Ready or Not?

7.

Rattling noises came from the kitchen.
I look over the sofa to see Lando, standing in an apron in my kitchen.

I rubbed over my eyes, and pinched myself to see if I was dreaming, I was not.
"Morning Sunshine" He carried over a tray with all my favourites, there was orange juice, toast and a yogurt. He remembered.

"Good morning I guess" "Did we sleep on the sofa last night?" I realised I hadn't even managed to make it upstairs after that bottle of red last night, which I could still smell from my breath.

"Yeah you fell asleep on me last night but looked too peaceful to disturb" "It's okay though, you just need to shower and get dressed because I need to drop you by the factory apparently, something Max has organised for you"

I groaned louder than I thought, but Lando could see I was in no fit state to be getting involved with anything too professional today. I drag myself upstairs after breakfast, whilst Lando popped back home to change and freshen up too. I picked out one of Max's many RB shirts to wear alongside my ripped mom jeans, I went for a loose curl look with the hair which was the result of sleeping on it in a crimped position which left it with this loose curl effect, the method doesn't matter if the end result looks good.

During the drive to the factory we didn't speak much, because there really wasn't anything to speak about. Lando and I were history, in the public eye we have never known each other so we're safe, but by ourselves we know more than we could have imagined.

"So do you have any idea what I'm doing here or does Max just leave you ambiguous  instructions that you'll follow blindly"

"Firstly, I don't know what ambiguous even means, secondly, I don't do everything your brother says now do I? He told me not sleep with you, but it's too late for that now isn't it?" He laughs to himself but I am more so amazed by his character, he really finds himself quite amusing.

"I really hope my brother doesn't speak about me in that way to all the guys in the paddock" It grossed me out to even think about that. Shortly after the strange conversation with Lando in the car, I arrived to the front gate at the factory, I scanned myself in and was greeted by the widest smile from Joe possible.

"Hello again Nat! I am so glad you made it, we have got so much planned for today, so you're in for a treat. You'll be joining me today whilst we take care of the team Tiktok account where we'll be interviewing fellow members of the team to get their thoughts and predictions on the upcoming livery we have planned, does that sound okay?" He only now glanced up to see my jaw dropped at the speed of which he just spoke with.

"Yes of course Joe, you name the job and I'll be on it" We both smiled whilst heading to the smaller conference room to set up the interview space. An hour later and it was ready, mics were checked, backdrop was perfect and sound tests were complete. I was really getting the hang of this media stuff quite quickly, although this is not what I expected to be thrown into on my first day.

Once all the interviews were complete, Joe and I looked over at each other with a sense of relief. We had pushed ourselves quite to the limit, so it was a relief to know we were finally done. I check the time to realise the day is not even close to being over, but this wasn't a bad thing at all as it meant it would be less time spent alone at home, so I needed to make the most of it.

"So now we're done with the boring stuff are you ready for the second part of our day?" I look over to see Joe holding out a set of mystery keys, with no idea what they open I followed him down the stairs and towards one of the garages near the track. This is one thing I find cool about this factory, they have an onsite track for the drivers, so they don't have to travel far to get some lap practise in. On track I see two cars, one red and one blue, both looked souped-up ready for action but there was no way I was sitting behind the wheel of one of them.

"Okay so you'll be in the red car with me filming, whilst the other two guys from media Aaron and Jack will race us in the blue. We need lots of good content from this as our page has been lacking recently. Are you ready?"

The answer to that last question will always be no. I love the F1, partly because I am not in the car with the drivers, but also because me and speed just don't get along. But filming shouldn't be too bad, and since Joe is driving I assume he'll be quite nice to me and take it easy.

And those were some wise last words of mine.

Joe and I led on the track with us drifting and cruising along, where Aaron and Jack were left scrambling to find pace and catch up. We were deep into the chicane and I made sure to hold on tight for the corners because Joe wanted to make sure we were testing these cars to the limit. My hands couldn't find anywhere to sit comfortably apart from when Joe would swing out the car so the roof was the best place to hold onto. I could see Joe grinning even under his visor, he was definitely enjoying this.

We finished with filming and headed back to the office. I showed Joe the videos and content that we made and he seemed impressed.
"Natty this is amazing, we'll get a lot of views from this once we finish with the edits" "I think you're a natural" He quickly brings me into a hug but I wasn't prepared for that at all, I eventually wrap my arms around him but I have to be the one to break it up first.
"Joe please tell me the day is officially done for me? I need my bed" I yawned as he looks over to maybe sway him into letting me go home now.
"Haha you're right the day is done, be back on Monday to finish the edits. We've got a race this weekend so will I be seeing you in the garage or no?" I had actually forgotten all about that since being so busy in my own little world.
"Yes of course! I never miss one" "I'll probably book a flight for tomorrow and miss the press conference since RB won't need me if Rachel is there for Max"
"Why don't you join us for our team flight tomorrow morning? We have great snacks" I didn't think I'd be part of the team dynamic like that so quickly.
"That would be great actually. I'll pack my things tonight!"
"Okay sounds like a plan. C'mon let me drop you home, I can just tell you'll be bringing many cases so you need to start packing sooner rather than later" l laughed along with him because he wasn't wrong I always take a minimum of two suitcases even for just a weekend. Since we're heading over to Barcelona, I will definitely need more. Every time we visit that city I end up on a detour and purchase everything I see with the football club logo on it, I'm a huge fan so there's always bound to be something exciting going on when we're there.