"Seb! I just saw her walking through the paddock." Daniel jogs towards his team mate who is talking to Antti.
"You saw who exactly?" Seb asks him.
"That girl, you know the one who is staying in the room next to mine."
"Oh you mean Stephanie?" Seb grins, pretty pleased with himself by the fact the he knows her name and Daniel doesn't.
"Steph... wait is that her name? How do you know her name?"
"She was in my garage this morning. I saw her just before the first practice session and I talked to her. Her name is Stephanie and she is invited by Christian. I don't know how they know each other or anything. But at least now you know her name." Seb quickly explains as they walk back to their garages for the second practice session.
"You're such a lucky mother fucker. I wish she was in my garage. What else did you talk about?" Daniel is keen to know as much as possible.
"We barely spoke, but she is here with her dad who has the looks of a giant grizzly bear, but seems friendly enough. Maybe they'll be in your garage this time. You never know."
Seb kind of hopes she'll be at his again, but he also knows Daniel is very curious about her, so for him he hopes she will be there.
"If she is, don't forget what you are here for, right? We need to collect the data and see what the race pace is here."
"Yeah yeah I know. Don't worry about it. I'll focus." Daniel walks a bit faster to get to his garage. He really hopes when he gets there he will see her again, Stephanie.
He really wants to know more about her, like how old she is, why she was meeting Christian, if she is single.
That last things is what he wants to know most of all. Although she might not even be interested in him, but still if she is single he would definitely try to maybe get her number or ask her out.
Britta told them to leave her alone, but she's not his boss and she's definitely not in charge of his private life.
When he gets into the garage he feels a bit disappointed, she's not here. At least not yet, she might still show up.
First he'll just go and change into his racing suit and who knows he'll be lucky just like Seb was.
~~~~~~~
"So how did it go?" Peter asks curious when Stevie finds him after her meeting with Christian.
He has been shopping for merch for the little ones and he found some Red Bull clothes and a cap for Cole. He even found baby clothes for Zara, so his mission has been successful.
Now for his next mission, helping his daughter make the right decision.
He really wants her to accept the job, if the terms are right for her that is.
He doesn't want it for himself, even though the idea of her working for Red Bull would be awesome and he might be able to go to more races.
But that is definitely not the main reason why he feels she should take the job.
He feels like she needs a change of scenery, a bit of adventure, traveling and meeting new, interesting people.
These last years she worked her ass off at the restaurant so dickhead Mitch could live off her paycheck. She became a mom and barely took maternity leave after they were born because Mitch wasn't exactly bringing in any money.
She was so worried she might lose her job if she stayed home with her babies too long, that she went back to work way too fast.
She sacrificed so much of herself for that asshole, she used to be so bubbly and spontaneous.
Now she sometimes acts like a person 15 years older than she is.
If she could just get away from everything, all the bad memories and start fresh, that would be amazing.
But it will all depend on what Christian will offer her, not in money, but for her kids. She's never going to leave Cole and Zara behind, so the only way of her accepting the job is, if Christian could make it so she could take them with her.
"Well I didn't say no yet. He gave me a lot to think about." He can tell her mind is working overtime and he can barely contain his curiosity.
"Do you want to tell me about it?" He asks her.
"Yeah I do, but I also want to watch the second practice session." She orders a cola and a chocolate chip cookie, hopefully the sugar will help her think. And if not, it's still delicious.
"Shall we go watch it from Daniel's garage this time? I mean now we know we can just go there, we should definitely make the most of it."
Stevie nibbles on her cookie and thinks about it. She would actually love to go to Daniel's garage this time. Maybe she will see him up close as well. She might not be interested in men anymore, but she can still appreciate a good looking one.
"You can tell me about your talk with Horner on our way there." Peter grabs the plastic bags which contain the gifts for his grandkids and they head outside.
"Well he invited me to Monza next week." She starts and Peter looks up surprised.
"He did? You are going right?" She would be crazy not to. Monza is the temple of speed and it's in Italy which means amazing food.
"That's one of the things I need to think about. I told him straight away that I have two young kids, but he already knew from Calum who heard from his dad. So when I tried to explain that it would make it impossible for me to be away from them so much he told me that he has a nanny available."
"Well that sounds pretty good. Then you can just take them with you. They are still young enough that they don't need to go to school so that is not an issue." Peter would miss her and the kids tremendously, but he still feels this is the right step for her to take at this point of her life.
"True, but I don't know this girl. Apparently she has been working for his family and he says she is really good with kids, she has a teaching degree and she is Slovenian. Also I wouldn't be working the entire days of the race weekends. He wants me to come up with the menus beforehand, then the kitchen staff will do the preparations and I will come in later to make sure everything is cooked and plated as it should be."
