On and Off the Track

F O R T Y S I X.

When I woke up the bed was empty. I frowned as I stretched out my arm and felt the cold other half of the bed. Groaning, I sat up in bed, rubbing my eyes as I looked around for Charles. Just as I was about to grab my phone to call him he walks into the bedroom, shirtless and in a pair of black jeans. His muscles ripple across his abdomens, traces of water droplets which remained from his shower dripping down his stomach. He's sexier than he realises, wait I take that back he definitely knows how good looking he is. And me practically drooling over him probably didn't disprove that. He holds up two t-shirts by the hanger,
'White or blue?"
'Did you just come out here to show off your body' his eyes gleam with mischief, telling me exactly what he did.
'I need your impeccable fashion advice, Bronte. White or blue?' I like this more than he knows. It feels comfortable and normal. Sharing space, sharing each other. I liked being woken up and being the girl who chooses what colour he wears for the day.
'White' I say easily, 'I like you in white'
'Blue it is then,' he replies casually. I glare and his eyes rake my body, taunting me even more. He loves to make me mad. He rests the blue top on the desk and takes the white one off the hanger. I continue to rub my eyes, stretching my arms above my head as I begin to wake up.
'What time is it'
'Nearly eight, I have to be at the track in thirty minutes'
'Oh my god you should have woken me up' I looked round for my phone in a panic.
'You were sleeping, I didn't want to wake you. I've got a busy morning anyways, why don't you stay here and catch up with work and meet me at the track in the afternoon. We can then go out for food. I can ask if Pierre and Mila want to join'
'Yeah, okay. If you are sure.'
'Yeah, I'll ask Pierre today' Charles went back into the bathroom to continue getting ready.
'Charles?' I called out quietly
'Yeah' he popped his head round the corner, smiling at me as I sat fiddling with my hand on the bed.
'Does Pierre like me'
'He will' brillant. My best friend's boyfriend and the boy who I'm seeing bestfriend doesnt like me. That's just what you want to hear.
'That's great' Charles laughed and went back into the bathroom while I got out of bed and began opening the curtains.

