A SECOND CHANCE MAY BE TOO HOT TO HANDLE
They say there are no second chances, and for Lily Onassis, ever since she walked away from Formula World driver Max Becker, she's considered this true. Instead of a glitzy, glamorous life on the auto racing...
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LILY
Adam and Tanya, the team's public relations head, greet me at a side gate of the Miami track in a chauffeured electric golf cart. I climb in and we whiz away, slowing only for the security at various checkpoints.
The aftermath of the race is all around us: sanitation crews picking up trash, teams packing up giant tractor-trailers, a few fans lingering in the VIP area hoping for autographs.
"We've asked the entire team to meet us in the garage," Adam says, his long face pinched with worry.
"Perfect. Anything else I need to know before I talk?" I'm back in corporate crisis mode, something I'd thrived at in my last job. At least until the crisis involved me.
I've known Tanya for years. She was head of PR for Team Eagle, the racing outfit that Max went to after we broke up. Tanya is almost forty, and has seen a lot Formula World. So much that she seems entirely unfazed at the moment, while Adam and I are both drenched in sweat and have faces pinched with worry.
I've always admired Tayna's tough-as-nails demeanor. We're not exactly friends, but more like friendly acquaintances. I suspect this is going to change. It could go either way — we're either going to be besties at the end of this situation, or we're going to hate each other.
"Well, Max is in a bit of a state because his car engine blew up on the last lap, and he was leading the race," Adam says.
I wince. A bit of a state in Adam's dry, polite U.K. English probably means Max is irate and possibly even had a tantrum on the track. Most drivers would, from what I've seen and experienced in my years observing Formula World.
"I've never seen Max so angry." Tanya's voice is matter-of-fact.
"Ouch. How did Esteban finish?"
"Tenth," Adam says, and Tanya groans.
"It's been a shitty day," she says.
Yeesh. "So the team's already in a foul mood." I can't tell if the dismal race results are going to make it harder for me to give this announcement.
"Pretty much," Adam says.
"Does anyone know about Dad? Any rumors leak? Anyone see him taken away?"
Tanya shakes her head, her shoulder-length brown bob flipping in the wind. How does she avoid frizz in this humidity? "I don't think so. He was in the back of the garage, and Jack managed to drag him into the back room. The paramedics took him out the side door, which isn't accessible to the press or public. People probably assumed the ambulance was there for someone who had heatstroke."
My poor father. I'm about to ask if them if they'd noticed any signs of illness but we're at the garage. The golf cart stops and we all climb out. Next to the garage is one of the team's cars, a sleek black and orange open wheeled Formula World car. My father's passion and purpose.
