~ like father, like son ~
December 2
I have to hold in a squeal of excitement. Charles fucking Leclerc just...hired me? I don't even know right know, the adrenaline and disbelief having made my mind unable to function.
"Oh yeah sorry, I'm Charles" Charles introduces himself, even though I very much don't need an introduction.
He puts out his hand for me to shake, Julius still sleeping on his shoulder. "I'm Carolina" I respond, giving his hand a quick shake.
"Carolina..." He mutters, repeating me. Dimples form at the corners of his mouth, as he smiles. "I like it, it matches you" He adds, making my cheeks warm up.
Matches me? I bite my inner cheek trying to hold back a grin, but I eventually give up, a wide grin spreading across my face.
He looks at his watch, a watch that's probably more expensive than my whole family's net worth. His eyes widen, realisation suddenly hitting him.
"Shit.." He mumbles under his breath. "I need to be in the car in 10 minutes" He utters, panic written all over his face.
I widen my eyes, my gaze dropping to Julius who's in a very deep sleep.
"I'm really so sorry to ask this, but can you maybe take him now? I'll pay you as much as you want" Charles says, the words running out of his mouth so quickly I barely understand what he's saying.
Panic rushes through me, what if Julius actually isn't comfortable around me. Charles seemed rather surprised that I'd even been close to him.
"Uhm, yes of course" I reply, causing Charles to send me a grateful smile.
Charles carefully lifts up Julius, handing him over to me slowly so he doesn't wake up. I take Julius into my arms, placing him on my hip, letting his head rest on my shoulder.
"Thank you so so so much" Charles says, giving Julius a kiss on the cheek, before he hurries off. I watch Charles run down the paddock, leaving me alone with his son, who I've spent the total of about 10 minutes with.
I look down at Julius, a weird warmth spreading in my heart, his mouth slightly open as he softly snores on my shoulder.
He's practically a clone of his father, their features the exact same. From their messy brown hair to their matching Ferrari shirts, Julius is a mini version of Charles.
--❄--
"I'm sorry, but you're name needs to be on the list" A doorman outside the Ferrari building tells me, after I've tried explaining to him for the fifth time, that I'm literally standing with Charles Leclerc's son.
I push a hand through my hair, glancing down at Julius who's beginning to wake up. Fuck. I really need to get in now.
"Don't worry, she's with me" A woman's voice suddenly erupts behind me. "And what's you're name?" The doorman asks, clearly annoyed at the woman, who moves to stand next to me.
"Isa" She answers, her gaze dropping down to the sleeping boy in my arms. Her eyes widen as she realises... "Hernaez" She quickly adds, giving the doorman a tight smile.
"Welcome, have a nice day" The doorman replies, forcing a clearly fake smile onto his lips as he opens the doors for us.
I follow Isa inside, not really sure where to go. "I thought Charles had a nanny to take care of Julius" Isa says with a slight laugh, continuing further into the Ferrari building.
"He does.." I mumble, my words trailing off. Can I call myself his nanny? "I'm his nanny, for the moment" I add, lifting Julius further up my waist, my arm is already aching...
"Really?" Isa responds, turning her head towards me in surprise. "I actually thought you were a new girlfriend" Isa remarks, a sweet smile wiped over her lips.
I can't help but take it as a compliment. F1 drivers have a reputation of having extremely beautiful girlfriends.
"Oh and I'm Carlos's girlfriend!" She introduces herself, the same smile plastered on her face. Carlos is Charles' teammate, also my father's favorite driver... well at least he used to be.
I return her a smile, sitting down next to her in a bright red couch. On the tv screen in front of us, qualifying is playing, where they've just made it to Q2.
"Looks like it's going to be a good day for Charles" Isa remarks, her full attention on the cars driving on the screen. I smile as I see Leclerc having the best time yet.
"Papa?" Julius whispers into my shoulder, rubbing his eyes in exhaustion. "He's racing right now, so he asked me to take care of you" I tell him, trying to seem as calm as possible. If I act like this is a normal situation, maybe he'll believe it as well.
"Who are you?" He asks me, squinting his eyes from the bright light. Shit. This could very quickly, turn into a horrible situation.
"Carolina, you met me earlier today, when you got lost remember?" I reply, lifting him to sit in my lap. He looks at me for a second, confusion in his eyes as they trail over my face.
But then as if something clicks in his brain, a smile creeps up his lips and his eyes light up. "I remember!" He exclaims and my stomach drops in relief. First success of the day, hopefully not the last and only one...
His head turns to look over at the tv, Charles driving back into the pit lane being shown on the screen.
"Can we go watch papa race?" Julius asks, not taking his eyes off the screen as he watches his dad. Oh no. Does Charles have rules about that? That would be weird to have rules about, right...?
Suddenly I'm scared of doing anything. It would be incredibly embarrassing to get hired and fired on the same day.
My head turns towards Isa in question. "I honestly don't know, but I don't think there would be any harm in watching a bit of racing" Isa says with shrug, looking at Julius with a smile.
"If you promise to behave, I know a good spot" I say to Julius, holding out a my pinkie finger at him. The cutest grin imaginable spreads across his face, and he puts up his hand as well.
"I pinkie promise!" He responds, acting serious as he interlocks our fingers. Before I've even blinked, Julius has already jumped out of my lap, and begun running out of the building. Sending Isa a quick smile, I hurry after Julius.
--❄--
"Woahhh!!" Julius excitedly gasps the second he sees the view. I'm desperately gasping for air, as we finally get to the spot, having spent the last 5 minutes running up a very steep hill.
I've taken him up to my secret spot where I've come basically my whole life.
We sit down on the ground, a smile slowly creeping up Julius' lips. Sitting in tailor position, Julius grows quiet as he watches the view over the entire track.
"Q3 is starting now" I tell him, copying the way he's sitting, even though it's incredibly uncomfortable since I'm 21 not 5 years old.
Julius nods, staying silent while Charles's bright red Ferrari leaves the pit lane. His eyes carefully trail along Charles's car, through the whole lap.
Silence erupts between us, Julius getting completely lost in the racing. The way he follows the car, how concentrated he is, amazes me.
It's clear he's grown up with this, and loves it just as much as his father.
I can't help but get completely observed in Charles's lap around the track as well. Even from up here you can tell it's an amazing lap.
Charles drives over the finish line, a roar from fans echoing a couple of seconds later. Guess it was a good lap.
I look over at Julius, a smile growing on my lips. He looks down at the track almost in disbelief, his eyes lighting up with joy.
"I want to be like Papa when I grow up" Julius mutters, his eyes filled with an dreamy emotion.
I smile.
Like father like son.
--❄--
Just so you know, this story takes place in the 2022 season!
Don't worry, this story will be A LOT more in the Christmas mood, just wait a bit<3