Recipe for Love

Chapter 11

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-B. 

Anna

There was so much going on the whole day that I actually wasn't able to realize what exactly. My eyes kept searching for the interpreter, whose name I now knew was Charles. I haven't been impressed like this by a guy in a long time. I couldn't help but look for something more behind his beautiful face. Much more. Although he smiled at everyone around him, his smile never reached his eyes, and I wondered why that could be.

"I'll have to stay here a little longer. There's catering in the back. You can eat something," Lewis told me, pointing to the empty hallway. I nodded, assured him that I was perfectly fine and would manage, and he disappeared again. Since I had been here for several hours and my stomach was making noises like a lost whale looking for its mates, I set off in the direction of where I suspected was food. I walked through the deserted dark corridor and opened the door, which had a sign with the inscription "catering". Inside, there were two long tables lined with lots of plates of all kinds of canapés, salads, mini burgers, and other mouth-watering goodies. I took an empty plate and began to take a little from each, then I sat down in a corner on the floor and began to eat.

I was biting into one of the three mini hamburgers when the door flew open and a tall, slim figure burst in. He slammed it behind him and leaned his back against the door with a deep breath. The room was dark, and I was sitting basically hidden under the table, so the person didn't notice me at first until my fork slipped off my plate and hit the tiles on the floor with a noise that even a deaf person could hear. I closed my eyes for a few seconds, hoping that the person would miraculously consider the sound a hallucination and at best leave the room, but that didn't happen. When I opened my eyes, I saw a pair of legs in front of me dressed in light blue jeans and white sneakers. While I was trying to finish chewing the bite in my mouth, I raised my eyes slowly upwards, from where the very handsome face of Charles Leclerc himself was looking down at me. Of course, of all the people who could have walked in while I was stuffing myself with food like a wild animal, it had to be him who walked in here.

"I think we've met before," he remarked, holding out his hand to me. I assumed he was trying to help me to my feet, so I took his hand firmly, expecting him to stay standing, but instead, he dropped to the floor with a horrified scream, falling right into my lap and onto my plate of uneaten food. "Shit!" I yelled, trying to move to the side to shake his body off me, but it didn't work. When I finally stopped moving, I realized he was giggling like a little girl. Then he finally rolled off of me, leaning against the wall next to me and using his palm to try to clean the greasy stain on his white t-shirt unsuccessfully. "I'm Charles, by the way," he extended his right hand to me again, now matted with food, but I accepted it without batting an eye. "I know. I'm Anna," I answered and smiled a little. At that point, I was just hoping I didn't have something between my teeth and ketchup on my chin. "I know," he smirked.

"What is the cook actually doing on the Ferrari car launch?" Charles asked as he also scooped up his food and returned to his place on the floor. "She's enjoying the free snacks," I smirked, but I knew what he meant. "I'm here with Lewis," I answered truthfully when my previous answer didn't satisfy him. "Ah, I didn't know he had someone," he said with a neutral expression. "No!" I screamed. "I'm his...niece," I added quickly, and he opened his mouth a little like a fish out of water, but nothing came out.

"The new...car, it's very nice," I mumbled after a moment of awkward silence. Charles looked at me as if for a moment he wondered if I was a fool and then shrugged. "If you think. Looks don't matter much anyway."
"Well, I'm not much of a fan, so all I can appreciate is the looks."
"And free food," Charles smiled. "How can you not be a fan when your uncle is Lewis Hamilton?"
"It's complicated," I wanted to say, but instead I just shrugged like he did a moment ago and said, "I'm just not."