𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞 | 𝐜. 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐳

11

[ IMOLA, ITALY ]
APRIL 2021

ADRIAN WAS RIGHT. No one cared for more than a few days about Reina and Carlos, and within a week, she was old news. She went back to being a nobody, just how she liked it.

And now, just about a month later, she was headed to the second grand prix of the season. Imola was a rather big deal for many Ferrari fans, as it was the home race for the Italian company and many of its employees.

However buzzed the energy was in Bahrain, it was fifty times more electric in Imola in the Ferrari garage. Reina worked extra hard to capture as many pictures as she could. Constantly bent in awkward positions to try to angle for the best shot, Reina was sweating less than ten minutes in.

Reina bent down, taking pictures of Charles in his car.

"Good luck," she mouthed.

He nodded as the corners of his eyes folded, and Reina could tell he was smiling.

Soon, he drove off to join the grid. Carlos, who had not done as well in qualifying, was starting further back. Before he sped off too, Reina took some more pictures of him in his helmet.

"Lo harás bien," said Reina to him. (You'll do great)

He nodded, grateful for the positive sentiment. Then, getting the signal to go, he too pulled away.

As the five lights flicked on one by one, and then turned off, a roar of engines signaled the beginning of the Imola race. Reina retired to the paddock as Marcello was responsible for taking pictures of the race highlights. While she doubted he would do a good job, she was not in much of a helping mood towards him.

In the paddock, some VIP guests and Ferrari shareholders stood over the balcony, watching the pit lane from above. Reina joined the lineup of people, gazing over the railing. The sun was radiating a soft warmth as the cold winter of Italy broke.

"Reina?" a voice called.

Reina turned around to see a familiar brunette. "Charlotte! Lovely to see you."

Charlotte kissed Reina's cheeks in greeting. Gesturing to another girl beside her, she said, "Reina, this is Luisinha. Remember, we mentioned her? She's Lando's girlfriend. "

"Just Luisa is fine," she interjected, smiling.

Reina nodded. "Of course I remember. It's lovely to meet you, Luisa."

"You as well," smiled Luisinha. She held a champagne flute and noticed Reina's hands were empty. "Would you like something to drink? I could get it for you."

Reina shook her head. "Oh, no, I'm actually working right now. But, thank you."

"Working?" Luisinha asked, puzzled.

"I'm a photographer for Ferrari," Reina explained. She didn't have on her red Ferrari polo that day, just a white button-up. "One of my coworkers is on duty right now, but I'll have to go back down once the race is over."

"Ohh," replied Luisinha. "That's really awesome."

The girls talked for a few minutes before Luisinha interrupted. "I think I've got to head back to the McLaren garage," she said. Whispering to Reina, she told her, "I'm not really supposed to be in the Ferrari area, but Char snuck me in."

Reina grinned. "Okay. It was nice to meet you, though. I'll see you around."

Luisinha waved, leaving Reina and Charlotte alone. They watched the race and chatted.

"So, tell me, how is Carlos?" asked Charlotte with a coy look on her face.

"And why do you ask?" replied Reina, bantering back.

Charlotte rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on! I saw that picture of you two in the car a few weeks ago!"

So not everyone forgot.

"So? We were just in a car!" said Reina indignantly.

"Yes, on the way to a club, where you were drunk and dancing."

Reina rubbed her nose bridge. "Key word: drunk. Nothing else besides alcohol."

"Sure, sure..." Charlotte giggled. "Look. Let me ask you one thing. Does Carlos seem to enjoy PR things? Like your photoshoots with him, or when you take pictures of him in the garage?"

Reina shrugged, thinking. "Well, I don't think he minds."

"Listen, I've known Charles for many years now. If there's one thing Charles finds tedious, it's dealing with the media aspect of F1. But, if there's only one person on earth who hates it more than Charles, it's Carlos."

Reina blinked.

"Charles told me that in January, before you started, Carlos loathed getting his pictures taken. He thought it was a waste of time. But now, suddenly, he doesn't mind. Actually, he was looking forward to last week's photo session with you."

Reina remembered Carlos's reaction when the paparazzi bombarded him. He seemed angry and annoyed, but she figured it was because they wouldn't move out of his way as he was trying to drive. Was it because he really doesn't like his photos being taken?

"I... had no clue he didn't like pictures," said Reina.

Charlotte shrugged. "Well now, he does. And the only thing that changed was the person behind the camera."