Book 2: Beginning Again -Carlos Sainz

Chapter 4

It was a week later in the Netherlands when Marie found herself at the end of an hour spent with Charles, most of it laughing. They got on really well and she had found a quick friend in him. She thought all drivers were rude, arrogant, selfish, and a plethora of other words, but he had only been genuine with her for the whole hour. Marie stood up to get the door of the small room, thanking him before he left.

"Charles, thank you again for meeting with me, I hope you feel happy with some of the ideas for social media content with our company," she said, shaking his hand.

"I think you've got some fantastic ideas, Marie, and I'm really excited to be working more with you and your father," he replied, smiling at her.

Marie shut the door after he walked out, taking a breath.

"Okay, that went well. He liked my pitch ideas and he was open and nice. Maybe I was wrong about these guys, maybe they aren't as cocky as they seem," Marie thought to herself as she flipped the page of her notebook, seeing his name at the top.

She had scrawled 'Carlos Sainz' in small letters, hating every second of it. Marie was trying, truly trying, to put her previous thoughts about him out of her head. She had plenty of time over the past week to accept the reality of the situation and try to let go of her preconceived notions. After all, it was six years ago. People change and people grow up, especially boys. But this guy was exactly like every other fuckboy she had met in college, and it seemed like no one would ever call him out on his bullshit only because he was an F1 driver. This time he wouldn't catch her off guard. She was prepared and ready to sit and stare at his face for an hour, determined to see the half-decent guy in him. Marie grabbed her phone and looked at the time, he was supposed to arrive three minutes ago. She let out a sigh, still determined to stay positive.

Chad: How's it going with the boys?

It was great with Charles! He's super nice. Carlos, however, is already late. :Marie

Chad: Oof. Strike one. Tough first impression.

Marie swallowed hard at his response, realizing that Chad still had no idea that she had met Carlos years ago, let alone kissed him. She knew Chad to be somewhat of a jealous guy, and that he was pretty possessive over her. When they would go out to the bars, he would always pull her away from chatting with guys, even when it was completely friendly. He always kept an arm around her waist, ready to pull her away from her conversation at a moment's notice. Marie debated telling him right then and there, but she knew he would freak out and she needed to be able to calm him down. She sat with her phone open in her lap, staring at his message. She glanced up at the time- now 12 minutes past when he was supposed to arrive. Marie despised when people were late without warning, she found it rude and disrespectful of others' time. He had no idea that he had just gotten his second strike before he even walked in the door.

"Sorry, sorry I'm late. I lost track of time during training, I got put through the paces today and needed an extra long shower," Carlos said as he threw open the door and rushed inside. The brief mental image of Carlos in the shower flashed in Marie's mind before she flinched in response. Marie clicked her phone closed, deciding to respond to her boyfriend later. "No worries," she said, when that wasn't entirely true.

"Okay, so," he said as he plopped down on the couch in front of her. He had already kicked off his shoes and laid back, as if he was getting ready for a session with a therapist. "Hit me with your questions," he said as he shot her a smile. She stared back blankly, almost feeling an angry eye twitch. Marie resisted the urge to make a snarky comment about his tardiness. She had been actively fighting against her more confident nature that she developed as a businesswoman, opting to be more amenable and open during her time here. The qualities of a CEO. But he, this boy, was not making it easy.