SATURDAY AM
You'd been in the UK for the last week, the longest you'd spent in your home nation since Winter break. Having found a permanent home during the last Summer break, you were almost there in furnishing the place to the point where it felt homely. It was a modern barn conversion, with lots of exposed wood and glass with plush cream furnishings. You'd been so busy with work it had been a true labour of love and you had just one room left to tackle. The house had three bedrooms so naturally, you'd allocated the third to be a walk-in closet, a vision that was yet to be fully realised.
As you stepped over the multitude of shoe boxes that lay scattered across the floor to get to the temporary rail that housed your clothes, you figured it was time to do something about it. You hated the place but there was only one store where you'd be able to find the shelving you needed. Ikea.
You spent the morning browsing their website for the multitude of options that were on offer and decided to bite the bullet and order some shelving units. You would keep the rails for now but you could at least get your shoes and bags off of the floor. Surprisingly they were able to deliver the next day so you pressed the order button and set about clearing some space.
While you were busy tidying, your phone buzzed. Looking down you saw that it was Toto. You hadn't seen him much since your return to the UK as he'd been in London ironing out some deals while you held the fort in Brackley. In a surprisingly sweet gesture, he'd texted you every day to say good morning and goodnight and had suggested you meet over the weekend.
Morning Y/N, I hope you slept well. Are you around tomorrow morning? I thought we could go for a walk in the country and get some lunch if you'd like?
Smiling at his surprisingly formal text, you typed out a response.
Hey stranger, I'd love that. The only thing is that I ordered some furniture and it's supposed to arrive tomorrow morning. Could we have lunch and then a walk?
You returned to your sorting, grinning away to yourself that you were finally going on a date with Toto. You'd started everything backwards so it was nice that he was making the effort. Your phone buzzed again.
Sure. To be safe shall we do a late lunch? I can pick you up at 2?
Sudden panic set in, Toto was coming to your house. He was notorious for being a neat freak and kept everything hidden away in his office. You tried to echo this but you always seemed to accumulate clutter in your office. Your house was even more relaxed as you were always tired when returning from race weekends and often left things lying around.
Sounds good, I'll share my location so you can find me, my address is not always on GPS. Looking forward to it. x
You followed up with your location as you knew he would never find it without the exact pinpoint. Numerous taxi drivers had failed to find it so you'd taken to just sending coordinates.
Thank you, I'm looking forward to it too. Enjoy the rest of your day! X
You smiled as he signed off with a kiss, something he'd never done before.
SUNDAY AM
You'd spent the rest of your Saturday frantically tidying and pampering. Even though you knew he'd likely step foot inside your house for all of two seconds and you'd be having a casual lunch in a country pub you wanted everything to look nice, yourself included.
Waking up at eight, you hoped that your furniture would come early so you could perhaps build a unit or two before you needed to get ready. The tracking from Ikea told you that you were the next stop so you busied yourself hoovering the fluffy cream rug in your living room while you waited.
Sure enough, it was not long before the doorbell rang, meaning your shelves had arrived. As you directed the delivery man to leave them in the spare room, you clocked the long boxes and were worried you'd taken on more than you could handle with this build. As soon as he left you set about opening one of the boxes and reading the instructions. It seemed easy enough so you fetched your tool kit and set about building the first of the four shelving units.
To your dismay, it was not as easy as it seemed. You'd got as far as screwing the sides together but no matter how hard you pushed, you couldn't slide the back panel in. Frustrated, you decided to come back to it and opened the second box, repeating the process and again reaching a sticking point. Huffing you looked at the time and realised with horror that it was past one o'clock and you really needed to get ready.
Pulling out a black crochet sundress and tan leather gladiator sandals you quickly got ready, hoping this was the right vibe for a first date. Silly as it sounded you had butterflies in your stomach, something you'd not felt for a long time. You took extra care in doing your hair and make-up, trying to go for the no-effort look which of course took double the amount of time and effort. With one final hair tousle and shake you were done, with two minutes to spare.
Punctual as ever, your doorbell rang for the second time that morning, only this time you opened it to a casually dressed Toto, holding a big bunch of pale pink roses.
"I've missed you," he said, leaning down to kiss you chastely. "Here, these are for you."
Taking the flowers from him, you beamed, "I've missed you too. Thank you, they're beautiful, that's so sweet, let me go and put them in some water and I'll be right out. Do you want anything to drink before we go?"
"I'm fine thanks, I'll wait here," he said, curiously peering around your entrance hall. You had put up some large art pieces, leant a huge arch-shaped mirror against the wall facing the stairs and had topped a console table with several small frames with family photos.
As you made your way through to the kitchen your heart was pounding. Toto was a handsome man but you always thought he looked particularly good when he dressed down. Contrary to most, you found the white shirt and black trousered Mercedes uniform a little corporate for your taste.
