After a decent race weekend, however still feeling a bit disappointed with what happened to Carlos only 7 laps before the race finished, her drivers flew straight to Maranello whilst she went to Monaco. The boys stayed at her house, taking a couple of days off to fight off the jetlag, and Alessandra tried to do the same in Monaco, wanting to be away from work whilst she fought the jet lag, because she knew that if it kept her up at night, she would head straight to the factory and work on whatever needs to be done.
She then flew back up to Maranello, spending the holy weekend with her family as they celebrated easter. She got to see her older siblings and their kids, enjoying the auntie role which distracted her from any thought about the last race weekend or the upcoming ones. She was glad to have made time to spent needed quality time with her family, especially when the sport she works in takes so much of her time.
The day after easter, she flew to Monaco, where she was hoping to get some work done as she felt guilty for barely doing anything during the weekend. She hadn't told Charles that she was in Monaco, but he knew she was there from Mick, who had texted him and let him know that she worked a lot whilst she was supposed to be resting in Monaco, and even went in the factory a couple of hours a day when she was supposed to be there to be with family. So the Monegasque was not surprised when on late Tuesday morning, he barged into her apartment and found her in her office on a call.
"You are impossible," Charles said after she ended the call, shaking his head when his boss rolled her eyes at him when he entered her office unannounced, "you are supposed to be on a break. And what did I hear about you being at the factory when you were supposed to be in Maranello solely to be with family?!"
"I will never tell Mick anything again," she growled under her breathe, "what do you want, Charles?"
"I want you to close your laptop, get out of your apartment, and come with me to do something fun!" He beamed, which made her roll her eyes at him once more, "I have tickets to Berrettini's match today and I would really like for you to come with me, especially because you love tennis!"
"Matteo's playing here?" Alessandra's ears perked up at the sound of the familiar name, "Wait the Monte-Carlo Masters' happening right now?!" Charles chuckled at the shocked face his friend had on her, "how did I forget about it?"
"Because you're diving too deep in your work that's why," Charles scoffed, "are you coming with me?"
"Hell yeah," Alessandra exclaimed as she slammed her laptop closed, getting out of her chair, "I miss watching tennis live, and I haven't seen Matteo in two years!"
"You know Berrettini?" Charles asked as he followed her out of her office and up to her room, "I didn't know you knew him?!"
"We trained together when we were kids, he obviously continued in the professional path whilst I just trained for fun," she explained as she opened her closet, "I last saw him when he made it to the Wimbledon final back in 2021, then watched Italy win the Euros the next day!"
"Then I'm sure he'll be happy to see you after two years," Charles grinned, watching her take out a few items of clothing before throwing them on the bed, "the weather's warm out, so don't cozy up too much!" Alessandra thanked Charles for the weather update, then proceeded to shoo him out of her room as she needed to get ready.
After showering, she swapped her comfortable attire of sweats and wore a baby blue shirt dress which stopped right at her ankles, a brown belt to sinch her waist and slipped on a pair of dark blue and white nike dunks. She finished her outfit with an oversized denim jacket and a small white bag before leaving her bedroom.
The Monegasque looked up from his phone when he heard footsteps getting closer, grinning widely when he saw his friend dressed up beautifully and ready to go. He stood up from the couch, walking towards her, taking her hand in his and spun her around, which made her laugh loudly in surprise.
"You look amazing, Ale!" He beamed as he dropped her hand, "ready to go?"
"Yeah," she nodded, opening the front door and made their way out of her apartment building.
Getting in the garages under the team principal's building, the two decided to take Alessandra's red Ferrari Daytona SP3 and leave Charles's famous 488 Pista in her garage after dealing with some crazed fans leaking his address and ringing his bell, disrespecting his privacy. This way, the two won't have anyone chasing them down the roads after recognising his car, and can somewhat be out in peace.
Alessandra couldn't help and laugh at how giddy Charles was as he sat in her Daytona, a spectacular car that Ferrari have made in the recent years, and it was one that Charles has never driven before, so every now and then, he's asking the Italian if he can drive it for a bit, and she replied by telling him that after the match, he can take it for a spin.
They had around an hour and a half to spare before the match, especially with it being delayed slightly as the match before was taking longer to finish, so they decided to go grab some food from their favourite coffee shop which is located close by to the tennis courts.
