unconditional

chapter five

I wake up to my alarm ringing. My ears burning as I scramble to turn the alarm off. My head was banging and I felt so sick. Note to self: never do shots again.

I look down and realise I'm still in my clothes from last night. I immediately run to the shower. I needed to wash off the memories of yesterday.

As I got out of the shower, I wrapped my towel around me and headed to my bedroom. This was my first day of my dream job. I should be happy, excited, but why do I just feel awful?

I get changed into my Mclaren T-Shirt and tucked it into some baggy denim jeans, pairing them with white trainers. I walk downstairs for a quick breakfast, Victoria was already there with a stack of pancakes, waiting for me.

"These look so good Vic! Thank you" I said as I approached her to give her a quick hug.

"Where did you go last night?" She asked with a frown.

I hesitated at my response, I thought Victoria saw me with Charles last night. But then again, Victoria was more drunk than me.

"Okay, do not tell anyone. I was with Charles Leclerc, he's one of the drivers for-" I replied, quietly.

"Oh my god! For Ferrari!" Victoria interrupted. I replied with a nod. Then all of the bad memories flooded back and I started to frown.

I explained to Victoria everything that happened from the golf course to the hotel room.

"What the fuck?" Victoria shouted, "So he just told you to leave out of nowhere?"

"Yeah, I was so confused. It was when I was on the phone to Louis. He just started acting cold with me." I explained.

"Ella. Why would you answer Louis' call when you were with Charles Leclerc. Seriously?" She exclaimed, gently nudging me and shaking her head.

"I don't know. I didn't want any of you to worry" I said.

"You do realise Charles probably thinks that you have a boyfriend, that's why he told you leave" Victoria responded with her eyebrows raised up.

"Oh my god" I said, looking down.

It all makes sense now. As soon as he heard me say Louis' name, he started acting weird. That's why he said, 'I didn't know'. He probably thinks I'm disgusting for cheating. How am I gonna explain this to Charles? Will he even give me the chance to explain? It's not like we are anything, he doesn't even know my name.

I quickly snap out of my thoughts to look at my watch. "Crap, I need to get going" I said as I jumped up off of the stool.

"Good luck!" Victoria shouts as I head out of the apartment.

The walk to the track was fairly quick, my mind was replaying the events of last night over and over again. I start to feel anxious about seeing Charles. I even start to think about the other drivers who were with him last night. What if they recognise me? Wouldn't that compromise my job? But then again, I'm sure Charles gets with hundreds of girls. I wasn't anything special, no one will recognise me.

As I reach the entrance to the circuit, my eyes land on a tall woman with bright red hair in a Mclaren shirt. She was waving at me to get my attention. I smile as I walk over to her.

"Hi! You must be Ellasandra!" She said as she shook my hand.

"Nice to meet you! You can call me Ella, by the way" I respond with a smile.

She nodded and says, "I'm Susan, I'll be giving you a tour and helping you get settled in this weekend!"

We begin to walk to the Mclaren hospitality unit. I smile to myself, taking it all in. I couldn't believe I was here. Susan showed me where the canteen was, where the meetings are held and we headed to the garage.

The car looked amazing. I couldn't believe I was this close to it. Susan began hugging some of the engineers. I took this opportunity to really take in everything. Then, I see him. I couldn't see his face as his back was facing me. But, I knew it was Charles. He was outside the Ferrari garage talking to Carlos. I stare for a few seconds until I saw him begin to turn around. Quickly, I run into the Mclaren garage as fast as I could. I bump into the back of someone.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry" I say, still in shock from seeing Charles.

The man I bumped into turns around and I see a huge grin on his face as his welcoming eyes look into mine. It was Lando. Of course, I'd bump into the Lando Norris. Can I be anymore embarrassing?

"No worries love" He says with small chuckle.

I take this time to introduce myself, "Hi, I'm Ella."

"Nice to meet you, Ella. I hope to see you around" He says. I assume Lando thinks I may be some sort of intern or apprentice from the way he was talking to me. Soon enough, he'll know that I'm not that.

"Okay, Lando. Meeting upstairs with the heads of departments. Ella, follow us." Susan says as she places her hand on Lando's shoulder to get his attention.

Lando looks at me confused, wondering why I would be coming too.

We head up to the hospitality unit and enter a conference room. I start to get really nervous. I sit down next to Susan. We were the only women there, it was nice that I had her.

"Hey, everyone!" Zak Brown says with a smile. Zak then made eye contact with me and, stood up. "I'd like to introduce you all to the new head of media, Ellasandra!" He said.

I couldn't help but blush when I saw everyone turn to look at me. Lando, especially. He looked shocked, and also dumbfounded that he assumed I was just an intern. Daniel looked excited and mouthed 'Hello' to me, which put me at ease.

"Lovely to meet you all, I'm so excited for what's to come for Mclaren" I announce with a beaming smile.

We all discuss many different topics, from marketing to the plans for this weekend.

"Any ideas for our Youtube Channel, Ellasandra?" Zak asks.

"I have a few ideas, I think simple challenges between Lando and Daniel will perform really well. Everyone loves funny challenges" I reply confidently.

Lando says, "That sounds great, me and Daniel are the funniest on the grid after all" with a cheeky smile. Daniel laughs and says, "1000% and the best looking".

I might've agreed with Daniel, but it was hard to see them as attractive. Obviously, they are. But, I work with them. It would be inappropriate to see them like that, I think?