ALICE Ch 182

Erica sits and thinks. She understands now that perspectives are going to differ on this. Meri sees this as being a FUTA matter, and Erica sees it as an F1 matter. FUTA Racing isn’t just part of the F1 ecosystem, it’s a serious contender in terms of points at the moment. Any big shakeup is going to have consequences far beyond FUTA.

After a few minutes of silence, she watches Meri take another moody drink. She looks angry and dejected.

“You thought you were working for a company that was different,” she says. After all, FUTA had begun with equal parts cynicism and idealism. Sex sells, yet FUTA had been empowering.

“What?” Meri looks over at Erica as though she’s insane. “What are you talking about? FUTA’s not different. You’d have to be crazy to think that. I’m pissed off because of…” She makes a face. “My girlfriend.”

Taken aback, Erica leans on the bar and seeks out eye contact.

“Tell me more,” she says.

“She works for FUTA Racing. She travels with the team.”

Now it all makes sense. This is why Meri wanted to know who was in Alice’s bed. Fair enough.

“You do not trust your partner?”

Meri just groans. “I’m not stupid. Long distance is hard, and when your girlfriend changes personality overnight, you know something’s up. She used to text me all night. Now I’m waiting an hour for a reply. She only calls a couple times a week.”

To Erica, that sounds normal and healthy, but it’s clearly different from what Meri’s used to. And Meri would know her partner. She’s a little drunk, but she’s not stupid.

“You think she is with someone new?”

“It almost would’ve been better if it was Alice. You know? Hot, rich celebrity. But it’s not. So she’s cheating on me with some fucking rando that she met in…” Meri waves a hand a little tipsily. “Australia or some shit. Or some other F1 person. People who travel and fucking…” She trails off and puts her face in her hands. “God. I am such a fuckup.”

“Who is your girlfriend?”

Meri wordlessly shows Erica her background on her phone. In it, Meri wears a bikini and has her arm around another girl on a sunny beach. The girlfriend is a small blonde with a little more curves than Meri, round cheeks, and short, unruly hair. She’s cute, and Erica has seen her before.

The uniform that this girl wears while working doesn’t flatter her, so she didn’t catch Erica’s eye that way, but Erica has a distinct memory of being in the FUTA pit and bumping into this girl. She’d just come out of a small room in the back, face flushed, hair a mess, and zipping up her uniform. Meri is not imagining things.