Life in the Fast Lane

Chapter Five

The atmosphere was intoxicating. Jake and Liv finally had made their way to the racetrack, and to say Liv wasn't overwhelmed with a complex array of emotions would be a lie. After her encounter with Lando in the hotel lobby, she knew there was no way sleep would be happening. Instead, she tried to busy herself with the assignments and studying she knew she had to return to, but it was hard for her mind not to drift off to their encounter.

Jake didn't at all seemed phased that she had met Lando; it was almost as if he was a little disappointed. She had to assume it was because he was used to doing this sort of thing; his dad was a very important man, he met important people all the time, that was nothing new. Liv was far too excited to dwell on it, so she let it go as they got ready for the big day.

Today was practice day. They would watch as teams would test out the track, and fine tune any issues they might have with their cars. They were going to watch a bit of the 60-minute practice sessions, but mostly they were going to end up talking to some people, according to Jake, who refused to elaborate any further on the subject.

Today was going to be the least exciting of day of the weekend, but that didn't seem to bother Liv in the slightest. Going off only a few hours of sleep, she was pure adrenaline, actively trying to take in as much as she could. She only took a few photos and shot a few quick messages off to her parents and to Jane. She feared if she looked at her phone for too long, she would miss something.

"So, I didn't mention this before, but..." Jake trailed off, biting his lip nervously. He stopped walking in his tracks and turned to face Liv, who looked mildly concerned.

"I thought there weren't going to be anymore surprises?" Liv asked, mildly concerned and annoyed. Why did he keep on insisting on surprising her? Not that she minded; the surprises were beyond anything she could have imagined. Jake looked at her, a guilty look on his face. He continued to bite his lip, as he often did when he was nervous.

"It's not so much of a surprise than it is... meetingmydad" he rattled off quickly. He said it so fast, Liv almost didn't catch what he said.

"I'm sorry, what?" Liv managed to squeak out in surprise. "I- You- I mean, meeting your dad?". She didn't know how to process that information. Sure, they were dating, but they also hadn't been dating for an extremely long time. Wasn't it too soon to be meeting parents?

"I actually didn't know until he told me he was coming, he wasn't supposed to be here" he confessed, which made Liv feel a little better. At least he didn't hide the fact that he had intended on introducing her to his dad.

"Okay, well, when are we meeting him?" Liv asked, as they turned the corner.

"Right now." Jake replied, and before she even had time to react, she was face to face with the man she didn't think she would run into again; Lando Norris.

"Oh, hey! It's you!" Lando had on a smile. He didn't practice today, which Liv was bummed about upon realizing. She was surprised to see him again. She obviously knew he would be there, but with all the chaos, she didn't think she would see him up close.

"And hey, it's you!" Liv shot back with a laugh, this time feeling a lot calmer and a lot more confident. Lando offered a smile, as he and Jake exchanged glances.

"Jake. Nice to meet you, man" Jake introduced himself, sticking out his hand to shake Lando's. Lando returned the handshake, before the attention was turned behind him. "Hey, dad." Liv felt her world stop for a moment. Did Jake's dad work for McLaren? Did he work with them? How did they know each other? Why didn't Jake say anything? Beyond those questions, she internally panicked about meeting Jake's dad.

"This must be the famous Olivia I've heard so much about" Jake's dad said, causing her to blush.

"Dad!" Jake hissed, causing Liv to laugh.

"It's nice to know you talk about me" she said with a laugh, planting a kiss on his cheek.

"I see you've met Lando" his dad stated the obvious, and both Liv and Jake nodded. "In case you were wondering, the company I work for has stocks in McLaren." His dad answered the question before Liv even had the chance to ask. "I don't get down to see any of the races very often, but when I do it's always enjoyable; tomorrow should be great" Jake's dad said with a grin.

"Hopefully we don't disappoint!" Lando laughed awkwardly, and you could tell that he was trying to make light of the situation. He appeared very nervous for this race, more so than Liv had seen in previous media days before previous races.

"I'm sure you won't, kiddo" Jake's dad told him, before looking past him, seeing somebody he obviously was in a hurry to talk to. "I've got to get going- see you at the race tomorrow, Jake, Liv- good luck Lando!" he rattled off before almost jogging off in the opposite direction.

"Sorry to run off like he did, but I better get going" Lando looked at both Jake and Liv, taking an extra moment to look at Liv, which went unnoticed by the pair. "Nice seeing you!" he pointed to Liv, before he too took off in the other direction. Liv finally let out the breath she didn't realize she was holding, looking at Jake with wide eyes.

"Your father's company owns part of McLaren!?" she almost exploded. It made sense how he was able to get these weekend passes for them, how they stayed in the nicest hotel Liv had ever seen, and how they ended up in the same one as the McLaren drivers.

"I- I honestly didn't know, he never told me" Jake mumbled, a little embarrassed.

"What? How could you not know?" Liv asked, trying to come off as polite as possible. How did one not know that their dad's company owned stocks in McLaren?

"He's never really discussed where he's worked- I just knew he was a businessman- he never would tell me much other than that, honestly. I didn't question it; I didn't think to" he shrugged, feeling kind of silly.

"It doesn't matter, really" Liv tried to reason with him. "What matters, is that we both just got to meet Lando Norris, and we're going to continue to enjoy this great weekend of races" she told him matter-of-factly.