For the first time in one and a half months, Camille and her colleagues entered the office of Red Bull Racing. The races across the ocean were done; the US, Mexico and Brazil were not too good for Daniel Ricciardo, which meant the final race of the season was coming up in just less than two weeks. The office was decorated with Christmas stuff, it made the place a lot cosier.
"We are across the ocean for a while, and this place interiorly changed," Camille said and walked up the stairs. "And then the realisation we will be in Abu Dhabi next week."
Meredith nodded. "Confusing times," she said. "But I will see you with lunch, keep Daniel alive, please," she winked when their ways separated.
"Bye, Mer!" Camille laughingly said, but it was sarcasm and walked away from Meredith.
Meredith laughed and made her way to her department; the press. Camille walked to the other side of the office, making her way to the technical department; the crew who would go to races. The office slowly filled with people, making Camille greet a few of them. A yawn escaped her lips; her body was in a jet lag. Just when she arrived at her desk, she found Daniel sitting on her chair while talking to the other guys from his team. Camille placed her bag on her desk and cleared her throat.
Daniel turned around on the chair and looked at Camille. "Oh, good morning, sunshine," he teasingly said and got up.
"Good morning," Camille neutrally replied and took off her coat. She walked over to the coat rack to hung up her coat, also giving Daniel the time to leave her spot. When she walked back, he was gone, just like the rest of his team - they moved to the desk of his engineer Mike and Simon. Camille made herself a cup of tea and updated her email.
Daniel was watching how Camille was working behind her computer from a distance. "Camille has been on my team since Seb left, became my aerodynamics engineer two years ago, I still have no idea who she actually is, and I'm leaving after next week's race," he said to his crew.
Mike took a deep breath and nodded. "She is Camille van Duyk, and that's about it that we know," he said and played with a pen. "She's very private."
"And very serious," Simon added. "There's no fun with that woman."
"But she delivers good results," Daniel honestly shared. "It's not because of her and her people why my car is underperforming." He studied her for a moment. "Does she have a husband, kids? Or wife, everything is possible."
Mike was shaking his head. "Not that I know of."
The conversation took a turn, they were talking about the Christmas party in a couple of weeks what was being held by Red Bull.
"Who are you gonna bring as a date?" Simon asked curiously. "It emphasises to bring a date." He was turning on his chair.
"My wife," Mike answered.
"Yeah, me too," Simon replied and nodded. "What about you?" He looked at Daniel. "Is there a woman in your life that we don't know of?"
Daniel smirked and turned away. "Nah, I will see. Perhaps I will bring no one."
"Ask Camille."
Touches of laughter filled the office, what made Camille look up with a bit annoyance on her face. Didn't they had work to do, prepare for a meeting?
Daniel's eyes rounded. "No, are you out of your mind?"
Simon grinned. "I dare you to make her say yes," he said playfully and got up. "And if it fails, you never have to see her again."
"Are we really gonna play in on a dare? We are not ten years old anymore," Daniel denied the dare and shook his head. "Absurd."
"I never expected you from backing away from a challenge," Mike said and opened his email. "Come on, it's your last one. And it will show us that she actually has a heart."
"Never," Daniel said and got up as well. "It's Camille, the hardest person to interact with."
"Yup, that's why," Mike smirked. "Christmas date. Yes or no? It will be fun."
Daniel looked at Simon, who was waiting for an answer. It could be fun, or it could be a fail. Nobody knew Camille, and therefore it was impossible to do it. Camille had a wall around her, and it was impracticable to break through it, she worked hard and stayed professional all the time. But that made it exciting, perhaps challenging to do it. This could be interesting. However, Daniel wasn't a fan of playing with feelings, but he wanted to get to know Camille better; she had been on his team since the beginning of his career at Red Bull.
"Fine, I will try it one time. But if she doesn't want it, I quit," Daniel said after a long silence.
Mike and Simon looked at each other and smiled; this was gonna be so interesting. They both went back to work, and Daniel made his way towards the exit of the department. He had to pass Camille. Their looks crossed, making Daniel wanting to say something to her, but her eyes showed coldness. He decided to keep his mouth shut and left the department. In an hour he had to face her again in a meeting, but he wasn't really looking forward to it anymore: did he say yes to something impossible? To something he would regret?
