Brute

32. Kalki

The day at Tokyo had been better than anything Kalki could have hoped for. She got to the location early, with Pierre on her side who she had learnt was a fashion enthusiast. When she found out about it, it seemed most fitting to invite him to join her.

Pierre had been nothing but fun, they'd spent the whole drive to Tokyo planning the day ahead- what they'd eat after the show, what touristy spot would they like to see and most importantly, did they have time for Karaoke?

They surprised Anika at the show, who squealed with joy until she got tired. The three of them had lunch together at a restaurant that had been on Pierre's bucket list for a while and it was time for Anika to leave. Kalki had always wanted to see Ginza district, so that's where the two of them headed next. It was everything Kalki imagined and much more, it was even busier, even more crowded and all the more overwhelming than she had thought. There were shops on either side of the roads, selling everything one could think of.

After what felt like endless hours of shopping, neither of them had energy for karaoke. They called it a day and decided to go back to Suzuka. Kalki thanked Pierre for the great day she had, he was starting to become a really good friend that she could see literally all the time.

Max had been surprisingly quiet as of late, Kalki found the lack of queries or arguments from his side strange. Was he really doing everything as she had scheduled for him? That was unusual. She looked at her watch, she had just enough time to freshen up before accompanying Max to the sponsor dinner.

She had already discussed with Raymond what negotiations they'd put on the table and how she'd drive a bargain, it's just Max that needed to be briefed. It wasn't much and she was sure he'd understand and agree to the terms Raymond and she wanted to place forward.

You: The car will be out front in 30 mins. Hope you're ready for the sponsor dinner

Max Emilian: I don't feel like going.

You: sorry this is non negotiable, I cleared out last weekend for you to enjoy your birthday

Max Emilian: you're not in Tokyo anymore? You're back to do your job?

You: are you trying to be passive aggressive? Mister Verstappen I really don't want to pick a fight with you right now. We have business to discuss.

Max Emilian: sure. I'll be there in 30 minutes.

Kalki read her text over and over to make sure she hadn't been too aggressive. She looked at it and decided it was professional. Just a few more hours and then you can sleep, she told herself over and over.

She walked to the portico and found Max already waiting by the car, he looked at her funny and then realised why. They were dressed almost identical, black slacks, a blazer and white shirt. Kalki knew she looked better because she had accessorised it right, Max didn't have any accessories other than a watch. She won.

"Why are you dressed like me?" He scoffed sliding into the seat next to her.

"I didn't think you'd dress up." She said.

"What do you mean? Anyone can put on a suit it's not that difficult."

"I've never seen you wear anything that's not team wear, a white shirt or active wear." She took a jab at him.

"Are you criticising my style?" He raised his eyebrows.

"Mister Verstappen, wearing a polo shirt with a pair of Bermuda shorts isn't exactly a style statement." She grinned.

He huffed and looked away, out of the window. Intentionally not wanting to have this conversation any longer. Kalki smiled at herself, another win. She hoped she could carry out this same streak at the discussion with the sponsors.

"Raymond never briefed me, what are you like during sponsor discussions? Do you like starting them or do you prefer to sit back and listen?" She asked him.

"Hmm?" He looked at her half dazed.

"Were you dozing off?" She chuckled.

"No." Max said defensively. "I prefer to stay out of it. You can talk business." He said.

"So you would be okay if I haggled and wrangled every last Penny out of that man while we sat there for a supposedly civil dinner?"

"Go for it." Max laughed.

She hadn't heard this cheer in his voice in a while, glimpses of the old but annoying Max Emilian were coming through. Maybe he'd be happy once he saw all the zeroes she wanted to add the payments he were to receive from his sponsors.

They arrived at the restaurant and took their seats opposite to the business man waiting for him, he too had brought a companion; his daughter. The man, Mister Sebastian and his daughter Iona, both invited them with warm smiles.

Kalki expected there to be a lot of friction or awkwardness, but Mr. Sebastian was great and switching topics from business to leisure, almost seamlessly. If she didn't know what she was here for, she would have easily gotten lost in the flow and never gotten to the points she wanted to make.

"I'm sure you've seen the presentation I sent to you. Mister Verstappen is an invaluable part of your brand's identity."

"I agree the effect of one decal on his helmet has resulted a tenfold leap in people searching us up." He nodded his head.

"And if I'm not wrong, it's notched up your sales conversion rate to 6%." Kalki stated.

"That is absolutely right." Iona chimed in.

"Six percent. That puts you amongst the top dogs in your industry. Don't you think Mr.Verstappen deserves to reap the benefits of it?"

"You don't beat around the bush do you?" Mr. Sebastian teased her.

"I think it saves everyone time."

"Spoken like a shrewd businesswoman. However, this is short term, something we haven't even gotten to monitor for  two quarters."

"There's still so much promotional content to be filmed, don't you think that he will be able to bring much more value to your brand?"

"I agree, but we are not in the position to offer hikes in payments of any sort."

Kalki let out a sigh, she wasn't going to accept defeat. She glanced sideways to catch a glimpse of Max, who seemed to have just sat there with a dull smile on his face. The whole conversation was going above his head, and there was no doubt about it.

The back and forth went on for even longer, with the sponsor coming a little over halfway to meet Kalki. That was more than enough, they sealed the deal with some ice cream and wished each other a good evening and parted ways.

Max held the door of the car open for Kalki, an unexpected act of kindness but she thanked him anyway. It's the least he could do for the fact she was about to make him earn an extra million or two by the end of the year.

Kalki was feeling extra happy after this dinner, the day had been really good to her. After what felt like ages, she was beaming from ear to ear, a genuine grin. She couldn't remember the last time she had smiled so sincerely, as a natural response from her body.

"You know, when you smile actually. The corners of your eyes lift and they look like they're shut." Max's voice brought her out of her train of thoughts.

"Hmm?" She looked at him.

"Nothing." He shook his head.

"I wish I had reasons to smile everyday." She said.

"They're all around, you only need to look harder."