Montero - Toto Wolff

8: Home Life

When you arrived home, you felt lonely. It was the first time in a while you had been truly alone for weeks, having spent most of your time with other Mercedes employees, or with Toto.

It felt sort of... empty.

The sun rose almost instantly, casting through your garden as you hung out the freshly washed laundry. The smell of linen and fresh soap enticing you with nostalgia.

You'd scrubbed three days worth of grime from your body, not entirely sure what was a result of sweat and what was a result of machine oils. Your hair looked heaps better too, now resembling its usual colour and not slick with grease.

A cat twirled between your legs, purring at you being home to feed it.

It wasn't yours, the landlord not prohibiting you to have pets, but instead it was a stray that sometimes blessed you with a bittersweet company, occasionally sleeping in your bed with you.

You called the black cat 'Cleo', though you had no idea if it was a male or female, nor could you afford to take it to the vet if it ever needed.

Its not that you didn't make a liveable wage at Mercedes, just that vet bills around here were absolutely disgusting.

The home phone chimed, the vessel vibrating at the incoming call.

You stumbled across to the phone, picking it up whilst Cleo slithered between your legs as you held it up to your ear, "Hello?" you asked.

The other end of the line was silent for a minute, he said your name slowly, testing it as if to make sure this really was your number.

"I never thought you'd call," You smiled down the line and twirled the cord in your fingers. Telling the truth, you thought he'd not speak to you again, but you could hear he wasn't at home, the sound of children playing in the back being enough for you to understand he was at a park.

There was a week before you'd be boarding a plane to Azerbaijan for the Baku grand prix, and it was a gap that felt awfully long, but it was necessary.

Truth is, triple headers took it out of you sometimes, with you wanting to just lay down and accept defeat rather than board another plane.

"Why wouldn't I call you?" He asked, and you could picture him now, sat on a bench in a sunny park somewhere. His son running around in the background whilst he kept an eye on him whilst on the phone to his lover... mistress? Whatever you were, it was awkward.

You were aware of the fact you'd been quiet for an abnormal amount of time, "I thought you'd be busy,"

He laughed, "I can always make time for you."

And it made you smile like a kid. Just that one sentence made you rethink everything he'd ever said. It made you feel nice, wanted.

"So, what's the occasion?" You asked, now leant against the bannister and allowing it to take your weight.

"Dinner." He said.

"Dinner?" you repeated.

Just the thought of you and Toto being out and eating a meal together was enough to confuse you. He said this was private, not something other people were to find out about.

He cleared his throat, "Bono is hosting a dinner party tomorrow, employees only so unfortunately I can't take susie."

"So you're taking me?" You chimed, excited.

"Not exactly," he ruined your happy moment. There was something about this whole thing that seemed bizarre, odd even.

You didn't let your disappointment phase you, "Let me guess, just an invitation?"

He chuckled down the phone, "Yeah, wear something fancy."

"Will do, am I meeting you there?" You asked him, playing with the hem of your shirt. The fabric worn from its age, and he laughed down the phone.

You assumed that his son was doing something funny in front of him, "I'll meet you there, it starts at seven so be there earlier considering he is your boss."

There was a knock at your door, "I'll call you back." you excused and hung up.

-

The cup of tea opposite you was still steaming hot, its owner having hardly drunk any of it whilst he used the bathroom.

Cleo had excused herself, skittering away from the strange man that was Liam Collins, and leaving you with your colleague and only friend you had made so far.

Liam was handsome, don't get that wrong, but there was something about him that felt more like a sibling opposed to a romantic interest.

"People are saying you and Toto had a scrap in the lobby," Liam said, making you jump at the sudden announcement of him being in the room with you. "About the wheel nut."

Relief washed over you, "Yeah," you scratched the back of your neck, "He was fucking awful... do not get on the wrong side of that man." you laughed to your friend and found him smiling back across at you.

"Are you going to the gala dinner at Bono's place?" He asked.

You shuffled in your seat, "Unfortunately,"

"Hey, I'll be there," He slumped into the seat opposite, snatching the cup of tea into his hand and taking a long, hard gulp of it, "I think we'll be sat together."

"Probably," You nodded, pulling your drink closer toward you, "I hope we are,"

Liam smiled, "I think some of the drivers will be there too - the ones under a Mercedes contract anyway,"

Thoughts raced through your head of who even was under a Mercedes contract, and who was working under a Mercedes engine.

George Russel, Esteban Ocon, Lewis Hamilton, Valterri Bottas were all under Mercedes contracts, and then you had the drivers with the Mercedes engine; Lando Norris, Daniel Ricciardo probably some others.

"What am I supposed to wear?" you groaned and slouched over the table, allowing your head to fall onto the surface of the table.

Liam clicked his tongue, "That black dress you wore at Christmas maybe?"

"No, I want something new." You smiled at your friend, "Maybe a slip dress."

Liam perked up, "A slip dress? Who are you trying to impress?"

Heat blossomed across your cheeks and spread down your neck, creeping across your chest and settling on your thighs, "I just wanna look nice," You withdrew the fact you wanted to look nice for Toto.

"Well, it's at seven, so I'll see you there." He excused himself from the table and made his way to your front door, opening it and leaving.

You looked at the time of your phone.

4:29pm.

-

AN///

Just a short chapter this time! I'm wanting the next one to be long and including lots of detail.

It should be out by friday!!