Micah's POV.
Milton Keynes, UK.
August 3rd, 2023.
I tap my foot incessantly against the floorboards. I'm aware it must be annoying to the other three people around me, namely, a representative from our production company called Jamal Thakur, Christian Horner and Lillian Fleur, another chief officer in the Red Bull communication department. But I can't help it, I'm nothing but a ball of nerves and anxiety. I've been this way since I was thirteen years old and my life was flipped upside down. In that moment I felt the ground being removed from under me, and I've been in a perpetual state of unease ever since. Through the years I have had to learn ways to cope with my anxiety in an effective manner. But anytime I found myself in high stress situations I resorted to certain ticks: tapping my feet, scratching my thumbs, or fumbling with whatever was in my hands in that moment.
This situation most definitely classified as high stress. We were sitting in a large meeting room with floor to ceiling glass doors and a gigantic projection screen at one end of the 20-seat table I was in. And I was waiting for the rest of the team to arrive so we could start with the debrief of the initial impact the first episode of Max's docu series had had. Of course, I was aware of the fact that it had gained over two million views in just four days, and I'd been checking social media to see what people were saying in general. But Red Bull's media & communications team had more accurate data and statistics to analyze the real effects of the product upon release. I was nervous, of course I was. The entire course of my career depended on this.
On the other hand, we would also find out the team's plans for how the docu series would continue its production during the summer break. I was already getting used to the idea of having to visit Monaco quite often to film, but none of us were really sure of how the logistics would work. We were going to find out today, and that only added a whole new level of uncertainty and stress to my already unsettled mood. So much so, that when Max arrived (not late, actually, distinctively right on-the-dot-on-time), I was snapped back to reality so violently that my body jolted where I was sitting.
"Great! Max! What have you been up to these days?" Christian exclaimed with his usual kind smile, once Max sat down on the chair across from mine, acknowledging me with a slight movement of his head.
"Not much, to be honest. I've been relaxing at home, I met Lando for lunch yesterday. I've taken naps with the cats every day, to be honest."
He's a cat owner? Well, that's new. For some reason I'd say he has a face that screams dog owner. So this is most definitely one of the small pieces of information that made my mind spark with curiosity. And if I was curious about the dynamics of Max with a bunch of cats, then others would be too. I found myself thinking that maybe, at some point, if he allowed us access to his home, I'd like to meet the cats that so happen to be the protagonists of a story that Max was then telling, so engrossed he was with the narration, that he barely even noticed me sitting there, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive and take the seats I'd been saving for them.
"And so I spent fifty minutes looking for him, only to find him hidden in the laundry closet, sleeping peacefully while I freaked out." he explained, shaking his head while not even trying to hold back the smile that graced his face. He looked calm, at ease. "That's why I was late to the airport. When I got to the plane the pilot looked like he wanted to kill me on the spot for messing with his schedule."
"You say that cause you don't have kids. Wait until you have to gather actually little human beings around before going anywhere." Christian laughed.
He was interrupted by the sound of Nick entering the room, an apologetic look on his face for entering the conference room a few minutes late. He'd been there when I arrived but had excused himself saying he had to take an important call. Now that he was joining us, he took a seat next to me and smiled over at everyone with that usual politeness that was so characteristic of him.
"Sorry about that, the kids are sick at home and my wife wanted to let me know she had called the doctor, just in case I got a notification on my phone from our healthcare provider." he explained.
"See? I told you!" Christian joked, looking directly at Max and making us chuckle in complicity. "I was just giving him a hard time because he treats his cats as if they were his actual children." he told Nick, who nodded and smiled in understanding. "I hope everything's okay at home."
"Yes, they just have a fever and one of them has been vomiting everything he eats, but we'll see what the doctor recommends." Nick said, worry clearly filling his voice as much as he was trying to remain professional. It can't be easy to be away from your family so often.
"If there's anything we can do, let us know." Christian responded with nothing but honesty in his stance.
"Thanks, I appreciate it." Nick replied. "So, enough about me. Are we being joined by anyone else?"
"No, it's just us. I think we're ready to start."
Winnie and Oliver were the camera crew so it wasn't necessary for them to attend this meeting. Nick was the director of the project so he needed to know what was going to happen to he could begin brainstorming ideas with Jamal, who had to be there as our main producer, and for obvious reasons I had to be present as the main interviewer of the docu series. There would be a briefing in London in the early hours of the following day so we could catch Winnie and Ollie up with the decisions that were made in the meeting I was currently sitting in.
"The reception to the first episode has been mixed." Lillian started, hand on her chin as she looked at the analytics on the page all of us had our eyes trained on. "But that was to be expected with Max pulling out of Drive to Survive for the rest of the season. His fans think it's his prerogative to tell the story from his perspective, so there hasn't been a drop in support for him. Which is good. There has been an increase in positive engagement although it's not yet definitive enough to say whether it means that the docu series has accomplished its goal. However, if I had to weigh in, I'd say overall the reception hasn't been negative, and according to our polls, the interest of the public has been peaked and that's why I think the following episodes are the most important." she said.
