Love in thirds

1.1 Charles & Sofia

You blush while looking into his brown eyes, "thank you for saying that Mr. Leclerc"

"You can call me Charles! I'm not that old yet" he jokes. His Monégasque accent is doing things to you, and you're trying to keep yourself from freaking out. He smiles, which makes his dimples appear, and jogs towards the elevator. Only Carlos was still waiting for him, with a knowing grin on his face.

Every time he would be in the lobby, and you were there, he would come up to say hello or ask how you were doing. He commented a few times how pretty you looked, and you could only blush like an idiot. You had a tiny bit of hope inside of you that he would maybe ask you out for a drink or something, but that didn't happen. It always seemed like he wanted to chat more, but he never did. What he did do was leave you a little present, at least you think it was from him. They had left when you were off from work, so you couldn't really say goodbye to him. When you came to work the next day, there was a Ferrari team shirt laying on your desk, with a hurriedly written "Sofia <3" on it. That shirt was now a frequently used chill/sleep shirt and you were wondering if he was the one that gave it to you. Your co-worker at the time had his last day that day, and never told anyone what had happened. 'If he did, maybe he would say something about it' you think to yourself.

After imagining all possible scenarios, you make your way to the bathroom to wash your face and brush your teeth. After making sure your alarm is set, you snuggle into the sheets and let sleep wash over you.

After getting ready, you ate your breakfast and made your way to the hotel. Lisa was already waiting for you with the Ferrari red hairclip. She put it in your hair for you and you started your day after chatting with her. You knew the team would arrive around 11AM, so around 10:30 you made sure that everything really was covered, and that you had all the key cards so you wouldn't mess anything up. You were really nervous now, fiddling with the ring on your finger, thinking about the possibility of Charles remembering you and gifting you the T-shirt. Just a bit after 11, the team started arriving. You made sure you had everything close when everyone came to collect their key cards. Just like the previous year you gave information about breakfast and dinner, and which floor they had to go up to. You hadn't seen Charles yet, what disappointed you a little bit. The team members thanked you and all made their way towards the elevator. You were left alone with the key card for Charles and the realisation hit you that when he would arrive, you guys would be alone!

While waiting for him to arrive you helped Lisa with doing some overbooking work, which was murdering your brain, but you're a good friend and you needed to be doing something to take your mind away from the thoughts of seeing Charles. Around 11:30 someone cleared their throat, what made you look up, straight into his beautiful eyes. "Hello Sofia" he said with a huge smile on his face, "I'm very happy to see that you are still working here!" You feel like your head is on fire, but you don't really care. He remembered!! And he's smiling! Your face lights up, and he immediately takes note that you're also happy to be seeing him. "Hi Charles, so good to see you again!" when you give him the key card, he takes a hold of your hand. You look up at him with a questioning look, while blushing like crazy. "I would like to ask you something, and if I don't do it now, I might never do it..." he looks kind of unsure of himself, but continues hesitantly, "would you maybe like to go out for dinner with me, tonight?" You start nodding and excitedly say that you'd love to. It seems like Charles' smile only got bigger after that. He takes the key card and leaves after you guys decided at what time he will pick you up from home.

The remaining hours of the workday are killing you, especially after you told Lisa. She didn't want to shut up about what you should wear or what you had to do with your hair. You at least decided to keep the red clip in your hair, thinking of pairing it with a cream-coloured dress that you loved. When you were finally allowed to leave, you sprinted home to get ready and change. Your mind could barely comprehend that you were actually going on a date with Charles! You were so excited! Right on time your doorbell rings, so you take one last look at your hair, making sure the red of the clip is visible, and open the door.