The Feature Game - [Carlos Sainz]

Uno

"God, I'm so late."

Gloria nearly twisted her ankle on her heels as she got out of the cab and rushed to the entrance of the office building. This morning had been a straight-up disaster. She slept through her alarm as a result of finishing her investigative report at three a.m. Barely four hours later, she ran through her apartment to get into some clothes, to look somewhat representative, while shoving a banana in her mouth to prevent herself from becoming hangry on the way to work on the subway. Nothing could prepare her from what was coming next. Her coffee machine broke halfway making the cup she desperately needed, and while ripping it from the counter, she spilled the coffee all over herself. Gloria swore she wanted to cry when she had to get redressed, and she was sure she would miss the first bus going to Mayfair, from where she would hop on to the subway to the London Bridge. Her laptop wasn't charged either, and she couldn't find the charger anyway. A mental breakdown nearing, she decided to order an Uber to get her to work as soon as possible.

Gloria caught her reflection in the glass doors she pushed through and vomited a little in her mouth at the horrible person looking back at her. She cut off some people on her way to the elevator and pushed the buttons to take her to the third floor. She straightened her blouse, smoothed out her slacks and stood up a little straighter in her heels. Alright, this was the first time she was late, she could explain it, she had brought a finished project to the newsroom anyway, so... "Congratulations, Gloria!" Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest when Rachel, her colleague, congratulated her so passionately, she was really starting to wonder if this morning wasn't all just a big fever dream. "Sorry?" Gloria asked, not sure what the hell Rachel was talking about. "You're selected to do the feature!" Rachel said, her perfect blonde hair bouncing off her shoulders. Gloria's brain couldn't fully comprehend what she was talking about. "Hurry, it's about to be announced. Don't tell anyone I secretly snooped around when bringing coffee to the conference room this morning," Rachel giggled.

Gloria moved a hand through her hair and walked through the hallway to get to the conference room. Bags under her eyes, barely awake and deprived of caffeine, she was met with the smiling faces of her colleagues and the chief editor in front of the smart board. "The person I was missing. Gloria, take a seat," he said. Actually, she was happy she got to sit down. "The Times is taking on this huge project of the biggest feature article of the year. We are going to follow Formula 1 driver Carlos Sainz around for a couple of months, and we already got the green light from his team and management. This is a great opportunity for The Times to participate for the Pulitzer price. Management has selected Gloria Manalo for this challenge, and we are convinced she will deliver an amazing feature article." Gloria blinked at his words, unsure if she understood him correctly. So, she was going to follow this F1 driver around while he's racing in an attempt to get to know him and write a nice article about him? To get a Pulitzer price, a journalist has to deliver a masterpiece. There's no way she could deliver a masterpiece about a racing driver. She didn't even know who he was or how F1 even works besides cars driving in oddly shaped circles.

"Gloria?" the chief editor looked at her expectantly, and she cleared her throat as she got up.

"I'm... honored?" she forced a smile next as she still tried to understand what was going on today. Her colleagues gave her a pained smile in return at her awkward response and the cringing of the chief editor. Yep, great work, Gloria.

"Dios mío, cabrón. Qué coño dices?"

Carlos stops mid-swing to look at his cousin and manager, Carlos. "I said, a newspaper from London is going to do a large feature article about you and I just accepted their proposal to-..." "Dude, I heard that," the Ferrari driver moves his golf club down to turn fully towards his manager. "Which means the journalist will be close to you for three months," Carlos Oñoro continued. "You have to be kidding me," the Spaniard replied, the disbelief written on his face. "Look, Chili. I think this is a great opportunity for the world to get to know you. You have a very outgoing teammate who's sometimes stealing the show because you're so closed off and zone out all the time," his manager said. Carlos looked at him skeptically. "People like it when I zone out, they make memes and stuff," he silently protested. "It's not like this journalist will be in your bed or anything. He or she will just... Observe and ask a lot of questions." Carlos lost the appetite to continue golfing, and he reached for the balls on the grass to collect them. "Which is exactly what I hate and why I am so closed off and private," he replied.

"Ferrari agreed with me that this is a good thing. This journalist is going to arrive in the paddock in Spain and will document your life until the Grand Prix of Singapore. Just promise me you're going to think about it," his manager asked. Carlos took a deep breath. "Ferrari will be so happy if the feature article about you is going to win the Pulitzer price." The Spaniard chuckled, collecting his stuff to put it on the golf cart. "My friend, you just ruined a perfect evening of golf," Carlos said as he sat down behind the wheel. "You were delaying packing for Monaco anyway," the other Carlos rolled his eyes. They drove back over the golf course to put the cart away at the entrance and make their ways back to their cars. The sun was about to set in Madrid, and Carlos needed to get some dinner and head to the gym before calling it a day. "See you tomorrow for lunch with Estrella Galicia," his manager reminded him before grabbing his bag and walking to his car. "Yeah, see you," Carlos muttered, reaching for the keys of his Ferrari to unlock his car. He put his bag on the passenger's seat before locking his seatbelt and starting the engine. He dialed his dad's number while driving off, letting the phone ring over the car's Bluetooth system.

His father picked up rather soon. "Carlos, todo bien?" the rally driver answered. "Carlos arranged something for me, and I'm not sure if I'm a big fan," Carlos replied right away. "A newspaper from London wants to do a big feature article about me, and in order to do that, a journalist has to be around for like three months," Carlos explained. "Meaning I'd have no privacy whatsoever," he chuckled. "Well, it's just three months and if it's a great article, you can change some people's opinions about you. After you ended your relationship with Isa, Spanish media hasn't been too positive about you, especially now Ferrari isn't delivering," his father said. "Maybe this is a good opportunity. Positive publicity is never a bad thing, is it?" Carlos groaned, taking another turn that would lead him into his neighborhood. "I guess you're right," he said. Carlos changed the topic to talk about something else with his dad. His family was joining him at his home race, and Carlos was excited about it. The Spanish Grand Prix is special every year, but the fact that he would meet the journalist there...

Carlos turned his car onto his porch and turned off the engine. He rested his head against the seat of the car, reaching for his phone to text his manager. Fine, he's agreeing to let this journalist come awfully close to him in the upcoming three months.

A/N: The first chapter to introduce Gloria and her assignment a little better! I mean, documenting and observing Carlos Sainz for three months? Sign me the F up.