You carefully placed the roses into the small stoppered section of your sink, turning on the tap and making sure they had enough water. Grabbing your handbag you made to go when Toto came through the doorway to the kitchen.
"I've just been admiring your photos, you were a very cute child. I don't know what happened," he said with a grin.
You edged closer to Toto, "You are so cheeky, let's see your childhood photos."
"You'll have to come to my mother's house for those I'm afraid," he said, glancing down at you as you set your handbag down on the kitchen island and wrapped your hands around his hips, pulling him closer.
"I'm willing to make the trip," you said, reaching up to kiss him once more.
"Good to know," he replied, breaking the kiss. "Before we go, can I have a tour? I'm curious to see the rest of the house, you never talk about it."
"Sure why not. So this is the kitchen, where I do the cooking." You gestured around you at the bright kitchen space with white wooden shaker cabinets topped with light grey marble.
"Oh really, I never could have guessed that." he said dryly, "I like it. It's very well finished." He ran his hand along the marble countertop on the kitchen island, "Did you choose this?"
"Sadly no, this was a large selling point of the house, the kitchens and bathrooms needed nothing changing."
"Ah that explains why it's so tasteful." he said, slipping his arm around your shoulders, "I can't believe I've never been here."
"Shh." you said, wriggling playfully out of his grip and turning to face him, "I've never been to your place to be fair and I have only had Rosie and George over a few times."
"George has been here?" asked Toto, surprised.
"Of course he has, he and Rosie are joined at the hip these days and she lives just down the road."
"I suppose." Toto said, "I've not had many people come over to mine."
"Ooh, so I'll await my invite with bated breath," you said.
"I'd love to have you over, I can cook for you if you want?" said Toto.
"You cook?"
"Of course I do. I enjoy it, it relaxes me."
"How have we never discussed this?"
"How have you never told me anything about your house?"
"Fair enough, want to see the rest of it?"
"Please, lead the way."
You made your way out of the sunny kitchen to the dining nook. The back wall was panelled with glass that opened onto a small patio and garden.
"This is nice Y/N," said Toto, "I like this," he said, gesturing at the huge blue Ed Ruscha print that hung at one end of the room.
"Ah, thanks, my Dad got it for me years ago. It's travelled everywhere with me," you said, surprised Toto was interested in your art.
"Your father sounds interesting, you should bring him to a race one day," Toto said.
"Funnily enough I was thinking about inviting him to Mexico. I know it's a few months away but I think he'd love it," you said.
"You should ask Lara and she will arrange tickets." Toto said kindly, "I'd also like to meet him."
"You're a braver man than most," you laughed, knowing that your Dad would not be thrilled about you dating a man more than twenty years your senior.
"I'm sure I can win him over," said Toto hopefully.
"Hmm let's see," you said unconvinced, "Do you want to see the rest of the house?"
"Of course," said Toto, lightly brushing your hip.
You made your way back into the hallway and through another doorway to the living room. This was the most impressive room in the house as it had a double-height ceiling and again, an entirely glass back wall. You'd bought a vintage mid-century blown glass chandelier to fill the space and artfully arranged a cream boucle sofa and two armchairs around the cosy fire.
"Wow," exclaimed Toto, "This is amazing."
Pleased as punch you smiled at him, "It's alright I guess."
"I love it, I need your help to redesign my place."
You smiled, "Of course, for a fee."
Toto laughed, "It's always business first with you."
"I'll even give you a family and friends discount since I kind of like you." you teased, "Want to see upstairs?"
"You're too kind," said Toto as you grabbed his hand and led him upstairs to the galleried landing. There was a small open section that looked down into the living room before it turned into a corridor with various doors on it.
You started to lead the way down the corridor, purposefully skipping the door to the third bedroom that contained your mess from earlier. Not missing a trick, Toto tugged on your hand, "What's that door?"
"Oh, nothing special, just a cupboard," you said, hoping he'd let it go.
"You forget Y/N. I know you well enough to know when you're not telling the truth. Is it a cupboard full of all the mess like Monica in Friends?"
"You've watched Friends?" you asked incredulously.
"Of course I did, I'm not that old." Toto replied, "It is definitely that, you're blushing."
"No I'm not!" you said, knowing full well that your flushed cheeks were betraying you. The effect this man had on you was quite something.
Toto reached out and grabbed you by the hips, grinding yours into his. "You're sexy when you blush. It turns me on."
Your hand found his chest as your lips met, your stomach doing backflips.
"Why don't I show you the bedroom?" you said seductively.
"Nice try, I want to see the cupboard first," said Toto, continuing to run his hands up and down your hips, exploring your curves as if for the first time.
