Pit Lane Persephone

Chapter 30: Seb

"Thank you, Nigel, and everyone. Cadmium has become like my family and you helped me be a better person, not only a better racer. But after four years and one championship," I say, pausing to grimace and making everyone laugh again. "It is time for me to challenge myself. So that is why I have joined the Team Castello Ducati in 2Prix for next year. Thank you all for everything." I sit back down and take a sip of water. Finally saying it out loud is a relief. It means there is no going back. I just wish I had the courage to observe Lauren's reaction to the news first-hand. I'll now have to wait until later to find out what she thinks of my decision.

"That's right," Nigel says. "With Andrea Moretti retiring from PrixMoto and Elia Giacona moving up to take his place, Seb was a natural fit to join the Castello team. Again, we're sorry to see you go, but ya couldn't have made a better choice." He smiles before looking around the table. "But don't you worry gents and ladies, because in addition to Austin returning to Cadmium in January, we'll also have some new blood on the team."

Murmurs spread through the group; the team manager must have been keeping his plans from the others too, not just me. Does it also mean Lauren isn't staying with Cadmium? I honestly wasn't expecting Nigel to have two Americans riding for an Italian brand, but it would have been a nice surprise if he did. So now I'm not the only one who'll be facing a change.

"The official announcement will come tomorrow morning, but I'm pleased to confirm that we've signed Ana-Maria Perez who just took second in the Spanish national 3Prix series," Nigel says.

Another girl in 3Prix. Good for Cadmium. Having Lauren on the team this year seems to have worked out well enough to not mess with the formula. I wonder if anything else affected the decision besides her nationality. Or maybe it wasn't their decision. What if she turned them down for an even better opportunity?

Leaning forward, I try to sneak another glance at Lauren. I can't tell what she thinks of the news; she's drinking, hidden behind her water glass. We can talk about this later, too, but do I really have to wait until midnight? I thought it would be all romantic and stuff, but now I totally regret picking such a late time. Of course, I honestly don't want to be doing too much talking even then, if she's cool with it.

"I thought the news of Dai Mura moving to Superbike was a surprise, but this is something else. Congratulations, mate," Scotty says, slapping me on the back.

"Thank you." I turn to shake the burly Aussie's hand. He's a good engineer, and I'll miss working with him. Well, it's not like we'll be too far apart. Just a few pit boxes, probably. "See you in the paddock?"

"Damn straight." He grins before taking a sip of his champagne.

Nigel continues, "And obviously this means that we have to also say goodbye to our Persephone."

I wipe my palms on my trousers. This is the end. It's really happening.

"Lauren, it has been a pleasure working with ya. Things have been interesting to say the least, but what you achieved today was truly special and we're proud you did it with Cadmium." Nigel raises his glass again. "You have big things ahead of you, wherever you go next. Cheers."

She graciously nods, but there's no big announcement from her. This better not mean what I think it means, but apart from the post twenty-one crowd getting a little—okay, some very—tipsy, the rest of dinner is uneventful. I exchange a few private words with pretty much everyone, but I'm not in the mood for proper thank you's. I'll see most of them on the plane back to Rome tomorrow, anyway.

I wish Nando could have joined us, but this was a closed team dinner, plus he's probably having more fun with some Cali girl anyway. I linger in the restaurant longer than I really want just to make the time pass, but when I return to my room, it's still only ten. After spending another fifteen minutes internally debating whether to stay in my formalwear, I change into sweats and a long-sleeve shirt. Hopefully Lauren isn't expecting Prince Charming on her doorstep; even Cinderella turned back into her normal self at the stroke of midnight.