After ordering, the two talked about what they did during Easter, after getting another scolding from Charles at Alessandra because she indeed went to the factory many times during the three days she was supposed to solely spend with her family. She smiled as she listened to Charles telling her about his various lunches and family activities he had with his mum and brothers.
"Maman really misses you," Charles smiled, "it would mean a lot to her if you could find a day where we can all have lunch together!"
"Of course," she said, giving him a soft glance, "I'd love to have lunch with Pascale, she was always like a second mother to me and I feel so bad that I haven't seen her in a while!"
When they were done, they jumped back in the car, which the two spotted was getting a bit of attention, which was no surprise, everyone takes pictures of super cars around Monaco. They drove towards the court, entering the parking area before stopping the car in the valet. The two got out of the car, faintly hearing camera clicks go off in the distance as Alessandra handed the valet her key as Charles walked around the car and got next to her. Charles handed security their tickets when they made it to the entrance, getting granted entrance and was then taken to their seats by the hosts.
Alessandra was happy when they sat down and saw that she had the perfect view of both players when they get out and play. She leaned her head to the side, inching closer to the Monegasque as she whispered, "thank you for bringing me. I can't believe I've forgotten about one of my favourite tournaments!"
"You deserve to have a good break like the rest of us," he said, patting her thigh, "you're also coming with me to the final, I hope you know that!"
"I wouldn't say no to watching the final," she grinned, looking at him, "but you're right, I need to take a proper break. So this week, I won't do any kind of work, just focus on myself, go play some tennis, do something fun, but no work."
"I'm glad to hear you say that," he smiled, "I'm thinking about heading to Turin for the Juventus match against Sporting, you can come with me if you want?"
"Why do you provide the most tempting offers?" She groaned, letting out a loud laugh, "you know I would never say no to Juventus if I had no other commitments so yeah, I'm joining you on that one too!"
"Good," he said, giving her a sheepish grin, "that means I can come up with more activities to do and you can't say no to them!" Alessandra rolled her eyes at him as she leaned back in her chair, a smile making its way to her face as she spotted her old friend walk on the court, preparing his equipment and did his last minute ritual before taking his place on the north side of the court.
Alessandra and Charles pulled each other in a hug when Rune hit the net, giving Matteo the last match point and winning the match, advancing him to the next round. They stayed in their seats as they players gave their interviews whilst almost everyone left the courts. The host that took the two members of the Scuderia Ferrari came back, offering to guide them to the court, which they gladly accepted.
When they stepped foot on the clay court, Alessandra felt her veins slowly pump adrenaline, something she always felt whenever she was on a court, even if she wasn't playing. She loved tennis almost as much as she loved racing, both getting her feeling a way nothing else can.
"Clay courts feel weird," muttered Charles as he looked down at his feet, watching his white soles turning orange, "have you played on clay before?"
"Yeah, it's weird at first but you get used to it," she explained, looking up at the Monegasque, "it's really slippery to play on too, and you'll never catch me wearing white on clay courts!"
"No one in their right minds would wear white when playing clay courts," Charles laughed, shaking his head, "tennis players slip and end up on the ground many times, they'd turn into oompa loompas playing on clay!"
"Well, half of the tennis community isn't in their right mind because you will see them wearing white on clay courts," Alessandra told him, making the Monegasque go wide-eyed. She chuckled, nodding as they continued walking.
"Alessandra?" Her head shot up to where the voice came from, finding the winner standing next to the bench, surrounded by his team as he put in his racket, "oh holy shit!" Alessandra couldn't help herself as she giggled whilst jogging towards him, the two Italians wrapping each other in a tight hug.
"So good to see you Matte," she beamed as she rested her head on his shoulder, "what a game today! Congrats on the win!"
"Thank you Ale!" He grinned as they pulled away, taking a step back whilst the tennis player wrapped his arm around a gorgeous woman, "Ale, this is my girlfriend, Melissa!" He looked down at his girlfriend, "Mel, this is Alessandra, we grew up playing tennis together when we were kids!"
"So nice to meet you Alessandra," Melissa said, giving her kind smile as the two leaned in and gave each other a kiss on each cheek, in traditional European fashion, "you look really familiar. Do you still play tennis?"
"Nope she preferred cars more and dedicated her life to them," Matteo replied before Alessandra could, giving her a cheeky grin, "she's currently Scuderia Ferrari's team principal! How insane is that?!"