While she is explaining what Christian told her they walk into the garage where they see the Red Bull with number 3 on it. Daniel's car.
Even though they look exactly the same, this car does more for her than Sebs.
They find a spot in the back of the garage again between the other guests and grab a pair of headphones.
"So actually you would still be able to be with Cole and Zara a lot. It sounds like you'd be with them more than you were in the weekends you worked at the restaurant." Her dad reasons and she has to agree.
It's always the question if that would really be the case, but she won't know for sure unless she tries it.
"But I don't know how I'd feel with some 22 year old taking care of my babies."
"My sweet daughter, you are 25. Not that much older than her." Her dad says just when Daniel walks in the garage. He also has his racing suit tied around his waist and is looking way too sexy.
Daniel hears her father say she is only 25 and his heart sinks a bit. He is 33, which means he is eight years older than her. He's not sure how he feels about that, but he does know how the rest of the world would feel about it.
They would say he's too old for her and that he should find somebody his own age. In the years he's been in Formula 1 he has developed quite a thick skin, but he always hated it when people talked crap about his loved ones.
Maybe this is a sign that he should forget about getting to know her.
The problem is, he doesn't think he can.
"Hello Stephanie. It's nice to see you again." He can't stop himself, he just has to talk to her.
"Daniel, hi. I don't remember introducing myself to you." She says.
"You haven't, but my team mate told me. He said you were in his garage this morning."
Fuck why is she so beautiful, with her eyes she has put a spell on him which causes him not to think about their age difference.
"I see, nice to meet you."
She sounds friendly, but it's like she is miles away with her mind.
"Dan! Get your ass in the car!" His trainer Michael calls out to him and shows him he has his helmet and balaclava already ready for Daniel to put on.
"I should get going. Maybe I'll see you again later?" He asks when he's about to walk away.
"Maybe. Good luck out there."
"Thanks. See ya."
He walks away, feeling some butterflies in his stomach and he realizes he is screwed. Even if he sees her again, the rest of the weekend will be crazy busy so he won't have time to have a proper conversation with her. And after the race they have to pack up and he will be home in Monaco for a day or two before going to Monza.
The odds of her being in Monza are not really in his favor so he really shouldn't go falling for this woman that will probably think he's too old for her anyways.
"Who was that?" His trainer and best friend asks him.
"All I know is that her name is Stephanie and she is invited by Christian. I have no idea where they know each other from." He answers while pulling his balaclava over his head.
Then he tucks some curls back under it before climbing in the car.
"She sure is pretty. But you already knew that, I've never seen you talk to anybody back there except your family."
Daniel gets secured in his car before Michael hands him his helmet.
"Yeah and she's 25, so I don't stand a chance."
He pulls his helmet over his head and shifts his focus to the job ahead. Collect data and make sure the tires last as long as possible.
"I see you have caught the attention of Daniel Ricciardo as well my dear daughter." Peter says after seeing the look in the drivers eyes when he saw Stephanie.
"Dad please not this again. I have other things on my mind right now. Like if I should travel with two young kids to Italy next week to see if I can pull it off to work here and raise my children at the same time."
"Sweetheart that shouldn't be a difficult decision. Just try it. There's no strings attached, why not give it a go and see how it plays out. If you don't feel it's for you, then say no. But I honestly believe you should try it. Not for me or your mom, but for yourself. Go on that adventure with Cole and Zara, live a little while you are still so young."
Stevie sighs, her dad has such good points, but it scares the crap out of her to think about actually doing this.
"Stevie, you got a second chance in life. Make the most of it. You now know how things can change in a split second. Go! Make those memories, enjoy your life. You deserve to do something for yourself."
They see Daniel drive out of the garage and now the work begins. Everybody in the team has his or her task and they work like a well oiled machine.
She could be a part of it. Ok maybe not in the garage, but she can still be a part of this team, make sure they have amazing food to eat once the hard work is done.
"You know what dad, you are right. I'll go next week to meet this nanny. If Cole and Zara like her then why the fuck shouldn't I give it a go?"
She makes up her mind, her fathers words hit her in the right place and she realizes if she doesn't at least try, she will regret it for the rest of her life.
It's always better to regret something you did do than something you didn't do.
Now she knows how fragile life can be, she doesn't want to take the safest direction work wise.
"That's my girl, I'm so proud of you! Are you going to tell Christian after practice?"
She thinks about it for a second but then shakes her head.
