ALICE Ch 66

The paddock is busy even a couple of days before qualifiers.

Alice is just one more person wearing sunglasses and carrying an iced coffee in the throng. She’s incognito in shorts and an old, pink Riley Jameson #69 jersey with a Miami Heat cap. She breezes through icy air conditioning in the FUTA Racing HQ to enter Glynda’s office on the second floor.

“That’s kind of messed up,” she remarks, pointing at the Red Bull can on the desk.

“Shut it.” Glynda points at the chair.

“Am I in trouble?”

“No.”

“Well, all right,” Alice says with a frown. “I’m trusting you not to upset my delicate mental health.” She takes a seat. “Aren’t you going to offer me coffee?”

“You are holding one,” Glynda says irritably.

“But I could be holding two.”

Glynda closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Alice chuckles to herself.

“You sounded like my mom just now.”

“You don’t bloody say,” Glynda mutters. “Can you be serious for a moment?”

“I guess.”

“We’ve spoken about endorsements before.”

“Spoken,” Alice echoes, imitating Glynda’s accent.

“Stop that.”

“Stop that,” Alice replies. “No, seriously. What’s up?”

“It’s time to talk about endorsements.”

“Isn’t that something I’d talk to Kelsey about?”

“No. At this stage of your career, it’s more about the team than the individual. Please be serious for a moment, Alice. I’m trying to help you.”

Alice sighs. “I know. Sorry.”

“Now, it’s not uncommon for smaller companies to try to secure relatively long-term contracts with drivers who are thought to be up and coming. “And you are thought to be that sort of driver,” Glynda says seriously.

“No pressure,” Alice says, laughing nervously.

“You understand why they do this?”

“So they get a good deal on me in case I turn out to be the next Lewis or Max?”

“Or even someone popular like Charles.”

“I can dream,” Alice says wistfully. “Of Charles, I mean. Don’t you?”

“Everyone does, dear. Now. There’s no harm in signing these contracts as long as you don’t take on more than you can handle and you don’t do anything exclusively. No exclusive deals, no matter how good they make it sound.”

“What if it’s time-limited? Exclusive for six months?” Alice asks sensibly.

“Six months, fine. But nobody’s going to offer you that,” Glynda assures her. “You’ll be looking at three years minimum. That’s a long time in Formula One.”

“Right.”

“Now, before these offers get to you they come to me. Before they come to me, they get past the board at the company. They’ll only work with brands that they feel pair well with the company’s values.”

“Values?” Alice has to raise an eyebrow at that.

“Alice, you’ve two offers. And only time to meet with one of them before it’s time to qualify. Listen closely.”