There were so many thoughts playing in Juliette's mind; one of them was how she ended up at the bus stop in front of the hotel between some fans in Sochi. She put her sunglasses on her nose and looked around, this is just bonkers. Her eyebrows lowered, and she looked at her phone; she read the apologising messages from Delilah. Finally, her screen changed into a caller ID. It was Pierre who called. She answered the phone.
"Hey," she said and swiped the call away, just in case a fan would sneak on her.
"Hey," Pierre replied. "Why are you standing at the bus stop?"
Juliette turned around to have a look at the hotel, did Pierre see her?
"Or do you have a doppelgänger we both don't know of?" Pierre added.
A smile curved on Juliette's face. "No, it's me," she smirked. "Why?" Her eyes glided over the people in front of the hotel, he was nowhere to be found, but then her eyes fell on a car.
Pierre waved at her, he was waiting in front of a red light to get off the hotel property. "Why are you taking the bus? I thought you had like a carpool thingy going on in the team?"
"They left." Juliette pressed her lips into a thin line. "Without me."
"What?" Pierre began to laugh. "If you're fast, you can join us."
That was an offer Juliette accepted right away. She began to run towards the car. "Hold on," she said and ended the call. She stepped in the back of the vehicle, and when the door closed, Pyry drove away. "Thank you, mon amour. Hi Pyry." Juliette fastened her seatbelt.
"Hello," Pyry replied and smiled.
Pierre looked behind him from the passenger seat at Juliette. "You have to explain this one to me." A grin was playing on his face.
"We were supposed to leave at 7:30, but they left at 7 for some reason. I was still in the shower, so I didn't really have a chance to be on time," Juliette explained and showed a fake smile. "I don't know what idiot decides to make that call at 6:55, but I'm gonna beat that arse."
"That sucks..." he nodded and bit his lip. "So you're late now?"
"Yes, forty-five minutes and counting." Juliette sighed. "Well, technically, I am not. So Pyry, if you have time to slow down, please do, take it easy today. They can't begin without me; I literally have all the data they need."
Pierre's face straightened. "That is...handy." He laid his hand on Juliette's knee and softly squeezed in it.
"Are you really gonna let everyone wait at Mercedes?" Pyry asked and smiled amusingly.
"It's not my fault," Juliette said coldly. "I don't understand what went wrong in your head when you woke up this morning to think this was a brilliant idea." She sighed. "I'm sorry, I'm just annoyed. Anyway, thank you for this ride in advance," she weakly smiled and grabbed Pierre's hand. "How are you doing?"
Pierre and Pyry couldn't help it, but they snorted at her comment. "Jules," Pierre began and locked his eyes with Juliette. "Bon anniversaire," he wished her a happy birthday.
Her face softened. A sparkle glittered in her eyes, and a soft smile grew on her lips. "Merci beaucoup," she whispered,
Pyry quickly looked in the mirror to see the birthday girl. "Happy birthday, Juliette."
"Thank you," Juliette replied.
"How does it feel to be old now?" Pierre teased.
"Fabulous," Juliette sarcastically replied. "No, I don't know. Feels normal, I guess." The corners of her mouth curled up. "Your mum texted me last night, wishing me a happy birthday. She was the first one to wish me happy birthday, first prize goes to her."
He smirked. "She always waits until midnight and messages people a happy birthday. Like she wants to be the first, but it's because she doesn't forget it during the day."
"That is just brilliant," she replied and shook her head. "It's adorable."
"Have you got any presents yet?" Pyry curiously asked.
Juliette shook her head. "Nope, not yet, but it's early. I'm not expecting anything, though. Just a simple hug or smile is more than enough. And that makes me realise we can't hug," she blurted, and her eyes widened by that thought. "Merde, Pierre, we can't be seen together." Panic flashed in her eyes. "I can't step out of this car with you."
Pierre parted his lips; that was a part he forgot. "Shit." They looked at each other and laughed. "We fucked up," he laughed.
"Why do we always end up in situations like this?" She shook her head and giggled. "Alright, how are we gonna do this? Drop me off outside of the entrance."
"And walk twenty minutes? Honestly, Jules, there are fans and camera's everywhere." Pierre was silent for a few seconds. "We just fucked up," he came to a conclusion.
Juliette sighed. "I swear, Helmut Marko will fire me. He will make people fire me."
"He will not."
"He will." Her face straightened. "I'm scared of him."
"Why?" Pierre smirked.
She shrugged. "I don't know. Sometimes, you are just scared of people for no reason. Like... When Lawrence Stroll looks at me, I'm like: shit. But when Helmut Marko looks at me... I run."
A laugh rolled over his lips. "You're weird."
It was time for Pyry to stir in this conversation. "Just act like you're one of us." Juliette's eyebrows raised, and she looked questionable. "Act like you are my intern, I don't know, make it fun," he added.
"You don't look like you are of Mercedes's people," Pierre said and scanned her outfit; she was wearing a different top and different shoes than the team wear. "I have an extra t-shirt in my bag; wear that until you are in your department." He opened his bag. "That I haven't thought of that before, smart one."
Because Juliette had to travel via public transport, she decided to not wear her typical work clothes. People would recognise her, and Mercedes wasn't particularly loved by some fans here... "Sure," she said. "Pierre, I still have your Red Bull coat at home," she came to a realisation. "I forget it every time."
Pierre gave Juliette his shirt. "Keep it," he replied. "I don't need it anymore. A little souvenir." He winked.
