Eyes on the prize- Sebastian Vettel

25. Better to think before you speak

The Japanese weekend hadn't been going well for Seb, with the bad time culminating on the Saturday where he only managed to place his Ferrari in p9. Mercedes seemed to be cruising to another double win that year. Joey had considered their offer with a great deal of attention and she was ready to accept it. The contract  would ease a lot of pressure off her dad's business and it also gave her a bit of extra cash by becoming a brand ambassador.

The Irish girl had decided to discuss the situation with Sebastian, to get his thoughts on it.

She knocked on his bedroom door, feeling weirdly nervous. It felt like she knew Seb wouldn't agree with her.

'Hey, Süße, come in' he said, trying to smile. Joey could read his bad mood from miles away. He had been complaining to her how the team had stopped all updates for the year and how they had started to concentrate on the following year. He had also a bad feeling about Maurizio's fate if the season had ended badly.

'Sorry about quali' she spoke, eventually.

'Yeah... it was crap' he agreed. 'Are you ok? You seem nervous'

'I wanted to tell you something... so, you know how much I miss racing and that I've been looking at sponsors and stuff for next year.. dad had offered to help out as he always does, but... I think I found something better' she spoke. Seb looked at her curiously.

'On Thursday I was just going back to hospitality to get a coffee and these lovely men stopped me to chat about the future...' Joey carried on telling Sebastian about Mercedes and their offer. 'So I am thinking of taking it, what do you think?' She asked, a wide smile on her face.

'Well, it sounds like you already made your mind up' Seb told her, sounding distant.

'I... well... it's my career...' she mumbled. 'Why aren't you happy for me?'

'I am' he almost barked.

'You forgot to tell your muscles to not tense, then. Can you tell me the truth, please?'

'You want the truth?! Well the truth will hurt, Jo'

'I am a big girl, I can take it' she told him.

'Truth is... it fucking hurts that you, the person who says that loves me, is now joining the biggest team I have been fighting for the past few years! Why Mercedes?' He burst.

'Because they're willing to give me a chance! Because not everyone gets paid as much as you guys do and because normal people need sponsors! I can't believe you'd question my feelings for you because I am thinking of taking another team's offer!!' Joey felt tears were imminent and tried to hide it from him.

'Don't you think they're offering you the sponsorship to get to my head?' He asked. Seb regretted the words he spoke as soon as they left his mouth.

'Is it THAT unbelievable for you to think that they might wanna sponsor me because of my skills and not because of the man I stupidly fell in love with?' She asked, now fully in tears and barely able to control her natural accent. 'I guess, once more, men are showing their true colours to me. Thanks for always telling me you were different, I fucking believed you.' Joey stormed off, not wanting to hear another word from Sebastian. She slammed the door to his room behind her and just marched down the corridor, trying to avoid the other guests' gazes. She ran down a couple of flights of stairs to finally find Liam's room and knocked on the door. Liam opened the door, looking half asleep. As soon as he noticed Joey's smudged mascara and red eyes, he suddenly didn't feel tired anymore. He pulled his best friend in a hug, gently caressing her hair.

'What happened, babe? What's up? Who do I need to beat up?' He asked her, sweetly.

'Seb... I... we... I don't even know...' she mumbled. 'I don't want to talk, please. Can we just watch crap telly and have a night in like we used to?' She asked.