A while later Charles finally finished getting ready. I became dizzy watching him walk in and out of the bathroom, each time getting a single thing which he had forgotten to get or pack. I went straight back into bed, half sleeping and half watching him. As he left he strolled over planting a firm kiss on my forehead and waving me goodbye, my eyes glued to him until he disappeared behind the door. After getting ready, I finally brought up enough courage to ring Maria. I prepared myself for the telling off I was about to get.
'Bronte I thought you died, where have you been, I've been trying to get hold of you for the last week' she boomed down the phone, so loud I had to hold it away from my ear. It was a slight exaggeration, it was six days not a week.
'I'm so sorry, I took some time for myself after everything got out'
'Don't even get me started on that. Why did you tell me you were seeing him?'
'It slipped my mind okay, it must have blown over by now' I had no idea if it did or not, the last couple of days whenever I went on my phone it was to play games and staying clear of any form of social media.
'It's definitely settled down, but I'm still annoyed at you. This is what i'm employed to deal with'
'How would you have dealt with it, the best thing to do was ignore it'
'I don't care, I want to be in the loop'
'Okay fine, I'm sorry. But if we are keeping each other in the loop, I thought I might just tell you I'm going to the Grand Prix this weekend'
'What?! You can go, don't even think about going'
'Bit too late I'm already here. But it's fine, I've talked to Charles PR manager and she advised me on what to do'
'Well i'm glad you told someone, shame it wasn't your own manager' her tone riddled with sarcasm.
'And I kinda told her you already knew I was going, so if she asks please play along'
'Bronte'
'I know, but please. I've got it all planned out, I'm staying off social media as me attending the paddock with charles will most definitely go crazy. What else do you want me to do?' I asked for her advice as I knew it would calm her down and make her feel in control again. The one thing I had learnt about Maria is that if she thinks she is in control of a situation she is happy.
'You are going together!?'
'Yeah' I said quietly and sheepishly.
'Jesus christ Bronte, you just love to make my life a living hell'
'You love working with me, I keep you on your toes' I tried to joke but there was no laughter on the other end of the phone.
'Okay I guess i'm not changing your mind about this, the only thing I can recommend to stay off social media, no physical contact to weaken the blow of the media, and absolutely under no condition do you talk to Lando'
'Okay fine' I can't lie I was slightly annoyed that I couldn't even hug Charles but she made a good point.
'And bronte'
'Yeah Maria'
'Keep me in the loop next time'
'I will. This was a one time thing I promise'
'Okay good, I have to go now. But you also need to call Emily and talk about the jobs you have just cancelled. Luckily for you they were all understanding but you can't do that again. You are lucky that you have the privilege which means you were able to stop your entire life because you wanted to, most people aren't able to do that'
'You're right, I know that. I am grateful for it. Like I said it was a one time thing and will never happen again'
'Okay, bye Bronte'
'Goodbye' I went straight over to my computer and started answering all my emails, apologising for being uncontactable and going completely MIA. I suddenly came across an email sent by Emily this morning saying to 'answer my phone calls immediately Bronte Adilene Toussaints'. Nobody has used my middle name since I was at least eight years old so I knew it was serious. The phone barely rang before Emily picked it up.
'Oh my god, I could kill you Bronte. If you have bothered to pick up any of my phone calls you would know that you are walking for Valentino for Paris Fashion Week, but no you have been completely uncontactable'
'What?!' I screeched, jumping in the air with excitement.
'Yeah you are, they tried to call you on tuesday, but you didn't pick up. So they called me'
'Oh my god, that's so exciting' I couldn't believe it, I thought the audition went awfully. I felt tears of joy start welling in my eyes.
'Yes it is but you need to answer your phone if you are going to'
'I promise it was a one time thing, do I still have the job or because I took so long to respond they've replaced me'
'Don't worry I've already confirmed for you'
'I can't believe it,'
'It's a big deal bronte and Im proud of you' this only made me cry more.
'Thank you' I barely choked out.
'When are you coming back to work, I need to know which jobs to cancel and which to confirm'
'Well I'm currently at the Grand Prix this weekend and then I'm going to Paris so I will be back at work from friday. Is that okay'
'Wait you are going to the Grand Prix? Does Maria know about this'
'Yes she does, don't worry.'
'Are you going with Lando? Are you guys back together? I don't understand why you went to see him'
'Oh god no, we are completely over. We just talked. I'm going with Charles'
'Bronte, that is going to create quite a bit of attention'
'Trust me, I know. I've gone over it with Maria.' There was a silence through the phone as Emily absorbed everything I was telling her.
'Okay... what are you going in Paris then'
'Charles and I are going to Paris for a quick trip. Its only two days'
'Okay that's fine. How have you been though Bronte? I was worried about you'
'Im okay, I just needed some time to myself. It was all getting a bit too much'
'As long as you are okay, I will decrease your workload for a bit, would you want that?'
'Yeah, I would really appreciate that' I suddenly realised how much I appreciated Emily. These past few days, I felt a sense of relief that I wasn't running around doing a million and one jobs. How I had time for me. 'There is one thing I want to talk to you about'
'Yeah what is it'
'I was talking to someone from Charles' team and she said Elvire has quite a gossip when it comes to the press, is there any way you can look into this. Do you know where the photo was first leaked too'
'No but I can find out for you. You probably already know this but until this is dealt with be careful around her.'
'Yeah I will.' The clock caught my eye and I suddenly realised the time, it was already 2 pm. I said to Charles I would be there in the afternoon, I was running incredibly late. 'Shit Em, i'm running really late. We will meet up when I'm back home. Okay'
'Okay see you Bronte'
'Speak soon' as soon as I hung up the phone I messaged charles.