The Boss

Australia - part 4

Third practice wasn't something to write home about either... Lewis drove a 1:19.896 and George a 1:20.096 while Norris drove a 1:9.117. Lewis retired to his room to wait for quali and didn't came out before that.

"Should we check on him?" I asked Angela who shook her head and smiled at me.

"That is thoughtful but he rarely has this so I am not going in there either." She said and gathered his stuff. "I am dropping this off and go for an ice coffee, fancy joining me?" She asked

"That would be great." I smiled at her and walked towards Toto. "Hey Toto, I am going with Angela for a minute, do you want something from the bar?"

"A bottle of scotch." He sighed but smiled at me. "Have fun, but not too much." He winked and I rolled my eyes but smiled back

Angela came back from Lewis his room and handed me a scooter.

"There you go, together with Lewis his best regards." She said

"Omg this is so cool!" I beamed, turning on the electric scooter and took off. I raced up and down the pitlane.

Toto came out of the garage and stood next to Angela and laughed. "You like her huh?" Angela asked and Toto just smiled.

"She fits in the team quite right. I value that." He answered and scratched his head, his feelings becoming more prominent.

"Yeah, that she does." Angela chuckled and watched me almost run them over. "Alright Romée, scoot towards the coffee stand now." Angela laughed when I rushed full throttle past them.

At the stand we ordered an iced coffee for both of us and I ordered a small cold brew with a splash of scotch for Toto as a joke.

We sat down on a bench, soaking up the sun. "How are you liking it so far?" Angela asked me and I started smiling immediately.

"It feels like I have been here for a while and that gives me a great deal of comfort." I took another sip. "We might not have the car to compete for the championship but I think we are making great steps in the car development of next year. Maybe even some updates later this year?" I continued

She chuckled. "Yes you really do fit in, everybody feels comfortable around you so that maybe fuels your feeling. And Toto really appreciates you of course." She said, looking me in the eyes from above her cup.

"Well I am here to ease the pressure of course. He has more time to listen and engage now that I am here to remember everything." I laughed

"Aha." Angela said. "As long as you are enjoying yourself." She said and got up. "Let's head back, qualifying begins in twenty minutes."

We threw away our things and I placed Toto's cup in the holder on the scooter, how cool is that. We rode back to the garage and I thanked and gave the scooter back to Angela. She promised me that I could take it whenever I wanted. She went off the Lewis his room and I went to look for Toto. He was behind his setup, one foot planted on the floor and the other one on the footrest. His arms were crossed and his hair had his fingers run through them many times already. His glasses rested on his nose while listing to Bono's story about the flight to Australia.

"There you go boss, sorry Bono, if I knew you were here, I would have brought you one as well." I said and handed him the coffee.

"That's okay, I need a real drink tonight anyways, are you joining us tonight? We are going out." Bono asked me and Toto cleared his throat. "You are more than welcome Toto, but you never join us anyway." Bono laughed

"We will be there, let's show Toto how to party." I winked at Bono and he smiled at me before taking a seat behind his screen.

Toto turned his head to me and arched his brow before shaking his head. He brought the cup to his lips and sniffed at the lid before grinning. He closed his eyes and took a sip. He opened his eyes again and mouthed 'Thank you' before taking another. I smiled at him and gave him a pack of gum for when he finished the coffee.