Deals with Daisy // LN4

10 ~ The Stranger

Lando's POV

"I think part of the reason I don't remember the argument is I believe half of it was in Italian," I say after we've been walking in silence for seven minutes. I know because I've been counting the seconds. I continue looking straight ahead, not breaking my step as I wait for her to talk again. When she doesn't, I give in quickly. "Well..."

"Well... I spoke Italian?" she says as though confused as to what it is that I'm trying to get at. I swear she's pretending though because she looks uncomfortable. Uncomfortable enough to suggest that she's purposefully playing dumb.

"Well yes... it certainly wasn't me..." I mutter sassily and hear her chuckle lightly as she looks back towards me, seeing my head angled towards her already. "Do you remember it?"

"The gist of it..." she says quietly looking back down at the pavement in front of us as her heels disrupt the sounds of cars on the street near us.

"So?"

"It was childish. You were moving... leaving me and I hated you for it. I told you never to talk to me again and... you listened. I didn't think you'd actually listen to me. I think it was a world first actually," she tells quietly with a slight frown, her voice was smooth and unwavering. Unemotional even as she tried to dismiss the memories that came with retelling the short form version of the argument. I knew a lot more had been said by both of us than that simplification, her explanation was so abridged that it almost read as incorrect but it would do for now. "Okay question for a question... how do you feel about Piastri at the team?"

"Right now I feel sorry for him... but he'll figure it out. It's different from what he's used to but he'll get there and quick. He was good in all the lower formulas and the same way that Horner kisses my ass, he kisses Oscar's as well so that's how you know he's good," I say shrugging and this time it seems it's her turn to smirk.

"Or maybe he thinks you're both crap next to Verstappen?" She suggests and this time I really laugh at the snippy comment before we fall back into conversation about Red Bull and McLaren. In the process of doing so, I end up giving her quite a lot of background on the paddock that I assumed she didn't currently have and given how attentively she seemed to be listening to me, I think I was right. After almost an hour we've done as I suggested and gotten ourselves totally lost in the foreign but rather beautiful city. The realisation of this leaves me pulling out my phone make a call and fortunately a car turns up five minutes later to the market we're standing next to.

"One more question each? And then I'll let you answer your phone?" I suggest as we get back out of the car which is now stopped outside her hotel. Both of us can hear her phone buzzing in her bag and I can see the way her fingers are twitching to answer it. She nods and rejects a call before typing an explanation and turning her attention back to me. There are still a lot of questions that I want to ask but I know I'd be pushing it if I went for something personal. I'm still trying to figure out how far I can get her to open up, probably going too far sometimes but I felt like I had the upper hand, she wanted to sign with me and I don't really know why but I'm used to travelling with people who are my friends. I want her to be the same even though she's said several times that's not an option. On this occasion I go the safe route. "Okay... what's your first move if I gave you the deal?"

"I'd read all existing contracts you have and then come back to you with an updated list of ideas for endorsements," she says quickly and simply, the sunglasses pushed to the top of her head revealing her eyes which are signalling that she's glad this isn't yet another question that is intruding into her personal life. "I include all contracts McLaren has. There's no point me making promises to you if I don't know what I can promise?"

"You'd read them?" I ask confused and she quickly shakes her head.

"Our lawyers would read the McLaren ones and I would read their reports. However your personal ones, yeah I would read them. I think it's important to," she corrects me and I nod because that makes more sense to me. "We also have a built in PR team that would help if you wanted that also."