Mirrorball - Charles Leclerc

two - first day on the job

Olivia

I finish fixing my hair and putting a little bit of makeup, and look myself in the mirror. I thought maybe my red hair would clash with the red Ferrari shirt, but it doesn't look as bad as I thought. I put it in a braid, so it doesn't annoy me through the day and leave the bathroom.

I put every thing I'll probably need inside a small backpack, and leave my room, feeling a mix of nervous and excited. I wait next to the elevator for Charles, who I need to speak before we go. And who's late, making me late too.

I finally see him leaving his room and walking in my direction, sunglasses in his face and looking at something on his phone. He doesn't even acknowledge me when he reaches the elevator and touches the button, his eyes always on the phone.

"Good morning," I say, already a little annoyed. He lifts his head a little startled and then takes off his glasses.

"Good morning, do you want to take a picture?" He asks and there's for sure a divine force holding me from slapping his face.

"What?" I ask, his eyebrows tight together in confusion. "I'm your new PR agent."

"Oh, right," He says and enters the elevator when the doors open. "What's your name again?"

"Olivia," I say, stepping in the elevator, and he nods, repeating my name. It's not that hard to remember it, you dickhead. As the elevator starts moving, we stay silent for a whole 10 seconds before he opens his mouth again.

"So, do you have my script for today?" He says, spitting out the word script. He's clearly not happy with having someone telling him what do say.

I clear my throat, "Yes. Before you guys test the cars, you'll have a press conference with all the drivers. Here's a list of points you should mention about this season and the car, depending on what the journalists ask. Carlos has been given the same list."

I give him the paper and he looks over it, "All right."

Is all he says for the rest of the elevator ride. I don't know what to think of how he barely talks to me, but I choose to ignore it for now. When the doors open, he walks out and I follow. Outside, we find two people waiting for us.

"You're late," The older man says with a heavy Italian accent.

"I'm here now, Andrea," Charles says in Italian, making me smile. I haven't heard anyone speaking Italian in a long time. I grew up with a mix of German and Italian in the house, so hearing someone speaking Italian makes me think of my childhood. I push those thoughts away.

"Who's this?" The younger guys asks, smiling.

"This is Olivia, my PR agent. This is Andrea, my trainer, and Joris, my... well he does a lot of things, but he's mainly my friend," Charles says, pointing to each of them. I'm glad that at least he knows my name now.

"Nice to meet you," I say smiling. We all get in a car, Charles driving, and I feel a little... strange being in the presence of these people. Andrea and Joris are clearly very close to Charles because he interacts with them in a completely different way I've seen him until now. They spent the whole ride joking and laughing, in a mix of English and Italian. When I laugh at one of their jokes, Charles looks at me confused through the mirror.

"You speak Italian?" He asks, his beautiful Italian accent almost making me think it's his first language.

"Of course, I'm half Italian," I answer, glad to be speaking my mom's language, and he smiles, his eyes focused on the road.

We arrive at the paddock and go to Ferrari's hospitality, where we have a morning meeting. The room is packed and I find a seat right at the front.

"Good morning everyone," Fred starts and everyone quiets down. "Welcome to a new season! I hope everyone is excited and ready for another great year. I would like to thank everyone for the amazing work and let's start this season good so we can end it even better."