After test driving the car for the entire afternoon Daniella was finally out of the car, and soon headed for the debrief to talk about the data and statistics, and to see how the team can better the car before the first race which is in a week. The entire time Toto seemed like he was a bit distracted and was talking nicely to Daniella which both the drivers noticed and exchanged a confused look.
As soon as the debrief was over Toto politely asked both the drivers to stay back and Myra soon joined them.
"We have a problem," Toto doesn't sound too happy and it was quite visible on his face.
"What's the matter?" Daniella asked as she looked at both Toto and Myra.
"Show her," Toto said to Myra.
"Okay don't lose your temper please," Myra begged Daniella before opening her laptop and playing a clip.
Daniella and Lewis shared a look before shifting their attention to the laptop. It was a clip from the latest season of drive to survive.
"Seriously?" Daniella rolled her eyes at Toto. "I would rather watch Keeping up with the Kardashians."
Lewis shot her a judging look.
"What?"
Lewis shrugged and looked away.
"Just watch.." Toto calmly said.
Daniella frowned and felt even more confused but obliged.
It was not a full episode but bits and pieces of the season. The first clip was of Pierre talking about Daniella. At first, it was just about how she got his seat and he wants it back, which seem pretty normal but then he went on about how they went on a few dates and he thought they had something special but she decided to threw it all away because she was more concerned about the championship and the Red Bull seat which he wants to get back since he felt it was wrongly taken away from him.
"Is anyone suddenly having the urge to punch a certain Frenchman?" Daniella angrily said through her gritted teeth.
"Yes!!" Toto, Lewis, and Myra said at the same time.
As far as Daniella was concerned both she and Pierre decided to keep the "dating" thing a secret and they both mutually ended whatever was between them last year since Pierre wanted to focus on his performance as a driver so that he can get his Red Bull seat back and Daniella wanted to perform her best as she wanted to secure her seat.
"This is going to be a PR nightmare for her," Lewis sounded concerned as he looked at Toto and Myra.
"Oh it's not over yet," Myra said sarcastically and she played the next part.
Daniella angrily looked back at the screen.
The next clip was of Daniella saying how she thinks she has the capability to win against Lewis and Max and then Will Buxton going on and on about how it is not appropriate to have so much arrogance in her rookie year and she needs a reality check. Then it cuts to show Daniella winning race after race and some edited bits and pieces to show some made up unfair scenarios that don't favor her at all, in fact, it does the opposite.
"So I am an arrogant, stuck-up bitch," Daniella said unamusingly.
"I wish that was it," Toto cringed earning a glare from the driver.
The next clip showed George and Daniella and she immediately knew how it was going to go. She let out a heavy sigh as the footage continued. It showed how she and George were good friends and even played some old clips of their friendship. George was happy when it was announced that Daniella will stay in Red Bull for the next three years and she was happy when it was almost confirmed that George will get the Mercedes seat after she declined it. But then it showed Christian Horner and some other people saying how Daniella is too ambitious and has a selfish nature, at first Christian was complimenting her but then said how Toto has been trying to steal her away from Red Bull and he can clearly see she is tempted.
"I really shouldn't have signed that NDA," Daniella commented, feeling exhausted both mentally and physically. The non-disclosure agreement protected Red Bull from letting the public know why Daniella let the team even after signing a contract extension the very same year, and they heavily took advantage of it.
"I feel the same way," Toto added.
The clip then showed Daniella talking to Toto at the paddock but thankfully they couldn't hear a single word, and soon Lewis joined them. After shaking hands with Toto, Daniella went back to the Red Bull garage. Will Buxton showed up again and said in a dramatic manner how it was a huge betrayal from Daniella said and she stabbed a dagger at the back of the team which gave her the opportunity to win so many races.
Then it showed Mercedes announcing that Daniella signed with them and she will drive for them for the next season, cue a very unhappy and angry George. He went on to say how she not only stole the Mercedes seat that was promised to him but also took advantage of his friendship and stabbed him in the back.
"So I am the villain of this season," Daniella said as he angrily shut down the laptop, almost making the rest three jump in surprise.
"It looks that way," Myra commented.
"It is a PR nightmare," Toto huffed as he sat back on his chair.
"What..what do we do now?" Lewis asked. "The media will tear her apart and any fault to blame her."
"Well, I was thinking maybe we release a statement the Netflix heavily edited and..."
"No," Daniella sternly said as she interrupted her PR manager.
"What do you mean no?" Toto looked confused. "Do you have any better ideas?"
"No," Daniella huffed. "But let's not do anything."
"What the.."Toto got up from his seat, looking frustrated.
"Do you even realize what will happen if we don't do anything?" Lewis sternly asked but looked concerned. "They will mark you as the bad guy for everything. And it will affect in ways you can't even imagine, trust me I know."
"Let them," Daniella stubbornly said. "It will make all the victories more fun."
"You are angry, Dani," Myra tried to calm her down. "Think about it with a level head."
"I am thinking about it with a level head," Daniella argued. "We will not do anything. Let them make me the bad guy. That way everyone will enjoy seeing the "good guys" complain and whine and make hypothetical scenarios when we win and take the championship away from them."
Toto nodded with a proud smirk on his face, but both Myra and Lewis looked concerned.
"You are every PR's worst nightmare," Myra commented as he let out a tired sigh. "I am expecting a raise Dani, because God knows how much I have to work this year."
"It's a deal then" Daniella replied.
"Are you sure about this?" Lewis asked. "Because if we don't end up winning we will face a huge embarrassment."
"Scared?" Daniella challenged him.
"No," Lewis scoffed. "I am hyped up actually," he smirked. "It will be fun to show everyone their place..."
"Which is beneath Mercedes," Toto added.
"Good," Daniella smirked. "Then we are all in agreement."
"I am not," Myra replied as she collected her laptop and walked out. She planned to go behind Daniella's back and plan some subtle PR stunts that will make her look good in the eyes of the media.
"She is going to do something despite what I said," Daniella said, knowing her friend and PR manager very well
"I will talk to George," Toto said.
"You will do no such thing," Daniella said immediately. "What he said was right, I deserve every word and every ounce of hate from him. After all, I did steal his seat."
**********
A/N: Does anyone even remember why Dani left Red Bull?
Do you think she made the right decision to not take any PR action?
what do you think about the way DTS portrayed her? is there any truth to it?
Do you want Dani to win this year's WDC?