𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞 | 𝐜. 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐳

29

[ MARANELLO, ITALY ]
JUNE 2021

REINA WAS PACING in her brother's apartment. It was the next day—Reina had a late-night flight back to Maranello yesterday, but despite running on a few hours of sleep, her night was restless. She now had less than 24 hours to decide what to do with her career.

"Reina, you're making me dizzy," complained Adrian. "Listen, just call Laura up and tell her you'll do it."

"But I just started here half a year ago," said Reina. "I feel like I just got settled at work, and now, if I leave, I'll have to start all over."

"Okay, then don't leave," replied Adrian, rolling his eyes.

Reina shot him a dirty look. "Not. helping."

"What did Carlos say?" asked Adrian.

"I... haven't told him."

"What?"

"Well, he fell asleep on the flight back last night, and I'm betting he's still asleep right now."

Adrian replied, "Well, you should definitely talk to him about it."

Reina nodded. "I will."

So that afternoon, she texted Carlos.

-

iMessage
Cariño

Today, 12:33 PM

carloss
can we get lunch
i have something i want to talk about :)

I'm sorry Reina
I can't
I'm getting grilled by Mattia right now
They are not happy with our performance yesterday

i'm sorry :(
talk about it later?

Yes please
Te amo (I love you)

yo también te amo (I love you too)

-

Reina sighed and put down her phone. She felt bad that Carlos was having a hard time at work, and that she would have no help from him with the pressing matter at hand.

As Reina stared into the distance, trying to weigh her options in her head, her phone lit up with a notification. Instead of reading it, however, her eyes focused on her lockscreen—a picture of her and Carlos in the paddock at the Baku race. These last few months of knowing Carlos and dating him were easily the best of her life, and just looking at her lockscreen made Reina smile.

Was she willing to risk her relationship, her everything, for this job? After thinking for another half hour, with a newfound determination, Reina unlocked her phone and dialed Laura's number.

"Hello, Laura?" Reina said.

"Reina, I've been looking forward to hearing back from you," responded Laura.

Reina sighed. "About that... I'm going to have to turn down your offer."

"Oh," responded Laura, disappointed. "I see."

"I really appreciate you guys reaching out to me, but I'm not sure how it would logistically work," Reina lied. The logistics were fine; after all, she had a home and life back in Spain. The truth was that Carlos was why she was staying.

"I see. Well, we thank you for your time, Ms. Amaral," said Laura. "Please... let us know if anything changes."

Reina responded, "I will. Thank you."

Hanging up the phone, Reina sighed, falling back onto her bed. She desperately hoped she made the right choice.

A few hours later, she finally received a text back from Carlos.

-

iMessage
Cariño

Today, 5:21 PM

Reina
I just got out from the meeting
Would you like to get dinner?

of course
pick me up?

Be there in 20

-

Reina got dressed and ready, and soon, Carlos was at her door. He helped her into his car and the two went to a local restaurant that was well-loved by many Ferrari employees.

"So, I take it the meeting was bad?" asked Reina after they ordered their meals.

"Oh, yeah," said Carlos. "The directors were upset with Mattia, who was upset with Charles and me. It was like one big yelling match between everybody."

Reina shook her head. "That sounds awful."

"It's been like that for a while now," Carlos said. Dropping his voice to a whisper, he continued, "There's even talk that Mattia will be replaced."

Reina's eyes widened. "No way."

"It's been a downhill this entire year," he responded. "I can't say that I'm surprised."

Reina took a large sip of her wine.

"Oh, I completely forgot," said Carlos. "What did you want to talk about earlier? Sorry."

"Oh, it was nothing," said Reina, waving her hand.

Carlos raised his eyebrow. "You sure?"

"Yep," she responded, smacking her lips. "It's all dealt with."

"Alright..." he said.

Just then, the food was brought out, and the pair were distracted by the delicious aromas and tastes. The two ate and talked, just enjoying each other's company after a long, busy weekend away.

It was nearly ten o'clock when Carlos brought her back to the apartment. He walked her to the door and was bidding her goodnight when Adrian saw him from inside.

"Hey," waved Adrian.

Carlos waved back. "Good to see you."

Adrian put down the glass of water he was filling and came to the door. He gave Carlos a fist-bump, asking, "How are you, man? Tough break in France, I heard."

Carlos shrugged, "Eh, you win some, you lose some."

"Yeah," agreed Adrian. "At least Reinita here decided to stay to cheer you on."

Reina's eyes widened. 

Carlos gave an awkward laugh. "What do you mean, decided to stay?"

"You know, that Reina's not moving to Spain?" asked a puzzled Adrian.

'Joder,' Reina thought. (Fuck)

-

a/n

uh oh! what's gonna happen? :)))))