Authors Note: enjoy a special not Friday release 😉 the next chapter is ready to go for Friday or when this chapter has 25 votes (whichever comes first) you're going to want to read the next chapter! Trust me
please let me know your thoughts! I would love feedback!
It was race day, Scarlett made some final notes in her book before she stood up and walked over to the media area that was reserved for the podium ceremony.
Max stepped up onto the first place position on the podium and was extremely excited, he shook the hands of the others and seemed to exhbit some good sportsmanship. Scarlett's eyes drifted to the pit lane, Daniel was watching a monitor of the ceremony outside of the McLaren garage and turned and walked in to talk to the same man Scarlett saw him talking to the other day.
The man reached out and placed a hand on Daniel's shoulder. Daniel just shook his head, shrugged his shoulders and walked defeatedly out of Scarlett's sight.
Scarlett stepped away from the podium ceremony and wandered back into the busy paddock. She moved through the crowds to find the media area where she had left her bag. When she exited the tent her phone rang.
"Hello" Scarlett answered.
"Hi Scarlett, It's Mark" Her boss on the other end answered.
"Hi, Mark, what's up?" She asked as she passed a group of fans swarming Charles. He noticed her and waved. She returned the wave as she continued down the paddock.
"I wanted to confirm the deadline for the article is tomorrow at 6 pm." He said matter of factly.
"Got it, will have it to you by then! Looking forward to this opportunity." She smiled as Mark hung up the phone.
Liam approached her with a smile. He wrapped his arm around her, "So time to celebrate with everyone?" He said.
"Oh Liam, no I have to go home and start writing." She said as they walked down the paddock.
Liam looked shocked. "You're turning down an F1 afterparty?" He said shocked.
"I am, this article is very important to me. You should still go without me" She said.
"Oh Definitely, I wouldn't miss the party for anything," He said as he saw a coworker and left Scarlett standing by herself.
She stood in shock for a moment then continued walking to the paddock exit, she zig-zagged through the crowd.
Daniel and the blonde passed Scarlett walking in the same direction as Liam. She watched them walk by. She was hanging off Daniel's arm and a pang of jealousy tore through Scarlett's chest.
Scarlett walked faster to get out of the craziness of the paddock and went home to her quiet space to get started writing.
Before Scarlett knew it, it was Monday afternoon and she was still sitting at her kitchen table writing what seemed to be the 100th version of her article. She finally settled on a topic that everyone would be interested in The Drivers.
She read over the last paragraph of her article.
"I know the personalities that are what the fans and readers want to hear about. As someone who spent time in the paddock. I found that the qualities of the drivers who make it into F1 are sincere, genuine and passionate people. The people who don't make it tend to be more selfish, narcissistic, and have a need to focus on their personalities and how they are portrayed in the media. Instead of focusing on perfecting the craft of racing. You can tell who the top drivers are because true passion blocks out their distractions."
She nodded her head to herself in approval. She finished the last couple of edits then she sent it off to Mark. The swoosh of the email being sent made her exhale with relief. She shut her computer and crawled into bed to watch some movies and eat a tub of ice cream to destress from the intense weekend.
Tuesday morning she was woken up by her phone ringing constantly. She picked it up and saw it was Mia.
"Hey, What's up?" Scarlett asked casually while rubbing her eyes and looking at the clock on her bedside table that flashed 11 am.
"Seriously girl, you need social media," Mia said exasperated without a greeting.
"What now" Scarlett groaned as she pulled out her laptop and opened it up.
"You're article is making the rounds on all F1 news and social media channels..." Mia's voice trailed off. "However, Kyle told me to reach out... because..." she trailed off again.
"Just tell me," Scarlett said sternly as she knew Mia was trying to avoid telling her something bad. Mia never was good at confrontation. Scarlett quickly typed "Virtues of Drivers by Scarlett Fisher" into google.
Many news articles popped up, Her eyes went wide when she read the headlines. She gasped.
"I'm assuming you see what is going on," Mia said uncomfortably.
"Sadly, yes" Scarlett answered while she clicked on one of the articles.
Scarlet read the article aloud to Mia. 'An article written by the Monaco girl herself Scarlett Fisher has shed some light on what we can only assume is Daniel Ricciardos's character. This article was released late last night, then the news of Daniel losing his seat at McLaren mere hours later. It seems to this reporter that Scarlett Fisher knew what would happen and wanted to share her opinion of Daniel before the news was announced. We now sit and wait to see what is in the cards for Daniel Ricciardo for next season. My guess is there will be no seat waiting for him.'
Scarlett had tears in her eyes, she didn't mean any harm to Daniel. Now somehow she had stuck her nose into business that wasn't hers. Did she actually ruin his career chances? She was speechless.
"Scar? You okay?" Mia said sympathetically.
"No, I had no intention of slagging Daniel in the article. I was trying to explain how all the drivers I had met were genuine and kind. Shit" She exclaimed falling back onto her bed in defeat.
"Kyle was talking to Daniel today, he has been pretty bummed, he has some sort of thing to go to tonight then he is coming back to Monaco on Wednesday. I think he and Kyle will catch up later this week and check on him. Want me to pass on anything to kyle for you?"
"I'll try to text him," Scarlett said. "I have to get up though, I was up late writing and editing the article. I should head out for a run, I have a double date with Liam's friend from university who's in town."
"Oh which friend?" Mia asked excitedly.
"Alex, I believe," Scarlett said trying to remember what Liam had said.
"Oh..." Mia said sounding concerned.
"Anything you need to tell me?" Scarlett asked suddenly worried about tonight.
"Nothing, just not a fan," Mia said awkwardly.
"Oh, great," Scarlett said defeated. "This should be a fun night," she said sarcastically.
"Maybe wait on texting Daniel," Mia said quickly.
"Why?" Scarlett asked skeptical of her best friend.
"Just trust me, go get your day started. Bye," Mia said as she quickly hung up.
Scarlett got up and started with her day, went for a run around the city, did some errands then came home to get ready for the double date.
She quickly texted Liam "What's the attire for tonight? I need to know how to dress"
"Fancy Dinner Restaurant, Looking forward to it. I'll pick you up in two hours" He replied a couple of minutes later.
Scarlett quickly headed to the bathroom to shower and prepare for the date.
She did her makeup and made sure she had glowy skin and smoky neutral eyes with winged eyeliner and a bold red lip. In her closet, she looked through her dresses. Her hands paused on the yellow structured wrap dress from the boat party in Monaco. She smiled fondly thinking about that night. It was her favourite dress, she pulled it out and put it on. She looked at herself in the mirror, smiled and nodded. This was the dress to wear tonight.
Not long after the buzzer to her apartment rang. She ran over and pressed the button "I will be right down" she said quickly. Scarlett put on a pair of black stilettos and her black wool peacoat and went down the steps to the front of her building.
Liam was waiting with a car and held the door open for her to slide into the town car.
"You look amazing" Liam whispered as the car took off to the restaurant.
At the restaurant, Liam got out and helped her out of the car. All of a sudden Scarlett got nervous as they approached the doors. She turned to Liam.
"Is there anything I should know before this double date?" She asked as she looked at him when walking through the big doors and into the restaurant.
"Nope," He said nonchalantly as he turned his attention to the hostess who he winked at. Which Scarlett quietly cringed at.
The lady led them to their table at the back of the restaurant. As she turned the corner she saw the people sitting at the table.
Scarlett took a step back and quietly gasped to herself.