” Waverly smiled genuinely and Nicole ran off to the changing room like a kid that could finally go play in the park.
Once on the track, Nicole started Luna and hopped into the driver’s seat.
“Please don’t floor it out of the pit. Tires are expensive and we don’t have an unlimited budget. I don’t have time to fit in a new suspension rod because you decided to be a showoff. Besides, we technically don’t even have this time slot for tests.”
“Breaking the rules for me, Waverly? Don’t flatter me.”
Waverly blushed and chuckled, “Shut up and drive already.”
“Yes ma’am.” Nicole saluted and didn’t floor it this time.
The results from the tech aboard Luna came back and Nicole had crushed the lap record by the second lap around. Her top speed was higher than it should’ve been and her torque to power ratio was exceeding all of Waverly’s expectations.
Nicole went around the circuit a few more times, again taking turns and straightaways at various speeds and angles, pushing Luna to the limit. When she pulled back into the pit, Nicole greeted a beaming Waverly. As she approached the smaller woman, Nicole smiled. Her white teeth shone through her dusty face and her dimple made residence in her left cheek. Blush ran across both ladies’ cheeks.
“That was mighty impressive, Nicole.” Waverly read aloud Nicole’s test results and Nicole didn’t look surprised, “You’re not surprised?”
“I mean, it’s great that I, Nicole Haught, has just set a lap record at one of the most prestigious tracks in the entire world,” She noticed Waverly’s face go slack, unimpressed almost, “But yes, it does feel pretty amazing,” a few awkward pauses later, “And I couldn’t have done it without you.” Waverly felt her cheeks become warm, blushing.
“Come on. Out of the car,” She shook her clipboard, “Results need to be looked over.”
In her office, Waverly and Nicole examined the results from her test. Her lap time was excellent, her power ratio to each tire was executed beautifully but the grip of the tires were of top concern. Without a decent grip, the car could slide around a turn and cause the car to flip, potentially injuring the driver.
Nicole stood behind Waverly and peered over her shoulder at the numbers scrolling across the screen. While pointing out a particular stat, Nicole bumped into Waverly.
“Oh, sorry.” Waverly stopped and looked up at Nicole, their faces just inches apart.
“No need to be.” Waverly spoke softly, very aware of the very small distance between her lips and Nicole’s.
Nicole didn’t back away, “What can we do about the grip? It’s essential that we have good grip, right?”
Waverly must’ve moved closer without conscious knowledge because Nicole smiled softly and moved to sit in the chair across the room.
Waverly cleared her throat, “We can change out the tires, but I’m not sure if we have enough time to test them properly. Changing them would be a huge risk for both you and Luna.”
“Can you just change the tires like that? Don’t you need special clearance from the boss?”
“I am the boss, Nicole. Being the head engineer comes with privileges.”
Nicole sat back crossing her arms, clearly deep in thought. Her brows furrowed and she rubbed her eyes. Driving for hours was exhausting and extremely taxing on the body and the mind. Nicole looked beautiful like this. Sure, her flying around the track and stepping out of the car and taking her helmet off in seemingly slow motion made her look especially attractive. But, Nicole just sitting there thinking, quietly thinking, made her look calm and solid.
Jesus this woman...
“Why don’t you go home and get some rest. You’ve had a long day. This can wait until another day.”
“Well, if we don’t have time to test them, isn’t this pretty urgent?”
“If you can’t drive safely and intelligently, it won’t matter if we can test them or not. Seriously, go home and get some rest.”
“Fair enough.”
“Tomorrow?”
“Sure.”
“Time?”
“Just show up, Nicole.”
Nicole smiled softly and put the two women at ease for a moment. It was nice to see Nicole this way, soft and caring. She was the complete opposite from the first day Waverly met her. She wondered for a moment why she put up that asshole equivalent attitude.
Nicole started walking out the door, “By the way, Nicole, before you go,” Nicole stopped, her arm resting on the door frame, “Thank you for the flowers. That was really nice of you.”
“Of course, Waverly. Happy Valentine’s Day.” Nicole smiled and Waverly waved goodbye and watched Nicole leave the factory. She thought of one word and one word only.
Trouble.