Rêveuse

Chapter 25.

My phone starts ringing on the nightstand and I know it's probably Charles who has gotten home from the track, and he's probably calling for our nightly 2-hour chat before he has to go to bed to be well rested for tomorrow. I know I won't be able to lie so I let it go to voicemail. He'll understand when he sees me tomorrow, if he does, or else I'll have to call him and tell him where I am and admit that I am a very irrational thinker.

The next day, I did what some people might call the craziest part of my plan. I put on tight black pants, a Mercedes t-shirt, a Mercedes cap and sunglasses. My hair was in a ponytail and with my paddock pass that Lewis got for me, I looked like I worked there. I had three passes hanging around my neck, but only one was my actual one and the others were empty ones just for show. No one would assume it's me.

But because I couldn't take a flashy Ferrari to the track, I had to take a taxi. It took forever to get a taxi in that area but I finally got one and walked towards the paddock. I kept my head down, pretending to look at my phone as I walked past the loads of fans standing outside, and I was hoping no one would recognize me. Luckily, Alex Albon stepped out just in time so that people were more busy looking at him. I had a feeling he might recognize me if he saw me, so I just hurried past the gates and onto the paddock, walking past the photographers who were there waiting for the drivers to arrive for the day.

I headed straight for the Mercedes hospitality and I sat down by one of the tables in the shadow. I could see straight over to the Ferrari hospitality from there, so I could wait to see if Charles had any guests with him and if he was already at the paddock.

After a few minutes of just looking around, I hadn't seen anyone I knew. I hadn't seen Arthur, Lorenzo or their girlfriends. I hadn't even seen any drivers I knew. I saw some photographers I recognized but I wanted them to stay far away from me.

As I was sitting there, my phone started ringing again. Charles' picture was showing on my screen as he was calling me again. He had texted me in the morning, asking if I had a late night the night before, but I forgot to reply to that as I was constructing my masterplan. I held my phone and my thumb hovered above the green button. I looked around to make sure there would be loud noises around me that could give me away, and that's when I saw him walking into the paddock.

Immediately my thumb pressed the red button and I held my head down while looking at him through my sunglasses. He stopped walking when I hung up and he looked at his phone with furrowed brows. He ran a hand over his face before he turned to Andrea to give him his phone. He was already in race gear, and I guess he was about to go warm up. I saw Joris not far behind as well.

I felt bad for him. My lack of contact may be playing all kinds of tricks on him. He might think I'm home in Bologna doubting us to the point of ignoring him. I wouldn't blame him if that was what he was thinking. I would probably think that.

Lewis walked past in his new red Ferrari shirt and black sunglasses. I was quick on my feet and I hurried up to him, eventually walking next to him.

"Okay, so your next meeting is with Toto about that damage you did to his mental health when you left..." I said as if I was some personal assistant to him. He immediately stops and looks confused, until realization hits him and he laughs.

"Hey!" He exclaims as he hugs me. "Good to see you! But what the hell happened to your fashion sense?" he jokes as scans my Mercedes employee outfit. I take my sunglasses off and let them hang from the collar of the shirt.

"Thank you for doing this," I say quietly, looking down at the passes around my neck.

"No problem," He replies, but then looks around, "although... I would like to know what it's for..." he added.