"You are relentless," you said, before turning around and pulling him towards the door, "I must warn you, it's a mess."
"I knew it!" said Toto smugly.
You opened the door to reveal your two half-built bookcases and empty boxes strewn across the carpet, power tools laid down and abandoned.
'That's not what I was expecting. I didn't take you as the DIY type." said Toto, disappointed not to find something weird and wonderful.
"Now that's the thing, I thought I could be, but turns out I'm not," you said, blushing deeper than ever before.
"What happened?" asked Toto, bending down to inspect your handiwork, "Surely you just slide this back piece in and it's done?"
"Easier said than done. I tried but I'm not strong enough so I gave up," you said exasperatedly, crouching down beside Toto.
"How are you planning to finish them?" he asked.
"I hadn't thought that far ahead." you shrugged.
"Do you want me to try?" Toto asked, turning to you.
"No, honestly don't worry I'll figure it out. We should go."
"Don't be silly, it will take two minutes, grab that end and I'll slide it in," he said, standing up and rolling up his sleeves. You couldn't help but gulp as the veins in his arms flexed.
"That's what she said," you replied with a smirk.
"You are so dirty, I'll slide it somewhere after this," growled Toto.
With Toto's help, you made quick work of finishing the two shelving units, even propping them up and fixing them to the wall. As he finished screwing the second one in, Toto looked behind him and saw the two remaining boxes. "Jesus, are there more?"
Guiltily you replied, "Yes but don't worry, two is enough for now."
"Nonsense," Toto said as he set about unboxing the third unit. You watched in awe as he managed to connect the panels without as much as a glance at the instruction booklet.
"How are you so good at this? As if you have ever even set foot in an Ikea," you said, crossing your arms as you watched him screw the panels together.
"Of course I've been to Ikea, who hasn't?" Toto said, leaning back on his heels to admire his work.
"You're full of surprises today," you said, bending down to kiss him softly, forgetting that he'd get a full view of your bare breasts in your sundress. You'd opted not to wear a bra as the straps were thin.
"Mmm, no bra? Now you're the one full of surprises," said Toto, pulling you down into his lap, your back flush against his chest, his large hands wrapping around your waist in a way that you'd fantasised about many a time. He ran his hands up and down your torso, kissing your neck in exactly the right spot.
Just as things were starting to heat up and you could feel Toto hardening behind you, his pocket started vibrating.
"Ooh that feels good," you joked.
"Not as good as I'm going to make you feel later," said Toto, nuzzling your neck as he pulled out his phone, "It's George, mind if I take it?"
"Of course not, shall I leave you in peace?" you asked.
"No, stay right here," he said, a strong arm swooping around and trapping you where he knelt, his now prominent erection pressing into you from behind. "Hello, George."
You could hear murmurs from the other line, George loved to chat so you resigned yourself to being stuck on Toto's lap for a while. Wanting to rile him up, you ground up and down as he tried to keep a level tone with George, who'd called with some kind of problem.
"Look, I'm sure it's no big deal, let me call them first thing tomorrow." said Toto, his breathing getting heavier,, "I am sorry to do this but I need to go, I'm in the middle of building furniture." More murmurs followed before Toto said his goodbye "Don't worry about it, any time George. And don't panic. Talk later."
As he put down his phone, he growled once again, "You are so bad, so where were we?" his hands now running up your torso towards your breasts.
"I believe you said you were going to slide it in?" you said breathlessly, the grinding turning you on a ridiculous amount.
"I did say that, didn't I?" he said, running his hand back down to where your pussy was starting to throb. With a deft movement, he flicked the bottom of your dress up, revealing your skimpy mesh thong. "Fuck me, no bra and this?" he exclaimed as he took in the barely-there fabric, his long fingers getting tantalisingly close to where you needed them the most.
"You're fucking hot, you know that right?" you said, breaking free of his grip and turning around to straddle him where he sat on the carpet.
"Not as hot as you," he replied, catching your lips with his as his hands wandered closer and closer to the sweet spot. Kissing you deeply, his fingers suddenly delved under the mesh and found your clit, drawing slow and careful circles.
It wasn't long before he found a rhythm that got you moaning. "You like that?" he asked as you closed your eyes in pleasure.
"Mmm" was all you managed as he slipped a long finger in, testing you out before adding a second.
"I'll take that as a yes," he smirked, pumping his fingers in and out a few times before curling them in exactly the right spot.
"Fuck me," you exclaimed breathily, his fingers filling you most satisfyingly.
"Don't mind if I do." he said, withdrawing his fingers and swiftly removing you from his lap, flipping you over and laying you gently on the floor, opening your legs and settling between them, "But first I want to do this."
