Double Fault

Chapter 9

One week later:
Florence's POV:

I walked up to the Ferrari paddock more nervous than expected. My feet guided me forward, while my dad was distracted by everything yards behind me. He almost cried when I told him Charles got us all access when we left England, shocked he was surprised by the insider treatment.

I had just arrived to Monza this morning, I opted for a cozy private villa that I rented for the weekend. My dad offered for me to stay at his friends house with him, but I politely declined a few days ago.

Qualifier ended an hour ago, and I received a text from Charles 10 minutes ago to meet him at the garage. When I entered a few faces turned to me with kind smiles, but none belonged to Charles. An older man quickly approached meeting me in the entrance.

"Ciao signorina Bonsee, it's an honor to have you in the Ferrari garage. Charles got called into a review for a moment, but asked me to meet you. My name is Fred, I'm the team principal," he smiled politely reaching out his hand to shake, I gladly accepted.

"Nice to meet you, it's a privilege to be here," I responded. My dad finally made it behind me. "Fred, this is my coach and father, Gregor."

My dad stepped to my side shaking his hand, I could see him battling for words. "Ciao, thank you for having us," he finally managed to say.

"Come come, let me show you around the garage," Fred turned waving us on.

While seeing formula 1 on tv, I've never been to a race or ever imagined being behind the scenes. It all seemed so complicated to tennis, so many moving parts, different jobs of people flying around, and lots of sound. It was wonderful, I could see why Charles talked about it so fondly.
Frank sat on a stool and spun so he could face us.

"If you all need anything this weekend, please let us know. We are excited to have you here at Ferrari Ms. Bonsee," he began.

I stopped him briefly. "Please feel free to call me Florence if you'd like."

He smiled. "Of course. Florence, we are so thrilled you accepted the offer to wave the checkered flag for the race tomorrow. It's a moment of celebration to have such an incredible female athlete represent Italy. Monza is so passionate, the Tifosi fans will love you."

"Thank you," I smiled looking around the garage further before returning my attention back to Fred.

"Let be the first to congratulate you here in the garage, I'm a huge fan of yours and Italian tennis. Your match last week was incredible, and Ferrari is delighted to host the runner up of Wimbledon."

Runner up. My body tensed but I attempted to keep my smile plastered as it was. I felt my dad's arm wrap around my shoulder. He knew I wasn't quite to terms with my loss. "Grazie [thank you], it was an incredible day," I said lying through my teeth.

Frank looked to my dad, "so coach and dad, how do you balance that?"

I didn't listen to their conversation, but all the sudden the garage became overwhelming. Loud drill sounds coming from every direction, people bolting in and out, and equipment everywhere. I placed my hands together, they were beginning to sweat as I laced them behind my back to twist my fingers without Fred noticing. I chewed on my bottom lip tuning back into the conversation in front me. They were getting ready to move onto another topic.

"Mi scuse," I practically shouted, my dad eyebrows went up in surprise by my tone and Fred turned to me curiously. "Sorry to interrupt, did I hear the track was open for walking? Sorry for the yell, my hearing can be terrible."

Fred laughed waving his hand casually. "No problem at all. The track is open for walking , please go enjoy!"

"Thank you again." I could feel my dad's gaze on me, but I stepped away without a word and reminded myself not to run. A couple steps away my dad called out to see if I was good, and I only gave a thumbs up in the air before I heard him and Fred resume conversation.