If I hadn't been feeling the pressure before (which I most definitely had), now I sure as hell did. However, it would be silly of me to try and deny that a surge of pride washed over me. It was as if my brain had finally registered the fact that the first installation of my life-long dream was out there for everyone to see. And that people weren't hating it. The reception hasn't been negative. To some people who are looking at this from an outside perspective that statement might seem underwhelming. But trust me, in an environment as convoluted as sports journalism, and working in a project as particular as the rebuilding of Max Verstappen's public image, people not hating the documentary was actually a very hope instilling scenario.
I look over at Max, I can't help it because I want to know what's going through his mind. As much as I find him insufferable I'm aware of how annoying this whole thing is for him, and I can't say I don't get it, although I do think he's exaggerating a little. He's a millionaire, famous, successful elite athlete well on his way to becoming one of the best to ever step foot inside an F1 car. What ever did he have to complain about in his professional life? He truly looked like his mind was miles away from Milton Keynes, eyes trained on the window behind my head, a serious expression on his face accompanied by tightly pursed lips. Then he notices me staring, blue eyes burning a hole through mine. We just look at each other for a second that feels too long and all that I can't do is wrack my brain thinking about how desperately I want to just dive into his mind. He's usually so expressionless, emotionless even. And it makes me feel uneasy because my anxiety needs to be in control of everything and I guess part of me knew I would never truly know what Max was thinking. He would always be a complete stranger no matter how much time we are forced to spend together.
"Any ideas for the next episodes?" Nick breaks the silence. Actually, the loudness inside my head made it impossible for me to hear anything else but my thoughts so I was let entirely sure that everyone else had been silent before. Maybe I had missed something important, I would never know. But at least now I was free from Max's suffocating sapphire gaze.
"Yes, of course. That's exactly what we wanted to talk to you about." a pause was made by Lillian as she looked back at Christian, looking for his approval to keep going. "We have decided to make the project a 24/7 kind of thing. Not necessarily a reality show, because the cameras will not be on all the time. We will absolutely respect your privacy." she said specifically towards Max before continuing. "But basically the summer break concept will require Micah and Nick to move into your house. The cameras will be installed in certain spots and Max will of course have a say on when he wants them to be on and off."
Listen, I had been ready for a large scale project, I had even assumed I'd be either moving to Monaco or Nice to be closer to Max's house. I just didn't imagine it would be this close. As in, inside his house. I didn't even have time to reply before a loud, slightly accented voice spoke up from the other side of the table.
"What? No way! I didn't sign up for this? Christian?" he looked at him with eyes popping out of his sockets.
"Max..."
"No! This is bullshit. I'm a racing driver. A damn good one at that! What does all this media shit have to do with it? I... I've done enough, god damn it! I've done enough to prove I deserve it. Why do I have to sacrifice the only thing that matters to me? I don't want strangers living in my house. What the fuck?"
I wanted to be angry. I wanted to tell him he was being irrational, because he was not only putting his career in danger but also my own. But I couldn't, not when he seemed so genuinely distraught about the idea of losing that one last bit of privacy. I didn't have the heart to be selfish enough to push for something that would make someone that upset.
"I don't know... I don't think it's a good idea." I told Christian in the most respectful way I could muster up. "It's his home, it's not fair to make him feel uncomfortable during the break when he's supposed to be resting."
"Thank you!" Max said, raising his arms in exasperation, but Christian wasn't having any of it.
"Weren't you the one complaining about not having a say in what gets put out? This is your ultimate chance to show people who you are, in your own terms."
"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't care before you actually start listening to me?!" he spoke up again. I could feel a headache coming up from all the stress, this isn't how I envisioned this meeting going. Not by a long shot. "I don't care about what the people think! Let them think whatever they want! They're going to do it anyway!"
"Well, you should care! Media perception drives sponsorships. You're not a rookie, you know that damn well." Christian said firmly. "And I think you and I both know you do care."
There was a loud silence. An excruciating and deafening pause between the screaming match that had been so close to breaking out. It had clearly been a low blow for Max, because his icy eyes looked threatening as he looked at Christian as if he was daring him to speak another word. And that's the thing, from what I had seen the past week Max and Christian had a lot of mutual love and respect between them. Christian definitely knew Max on a much more personal level compared to everyone else on the team, so the implications of their current stare down were only known to them and nobody else but them.
"I really don't want to do this, Christian. Please, don't make me do this." Max pleaded, looking already defeated.
"We can stay close to his house, it doesn't have to be exactly like this if he doesn't want it to." I insist in the most calm manner I can muster up, trying to subdue the tension building up in the air.