Before you had a chance to ask what it was he wanted to do he proceeded to kiss down your neck, his hands exploring every inch of your body as he pushed your dress up. He quickly divested you of your underwear and brought his mouth to your dripping wet pussy, his tongue bringing you to the edge embarrassingly quickly. Trying to grab at something and finding only carpet, you decided now was the time to ruffle your hands through his hair, something you'd been wanting to do for a long time.
You moaned as every lick brought you closer to the edge, his strong arms squeezing either side of your thighs as he bobbed up and down.
"Fuck!" you exclaimed as you got there, your pussy clenching hard as you came.
"Record timing," said Toto as he came back up to kiss you squarely on the lips, your heart pounding.
"Why is everything a competition with you?" you laughed, feeling very warm and fuzzy as Toto lingered on top of you.
"Not everything, just things I care about," he said, kissing your neck gently.
"Well, it's only fair if I try to beat your time, no?" you said, grabbing at the waistband of his chinos.
"No, no, I wanted to do that, we have plenty of time later, it gets me off to get you off." he said, batting your hand away, kissing you one last time on the neck before propping himself up to a kneeling position, carefully rearranging your dress,, "Besides, I have shelves to build."
"For real?" you asked.
"Of course, I'm a man of my word," he said, flashing you a charming grin.
– – –
True to his word, Toto helped you build the remaining two shelves and fix them to the wall. It was almost annoying how easily he slotted everything together, but you guessed he had the size and strength advantage on his side.
As he bolted the last shelf to the wall, he stepped back to admire his handiwork. "Not bad." he smiled, slipping an arm around your shoulders, "What are you putting on these shelves anyway? Are you turning this into an office?"
"Well... not exactly, I got them for my shoes and bags," you said, feeling like a bimbo.
He chuckled, "Of course you are, the woman of many bags."
You laughed, "I'm surprised you noticed."
"I notice everything," he said, glancing down at you fondly.
"I feel really bad that you planned this nice day for us and then spent it indoors building furniture, do you want to go for a late lunch?"
"Well I already ate," he said very seriously before cracking up and laughing at his own joke.
"Hilarious," you said with a poker face.
"You know you love it."
"Maybe," you said, reaching up to caress his face, "Let's go, we can beat the rush."
"Sure. Let me just find my phone, I put it down somewhere." Toto dropped his arm from around you, searching around the room before spotting his phone, on the floor in the corner. Bending down to pick it up, his eyes widened, "Scheiße!"
"What's up?" you asked, concerned that something bad had happened.
Toto stood up, muttering under his breath as he stood up and passed the phone over. "Look."
You glanced down to read the notifications, all from George.
14:42 Toto, I don't know why but it won't let me hang up. Is that Y/N with you?
14:46 Don't think I'm supposed to be hearing this.
14:48 Right so I managed to turn my phone off and break the connection. Don't worry I won't tell anyone.
14:50 Well Rosie is with me but she won't tell either.
14:51 I'll leave you to it.
"Fuck." you exclaimed as you finished reading the thread of messages. "How does that even happen?"
"I don't know, I thought I had hung up." said Toto, horrified, "I don't know how much he heard but it was enough for him to say that."
You grimaced, cringing as you tried to recall what you might have said to each other in the throes of passion. "I can't believe Rosie was there too, maybe we just have a quiet word with them both tomorrow? I take Rosie, you take George?" you suggested, trying to think how to make this situation less awkward. Rosie of course knew a certain amount but you weren't about to let Toto know that.
"No, I think we talk to them together." said Toto, "It's better that we put on a united front. I don't want them to think we're fucking about."
You raised your eyebrow, "But isn't that exactly what we were just doing?"
"No, we are more serious." Toto said, his expression neutral, "I know it is early days but I know that I want to make this work long-term."
Surprised by his admission you wrapped your arms around him, gazing up into his chocolate-brown eyes, "I do too."
"You do?" he said.
"Why would you think I wouldn't? I wouldn't risk it all for a one-time thing. I like you Toto, a lot. Christ knows we spend enough time with each other."
Toto smiled, dimples forming, "I'm glad you say that. I like you a lot too."
"Well, glad that's settled then, shall we go and get a bite to eat?" you suggested.
MONDAY AM
As you walked into your office on Monday morning, you felt nervous for the first time in a long time. You'd discussed with Toto a game plan on what to say to George and Rosie, making your mission first thing to put some time in with them. Sophie, your ever-helpful EA, had been curious why you, Toto, George and Rosie had needed to urgently meet on a Monday morning as you didn't normally call meetings first thing, let alone with such a random assortment of people. You were grateful for her but sometimes she asked too many questions for her own good.
"Toto wants to discuss George's participation in Drive to Survive." you lied.
