After a relatively good night's sleep, I wake up the next morning, feeling ready for the day. Though this day might become an emotional one, it's going to be a good one, I can feel it. I get of bed and get dressed, looking professional whilst still making sure that I don't faint in the hot weather. After getting dressed, I take a look in the mirror and smile, satisfied with my outfit for today.
I make my way down to the restaurant to get some breakfast. It's still quiet as most people are probably still in their rooms, either asleep or just not hungry yet. I decide to go for a cup of coffee, some cereal and a glass of orange juice.
After enjoying a delicious breakfast, I go back to my room. I still have a lot of time until FP3, so I decide to work on some questions for the interview. Now that I'm here, I'm going to make the best of it. My boss depends on me and he doesn't care if I have a history with Daniel or not. All he wants is a good interview to publish.
Time flies by when you're having fun. Or when you're working on something for that matter. Before I know it, it's time to go to the track, at least if I don't want to miss FP3, which I don't. I grab my laptop and my recording device and put them in my bag. I make sure I have my room key and my pass for the track before walking out of my room, my phone in my hand as I need to figure out how on earth I'll get to the track.
"Miss Brown?" I hear someone say, making me look up from my phone.
"Yeah?" I say to the young man who said my name.
"Follow me, I'm driving you to the track," the young man tells me, making me smile. Dylan did think about everything.
"Thanks," I say as I start following the man outside. He walks to one of the cars that's parked in front of the hotel and gets in. I get in in the back as well and the man takes off. I have no idea how long the drive will be, but I decide to just look around and enjoy Abu Dhabi while I can.
"We're here," the man tells me after about a 20-minute drive.
"Thank you. Will you be bringing me back to the hotel as well?" I ask, just to be sure.
"No, not me. But there will be a car waiting for you. Just make sure you have you pass and then everything will be fine."
"Okay, thank you!" I say before getting out of the car. I look around before walking towards the entrance. Soon enough, I spot some other journalists and I decide to follow them, which turns out to be a good idea as they lead me to where I have to be.
"Name?" the guard at the gate asks.
"Violet Brown," I tell him as I hold up my pass.
"Go ahead," the guard tells me and I smile at him before continuing my way. I grab my phone to check the email Dylan sent me, as it said where I had to be for the interview. FP3 just started, which means I have some time to watch before I need to go to the room the interview will be held to prepare.
I don't know a lot about racing, not anymore at least, but FP3 was pretty interesting. I have to admit, I missed being at the race track. When Daniel still lived in Australia, I came along to his races all the time, but ever since he left, I haven't been to a single race.
Just before free practice ends, I make my way to the room I'll be interviewing Daniel. Now that the moment is getting closer and closer, I start to get nervous. I set up my laptop and make sure everything is ready when Daniel arrives. After what feels like forever, his PR comes into the room.
"Sorry for the wait, Daniel should be here any moment. He's just getting changed and freshening up a bit after FP3," she tells me with a smile.
"That's okay, I'm not in a rush."
"Great! I'll just send him here as soon as he's done. You'll be fine here?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine."
"Great, good luck with the interview!" Daniel's PR says before disappearing out of the room, leaving me alone again. Knowing that Daniel is on his way makes a wave of nerves wash over me. This is the moment. After more than 10 years, I'll finally see him again.
Daniel's POV
"Alright Daniel, you have an interview upstairs in one of the rooms. Just go up there when you're ready, the reporter is already there," Alice, my PR, tells me.
"Okay, thanks for letting me know. What kind of interview will it be?"
"The reporter is from an Australian magazine. It's not just a sports or racing magazine, so the questions will be about racing but also general things."
"Did you tell the reporter not to ask questions about Jemma?"
"No, I didn't, but it didn't seem like that kind of magazine."
"I'm counting on that Alice!" I call after my PR as she walks away from me. She just shakes her head and doesn't respond to my comment. I quickly get changed and make sure I look decent before I head up to the interview. I knock on the door but don't wait for a response before I walk in.
"Hey, is this where I'm supposed to be?" I ask the reporter, who looks up. Wow, she looks familiar.
"Yeah, it is," she tells me with a smile.
"Great! Nice to meet you, I'm Daniel," I say as I hold out my hand for her to shake. For a second, her smile drops and she looks disappointed, but she quickly recovers and shakes my hand.
"I'm Ella, nice to meet you as well," she tells me before both of us sit down.
"So you're an Aussie huh?"
"Yes, I am. Is it that obvious?"
"No Alice told me."
"Alice?" Ella asks, looking confused. Classic Alice, didn't introduce herself to my interviewer.
"My PR."
"Oh okay. Yeah, she came in her a little while ago."
"Sorry to make you wait by the way."
"That's okay. Like I said, I'm not in a rush."
"Oh really, when are you leaving?"
"Monday morning."
"You're staying for the race?"
"I am."
"That's nice! It's supposed to be a good one, with the championship battle and all," I say, making Ella chuckle. I'm surprised at how easily we talk to each other, which is something I've never had during an interview, not like this anyway.
"Let's hope so. I've never been to a race before, so I'm looking forward to it."
"Well, I hope you have a good time."
"Thank you," Ella tells me with a smile, "let's start with the interview, shall we?"
"Yeah, let's do that."
"How was the interview?" Alice asks we're making our way back to the garage.
"It was nice! Ella, the reporter, was really nice and we got along great. It was one of the nicest interviews I've ever had actually," I say as I think back to the interview that just ended. The questions Ella asked were pretty good and she didn't ask any questions that crossed the line, which is always nice.
"That's good to hear. So if they ask for an interview again, I can say yes?"
"Sure!"
"Great! It's always good to have some good connections. Anyway, until Qualifying you don't have any interviews or something like that, so just enjoy yourself until then. After Qualifying, we have the usual interviews and after that, you're free as well!" Alice tells me as we reach the garage.
"Great!"
"So, see you after Qualifying?"
"See you then!" I say before Alice walks off, leaving me alone for a few moments, until Femke, my engineer, comes to talk about strategies for qualifying. I sit down and think back to the interview. Ella was so nice and we got along great! It felt really familiar with her, which was nice as it made it easier to talk to each other. She looked beautiful as well, which is also something you don't see every day with reporters. As I'm in deep thought, Femke comes into the garage, making me forget about Ella. For now at least.
And that's chapter 2!! Did you like it? What did you think about Daniel not recognizing Violet? What about the way Violet reacted to that, did you understand it? Would you have done something else? Tell me all your thoughts in the comments! Also, don't forget to vote for this chapter!!
Love Evy
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