"You don't have to spend more time together than absolutely necessary. You are free to do your own thing as much as you want as long as you provide us with the necessary content at the end of the week. You staying at his house is more a logistics thing. If you stay elsewhere people will find out you're filming something when they see you coming in and out with cameras and they will harass you wherever you go. However, if you stay there, you could very well pass as a resident of the complex."
I hated to say it made sense, especially when I saw in how much distress Max seemed to be. "What do you want us to do?" I asked him, looking at him.
"I want this to be over soon." he spoke lowly.
"I can promise you that." Christian said compassionately.
"We'll stay out of your hair until you feel ready to share anything you want." Nick spoke with his sweet, fatherly voice, and I watched Max's shoulders slump in something akin to defeat and relief at the same time.
"I promise. You call the shots." I even conceded, a small smile on my face. At this point I was going to say or do pretty much anything that would get me to keep my job and not make anybody miserable in the process.
"I guess. There's a few extra rooms." he said, looking down at his feet, the slight pout in his lips ever present. "Wait" he spoke, turning to address Christian yet again. "What about the camera crew? Will they be staying there two?"
Winnie and Oliver, with all this mess I hadn't even thought about it would mean for their careers. Feeling terrible now that I knew the implications, I couldn't help but wonder. "Yeah, what's going to happen to Winnie and Oliver? They're doing a brilliant job." I contended.
"I can't have a crowd that big with me, it's going to be suffocating." he drew the line yet again.
"They're going to keep their job, obviously. But because they have other commitments they can't be there full time. So we will mainly get in touch with them and fly them out whenever we have specific events or outside ventures that we need more perspectives from." Damn it, Red Bull, always thinking about everything to the very last detail.
Fidgeting with my thumbs, I tried to steady my breathing in order to minimize the impact of my career's implosion once Max truly and definitively stomped all over my chances of completing the most important job of my professional life by saying he didn't want to go through with this.
"Nick will be at the house in order to follow the production's orders while also making sure Max's got full control of when things are being recorded and when they're not. Like I said, you don't have to be together 24/7, but for safety reasons it's better if the house is the production base of the series." said Christian, trying to persuade him.
"This isn't rare, Max." Nick spoke up, his voice soft and understanding. "Most documentaries have crew living in the subject's house just in case something happens that is worthy of being recorded, to get candid reactions to certain things, it's a very common practice in documentary production." he was clearly the voice of experience and someone who was trust worthy enough to catch Max's attention as he processed what was being thrown at him. "I promise, nothing will make it into the series that you don't want there." he recited like a mantra.
There was a pause and for a second I could almost see a flash of emotion take over Max's face as he looked down at his hands that were laced together on top of the glass table. And then he looked up to the ceiling and spoke again.
"Okay, I'll do it. But if it gets too much, I can still back down, right? It's in the contract, I can terminate the production the second I deem it inappropriate." he reminded Christian, and all of us for that matter.
A sigh of relief filled the room, although I didn't necessarily love the idea of my career hanging on by a thread connected to Max Verstappen's fingers. This was still better than nothing. Clearly, he cared more than he let on. Whether it was about his career or about his reputation, I didn't know. But I'm sure I'll figure it out now that we would be sharing a roof.
"Have we reached an agreement, then, yes?" Christian asked with a smile that told us we didn't really have much of a choice, though I'm sure he meant well.
It hit me then and there, that my life was never going to be the same after this. I had only known Max for about a week, our personalities clashed constantly. And now I was going to be moving into his house for a whole month. This could truly be a blessing for my career, and I knew that Nick was right and that this wasn't all that uncommon of a practice, but I was sure Max was going to test my patience daily. So I had to get it together, I had a whole month to figure him out. In a month's time, I had to know Max Verstappen like the palm of my hand to deliver the most painstakingly real sports documentary series the world has ever seen. Only then, my job would be secured and well on its way to becoming a successful career, and he'd get to keep his. I was going to do everything it took. And God knows I never give up.
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Hello, lovely people!
I hope you enjoy this new update! It's starting to get interesting now 👀
Let me know what you think! Are you liking the dynamic between Max and Micah? Do you feel like you're getting to know her a little bit better?
I know she's sort of remaining a bit mysterious so far but I promise it will all pan out in the end haha
Also, kinda dying at the fact that last chapter (which was written about Spa but before it actually happened) Max went on and on about how much he misses Blue, and OF COURSE Spa is the GP Blue shows up irl 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️ No but seriously she's adorable, did you see the way she looked up at him in the podium??? I'M CRYING.
Last question! Would you like me to share bits and pieces of the characters' social media or is that something you're not into? Of course the story will still be 99,9999% narration but a few social media posts here and there could be fun, idk! Let me know what you think!
Hope you have a good rest of the week!
- Em