"But why does Rosie need to be there? Surely Emily should be there too?" asked Sophie.
She had a point as Emily was George's press officer. You quickly thought on your feet, "No, just Rosie for this one, she has been assisting me closely on the scripts for the talking heads."
"Oh, I see, that makes sense. Are you sure you don't want me to add Emily? Or I can take minutes?"
"Honestly, it's fine Sophie, Rosie will take minutes," you said, trying not to get annoyed as Sophie was only trying to help.
"No worries, I've just checked with Lara and ten thirty works for Toto."
Feigning surprise, you thanked Sophie, "Great, thank you for sorting that out." Of course, you knew full well that Toto could do ten thirty as you'd discussed it last night over a glass of wine.
"No problem, is there anything else?"
"No, that's all for now, thank you Sophie." you bid your assistant goodbye as she left your office.
Rosie had of course texted you last night. You were close and you felt extra awkward as you had outright lied to her before.
Y/N, did we hear what we thought we just heard?
You hadn't wanted to reply without Toto so left it at that.
Hey Rosie, let's catch up tomorrow. I'm so sorry. X
Ever the understanding friend, she had replied with a simple.
Oh God, I hope you are okay! I'm sorry if we ruined anything. Speak tomorrow x
Ten-thirty came around quickly and as you made your way next door to Toto's office you were relieved to see that he was sitting at his desk alone. As you shut the door behind you he looked up and smiled at you, peering over his round glasses.
"So..." he said awkwardly, "How did you sleep?"
Taking the seat opposite him you grimaced, "I won't lie, I didn't have the best night's sleep, how about you?"
"Four hours tops." he sighed, taking off his glasses and leaning forward to look into your eyes, "You still look beautiful, how do you do it?"
Shaking your head you replied, "I really don't but I'll take the compliment." Aware of Toto's glass-walled office you discreetly reached out for his hand across the desk, "Don't fret, you're his boss, what's he going to say?"
Toto looked worried, "I worry that he will lose respect for me..."
"Hey, am I that hideous?" you said.
"I'm not going to warrant such a silly question with an answer," he cooed, "What's the saying? You don't shit where you eat?"
"You and your analogies," you rolled your eyes, dropping his hand as you spied George walking towards the door out of the corner of your eye.
Toto stood up to greet George, gesturing for him to sit down on the chair beside you.
"Hello George, how are you today?"
Looking incredibly awkward, George managed a quiet "Good thank you, and yourselves?"
"Good." you and Toto replied in unison.
Trying to break the tension Toto fussed around pulling up another chair to his side of the desk, "Y/N, do you want to come here so Rosie has a seat when she comes?"
"Sure," you said, offering George a sympathetic look. Poor guy was probably scarred for life. Thankfully Rosie came in, looking less worried than her boyfriend.
"Morning Toto, morning Y/N," she said chirpily, taking your recently vacated seat next to George.
"Good morning," said Toto, sitting back in his chair and folding his hands in his lap. "So I don't want to make this too painful but we have the elephant in the room. First of all, I wanted to say how sorry I am, I don't know how it happened as I am certain I hung up, but you shouldn't have had to hear what you overheard. I hope you don't think lowly of us." he paused, "Secondly, this is not the way we wanted you to find out but recently Y/N and I have become romantically involved and would appreciate your discretion on this. It's new and I'm hoping it will be something long-term..."
"Eee," Rosie squealed, barely containing her joy.
"Rosie!" you hissed as Toto looked rather taken aback.
"Well that's not the reaction I expected, thank you for your blessing Rosie." Toto smiled. "Like I was saying, we're hoping to go the distance but it's new and I would appreciate this not going beyond this room."
"Of course," said Rosie. "For what it's worth, I'm really happy for you. Y/N helped protect George and me in the early days and we'll obviously do the same."
George had still not said a single word and you saw Rosie give him a not-so-subtle kick under the desk.
"We won't tell anyone," he said blankly, less enthusiastically than his girlfriend.
"Thank you both," said Toto curtly, his brow furrowed as he tried to scrutinise the young driver.
"Toto," said George quietly.
"Yes?"
"How long has this been going on?"
Toto looked at you for guidance on what to say before you sighed, knowing it was time to fess up. "Not long, since Montreal. It's very new."
George and Rosie exchanged a look, before George answered carefully, "I see, did it happen by any chance when you both missed the team dinner?"
You smiled weakly, "I don't want to scar you with the details but yes, we got talking and one thing led to another." You shot an apologetic glance towards Rosie but you needn't have worried as she couldn't have looked happier at your admissions.
Toto blushed, clearly casting his memory back to that night. It had been unexpected but certainly memorable.
"Knew it. And you being weird to each other on the plane, were you trying to hide it?" George continued his line of questioning.
