Hit the Brakes - Daniel Ricciardo x OC

Part 4

After a long day in the Paddock getting everything sorted for Free Practice tomorrow, we all head back to the hotel to get ready for the team dinner. I go for a black mini dress, and some heels. My hair is scraped back into a slick bun due to the heat ruining any chance of it staying straight, and some red lipstick. I look nice and want to make a good first impression for the rest of the team when I meet them. 

Heading down to the lobby, I meet up with Jamie who looks gorgeous - she's in a little dark blue jumpsuit with wicker wedges on. She's all glammed up. 
"You look stunning!" She says as I walk out of the elevator. 
I do a little twirl for her and she starts laughing. Her contagious laugh takes up the entire lobby, and everyone turns and stares at her. She doesn't seem to care, though. 
Even though we only managed to talk for a bit today, it seems like we've known eachother for years. We sat down together and spoke about our strategies with our drivers and how to make the brand look good, including creating ideas to pass onto the social media team for new videos to make with Max and Checo. 

We enter the venue for the dinner and it is beautiful - there are chairs and tables scattered all over a large balcony which has a perfect view of the circuit. The RedBull logo is plastered everywhere, including a large neon sign of it on one of the walls on the entrance. Jamie and I walk in, linking arms. I spot Max talking with a mechanic, and Checo trying to join in on the conversation. He waves us over. 
"Hi guys!" He says. 
"Hi Checo, I'm Poppy. Max's communications partner." I say to him, with my hand out and shaking it. He takes it with a smile. 
"Hey Poppy, lovely to meet you. Welcome to the team." He replies. 
"Thank you! It's been lovely so far." I say. 
"Good. If anyone is causing you any issues, let me know." He winks at me, and we all laugh. 
Max stops his conversation and turns to me. 
"You need to get to know the team more, you only know like 5 people." He says. 
"There's like 60 of us at any one time!" I say, with my hands up. 
"No time like the present." He grabs my arm and drags me to the first table of RedBull staff. 

It's been 2 hours of pure socialisation, introducing and getting to know practically everyone in the team's names, job titles and how long they've been involved in F1 for. I've also had one too many drinks while doing this, as so many people have offered to buy me one. They've hit me, so I'm extremely drunk. Max has had to basically carry me around the place. We finally sat down and ate, something I needed to sober up. 
The food comes out, which is roasted chicken and potatoes. There's steamed broccoli on the side, which is my favourite. We're just about to start to eat and then Christian stands up and taps his knife onto his glass, grabbing everyone's attention. 

"I know everyone is probably starving by now, it's been an extremely long day of travel and we're all probably ready for bed. But I just would like to make a few words. I'm very proud of you all, we're going to start a new season and hopefully we can win a championship, whether it's a driver one or constructors. I'd like to thank Max and Checo, too, for driving great last year and I can only hope they'll drive as strong this year, too. Your hard work is making this team succeed." 
He sits back down and everyone claps. 

I devour my food, and can only do one thing, which is sleep. I get up and start to leave. Max grabs my arm. 
"You okay? Do you need me to walk you back to the hotel?" 
"No, I'm all good. Thank you, though."
"Okay, call me if you need anything." He says. 
"Thank you." I start to walk back. 

I make my way through the restaurant, and walk past the entrance of the paddock. I'm scrolling through my phone, looking on the map to find the way to the hotel, and then I smash into someone. A familiar Aussie voice apologises. 
I look up and it's Daniel. 
"I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there." He says. 
"Oh no, it was my fault. I wasn't looking where I was going." I reply. 
"You're Max's PR person, aren't you?" He asks. 
"Yeah, Poppy. Poppy Easton. Nice to meet you." I put my hand out and he shakes it too. 
"Are you all good? You're kinda shaky." He says.
"Yeah, I'm fine, we've just had a team dinner. There's a lot of alcohol involved in those."
"I remember those when I was in RedBull - always a good time." He says, but there's a hint of sadness behind his voice. 
"Do you ever regret leaving RedBull?" I ask. 
He looks pained by the question. 
"Oh no, I shouldn't have asked. Ignore me." I say. 
He shakes his head. "No, it's a good question. One that I never really answer in public. But, sometimes. I wish if I could have won a championship with them. Those were some of the best days in the sport." He says. 

I don't really remember much after that, just him shouting for someone to help.