The Fire Inside (Sebastian Vettel)

4. Putting a Name to a Face

Finally things were back to normal. All the Formula 1 personnel were now fully vaccinated against the virus.

The teams arrived for testing in Bahrain en masse. Finally they were mixing again. Finally no masks.

Emily and Joel checked into their hotel absolutely shattered. They had caught their flight at a stupid hour. It was still only four o'clock when they touched down but they'd been up for hours. Joel was on the second floor. He was sharing with Harry, another one of Seb's mechanics.

Emily had groaned inwardly when she'd discovered she was sharing with Francesca. Francesca was a member of the PR team and Emily couldn't stand her. She was loud, opinionated and snobby. She thought she was God's gift to men and was rumoured to have slept with a driver or two during her five years working in Formula 1.
Well, hopefully she'd pull another one and leave Emily alone in the room.

She let herself in to third floor room. Good, Francesca wasn't there yet. She dumped her luggage at the foot of the bed, choosing the one near the window. Then she collapsed onto it, totally beat. Time for a quick kip before dinner.

***

Seb had arrived a day before the rest of the team. He'd wanted an extra day to adjust his body to the time zone and the climate. He and Antti had headed out for an early dinner. They'd decided to eat outside.

"Hi Sebastian," a familiar red-headed woman said, smiling at him.

"Hello...sorry I'm still learning names."

"Francesca, but you can call me Chessy. It's good to be back, isn't it?"

"Yes, it is," he smiled. "I dont mean to be rude, but can we catch up some other time? I'm having a training discussion with my trainer."

"Oh, of course. Maybe we could have a drink sometime. See you later," she said, winking at him as she walked off.

"She fancies you," stated Antti.

"Not interested. Not yet anyway. Maybe if I can't find that girl."

Seb had finally confided in Antti about his desires for the girl in pink...green...whatever.

"Any luck finding her yet?"

"Nope, but testing starts in two days so I will then, if she's still here."

"Any plans for if you do?" Seb grinned.

"Unleash the full power of Vettel charm on her."

***

Two days later Seb arrived at the circuit ready for action. Firstly was the grid photo with all the other drivers. It was so good to see the familiar faces. Also it was great to see the return of Nico Hulkenberg after a year's sabbatical. And to complete the line up were the two rookies. Yuki Tsunoda and Mick Schumacher.

After that, Lance headed off to take the morning shift in the car. Seb had to do some photo shoots and interviews before lunch. Then it would be his turn to put the car through its paces.

He hated all the media side of the job. All he wanted was to jump in the car and put his foot down. But he knew how it worked. He just grinned and bared it.

He was relieved when the morning was over. He was famished. He met Antti over at hospitality and they ate the lunch that Antti had prepared for them. He was half way through when he heard a group enter, laughing and talking amongst themselves.

He glanced over and felt his heart skip a beat when he saw her. The girl in green. Her hair was shorter now, just touching her shoulders instead of hanging down her back. Damn, it had been far too long since he had seen her. His desire for her hadn't waned at all. The difference was now he was free to pursue her. He knew the odds she would turn him down were rather short seeing as though she had rejected Charles and Daniel, but he knew he had to try.

He tried not to be too obvious staring at her. Antti knew though and raised his eyebrows at Seb.

"Go on then, here's your chance Casanova," he laughed. Seb felt nervous all of a sudden. It had been a while since he had tried to chat a woman up. And he'd never chatted one up that he was so strongly physically attracted to.

Still, he didn't have to make it obvious. There were a few people in the group that he hadn't met yet. He could just wander over and introduce himself. He grinned at Antti and stood up. He took a deep breath and headed over.

"Hiya guys, I just wanted to say hi to those of you I haven't met yet. " All eyes turned towards him.

"Hey Seb," Joel greeted him. The girl looked at him. She had the most incredible chocolate brown eyes, with the most thick and long lashes.
"Who hasnt met Seb yet?" Four people raised their hands. Two men, a blonde lady and her.

"OK, so quick introductions as I'm sure we all have to be back soon. The skin head on the end is Ian, he's Lance's Jack man. The guy nearest you is Harry, he's your rear left gunner. The blonde is Kara, she works in PR and this ray of sunshine to my left is Emily. Emily is one of your data analysts and assistant race strategist. Connor likes claiming the credit but she actually masterminded Checo's win in Sakhir last season."

So her name was Emily. He liked it. Assistant strategist and data analyst. Sounded like he would be getting to spend quite a bit of time with her this season. He nodded at them all.

"Pleased to meet you all. I wanted to invite you all to drinks on the last evening, get to know you all a bit better before the season starts. I'll let Joel know details to pass on."

He bottled it. He couldn't flirt with her in front of them. But her name was Emily, he knew her name at last.

"I have to rush. Catch you all soon." He headed back to Antti. "Her name is Emily," he whispered. Antti laughed.

You pussy, " he laughed.

"I will talk to her, just not with all of them around. She's part of my team. She's my assistant strategist. I think I'm going to be seeing a lot of her. "

***

Seb was just putting his helmet on when he saw her dart through the garage and across the pitlane. She took her seat on the pit wall, pulling on her headphones.

Connor was nowhere to be seen so it looked like she would be in his ear along with Joe, well for now anyway. He climbed into the car and Joel did up his belts.

"Good afternoon Sebastian," came Joe's voice in his ears.

"Good afternoon Joe. Shall we get this show on the road?"

"Take her out Seb. I'm going to hand you over to Emily now briefly."

"Good afternoon Emily."

"Afternoon Sebastian. Can you just give us an installation lap and then bring her back in please?"

"Your wish is my command," he replied, with just a little hint of flirtation in his voice. He grinned as he pulled out of the garage.

Damn he loved that sexy British accent of hers. This season was going to be fun.