You both nodded.
"I see."
You exchanged a glance with Toto, not sure what to make of George's interrogation.
"George, I am sorry you had to find out this way, and Rosie too," Toto said, sighing.
"It's okay," said George, looking down at his feet before looking up with a glint in his eye and adding "You sounded like you were having a great time."
It was your turn to blush, you still struggled to recall what you'd said in the moment but you knew it had to have been spicy. For once in his life, Toto was speechless and his mouth dropped open at George's cheeky comment.
"George!" exclaimed Rosie, playfully slapping him on the shoulder, making him break out into a wide smile.
You smiled gratefully at Rosie for breaking the tension and decided it was time to wrap this meeting up, "Well I'm glad you're not too scarred."
"Oh no, I am," said George, "I need therapy and ear bleach."
"Very funny," said Toto.
George grinned away at his boss, content with making him squirm with embarrassment. "It's okay Toto, we're all human and to be honest, I wasn't that surprised. Everybody has been saying you two should get together."
Toto's eyebrows shot up, "Who's everybody?"
George exchanged a panicked look with Rosie, "Um, just a few people."
"Which people?" you interjected.
"Well..." George started to talk but was interrupted by a knock on the door. It was Lara of all people.
Toto looked a little annoyed but called out, "Yes, come in."
Lara opened the door and strode in, greeting you all with a nod, "Good morning all, I am so sorry to interrupt but I have Ola on the other line. He says it's urgent."
"Fine, I'll take it," said Toto.
"Great, I'll put him through," said Lara, making an exit.
"We'll leave you in peace then." you said, turning to Toto, "Glad we talked."
"Thank you Y/N, and thank you both for being so understanding." Toto said, sighing as his conference phone started to ring, "I had better take this."
"Thank you, Toto, see you later," said George, getting up.
"Yes thank you, Toto," said Rosie, "See you soon."
You met Toto's eyes softly and smiled as he picked up the phone and mouthed, "See you."
As you made your way out of his office and into yours, you caught up with George and Rosie.
"Thank you both," you said kindly, "We appreciate it."
"Honestly it's fine." said George, "If anything it gave us a laugh yesterday. Our Sunday was very dull compared to yours."
You blushed again, "Jesus, you're never going to let us live this down are you."
"Nope," the young couple said in unison.
"Right, well I'd better go and get some work done, I'll see you both later," you said as you opened your office door.
"Yes, and we'll have a full debrief later," said Rosie.
You sighed, "Of course."
– – –
The rest of the morning was filled with meetings and it wasn't until later in the day that you managed to catch up with Rosie. You were strictly supposed to be meeting to discuss an upcoming media day but inevitably the conversation began with the morning's meeting.
"I'm sorry about this morning, Toto was mortified and so am I. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, it was brand new..." you began.
"Honestly don't worry about it, we're all adults and I understand why you didn't want to spill yet. I just want the juicy details. From what we heard he sounds good." said Rosie, a grin forming,. "When you say you got together in Montreal did you sleep together? What we heard didn't sound like the first time."
You paused, knowing that Toto wouldn't want you to share too much, "You are awful. For the record, yes, I spent the night in his room, yes we had sex and no you are not getting any further details."
"Oooh." said Rosie, "But I bet he's good, no?"
"Jeez, you are not going to let this go are you." you groaned, "You have to swear to me that you're not going to tell a soul, and if you do I will assign you all transcription duties from now until the end of next season."
"Deal," said Rosie.
"Okay, well yes he knows what he's doing." you said, "Happy?"
"Knew it." she said smugly, "I wish I could get George to do what I think he was doing."
"Rosie!" you exclaimed, "Thank you for that vision."
"Sorry, just saying though," said Rosie.
You laughed, "You are terrible, you know that right?"
"Yes, it's why you love me." said Rosie, opening up her notebook, "So about this media day..."
SATURDAY PM
As your office was so close to Silverstone, the weekend so far had been well and truly a home Grand Prix. The media day on Thursday had been busy, as had Free Practice on Friday but it was nice being able to go home and sleep in your own bed as opposed to a hotel. By the time Saturday rolled around you were feeling refreshed and ready to tackle whatever challenges the day threw at you.
Unfortunately, qualifying had been somewhat of a disaster with Lewis' engine blowing out and the garage scrambling to get the car ready in time for the race. He'd managed a paltry P14 and ran the risk of a penalty if too many parts were changed. George hadn't fared much better, barely scraping P8. Toto had been inundated with post-qualifying media requests, all wanting to be involved in the drama.
Finishing up one last interview with Sky, you both returned to Toto's office for a debrief. As Toto sat down opposite you, he bowed his head and ran his hands through his hair, something you now knew meant that he was feeling stressed.
