The F1 Queen: A Women In A Man's World.

Part 29: A New Direction.

3:45Pm and, you guessed it, I was still stuck in this scratchy hospital bed on Ross' demand. If that man was trying to show he cared about me, he sure was going a funny away about it. Though to my mind, sticking me in the cheapest hospital that was willing to take me on as a patient was hardly sporting was it?

I sighed gently as I noticed Paul had disappeared from my bedside, and there in his place was just a grove were he had being laying uncomfortably: the only visible evidence that someone, other than me, had been here. I shifted my body slowly onto my left side so I was facing the window, the stiffness of my muscles making a seemingly ordinary effortless task into a mammoth operation which required skill and concentration. After 5 minutes of struggling on my own, I finally managed to situate myself into a comfortable position, one that I knew I would be stuck in for a while as my mobility was still not the greatest. My eyes were still surprisingly weak as I tried to focus on reaching for the glass of water by my bedside, and even this seemed impossible.

Just as I was about to wrap my shivering palms around the base of the glass, footsteps rapidly sauntered into my private room, jolting me out of concentration which in turn sent the glass tumbling to the floor. A loud smashing noise followed, causing me to jump sideways in this hospitals sad excuse for a bed and plant eyes on the person who had scared me senseless. The man in question was someone who I'd never been acquainted before, though his stature assumed someone who was of significant importance, which made me painfully shift so that I was laying respectfully on my back again. I was hardly in a dignified position, but I was as well presented as the hospital allowed me to be. The mysterious man smiled down at me with, what I assumed to be, a genuine smile, his long legs reaching over to the side of my bed, though stopping a metre or so away so as to not get too close. "You must be Nikki Jefferson! My its a pleasure to meet you, though shame about the circumstances" I wasn't sure if I should take that offensively or not, so opted to simply keeping my mouth shut until he addressed me again. "I bet you're wondering who I am! And rightfully so...My name is Peter O'Sullivan and I am the director of DAMs" oh! So this was the man who was offering me the job! I smiled gently up to him and offered him my shaky hand, showing that even though I was still slightly weak from Sunday's horrific first corner collision, I was still capable of curtsy. "It's a pleasure to meet you sir, how can I be of service?" He chuckled heartedly at my politeness and sat himself informally down on the side of the bed, crumpling Paul's grove. "Oh Ross said you was polite! Anyhow, I've come prepared with a proposal for you. I know it's not ideal, but considering the circumstances, it's the best that me and Ross could come up with, I do hope you appreciate our positions" I nodded my head politely, though internally I was smashing Ross over the head with a lead pipe. "Yes, of course sir. Please continue" He flashed me another pleasant smile before continuing "As you know, we are currently looking for a new team leader ahead of his years GP2 season and I think you might just fit the bill. I know you'd must prefer to be out on the track then dealing with the nitty gritty side of things, but right now, I believe it is in your best intentions to avoid the track for at least 6 months" Although I disagreed entirely with what he was saying, I nodded my head politely again and considered the offer he was proposing, my hands stroking over the blankets that covered all that was left of my dignity. "So what do you say Nikki? Once you've been discharged with hospital, I'll get a car to come and take you back to the DAMs factory and we can talk more there" It didn't look like I had much choice, besides, was I really wanting to do promo work for the rest of the year on a freelance basis? I shifted myself up rather difficultly into a sitting position and offered him my hand again, bolting a smile of happiness onto my features. "Mr O'Sullivan, it would be an honour" Bah! What was I saying? I couldn't think of anything worse!