"We love that," she sarcastically said. "Don't look," she instructed both of the men. Juliette swapped her pullover for a Toro Rosso team shirt. "Bellissima."
"You're the CEO of the dishwasher at Toro Rosso now." He widely smiled, it made him almost too proud for that comment.
Juliette deeply sighed, that was just disappointing. "Fuck off," she mouthed.
"You know, this looks good on you," Pierre complimented.
A shy smile grew on her face. "Thanks."
Just a few minutes later, they arrived at the track. Pyry parked the car and got out, so did Pierre. Juliette took a deep breath and put on her sunglasses. They can't find it out. Over the past few days, there were some difficult conversations between Juliette and the board of Mercedes about her relationship with Pierre, including calls with Toro Rosso. Both Juliette and Pierre couldn't afford the negative publicity now. But they fucked up anyway.
"It will be fine. Just walk and ignore everything, yeh?" Pierre gave Juliette a comforting smile when he could read her nerves off her face. "Just smile and wave."
"I know," she whispered and weakly smiled at his last comment.
"Relax." He gave her a wink and put on his sunglasses as well.
The three people walked towards the entrance of the track, facing some cameras. Pierre made sure all cameras were focussed on him, not on Pyry or Juliette. Daniil happened to arrive as well, so he joined the three with his crew, just like Pierre's race and performance engineer.
Pierre Hamelin, the race engineer of Pierre Gasly, observed Juliette. "I have never seen you before," he questionably said. "Are you new to our team?" He nodded at the team shirt.
"Oh, no. I don't work at Toro Rosso," Juliette exposed herself. Pierre was the leader of the group, so he didn't notice the ongoing conversations behind him. She gasped for air and pressed a smile on her face.
The man smirked. "How are you gonna explain this now?"
"Yeah," Juliette uncomfortably laughed. "I have no idea." How was she gonna give the man a solid explanation without actually telling who she was and for whom she worked? Did Pierre tell people about them?
"Happy birthday, Juliette," Daniil said out of nowhere and gave her a smile.
"Thank you," she thankfully replied.
"Happy birthday!" More people gave her a happy smile.
"Merci."
Everyone scanned their pass and entered the paddock. Juliette imitated the sound, just like the employees of Toro Rosso. Juliette smirked and looked around, to see if any of her colleagues were spotting her in the wrong team shirt. She was feeling uncomfortable, like she was doing a crime.
"I'll see you later," Juliette said when the group approached the hospitalities, facing the Mercedes hospitality first. "Thanks for the coverup."
"I'll call you later," Pierre Gasly said and widely smiled. He gave her a file, something that made her frown. "Open it later."
She nodded. "Sure. Good luck, everyone." Juliette walked away from the group and waved at them. She looked around her, just to be sure no one would see her entering the engineering truck of Mercedes with a Toro Rosso shirt.
Once inside, she picked up something to drink. Juliette doubted what she should do next: ignore everyone to show how irritated she was by the situation or be annoyed and show it. She bit on the inside of her cheek and sighed, it was difficult to pick one. Juliette grabbed her own shirt out of her bag and threw it over her shoulder. Show how annoyed she was, it is.
Juliette entered the office area, putting on her serious face. "Seriously, guys. Why in the croissants would you leave without me? You could've waited for at least ten more minutes-"
"Happy birthday!" Delilah sang and widely smiled.
"Bon anniversaire!"
The expression on Juliette's face changed to a small smile. "I'm trying to be mad," she chuckled and put her stuff on her desk. Her eyes were scanning the room; birthday flags were handing above her desk area and wrapped around her chair. "Oh, guys, you shouldn't have done that..." The smile brightened.
"What are you wearing?" James laughed and put his hands on his hips.
"Unlike you guys, some people are not leaving me behind," she replied and shrugged while looking at the shirt, but her face straightened. "You bastards."
Peter smirked. "We had to do something to prepare all of this."
"I literally told Pierre how annoyed I was and how much I was disappointed in you," Juliette chuckled.
"Small detail, he was part of the plan as well," he grinned.
"Ohlala," she breathed disappointedly and shook her head. "Well, I liked seeing him, so thanks. Anyway, be right back, gotta change."
Delilah amusingly smiled and sat down on a chair. "She really didn't know it, huh?"
"Woman always notices everything, but not today," Peter agreed.
"Because she's in love. I wouldn't find it sus if my boyfriend was the lifesaver either. You know how mad she was? She only replied with: ok." Peals of laughter filled the room. "She's adorable."
Juliette changed her shirt and walked back into the room. She opened the file Pierre gave her; there was a birthday with a birthday wish in it. It felt like everything had to be classified. A playful smile grew on her lips; it had something excited about it.
"On behalf of Mercedes: happy birthday," Lewis cheerfully said when he entered the room. Juliette looked up and smiled. "Have a great day, Juliette." He gave her a card.
"Thanks so much," she replied and opened the envelope. "Oh, my god," she snorted. On the card, there was printed a picture of Lewis, Peter, and Juliette taken in 2012 on it, how they were discussing something - probably something like the weather or about Italy. They were probably explaining something to Juliette. "I... How?" A laugh escaped her mouth. "This is embarrassing."
Delilah looked at it. "You all look so young, the heck."
"This is taken in 2012," Lewis mentioned.
"And even back then, this pal knew she would be part of this team," Peter widely smiled.