THREE - Daniel Ricciardo

Chapter 71 - Troublemaker

DANIEL

Not being able to finish a race is never a nice feeling. As a matter of fact, it was the worst feeling.

The only resounding comfort I could gain from this experience was seeing Amy; patiently waiting for me in the garage as she clutched the small bump which hid underneath her oversized shirt.

Her small smile played on her face as I approached her, taking off my helmet and balaclava so I could make eye contact with her, shooting her a brief smile to let her know that I was okay.

I was doing so fucking well; I had been P3 for a large majority of the race. All I wanted to do was prove myself to her, to show her that I wasn't some washed up driver who couldn't get any better than last place.

No matter what, I was extremely proud of Lando for coming P7, battling it out with the others to gain some points for the team. I knew his capabilities and I knew that he could do better himself.

He'd been at McLaren for a while now, maybe it was the car that was underperforming him as well. Surely, he could manage more podiums than what he was currently churning out.

After media, Amy had notified me that she was heading back to the hotel for a nap before we needed to embark on the short flight back to London, where we would stay at Michael's apartment for the next week whilst Lando and I had some responsibilities at McLaren headquarters before we disembarked for Singapore.

Amy had started to become more and more fatigued as the pregnancy went on, making me feel incredibly bad for letting her travel consistently with me. If only there was a way we could ensure she was relaxed at all times. I didn't want the air miles to get to her physically, endangering her and my daughter.

As I went into my drivers room, heading to pack up my stuff before returning to Amy, Lando called my name from down the hallway as he jogged over towards me, pulling me in for a brotherly hug before resting his legs, taking a seat on the sofa to watch as I shoved my belongings into a rucksack.

"I spent the night with Hannah." Lando informed me as he broke the silence which had formed in the room. I chuckled and nodded whilst I located each item before looking back over in the direction of my teammate.

"I gathered. You left in a hurry." I choked out whilst zipping up my bag.

"She still seemed pretty hung up on you though, mate." Lando said as he tussled his hand through his hair. "She even called me Daniel a few times."

"What?" I shook my head in disbelief as my eyes widened at his words. Lando nodded and wiped his hand over his face.

"Yeah, she called out your name whilst we were having sex." Lando breathed before shuffling in his seat and repositioning his legs. "So, I stopped and told her to leave."

"Mate, I'm so sorry." I exhaled, still shaking my head. "It's going to be awkward when we see her again."

"That's the problem." Lando spoke as he wagged his finger into the air. "She's going to be at MTC. She told me she was conducting interviews for us."

Cussing under my breath, I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth.

"Can we get out of it? Or tell someone that we don't want to be interviewed by her?" I explored some options as Lando shook his head from side to side.

"Are you willing to tell Zac that we both fucked her and that's why we don't want to see her?" Lando chuckled as he stood back up to his feet.

"Why not? I've got nothing to lose." I chuntered and hung my backpack over my shoulders.