"What a fuck-up." he said, frustrated with the outcome.
"Don't say that, we've come back from worse," you said, trying to reassure him.
"This is bad Y/N, we can't afford to fuck up like this."
Getting up out of your chair you made your way across to Toto, putting an arm around him and stroking his shoulder, trying to ease out the tension, "The team is working on it. Yes, we might be here all night but they're a brilliant bunch of guys and they'll sort it. You have the best driver in the world in the car tomorrow, if anyone will make up the points it's Lewis."
Toto looked up at you and smiled resignedly, "You're much more optimistic than me. I have to think about the worst possible outcome."
"There's my little ray of sunshine," you laughed, bending down to kiss him gently. Just as you were mid-peck, Toto's door burst open to reveal a harassed-looking Lara.
"Oh." said Lara, "I can come back, I didn't know you had company"
You leapt up, taking a wide step away from Toto.
"Well, that's a bit late now, isn't it?" said Toto bluntly.
"Indeed," said Lara, her expression unreadable.
Feeling incredibly awkward you shuffled around to the other side of Toto's desk, unsure of what Lara was going to say next.
"Look, I know that you are well aware that Y/N are close but there have been recent developments..." Toto said, pausing as if choosing his words carefully, "We have grown very fond of each other and we've started seeing each other outside of work."
Lara raised her eyebrows, "Oh, I see." She turned to you, shooting you a particularly dirty look before muttering under her breath, "Now everything makes sense."
"What makes sense Lara?" you said, immediately ready to unleash your temper. Lara was always full of snide remarks to you and your team but was always sneaky enough to refrain in front of her boss.
Looking annoyed, Toto stood up, using his imposing height to his full advantage,, "Sorry, I did not catch that."
Lara turned back towards her boss, seemingly oblivious to his bubbling anger, "I don't want to misstep here Toto but everyone says Y/N only got the job because she's young and pretty."
"Who is this everyone?" said Toto, a vein starting to pop in his forehead.
"Everyone in the paddock," said Lara, folding her arms smugly before turning back to you "They've seen the way she flirts with everybody, wearing the tightest uniform she could find."
Toto took a step forward, "Get out."
"Excuse me?" said Lara, taken aback.
"You heard me, get out." said Toto, "Never insinuate that about Y/N. We hired her because she was a good fit for the team. I have never been so insulted in my life."
"Toto, that's not what I was saying," Lara said, now desperately trying to backtrack.
"I know what you were trying to say," Toto said, his tone level but his eyes narrowed with anger.
"Look, whatever this is, I didn't see anything," said Lara holding her hands up.
"Okay." said Toto flatly, "Please apologise to Y/N."
"Why?" said Lara indignantly.
"Lara, you are on thin ice. I am this close to going down to HR and telling them what happened. I don't seem to remember you being so judgmental when I caught you sucking Ed's dick on the beach in Zandvoort, but maybe you've forgotten that?"
You were stunned, Toto had never told you this story. It explained Lara's strange attitude, knowing that your boss had witnessed you going down on one of the mechanics would definitely throw the dynamic out.
"Toto, that's low." said Lara, "It was a one-time thing. I thought we agreed to never bring it up, especially not in front of company."
"I am not going to have you chastise me for doing something when you did something ten times worse. And I'm not going to stand by and let you insult someone who I care very deeply about" Toto came to your side, resting his arm behind you.
Sensing she was defeated Lara conceded, "Fine, you do whatever you want, I won't judge. I think you could do better though Toto, she's not all that."
You could now feel Toto shaking with rage behind you, "What did you just say?"
Lara shrugged, "I just think you could do better. Why would you want this short thing that looks like she's been around the block and then some?"
At that it was your turn to fly off the handle, "I'm sorry Lara but what the fuck is your problem? Do you have a thing for Toto?"
"Of course not." Lara hissed as there was suddenly a knock at the door. "Fuck, that's Lewis and George, that's why I came up here. They wanted to talk to you."
Toto dropped his arm from behind you and took a step back, "Lara, we will pick up this discussion later."
"Fine," she huffed.
"We will talk. Well, why are you just standing there, let them in," commanded Toto.
"I'm going to leave you in peace," you said, trying to edge out past Lara as she opened the door.
"Hey guys, everything okay?" said Lewis.
"Yes thank you, I was just leaving, I'll be next door if you need me, with Lara," you said firmly.
"Fine," said Lara, still sulking.
"Hi guys," said George cheerily, his smile dropping when he clocked the stony faces in the room.
"Hello." said Toto, very seriously, "What can I do for you?"
As you closed the door you took one last look at Toto, who looked positively livid, with not a trace of the warmth that normally danced across his face. He had a scary temper and you were always glad to not be on the receiving end. You silently wished Lewis and George luck knowing that he was not going to be receptive to whatever they had to say.
