Love in thirds

10.1 Charles & Sofia

It's been three weeks since the last race weekend, and they were three agonizing long weeks. You won't be seeing Charles for another week and a half, until he comes home for a few days. You want to join him for the last races of the season, Saudi Arabia, and Abu Dhabi, but your bosses are being pains in the ass. They weren't being that hard on you at the beginning of your relationship, but the more times you join Charles, the worse they start treating you. You sigh, staring at the clock, realising that you once again stayed longer than you're being paid for. You promised Charles that you'd call with him once you were home, but this will be the third night that you need to cancel that because you can't leave with the number of overbookings you still need to finish up with your colleagues.

"Mon amour! Why are you calling me so late? I missed you, are you home now?" a sleepy Charles asks through the phone. "I'm sorry babe, I just wanted to hear your voice quickly and to tell you that I can't chat long tonight as well" your voice turns into a whisper at the end of your sentence, and you hear Charles let out a disappointed sigh. "Oh, is it so busy again? Do they pay you for this? I heard some stories that they don't do that since finding jobs is so hard, so they just treat people like shit." You don't know why you decide to lie to him about this, you don't feel like arguing about it tonight, so you tell him that they do pay you and that you'll be going home as soon as you can.

"Okay mon ange, but please, just take care of yourself. They are not allowed to treat you like this. You've been so unhappy the last few weeks. I see a difference in you every time you talk about work or go back home to work. I'm worried about you" you close your eyes, breathing slowly while you listen to Charles' soft and concerned voice through the phone. "I know, I know. I'm thinking about some things, but I want to tell you when I have the time for that conversation, okay?" he hums, yawning before you say goodbye to each other. Lisa smiles at you sadly when she sees you walking back to your computer, you shrug at her, continuing your job while thinking of plan B's if you decide to quit.

You're going to be watching Charles' race after finishing the facetime session with Marie and Nell. You're talking about your job struggles, confessing to them that they don't pay you extra for the over hours you make. "Alright, going to be very harsh on you now" says Nell from her apartment in Monaco, "tell him the truth because he will be so upset when he finds out that you lied to him from someone else. Don't take the risk and tell him when you call him. Also, quit." You chuckle, shaking your head. "I can't just quit without a backup plan!" Marie hums, thinking for a moment before answering, "you have enough spare money to pay rent for the thirst three months, right? Tell Charles about the things you struggle with, join him for the last races for the year after you quit and figure out what to do over the winter break? He will help you with your decision, you know what he's like."

You sigh, burying your face in your hands while shaking your head. "I know he will, but it's just hard. I don't know what I want to do if I quit now." You hear a hum before Nell softly speaks up, "you don't need to have everything planned out already Sof. If you're unhappy, if your job doesn't give you any energy or satisfaction and they treat you like shit, quit. You're worth so much more. It will fall into place when the time is right, join Charles for his last races and talk to him. He will be happy that you let him in. I know you're independent and used to doing things on your own but be a team together." You look at your friends faces on the screen, tearing up when you see the concern and kindness on their faces. "You're right, thanks girls. I will talk to him, I will."

You're waiting for Charles to pick up your facetime request on Monday morning, fiddling with your fingers while going over the things you want to say in your head. You look up when the screen changes to a confused and just awoken Charles. "Mon amour? Shouldn't you be at work?" he moves around in bed, putting his phone on the nightstand so he can lay his head on the pillow while looking at you. You smile, he looks so adorable in the morning. "Yeah, I called in sick. There is something I need to talk to you about, but I'm nervous because I think you'll be upset with me." He frowns, "I can't think of anything that will make me upset. Let me wash my face and grab something to drink to wake up fully" you nod, watching him disappear from the screen, only to return a few minutes later to pick up the phone and move it to the little table in the lounge area.

He rummages around the kitchen until you hear the coffee machine. He sits back in front of the screen a few minutes later, shirtless and with wild morning hair, but a more awake face. "Okay baby, you can tell me now" he says, sipping from his coffee. "Okay, so first of all I want to apologise because I lied to you about something," he nods slowly, confusion written on his face, "they are not paying me for the extra hours I make. You were right about that, and I lied because I was stressed and didn't want you to be mad at me." He hums, looking at you a little disappointed before answering that he understands why you did it. "I don't like you lying, but I get why you did it in that situation. Thank you for being honest now though."

"So, the other thing that I want to talk to you about is quite big I think," you start, looking at Charles nervously who smiles at you, encouraging you to continue. "I'm thinking about quitting." He looks at you with wide eyes before nodding, telling you that he thinks that you should do that if you're feeling unhappy. "My plan is to quit and join you for the last two races of the season, and that when you're on winter break, I'm going to figure out what I want to do next." He hums, wrapping his hands around the coffee mug. "That seems like a good plan to me mon ange, I would love it if you joined me for my last races. I'm missing you in my garage." You smile at the screen, relaxing for the first time in a few weeks when you look at Charles.

"I want to ask if you would like to help me with all this, I've been shutting you out of this part of my life, but I want to try and accept the help you want to give me" you tell him softly, swallowing the lump in your throat when Charles' face lights up when you finish your sentence. "Of course, mon amour! I will help you with whatever you want, you know that. We're a team, you know" he smiles brightly, and you can't help but mirror his expression. "Okay, enough about me now. Tell me about the previous weekend" you tell him, and he chuckles before telling you about everything that happened.

Today is the day. You're on your way to work, you decided that you will finish as much up as you can today, before going to your bosses and telling them that you won't return tomorrow, or ever for that matter. You only told Lisa, who was upset but understanding, telling you that she was thinking about quitting too. You smile at her, taking your spot by the reception while looking at the amount of paper that is laying on your desk. You sigh, what a lovely idea that this will be the last time that you have to work through all the overbookings and failed reservations.

You take a deep breath after reading Charles' text, wishing you good luck before telling you that he's proud of you. Lisa throws you thumbs up, and you smile at her before walking towards the office of your bosses. You knock on the door, before making your way inside. "Sofia! What brings you here?" you look at the people in the room, taking a deep breath before answering the question. "I'm here to tell you that I won't be coming back here. I quit, as of today."