lemon and mint | Charles Leclerc

~ nove ~

"How is Charles doing?" Anthonie asked out of nowhere. Pia knew this didn't mean anything good.

"I don't know. He's doing great, I guess. We don't talk to each other." He could have called Charles if he wanted to know how he was doing. That wasn't Pia's business.

"Oh, don't you say. I have seen you together in Bahrain. The old flame never dies, right?" Pia didn't understand why he brought this up. What could he possibly want?

"Just tell me what you want," she was so done with this bullshit.

"Does he know how Jules got into Formula One?" Of course, Anthonie wasn't making favours for free. Pia should've known that when she asked him to pull a few strings in order to get Jules a seat in Marussia. Nothing was ever free in Formula One. You paid a high price for pretty much everything.

"Does it matter?" she asked and crossed her arms on her chest.

"I guess it does. You got him into the seat in which he died."

"That's bullshit, and you know it. If God wanted it that way, it would happen anyway." Perhaps Jules would get into F1 without her help, or he would get there a year later, and it would have the same outcome. She couldn't know, and she refused to take the blame for it. If they wanted to blame someone, it should be the race directors that hadn't red flagged the race.

"Do you know how Charles got here?"

"He got here because of his talent," she said unbothered. Why should she care how he got here? The important thing was that he was here.

"Do you really believe it? You know just like me that this sport isn't about the talent that much anymore. I thought you got him the deal, but to my surprise, it was Joanna. I guess she just felt guilty because of Jules." Of course, Joanna settled the deal for him.

"So? He isn't the only one to get a deal like that. There's nothing to be ashamed of," she tried to behave like she didn't care. Maybe she shouldn't care anyway.

"She even got Pierre into Red Bull. Don't you think it's a bit unfair?" Oh, so she got Pierre the promotion. Pia wasn't even surprised.

"It's not my problem that people here are greedy for money and favours."

"I just want to be sure she won't get a seat for another driver like that. Be a good girl and let me know if she plans something like that." Pia didn't see a single reason why she should help him. They weren't really best friends with Joanna, but that didn't mean she would go against her.

"Why on the earth would I do that?" the Italian asked calmly. She wanted to laugh. How could her father expect she would help him?

"Have you bragged to your new little boyfriend about your past? Have you bragged about who settled the debt for your drugs in Monaco to your 'parents'? I think you should be more grateful; don't you think?" Anthonie was surprised when he saw that this didn't fully convince his daughter. He expected that would be enough.

"If that didn't convince you enough, maybe it's time to talk to the press about Jules, no?" Goosebumps ran over her spine.

"Fine," she growled. She hated this feeling. Once again, the Dutchman pushed her against the wall. "But I want a contract."

"You're learning fast. Perhaps I taught at least something, but fine. If you want a contract, then have it. Stop by my hotel at 6 p.m. We will sign it."

"I'll tell you if she's thinking about getting a seat for someone, but nothing else. I won't do any dirty work. I don't care what you will tell Lando. I will pay you up, but... but anything about Jules is not getting out ever."

"Not really lucrative, but fine, and keep the money. Take it as a lovely present from your beloved dad." Anthonie didn't care that much about information about Jules. He was dead anyway. The only thing he could do was tarnish his memory.

"By the way, does Sebastian know you're here with me?" Anthonie asked when Pia was about to leave.

"Does it really matter?" The Italian answered his question by question.

"Not to me. But it could to him." With that, Pia just walked away. She had more than enough of this bullshit.

---

"Hello?" The Italian could hear the voice of her close Dutch friend.

"Oh, Max," Pia laughed. "I haven't thought you would pick up." By the tone of Pia's voice, the Dutchman could immediately recognise that something was wrong.

"Are you drunk?" The young Red Bull driver asked worriedly. He knew about the problems Pia had with alcohol and even with drugs. He was worried that her old habits were back.

"Partly drunk, partly high, partly angry and partly sad," she introduced Max into the situation.

"What happened?" Max sighed while he was getting dressed. He couldn't leave his Italian friend in such a state alone.

"My father happened. Would you believe that I had to sign a physical contract with him? How pathetic it's the fact I cannot trust him at all," Pia blurted out. It was funny because she didn't trust him even with it.

"What contract did you exactly sign?"

"It doesn't matter, Max. I was just trying to smooth out the consequences." Max could hear how close Pia was to crying.

"Where are you?" he asked her. Pia was able to mutter the name of the bar she was in. Max just told her to wait where she was and that he would pick her up.

---

Max was unimpressed when he noticed the judging stares from the receptionists. They looked at the poor Italian girl snuggled in Max's arms as if she was someone worthless. He tried to ignore these stares and made his way to the lift.

His eyes widened as the lift's doors opened, and he saw Joanna and Kelly in there. He was rather surprised by the duo. Joanna looked like she wanted to head outside, but when she noticed Pia in Max's arms, she stayed in the lift, waiting for Max to step in. On the other hand, Kelly probably just wanted to go out and look for her boyfriend.

"It's so not what it looks like," Max said, looking at Joanna.

"So, you're not helping Pia after she had one too much to drink?" Joanna chuckled. She found this situation amusing. Kelly was his girlfriend, yet he was explaining it to the Austrian.

"Would you mind going to the reception asking if they have another room available," he finally spoke to his girlfriend. She wasn't amused by that fact, but eventually, she left the lift, making her way to the reception.

The lift ride was in utter silence. Joanna didn't say anything, and neither did Max. The Austrian followed Max's traces once he stepped out of the lift. It seemed she wanted to follow him into his room, but then her phone rang, and she just started walking in the opposite direction without saying a single word.

"Max, I booked another room," Max heard his girlfriend's voice as he bestowed Pia into his bed.

"Yeah. So, go there," the Dutchman said without even looking at the Brazilian. He didn't want to sleep with her in one bed anyway.

"What? You cannot be serious," Kelly whined.

"I'm dead serious, Kelly. I'm not leaving her alone in such a state," Max said uncompromisingly and watched his girlfriend leave.