Alluring {Completed & Rewriting}

Chapter 4

Rewritten 06/07/2019

As soon as Lexi walked into the paddock on race day, she could feel it. It was different. The whole atmosphere had changed. The tension had been there all weekend, however now she felt the excitement for the race. This is what it was all about.

Together with Lewis, she made her way to Mercedes' hospitality unit. Well, they walked together but that was it. He once again hadn't said a word to her and she decided to not let it bother her anymore. He was probably just focused on the race. Which is a similar thing she told herself on Friday and Saturday when she thought he was probably just focused on the practices and qualifying.

Which shouldn't be an excuse for not saying a word, but Lexi decided that it was as the alternative wasn't much better.

Her dad had told her that even though her job wouldn't really start until after the race, it was important to pay attention during the race so that she would know what kind of questions to expect from the journalists later. Because of that, she had brought a notepad to write down any special things that happened during the race. She told herself it wasn't to make Lewis like her a tiny bit more for doing a good job, but deep down she knew that was a lie.

After having a cup of coffee with some of the other team members from the marketing department, as they were about the only ones who weren't busy, she made her way to the garage. Lewis had already gone there straight after they got to the hospitality unit, probably to talk through some more things with his team.

When Lexi walks into the garage, Lewis looks up briefly and, to Lexi's surprise, slightly smiles, before going back to what he was doing. Lexi freezes for a moment, surprised he just smiled at her. Not just a general smile, but a smile at her. Before she can overthink it too much, Toto calls her over.

"Ready for today?" Toto asks once Lexi reaches him.

"As ready as I can be," Lexi says, making Toto smile slightly.

"Good to hear. I'm sure you'll be fine. Don't worry too much about the yelling journalists later. They all want to talk to the drivers first, but you're in charge, remember that."

"I will."

"Alright, good. You can sit in the back of the garage during the race. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as we always do."

"Hope so too," Lexi says before walking to the back, where the guests are also sitting. She doesn't know any of them and just sits down quietly, trying to not bother anyone around her. As much as she knows she deserves to be there, she can't help but feel out of place when around her.

As the race starts off on a drying rack, the first few laps are quite interesting with a few safety cars due to some spins and crashes. Luckily Lewis is able to stay out of trouble as he takes the lead after starting on pole position. He is able to keep that lead the entire race, despite the Red Bulls and Ferrari's chasing him down. Lewis takes the chequered flag, which makes him tied with Sebastian Vettel in the championship standings. Lexi smiles, happy to see the team win and slightly hoping this will mean a good mood for Lewis.

After the podium celebrations, where she managed to escape the champagne spray, Lexi goes to find Lewis to take him to the press conference and the media corner. She finds him exiting his motorhome, having changed out of his racing suit and into a team t-shirt and some shorts.

"Congrats on your win," Lexi tells him as they walk towards the press conference.

"Thanks," Lewis says before taking out his phone, which is probably blowing up with messages to congratulate him. Lexi sighs, all her hopes of this good mood fading instantly. The smile earlier this morning was probably just a mistake, he just thought she was someone else and that's why he smiled. She takes a deep breath, wanting to focus on her job instead of her personal issues with Lewis. This is what she's here to do and she has to do it well.