"No I told him I'd come back to him tomorrow and that's what I'll do."
She remembers the little piece of paper he gave her and that she wasn't supposed to open it until she gets back at the hotel.
She doesn't care about the money, if she sells the house she'll have enough to live from for quite some time.
She feels kind of relieved that she made her decision, but there's also this fear and worry about it. Was it the right choice?
What does she have to loose really? Next week is just to try it, she hasn't signed anything, it's just a try out.
Practice is over and Daniel is happy with how the car feels. They have been dominant all season so he didn't really expect anything to change during summer break for the other teams.
"Looked good mate. Tomorrow it's just some finishing touches, but you and Seb are topping the time sheets again, so we're not too worried." His engineer GP slaps his shoulder.
"Yeah she felt good as always. Debrief in an hour?"
GP nods and Daniel heads to his drivers room to change. He will have to do some media work first and then a couple of hours of analyzing the data. He has been Sebs team mate for a while now so he knows it might be a while until he can get some quiet time.
"You don't have much interviews, just the one with Skysports. So it's not too bad today." Charlotte, his media officer follows him and hands him a bottle of water. Michael puts his helmet and balaclava back on the shelve and Daniel puts his ear pieces next to it.
He quickly glances over to where Stephanie was before practice and he just sees her black braid dance over her back as she walks out of the garage.
Damn now the chance of them running into each other today is very slim. By the time he gets back to the hotel it will be past dinner time.
He's going to need an early night today so he's well rested for third practice and quali tomorrow.
It's probably for the best anyways. Maybe Seb was right, she is definitely a 20 and he is not even close to that. He doesn't think he's bad looking at all, but next to her he would look like an ogre. And then there's the fact that he's never going to see her again after this weekend and he now knows how hard it is to maintain a relationship with somebody outside of racing.
No, best is to just try to get her out of his head and focus and racing. Britta did have a point, him and Seb haven't been very respectful towards women lately and they didn't deserve that.
What's most important is to win the championship for the team and hopefully for himself as well, but it's going to be a tough battle between him and Seb, they are so close in points that it can go either way.
He changes into his team gear and finds Charlotte so they can get that interview over and done with.
Stephanie and her father wander around in the paddock for a while, her dad managing to get pictures with Charles and Carlos. Both Ferrari drivers asked if she wanted a picture as well when she took the pictures for her dad.
So on her phone she now has pictures of herself with Charles, Carlos, Lando, George and even Lewis didn't say no when they asked for a picture.
They all signed her dads caps, he bought some from pretty much every team on the grid.
So by the time they are walking back to the hotel her father is over the moon and excited like a little kid.
They first go to his room and call Trudy.
Of course she wants to know about the meeting with Christian and Stevie gets to talk to Cole for a bit, but he was more interested in playing with aunt Carol.
Zara was still awake so at least she got to see her baby girl, she smiled when she heard her moms voice which was the best part of the day for Stevie.
She has never missed them more in her life, but she is having an amazing time as well. She can recharge a bit, even though at the end of the day she is pretty knackered. After all her surgery was only a little under three weeks ago and even though her wounds have healed, she is still recovering a bit.
"So what did you decide then? I mean this is an amazing opportunity and why not give it a go?" Her mom is pretty much saying the same things as her dad did.
"I know mom. I'm going next weekend. Let's see how that goes first and then I can make the final decision. I mean next week is Italy. We know Russia won't take place, but then it's Singapore and Japan and after that it's Austin and then South America. I have to see how Cole and Zara cope with all that traveling. But I mean they are still young, they might cope a lot better than me."
"They will be fine, I'm so proud of you, we will miss you and the kids, but you have to do what makes you happy and just think of all those amazing places you're going to visit."
Stevie isn't so sure she will see much of the places F1 will be at, but maybe she can do a bit of sight seeing, getting some inspiration for new dishes. She will be able to get so many different ingredients to work with, that is something she really does look forward to.
On the screen she sees Zara is getting a bit fussy and she wishes she could just hold her baby, but it's only 2 more days and then they are going back home. Sunday night she will have her little girl in her arms again and she is going to give Cole so many kisses he will be done with it.
"We have a hungry girl here, you two go have some dinner and I'm going to get Zara sorted as well. Enjoy the rest of the weekend and Stevie, it's going to be amazing. You'll see."
Her mom ends the call to go and feed Zara.
"Shall we get a bite to eat downstairs in the hotel restaurant?" Her dad asks her.
"I'd love that. I'm glad you're here with me dad." She is a bit of a daddy's girl. Her father is just such a calm and caring person. Except when he has tickets for Formula 1, then he suddenly turns in to a little kid.
