Overkill [Formula one]

09

After the peacefull breakfast on Monday, Toto hadn't seen Grace again. He had to leave for Monza on wednesday and there was no time for him to pick up Jack at school on monday afternoon and tuesday. Both days Jack had been picked up, and brought to school, by his mum who had been better. It was wednesday afternoon and Toto had been waiting to board his plane when he remembered that she had never replied to his invite.

Toto was sitting next to Lewis Hamilton when he took out his phone. Lewis seemed to be all caught up in his music, large white headphones covered his ears, so Toto deemed it safe to call the woman without any eavesdroppers. Before he dared to dial her number he stared at his phone for a moment. Normally Toto, didn't give a shit about what people would think, but in this moment he wondered how people would react to him calling his son's teacher and inviting her to the race weekend. It wasn't the invitation that worried Toto, it was the thought behind it. His thought behind the invite. Because Toto had invited hundreds of people to a race weekend before, just as a thank you or to be nice. He'd invite people for a weekend, without being able to see them for the whole weekend, but with Grace he wanted to show her around and have her by his side. To impress her and make sure she enjoyed herself.

Without further hesitation he dialed her number and waited for her to pick up. It had been several seconds, almost a minute, before she answered. "Hello?" Toto smiled as he heard her voice. "Grace, it's Toto." Grace chuckled. "I know Toto. After last phonecall I decided to save your number." Toto groaned silently, ofcourse she did. He didn't know why, but with her he felt like a boy in his twenties chasing after some girl that was out of his league.

Normally Toto was calm and collected. He always knew what to say and when to say it. He was a natural leader. But with this woman, he kept emberassing himself. "Toto?" Her voice shook him out of his thoughts and he collected himself. "Yeah, I wanted to ask if you thought about my invitation." Grace hummed on the other line. "About the race weekend?" Toto nodded. "Yes, that invitation." Grace hummed again. "I was about to decline." Toto frowned. "But, your son makes a mean case. He promissed to be a good boy in my class all year if I come with him this weekend." Toto chuckled, ofcourse Jack had interfered after he had heard Toto invite the woman to the race. "So it's a yes?" Toto felt his smile grow. "It's a yes." Toto grinned. "But only because Jack convinced me." Toto chuckled. "Ofcourse, only because of Jack."

A silence fell between the two, until Grace just hummed again. "I'll arrange everything for you." Toto said. "Hotel, flight, paddock pass." "Toto, that's too much. I can at least arrange my own flight and hotel." Toto shook his head. "No, I need to get you on the same flight as Jack." It was true, he did want her on the same flight as Jack, but that was just an excuse so he could arrange it for her. "Toto, just give me the flight details and I can easily arrange myself to be on the same flight." Toto chuckled. "Grace, it's my private plane Jack will be travelling with." Grace gasped. "No, I can't travel on your plane." Toto nodded. "Yes you can and you will. Jack will be devastated if you don't travel with him." He was using his kid as leverage and he felt a little bad, but that feeling quickly went away when she agreed. "Fine." Toto smirked. "Good, now I have to board my plane. See you on friday." Toto listened as the girl said her goodbyes afterwards and then hung up the phone with a grin spread across his faces. He looked up from his phone and noticed Lewis had been watching him.

Lewis raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me you're getting involved with Ocon's sister." Toto frowned at his comment. "Come off it Toto." He scoffed. "You should hear yourself on the phone." Lewis made some gestures with his hands. "Even a deaf man coud hear you were flirting with the girl." This time it was Toto's turn to scoff. "I was not." Lewis chuckled. "Ofcourse, only because of Jack." Lewis mimicked and he didn't stop there. "Grace, you'll be on my private plane. Because Jack wants you there." Lewis rolled his eyes. "Your son is three. He wouldn't even remember if she was on his flight after he got of the plane and met her in the paddock." Toto scratched the back of his head. "You just want to show off to her, maybe even take care of her." Lewis continued.

Toto felt caught in the act, ofcourse he knew he'd been flirting with the girl, but he didn't know that others noticed. "Before this gets out of hand you probably want to talk to Esteban about it. Give him a little heads up." Lewis sternly looked at his principal. "And maybe have a conversation with Fernando, after last weekend." Toto rolled his eyes at the mention of Fernando. "Toto, the girl is almost twenty years younger than you. Just play it safe." Lewis said and than walked toward his teammate who had been oblivious to all that was going on. Toto shrugged and boared his plane behind Lewis and Valteri. Lewis was probably right about some things, and he probably should talk to Esteban about him inviting Grace.

So, talking to Esteban, was the first thing Toto did when he walked in the paddock on thursday morning. He had slept on the conversation he had with Lewis and he guessed Lewis was right. So, Toto walked into the paddock and looked for Esteban. He had spotted the french driver immediately once he walked into the Alpine garage. "Esteban." He said as he approached him.

Esteban was a little surprised to see the Austrian team principal voluntarily walk into a garage that wasn't Mercedes, but he knew Toto was there to talk about his sister. She had called him last night, telling him she'd been invited into the paddock by the man. At first, Esteban had been a little offended that she would take his invite so effortlesly while Esteban had tried to get her back in the paddock for 10 months. However, he was glad he would get to see her again. She had explained that it was a way of thanking her for taking care of Jack, but Esteban knew there was more to it. He could see it in Toto's eyes as the team principal aproached him.

"Toto." Esteban said. "To what do I owe the pleassure." Toto crossed his arms as he stood in front of the young driver. With his sister he had been more gentle and sometimes at loss for words. But with Esteban it was Toto Wolff, Mercedes Team Principal, talking and it showed in his demeanor and in the self-assurance with which Toto talked. "I wanted to tell you I invited your sister to the paddock for the weekend." Esteban nodded and Toto could see that it did not come as a surprise. Grace had already told him. "It's a thank you, for baby-sitting Jack over the last weekend." Esteban nodded again. "Hmmh, that's what she told me." Before Toto could walk away from Esteban, he stopped him. "Toto?" Toto nodded. "Please, just, keep it at that. A way to thank her for helping you. Nothing more, nothing less." Esteban stated and as Toto wondered if anyone had ever seen him frown a big frown came over Estebans face. "If one more person hurts her I'll destroy all of you old men." And with that Esteban turned away and walked over to his trainer.