lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

~ cinque ~

Baku, April 2019

Pia was quite happy when she sat by herself at a hotel breakfast. It was half-past eight, and she was enjoying her breakfast while quickly typing in her MacBook. The Italian tried to squeeze as many events as she could into Sebastian's calendar. From time to time, she helped Britta with that.

"Good morning. I thought you said you don't work here." Pia recognised the voice of the young Briton right away. Lando stood right behind her, staring at her screen over her shoulder.

Pia wanted to point out that it wasn't such a good morning for her. Sebastian yelled at her for dating Daniel when the truth was that she didn't date him. Pia caught Joanna sneaking from Max's room, meaning she left some mess behind as always. And she didn't even want to think about what would happen once she arrived at the circuit. The press would eat her alive. So, yeah, not exactly a perfect morning.

"Good morning. Well, I don't," the Italian greeted him back and closed her laptop. She didn't really like it when someone was looking over her shoulder.

"Well, it looked like you're creating a calendar for someone," Lando pointed out the obvious.

"I just help someone from time to time," Pia admitted. It was the truth anyway. She didn't sign an employment contract with anybody. She just helped her friend from time to time.

"Maybe you could help me create one with the date of our dinner in it," Lando winked at her. He wasn't really good with courtship, but he felt like this pick-up line was one of his best. Lando felt relieved when Pia started giggling. This dinner invitation could actually be successful.

"Alright." Pia pulled her phone out of her pocket. She opened the calendar app and created a new event. She clicked in a field that said: invitees. "Put there your phone number. I will send you an invite," Pia said as she handed Lando her phone. He quickly typed his phone number and returned the phone. "Is tomorrow evening okay with you?"

Lando blinked a few times before he was able to respond. He didn't really think he would succeed. "Of course. It sounds lovely," he agreed to the plans of the Italian. It didn't take long, and his phone rang, announcing the new message. It was the invitation from Pia.

"Well, now you have my number. Text me if you would like to reschedule it, or just text me if you want," Pia smiled at the Briton who was currently sitting in front of her. Lando wasn't really Pia's type, but he was trying, so Pia decided to give it a shot. There wasn't anything wrong with wanting to make a comeback to the dating life.

"Thank you. I'm fairly sure I'll text you," Lando smiled at her while putting his phone in the back pocket of his jeans.

"Lando?" Pia hesitated, but she knew she had to tell him before he would read it by himself and then he wouldn't believe her. "Ehm, well, there are a few articles claiming that I'm dating Daniel. I just wanted to tell you before you would eventually find out yourself. I just want to say that those claims are not real. We see each other just like friends," she said. She actually felt a bit relieved after she told him. Lando was glad that she came forward with it. It showed him she cared about whatever was between them. He needed someone honest and loyal next to his side, and Pia seemed to be just like that.

---

"Pia, are those rumours true?"

"How is your relationship with Daniel?"

"Are you really dating Ricciardo?"

Pia's worries that the way through the paddock would be just like this were correct. Journalists were all around her. She felt trapped since she couldn't find a way how to get out of it. The Italian instinctively put her hand in front of her face and looked down. She had never struggled with crowds, but this was too much even for her.