Meet you in Monaco [F1 - Pierre Gasly / Charles Leclerc / George Russell]

Chapter 4 - Milan

The following day Isla woke up and made her way into the living room. There was a very posh sectional that faced a TV, and the most unbelievable view of the gardens below. Isla sighed, she was still in shock with how she ended up here. Only three days ago she rang in the new year in London with friends. Now she is in Italy, moving to Monaco and racing in F1.

Isla was still stuck in deep thought when Heather came around the corner. "Morning Isla, How did you sleep?'

"Oh, you scared me!" Isla said quickly "I slept well, I can't believe where I woke up this morning" She said gesturing to the building's private courtyard.

"I completely understand. This building is gorgeous!" Heather agreed.

"So what's the plan, when do we need to head to AlphaTauri to get me orientated with the new team?" Isla asked

"Not until tomorrow, Maybe use today to do some sightseeing." Heather suggested.

"Sounds like a good idea, I'd love to explore." Isla quickly got changed, she threw on a pair of jeans, a white tshirt and her Canada baseball hat over her long curly hair. She never traveled without it. Even Though her family moved to England when she was 8, Isla always felt that her connection to being Canadian was stronger. She had always raced under the Canadian flag whereas her brother used to race under the British flag.

Isla headed out the door to explore. She took off down the street and started to explore Milan. Around the corner from the apartment she discovered the most gorgeous Cathedral, the Duomo di Milano. She was struck by the beauty of the height and detail of the ornate stone church. She pulled out her phone out of her back pocket and took some photos of the church. And then turned to her left and noticed an entrance to what seemed to be a shopping mall.

Isla was intrigued and wandered in. It was just as gorgeous and ornate as the church. The floors were marble and the ceilings were glass. It was absolutely breathtaking. She found a coffee shop and went in and ordered an espresso to drink while she continued to wander the streets.
With her espresso in hand she stepped out of the mall and turned the corner and collided with someone jogging.

"Oh I'm so sorry!!" Isla exclaimed the man she ran into had his back turned to her. She noticed her cup was now empty and the man was trying to wipe away her espresso from his white shirt. His whole outfit was white, from his running shoes, his shorts, shirt and backwards baseball hat.

Isla thought he looked pretty in shape from the view she had. She was excited when he turned around.

Her face dropped as soon as she made eye contact.

"Of course it was you," the man retorted.
Isla rolled her eyes "come on, even you would have to admit that was an accident Pierre" Isla defended herself

"Well now I need to go change so I can finish my run" he said and started walking away.

"Pierre!" she shouted after him, he was already running but slowed down to a walk.

Isla took a couple of jogging steps to catch up with Pierre.

"Look, I said I'm sorry" Isla said again

"I heard you" Pierre snapped back and he kept on walking.

IsIa quickly grabbed his arm to stop him. He turned around and his eyes looked down at Islas' hand. She quickly removed it and looked a bit flustered. "What's wrong?" She said quickly. Looking at him.

"I don't want to talk about it" He said

"We are teammates, we need to at least be civil" Isla said firmly.

"You are right, civil. We will talk tomorrow at headquarters, I don't want to blur any boundaries, we aren't friends, just teammates. No need to pretend that we get along outside of the racing world" He said.

Isla was shocked. Pierre always seemed more friendly in the media. "Fine, since you are wearing my coffee, I need to get another one. Have a good day." she said rather harshly in her opinion but she didn't care. He was being a jerk.
Pierre turned away and headed back to the apartment building.

Isla was still very confused by this behaviour but she turned back ground to get another espresso and continue her adventure in the city. She managed to make her way to the old city walls and walked around taking in more of the sights and sounds of Milan, before heading back to the apartment.

Isla got back to the apartment and heather was already cooking dinner "Oh wow, it smells amazing in here, I didn't realize I was gone for that long" Isla said as she walked through the door.

Heather smiled "Don't worry! You must be hungry" She said as she dished out the pasta onto the plates. And handed Isla a plate. "How was your day exploring Milan?" She asked Isla.

"Interesting," Isla said thinking about her exchange with Pierre. She didn't want to tell Heather about it because she didn't think Heather would believe her and Isla didn't want to start any unnecessary drama before the first day at AlphaTauri.

Heather gave Isla the rundown on what to expect the next day at headquarters. Isla is to meet individually with the engineers, mechanics, pit crew and strategists.  Then have a meeting with the Team Principal and Pierre at the end of the day. Isla's heart sank, that meeting will be a treat she thought. 

Isla was getting ready for bed, put on an old Oxford Brookes University sweatshirt and sweatpants, tied up her hair in a bun and popped on her slippers. Isla always prided herself in her motorsport engineering degree. She thought it added to her knowledge base as a driver. Isla understood all about the cars and was excited to talk to the technical staff tomorrow.

She sat on her bed, with her airpods, listening to her favorite music. She couldn't sleep, so she decided to wander down to the inside courtyard and sit in the garden to try and relax.

She found a quaint little bench next to the central pond, and she sat down, pulled up her knees to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. She hugged her knees and was thinking about her first day.

A light turned on on an apartment above her. She quickly looked up, and noticed it was Pierre, and a blonde female.  They looked like they were arguing. Pierre was pointing behind her. She crossed her arms, and shook her head. He continued to point and it looked like he may be getting loud or yelling.

Isla was feeling awkward seeing this happen she slowly got up and made her way back into the lobby and pressed the button for the elevator. 
The door opened and Isla stepped inside without looking up from the marble floor, but she ran straight into someone who was getting off.
"Sorry!" she said as she looked up. It was Pierre. She rolled her eyes.

Pierre noticed and looked at her in the eyes for the first time. "You really have to watch where you are going," he said seriously. Isla rolled her eyes again. "It's been a long day for me." He said and paused,  he looked at his shoes, "I won't get into it, but I need to get some air" He said as he stepped around Isla and into the lobby.

He walked towards the courtyard door, he was still looking at his shoes. He seemed pretty down. Isla thought "Is everything okay Pierre?" Isla asked genuinely and looked conceringly at Pierre who stopped mid stride with his back still turned to Isla.

Isla was fed up with his rudeness towards her today and yesterday. She pressed the floor 5 button and right as Pierre turned around the elevator doors closed and Isla was up on her way to her apartment. She wondered if he was really going to answer her or if he was going to give yet another snarky remark.