"Thanks. I know I was." He nodded and turned away. I could see the boiling rage in his eyes that were barely hidden trough the cap he pulled as far into his face as he could as I was directly in front of him.
Finally, Max had finished congratulating the team and walked towards me. "What did he say?" he said shooting daggers at Hamiltons back.
"Congrats on P1 Maximus. If you say anything rude, I will kick you where the sun doesnt shine now get that sweat off you you disgusting pig." I smiled.
"Yes ma'am." He rolled his eyes and pulled his helmet off.
After the interviews we headed to the podium and after we sprayed our champagne we went to the debriefings before spending the night celebrating with the team. To say the least I was wasted but I had the time of my life travelling the world and working with all of them.
The weekend was over, and I stepped back into my duty as a reserve driver. The only difference was that I would be joining the team in Italy and Russia to make sure Checo had a good start, and his broken leg was well enough to drive.
After spending the week in the factory, we headed off to Monza. The atmosphere was great, and the fans were more dedicated than anyone I've ever seen.
The weekend started off great as I didn't have to do press and I was just in the garage and the motorhome going over data and strategies and bickering with the team.
Race day came around and Max and Lewis were in their usual fight for the better position when the infamous Monza accident happened. I think it was all over any news page that covered sports.
I bet we didn't expect a McLaren double podium when the season started but to say the least, I was almost as happy for them as I was the last time Max and I got a 1 and 2.
After the whole Press conference and debriefings, the guys had I found Lando sitting on the ground behind the McLaren motorhome. He was just smiling to himself staring to the ground.
"Taking it all in huh?" I smiled sitting down next to him.
"I can't believe I did it." He whispered his smile getting even bigger.
"Well, I told you so." I said smiling at his profile, "and Im so proud of you for pulling through."
"Thank you, Lex." He looked over at me.
"You drove the car today. I had nothing to do with it. What are you even doing here? Have fun with your team. Get drunk and celebrate and everything!"
"Come and have a drink with us!" he suggested scrambling to get up.
"No its your party. Yours and Dannys. I dont think Im a good fit there." I smiled following him.
"Just for one drink. For me?"
"Fine but then Im leaving." I gave in and followed him to the other side of the motorhome.
While waiting for him to grab his stuff I saw Daniel walking by.
"Danny! Congrats! Im so happy for you!" I cheered.
"Thanks." He smiled and hugged me tightly.
"Do you want to come and celebrate with us?"
"Lando invited me, but I'll only be staying for one drink. Its your party and I have to pack my stuff before I leave tomorrow."
"Going back to the factory already?"
"No. Im going home. I'll be in England on next Monday. I'm only the reserve driver so I don't have that much to do." I smiled thinking of my family.
"Oh, come on. Please. Stay a little bit longer. Ill pay for your flight on Tuesday or even Monday evening. Just stay? Lando will be so happy if you did."
"Lando would be happy?" I laughed, "but Im not flying. I drove here." I explained.
"With that old car of yours? Did you even make it to the border with that thing?"
"Hey! Dont be so mean. I would have made it. Probably. But thats beside the point. Im here with Margret not with Hilda."
"Oh, your motorbike? You havent shown me what she looks like."
"Well, you have to come look at her soon then." I smiled back at him.
"If youre here with the motorbike you could stay a little longer and celebrate with us?" he pleaded.
"I know I could, but I have my final exam to take and my graduation to go to." I explained.
"Oh shit. When's the exam?"
"Wednesday and I would like to get there well rested and revise before taking it."
"Yeah, I get that. But you could theoretically go on Monday night, be there Tuesday morning and rest the whole day and night till Wednesday. And you could party with us tonight. When are you graduating anyways?"
"In theory I could. Its next Monday. And then Ill be flying to Russia Tuesday morning." I explained.
"Sounds cool. Are you excited about being finished with school?"
"Yeah, kind of. But I will either have to continue studying or finally get a seat somewhere again. And thats a whole other problem."
"Why? You could just be the reserve driver at redbull right?" he asked confusedly.
"In theory I could."
"See? Why so demotivated?"
"Doesn't matter. Go celebrate your win. I have to go. I'll text Lando for the details of tonight. Bye. Congrats again!" I speedwalked away.
I almost slipped up. 'Don't you dare do that again , Alex.' I scolded myself.
"Christian wants you in his office please!" the team principals assistant told me with a sweet smile before walking away again.
I just got up and went up the stairs. What could it be? The last time he wanted to speak to me it was good news so I wasnt expecting anything bad from this sudden meeting.
A little alarm in the back of my head started blaring when I saw Chrisitan, Helmut Marko and Ian sitting around the table. I chose to ignore it completely smiling at them while greeting them one by one. I even sat down with my grin not once slipping from my face.
"We've called you up here to discuss a very serious matter today." Christian started off and the alarm got louder.
"Okay whats up?" I asked concerned.
"We discussed this decision very thoroughly and come to a decision we can all agree on. We as a team have decided to terminate your contract as our test and reserve driver and not keep you for the next two years as originally agreed upon in your contract." He dropped the bomb on me.
"Wha- Why? What is the reason behind this? We have a contract until 2023! You cant just pull out right now without a good reason." I stated calmly.
"We are aware of that and we will fulfil the clauses we agreed upon when it comes to early termination but you will not be our driver after this season."
"Yeah I got that. I want to hear the reason now, please. Because if you dont have a solid reason for pulling out of this partnership I will have to get lawyers involved." I was boiling inside.
"Okay. Lets all stay calm. Sweety its not like you dont get anything out of this. We will fulfil the clauses okay? Just calm down and lets have a civil conversation."
"This is as calm as I come, and you know that. Secondly, its Alexandra and not Sweety and you know that. Now tell me a reason or I will call my lawyers." I said calmly as if I was talking to a 5-year-old.
"Thats exactly why. Youre too emotional and cant keep it cool. The Media grasped that way before us. We should have just listened to all of the people telling us women dont belong in motorsport, but we didnt now we have bad publicity because you are a mean bitch to all of the reporters and interviewers at every single press conference you have taken part in. Now that the title sponsors are threatening to pull out we see the problem and will get rid of it. We already have to fulfil the clauses we never thought we would need and thats enough loss as it is. Did you get that, or do I have to use easier words for your pea brain?"
I thought I wasnt hearing correctly. I was so shocked I couldn't say more than: "Well its your loss then. If thats what you think Im glad not to be part of this team anymore. I really thought I was welcome here. But clearly, I am not. I hope you dont win the constructors this year so the points I got you are as useless as the empty space behind your eyes." I got up and just walked out.