It was the McLaren Christmas party. The team gathered together to celebrate what had been an incredibly successful year for them. Lando had finished second overall in the driver's championship, as had the team in the constructors. There was cause for celebration, a dramatic improvement from previous years and yet it was bittersweet to him, to have come so close to winning the championship and then miss out at the last moment.
There's always next year... that's what his Mum had told him as though it was supposed to offer some kind of comfort. It did a little, he supposed. He'd renewed his contract, signing a multi-year deal with the team that had been home his entire career, as had Oscar. The team were going to throw everything they had at claiming victory next year.
But it would've been better if they'd already been celebrating victory this year.
He'd taken a small break from the party to get some fresh air and a rest from the relentless optimism about next year that didn't quite fit in with his mood. He didn't want to seem ungrateful for where they'd finished, and he should be as happy as the rest of the team, he knew that. He just couldn't quite convince himself to celebrate coming in second when everything in him wanted to win.
He'd been stood out there for a couple of minutes, wondering how long he'd manage to hide before someone came looking for him. It was freezing cold out there, the lights from the party inside the McLaren Technology Centre reflecting off the water in the lake outside. The cloud of his breath filled the air in front of him as he leaned against the wall.
He hadn't realised he wasn't alone until he heard a voice in the shadows to his left.
"No, no it's fine. I know, I'm sorry. I won't be long. I promise... No I know, you don't need to apologise it's fine I er, I just... I need to wait a little bit longer until it's acceptable to leave... No I know but what do you want me to do? I can't walk out halfway through the party, what if someone notices? You were the one who didn't want to come with me. Don't start this again Tom... oh you know what, just forget it okay. I'll find somewhere else to stay tonight." There was a quiet groan of frustration, the woman the voice belonged to stepped out of the shadows and froze for a second as she noticed Lando standing there.
He tried to avert his eyes to look like he hadn't been staring at her figure in the distance trying to work out who she was but he didn't think it had been overly successful.
"Sorry." She mumbled, hurrying back in the direction of the door.
As she got closer he realised it was one of their social media team and desperately searched his brain for her name but came up empty.
Even in the dim lighting that reflected from inside the building, he could see she'd been crying.
"Are you okay?" He asked, reaching out for her arm to stop her leaving without thinking about it.
She flinched at his touch, yanking her arm away from his hand and whipping around to face him. A pair of piercing blue eyes met his for a moment before she looked down at the floor.
"Sorry." He apologised quickly, raising his hands as if in surrender. "I just wanted to check you were okay. It's Aimee, isn't it?" The name suddenly resurfaced in his head.
She chewed on her bottom lip nervously for a moment. "Sorry, I uh... I have to go. Enjoy the party, congrats on the season."
She was gone again before he could say anything else, just watching for a moment as she made her way in the direction of the car park instead of back inside to the party.
YOU ARE READING
Stay With Me- Lando Norris
Fanfiction*Completed* After discovering that one of his coworkers is in a desperate situation, Lando makes it his mission to try and help her. Except she doesn't want his help, and does everything she can to push him away.
