Book 2: Beginning Again -Carlos Sainz

Chapter 11

"I'm sorry... you actually fucked him?"

Erin's tone made Marie laugh out loud in the empty conference room that she had taken shelter in to call her best friend.

"Yes I did. I have literally no idea why because I honestly still can't stand him but he's just really hot. I hate even saying that out loud. But it was very good. I'm praying that he can't hear me right now."

"He's the perfect rebound. But... you're sure you don't have any feelings for him? I know how you are," Erin's words held a lot of implications to them, ones that didn't need to be said.

"Yes, I know. But it's nothing serious with him, I just need... tension relief sometimes. He literally sucks in every way except for in bed. This has been a very stressful few weeks and if I need to have sex with a hot guy that I hate to cope with it all then I will!"

The two of them laughed simultaneously through the phone, letting the silence then fill the space.

"Please keep me updated on this. I miss you," Erin's voice had a hint of sadness to it.

"Of course I will. I promise I will come back to London as soon as I can. And then after this temp position is over, I'm back for good."

"Ugh," she groaned. "So long. Love you."

"Love you too. Bye."
Marie hung up her phone and wandered out to the paddock to see how free practice was going and to find her dad. She had some updates for him and a couple more new ideas to run past him. Marie took a quick peek at the lap times that were being set by the teams, pretending to not be interested. In reality, she found herself getting more and more invested in this sport, and maybe because it was her life, 24/7, these days. She wandered around until she saw her dad speaking to someone in the corner of the garage. She picked up her pace, practicing what she wanted to say.

"Okay so I'll start with telling him that we've gotten loads of great ideas and a significant increase in engagement on all of our social media accounts, and then I'll segue into some of the ideas that I think would be brand-appropriate and fun, and then-"

Marie's thought process was stopped when she looked over to the man her dad was speaking to.

"Marie, hi! I'm surprised to see you in the paddock today, I know you usually prefer to go sit somewhere else," Gavin spoke as he hugged his daughter.

"Yeah, Marie, it's so good to see you, it's been a while!" Carlos spoke with a huge smirk on his face. To anyone else, he would've seemed sincere with his words, but only she knew that he was referencing their early morning spent together.

"You too, Carlos. How did free practice go? Were you feeling... tired at all?" Marie tried to fight the smile on her face, but she knew that the corners of her mouth gave it away.

"Oh I don't really get tired easily. I have a lot of stamina," his eyes were captivating her as he spoke, letting the joke continue between them before she ended it.

"Good for you! Dad," Marie spoke as she turned to him, "I actually have some general updates on the program and some ideas to run past you, do you have a minute?"

"Yeah, sure, we can go to the conference room. Carlos, great work today and good luck tomorrow!" Gavin gave a big thumbs up to the man, who copied his gesture back to him.

"Yeah, Carlos, good luck tomorrow!" Marie said with loaded sarcasm through a small smile as she followed her dad out.

"Thanks, Marie!" he said with too much enthusiasm to not be sarcastic. Marie laughed at his reply, really enjoying their secret witty banter. At the very least, it was something fun and entertaining to keep her from focusing on work all the time.

**

Carlos watched as she walked out, unashamedly checking out her ass. It brought a smile to his face knowing he could have it anytime he wanted, just one text away. The night they spent together was actually something Carlos knew he needed. With his life being so busy and everything, he had no form of stress relief. Even training, something that used to relax him, was becoming a huge stressor. He shook his head, running a hand through his hair as he thought about the evening. She was definitely... interesting. Very different than any girl he had ever been with before. She was intense, and too smart for her own good. A bit of a firecracker, that one. Carlos couldn't find the words in any language to sum her up. She was still annoying, the way she wouldn't watch the races and how she was all about business, but at least she was a good time at night. And she would be very convenient as a fuck buddy considering she was always in the same country as he was. Carlos was pulled out of his thoughts by Charles' body standing next to him.

"What... what are you staring at mate?" Charles asked as he looked back and forth between Carlos and his empty eyeline.

"Oh, nothing. Just deep in thought I guess," Carlos said, brushing off the topic as he turned to face his teammate.

"That's a first. Hey, how'd your date go last night?" Charles asked with a wide grin.

"You gave me horrible advice," Carlos replied.

Charles laughed, replying "And you were dumb enough to take it. So I guess you tried to kiss her?"

"Yeah. She left her phone in my jacket pocket and was coming back to get it when I just..."

Charles was doubled over in laughter at the joke he played on his friend. It really wasn't that funny, but to him it was.

"Sorry, sorry. It was too easy. You never go on dates though so is this someone special?"

Carlos glared at him. He loved his teammate, but he had a tendency to pry sometimes.

"Nope, no one special," Carlos replied curtly. "And who are you currently hooking up with?" Carlos asked with a sarcastic enthusiasm.

"Alright, I get it, I get it. You're being all dark and mysterious with me," Charles replied with an eye roll. "Well, let's just hope we're not hooking up with the same girl," he finished with a short laugh.

Carlos laughed in reply at his sentence but it was only on the surface. Even the idea of Charles hooking up with Marie made him angry. Irrationally angry. He excused himself to his driver's room for a minute to cool off, feeling like every muscle in his body was constricted, ready to fight. He made a mental note to subtly ask her about it, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stop wondering about that until he knew for sure.