"Ah, now I can see why I recognised you!" Melissa exclaimed, "you've been making headlines for the past four months. I must say, you're a force to be reckoned with from what I saw and read, but you're doing an amazing job, and pathing the way for women who want to be like you!"
"That means so much to me, thank you," Alessandra gushed, placing a hand on her chest before turning to her friend, "This is Charles, one of my oldest friends and drives for our team!"
"Nice to meet you," Matteo said as the tennis player and driver shook their hands, "big fan of you and the team!"
"Appreciate it mate," Charles replied, "great game out there!"
"Thanks," Matteo said, "so do you guys live here or just came here for the tournament? Also, why didn't you tell me you were coming?"
"Charles is from here and lives here too," Alessandra explained, "I've got a place here but I'm constantly bouncing between here and Maranello when we're not travelling."
"And I basically had to drag her away from work so I told her about the match today." Charles chuckled, which Alessandra rolled her eyes at, "what about you?"
"Moved here a few months after that Wimbledon final," the Italian replied, glancing at the team principal, both sharing a memory of those couple of days with a grin, "how about we got get coffee and catch up? Whilst getting to know each other?" Alessandra and Charles were quick to agree with Matteo, with the three waiting on the court as Matteo went to take a shower and change.
When Matteo came back out on the court dressed in dark pants and a grew sweatshirt, the four left the courts, heading back to the parking where their cars were waiting for them. Alessandra took the cars from the valet, chuckling when she turned around and found Matteo looking at her car with wide eyes.
"Oh, to be Enzo Ferrari's grandchild," he groaned as he went to stand next to his Maserati, "that Daytona is beautiful, Ale!"
"Grazie, Matte," she laughed, "see you at the cafe?" He nodded, and the four entered their cars, Alessandra cursing under her breathe as the clay under her shoes was making a mess on the carpets under the seats, making a mental note to next time get a change of shoes next time and take it to the car wash.
The four were sat in a booth at the back of the coffee shop, telling childhood stories and stories about their recent achievements. Alessandra and Matteo were telling Melissa and Charles what mishaps they were in when they were growing up, Alessandra and Charles were telling the couple how they met and stories about their crazy adventures, along with how they worked together the past few years. Matteo and Melissa were then telling the two how they met and got together, the kinds of stories Alessandra loved hearing about her friends, especially because she's so dedicated to her job, she doesn't have the time to think about starting a relationship.
Charles left the table to get everyone another round of coffee along with some sweets. Alessandra was having an amazing time catching up with an old friend, and making a new friend, whilst being around one of her best friends.
"So," Matteo started, "has someone been able to keep up with your lifestyle and stay around, Ms Alessandra Enzo Ferrari?" The team principal let out a loud laugh at the boldness of his question, turning to Melissa when he saw that she was confused, "Alessandra was always working hard in her studies and it was her priority. She was working in the Ferrari factory ever since she turned 20 and made her way up in the engineering department, she was even Chief Engineer for two years before becoming team principal. And because of how dedicated she was to her job, guys never tended to stay around, being intimidated by her power and greatness."
"Their loss," Melissa scoffed, "Ale you're a badass, you're intelligent, and not to mention absolutely hot! Men who don't accept a hard working badass woman because it hurts their ego and have an iq of like 10 so you're not missing out!"
"You're so wonderful Mel," gushed Alessandra one more time, "and to answer your question Matte, nope. My one true love is Ferrari and for now I'm happy to keep it that way!"
As Charles was waiting to order, he looked around the coffee shop, which had emptied ever since they arrived. When he got to the register, he gave the waitress his order, then stood to the side after paying for it. The Monegasque hummed to the tune that softly filled the place, his eyes still aimlessly wondering around, widening slightly when he saw the next man to place his order. He glanced at the table he was sat, watching his best friend laugh at something Matteo said, then looked back up at the six foot 5 tall man, a small smirk making its way on his lips.
"Afternoon, Toto," the Austrian, who was slightly distracted by thoughts about work as he stood to wait for his coffee, looked at where the voice came from, not realising before that Charles Leclerc was standing next to him, also waiting for his beverage.
"Afternoon to you too, Charles," Toto replied, "holidays treating you well?"
"Oh they've been good till now," he said, "we just came back from a tennis match?"
"We?" Toto asked, quickly realising that there is a possibility that Alessandra was around, and the thought of seeing her after over a week made his heart beat faster.