Making your way out into the office outside of yours and Toto's, you turned to Lara, "Lara, look I'm sorry about that. I really am, it was unprofessional of me but he is stressed and I was just trying to help."
Lara huffed, "I have to deal with him when he's stressed but I tend to not shove my tongue down his throat."
"For fuck's sake, it was a quick peck Lara, calm down," you said exasperated.
"Oh that's interesting, who else do you do this with?" she said sassily.
"What is your problem? Honestly, do you have a thing for Toto?"
"Of course I don't. Better you than me on that one."
"So why are you so upset?"
"Because you don't know the amount of shit he has given me for the Ed incident." she said, suddenly lowering her voice, "He has held that above me for three years, one fuck up and I just know he'll go to HR."
"Toto's not like that." you said, shaking your head, "There must be more to it."
"Ed's married, Y/N," she said. "Toto said he'd tell his wife if he ever went near me or any other woman in the team again."
Your eyes widened, "Oh."
"Oh indeed," said Lara, "As I said, it was a one-time thing, you know how drunk everyone gets in Zandvoort. We went to the beach in the evening and one thing led to another and you know... and then who the fuck takes a beach walk at night alone. Toto scared the hell out of us, coming looming out of the dark. I get why he was angry but he got personal when he shouldn't have stuck his nose in."
"I see," you said, still trying to figure Lara out. Now it made sense why she was not particularly friendly with the rest of the team, "Look, we all make mistakes. I'm sure he was just trying to protect you."
"But it's so chauvinistic, I don't need protecting. And now I find out he's a filthy hypocrite. The lecture he gave Ed and me about not starting relationships with co-workers and I find out he's doing it."
"I understand why you're upset. Let's let him cool off and we'll talk again later? For now, I'd really appreciate you keeping things quiet."
"Who am I going to tell?" said Lara, shrugging her shoulders.
– – –
SUNDAY AM
You woke up early on Sunday morning, thoroughly exhausted having stayed at the track until four thirty, waiting for the car to be repaired and everyone to be happy. You hadn't needed to stay but thought it best to diffuse the Lara situation as soon as possible. When you'd finally gone back to speak with Toto he was much more relaxed and had even apologised to Lara for his previous behaviour. More shockingly, Lara had returned to your office at eleven o'clock at night with a hot chocolate as a peace offering and apologised profusely. You still couldn't figure her out but it seemed that she was willing to keep quiet for now.
It was a bizarre situation, you barely knew what Toto's intentions were but had found yourself defending your fledgling relationship twice in the first week. You hoped it wasn't an omen for things to come as you were starting to fall hard for the man.
As you made your way through the paddock you felt uneasy seeing how well-rested the other teams looked. No one else had had car issues like Lewis and you couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy towards your fresh-faced Ferrari counterpart who probably enjoyed a good eight hours of sleep. When you finally made it to your office you poked your head around Toto's door to find his office empty.
Morning, are you down in the garage? X
You'd barely put your phone down when it buzzed with Toto's reply.
Morning beautiful, yes, they asked me down for some final tweaks. Let me know when you need me for Sky. x
You smiled, he was a very diligent Team Principal and it wasn't a rare occurrence for him to be down in the thick of the action. His first media appearance wasn't until noon so you had plenty of time to push on with your work for the day.
SUNDAY PM
The afternoon's race had been a stark contrast to the previous day's disaster. Lewis had put in a heartstopping drive and had fought his way all the way to P2, with George not too far behind at P3. You watched from the edge of your seat in the garage as the laps ticked over, Lewis edging closer and closer to the race leader, Max Verstappen.
Against all odds, your team were in for a double podium finish and the mood in the garage was electrifying. It was lap forty out of fifty-two and things were on the up, however, little did you all know that they were about to get even better.
Verstappen had pushed his tyres to the absolute limit having gone on a different strategy to Lewis and George, relying on an undercut that never came to fruition. Lewis and George were gaining on him and fast. The battle that ensued was one that would surely go down in the history books as Lewis spectacularly overtook his arch-rival on the second to last lap. The applause from the home crowd was thunderous and you couldn't believe your eyes as George perfectly executed the same move on the last lap. From P14 and P8 to P1 and P2 at their home Grand Prix. You couldn't have dreamed of a better result and everyone in the garage was beaming. As the chequered flag was waved, Toto leapt up and scooped you up in his arms, lifting you in the air and spinning around, unable to contain his joy, much to the amusement of all those around you. As he put you back down on the floor, you saw a few bemused faces behind Toto and Lara smirking away as she clapped for her team. Maybe she wasn't so bad after all.