But he has always been such a stable factor in her life, just like her mom, but it's just that father daughter bond that they have which is incredibly strong.
"I'm happy to be here with you. You're still my little girl and I'm thrilled we get to do things like this together."
With their arms linked they walk into the restaurant. They haven't been here yet because the breakfast area is somewhere else.
Not long after they sat down they see Fernando Alonso walk in, he is by himself, but not much later they also see Lewis and he joins Fernando for dinner.
More and more drivers arrive, but not Sebastian and Daniel.
Maybe they are having dinner at the circuit or somewhere in the small town, Stevie thinks as she checks the menu.
"I'm having steak today, what about you?" Her dad asks as he puts the menu down.
"I'm gonna go for the mushroom risotto. Dad can you believe this? We are having dinner in the same place as all these drivers. How insane is this?" Stevie whispers as she looks around to the guys she has seen on tv, but now almost all of them are here.
"Better get used to it. You'll see a lot more of them once you accept that job." Her dad grins and she realizes that he is right. She will be around them a lot if she decides to work for Red Bull. She can't get starstruck every time she sees one of them. That would be embarrassing.
"Too bad Sebastian and Daniel aren't here as well, they both seem to be interested in you." Peter wiggles his eyebrows.
"Dad please don't. You know how I feel about this. I got my heart ripped out of my chest 3 weeks ago and then he stomped on it and threw it against a wall. I'm not going to give my heart to any guy ever again. How am I supposed to trust men?"
"We are not all like Mitch you know. Look at me, would I ever do anything to hurt your mother?" He reaches over the table to take Stevie's hands in his.
"Please promise me you won't let what Mitch did to you stop you from finding love again. You're too young to stay alone."
"I'm not alone. I have Cole and Zara."
"Yes and they need a father figure. And not me, I'm their grandfather. They need to see their mom being loved by a good man." He rubs her hands with his thumbs.
"I can't make that promise yet dad. I'm still too angry and hurt by what Mitch did. I get where you're coming from, but I just can't."
Peter feels his anger rise again. His daughter deserves to find somebody who worships the ground she walks on. If that dickhead Mitch destroyed her ability to trust and love a good man again, he is going to pay Mitch a little visit.
That punch in his face will seem like a little tickle compared to what Peter will do to him if he ever sees him again.
They don't talk about it during the rest of dinner and once Stevie gets back to her room she decides to take a quick shower and will just relax in bed for a while.
She is casually scrolling through Instagram when she suddenly feels as if her blood freezes in her veins.
On her screen she sees a video starting to play of a familiar looking blonde girl who is doing some sort of challenge with an even more familiar looking man.
"Hi guys it's me Tiffany! I'm going to try this challenge with my boyfriend Mitch! Isn't he handsome?"
She then starts to kiss Mitch in front of the camera, making quite a show of it.
Stevie feels the bile come up so she quickly closes Instagram and throws her phone on the bed.
Her room suddenly feels too small and hot, so she jumps out of bed and puts on a pair of trainers.
She grabs her keycard and shoves in the pocket of her pyjama shorts. In those shorts and a spaghetti top over her sports bra, she yanks the door open and makes her way down with the elevator.
Silent tears run down her face as she rushes through the lobby and out the door.
Outside she takes a few deep breaths of fresh air and lowers herself against the wall.
It's still nice and warm outside and she looks to the beach where there are only a few people still walking along the shore line.
Maybe she should go for a walk, clear her head a bit.
Just as she gets up to head towards the beach when she hears a warm voice calling her name.
"Stephanie? Are you ok?"
She looks up and there he is again, that handsome, brown eyed Australian she has been dreaming about.
"Daniel! Ehm yeah I'm fine. I just needed some fresh air."
She turns away and quickly wipes the tears from her face.
"Are you crying?" He asks and she sighs. She really doesn't want to talk about her fucked up love life with the guy who can have three girls on each finger.
"No its ok. I was just going to take a walk on the beach."
She wants to walk away but he gently wraps his hand around her wrist.
When their skins touch the air seems to fill with electricity again, she feels the sparks and almost pulls her arm out of his hand.
"Can I join you? I've been stuck in debrief with Seb for hours and I would love to stretch my legs for a bit. We don't have to talk if you don't want to."
She wants to say no, how can she clear her head if this man who looks like an Australian/Italian god is walking by her side.
But before she can decline his offer she hears herself say, "sure."
His smile lights up his face and side by side they make their way to the beach. Both quiet and lost in their own thoughts, but both very aware of the person walking next to them.