"Yes, Ale and I," he said, pointing behind him. Toto looked at where he pointed, and there she was, sat in a booth engaged with two people in front of her, who he couldn't recognise as they had their backs towards him. Her face was bright as she laughed, her full lips moving as she spoke, her blue eyes wide in curiosity and concentration. "Why don't you come say hi?"
Toto was going to gently protest, say that he didn't want to disturb them. But then the possibility of seeing Alessandra surprised when she sees him, the possibility of being able to push her buttons a bit to get her riled up, even for just a few moments, got him chuckling to himself, so he agreed. Charles grabbed his drinks and sweets, whilst the Austrian grabbed his coffee and followed behind him.
"Here you guys are," Charles said as he put the stuff on the table when he arrived at the booth, "look who I bumped into, Ale!"
Alessandra looked up at her friend after being distracted by the coffee and pieces of cake he placed on the table, her big blue eyes widening when they landed on the Austrian standing behind him, a sly smile on his face as he held his coffee in his hand, the large cup still managing to look small in his hand.
"Hello, Ale," the Austrian said in a low voice as Charles got back into the booth, letting Alessandra sit at the edge of the sofa, "good to see you taking a break!"
"You too," she replied, sipping on her coffee, "how was Austria?"
"Good, Jack always has the best time when we're there," he answered, "how was Maranello?"
"Enjoyed being back with the family," Alessandra smiled, "do you remember my nephew Luca? He came to Monza a couple of years ago."
"Yeah, he's the one who loves football, right?" Toto asked, which took Alessandra by surprise that he remembered her nephew even after seeing him once. "And he also said I'm his favourite team principal."
"Yeah, well," Alessandra hummed, glancing up at him, "he just said that Aunt Ale is the best team principal this sport has ever seen!"
"I might have to agree with Luca," Alessandra laughed when Charles and Matteo spoke in a synchronised matter, which got Toto raising an eyebrow, especially at the unfamiliar man sat around the table.
Alessandra caught the look Toto was sending to Matteo, placing her hand on his arm to avert his attention, which worked as Toto looked at Alessandra with a softer gaze. "This is Matteo, and his girlfriend Melissa," she started, almost emphasising the word girlfriend as she said it, "Matteo won today's tennis match. We grew up training tennis together."
"Nice to meet you," Toto said, taking the arm that was not being held and extended it to the couple, who shook it, "and congratulations on the win!"
"Toto's also a team principal," Alessandra continued, "he's team principal and CEO of Mercedes."
"Oh wow!" Matteo exclaimed, "two power heads! Do you guys clash?"
"Do they clash-" Charles butt in, eyeing the two team principals who looked at the driver confused, "they're good when they team up against a rival, but when they're against each other? Everything becomes a competition. It's like some sort of battle of the gods!"
"I would not classify Alessandra in the gods level just yet," Toto quickly said, "she's just become a team principal!"
"Didn't you give me the title goddess off the paddock?" Shot back Alessandra, raising an eyebrow, "and this was when I joined the team as an engineer."
"I did not give you the title," he scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest as his eyes boared down on her, "and I never even called you that! It was something started around the paddock!"
"That's not what I heard," she muttered as she sipped on her coffee, her eyes never leaving his as she gave him a sweet, innocent smile.
"And who told you otherwise?" Retorted Toto.
"I will not reveal my sources," she answered, her mind taking her back to a few years ago when Lewis told her how Toto referred to her as the goddess of the paddock in a conversation and a member of the team who was in that conversation called her that too, and the nickname spread like wildfire.
"You see what I mean?" Groaned Charles, motioning between the two team principals with his hands, "clash of the titans has nothing on these two!"
"Your driver exagerates a bit," muttered Toto after he leaned his face by her ear to whisper, "he acts like we keep him up every night."
Alessandra's cheeks quickly turned red at the last comment, her thoughts running wild in her imagination as she turned her head to glance at Toto, their faces barely an inch apart, their noses almost touching, their breathes fanning each other's faces. "He likes to act like a little kid sometimes," she said, releasing a nervous chuckle after.
"Well," the Austrian said as he backed away, "I must head out now. It was nice meeting you two," he turned towards his rivals, "good seeing you, Charles, Ale. See you around!"
Alessandra gave the team principal a small smile, which he returned before he turned around and walked out of the coffee shop. She smiled slightly to herself as she sipped on her coffee, engaging back into her conversation with her friends, trying not to think about the six foot 5 Austrian powerhouse, and how they would keep Charles awake every night.