Thorns

08

March 4th
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Lelia Amani

Resting my chin in my hand, I grew antsy. Eager was an understatement of how I felt to enter the conference room finally. It had been almost a half hour of waiting in the uncomfortable chair I occupied with just the company of Daniel. It could have been worse, and he didn't have to choose to come and keep me entertained, but I was ready to jump into this meeting. Knowing what would come out of it had me more excited to be in Milton Keynes than a little kid waking up on Christmas morning.

With this week being Jeff's last week before his retirement, everyone at Red Bull was running around like chickens with their heads cut off, and for multiple different reasons. Horner was trying to get everything prepared and situated for a smooth transition with his retirement and my takeover. Max and Danny were attempting to sort through any existing documents from Jeff that were either important enough to be kept around, or not important enough and thrown away. And everyone else... well, they were just ecstatic to finally see some change.

My leg began bouncing with anticipation, several mumbles being heard from inside the conference room in an attempt to eavesdrop. I wasn't sure why I wasn't allowed to be included in this part of the conversation.

"You know, there's no reason to be so nervous," Daniel interrupted my thoughts, watching as my leg bouncing only got faster the longer I waited to enter a room full of people who were talking about me. I stopped bouncing my leg at the realization, lifting my head and making eye contact with Danny.

"I am not nervous..." I trailed. Honestly, I didn't know what I was feeling in the moment. It was a mix of several feelings and with how rapid my brain was moving, I couldn't pinpoint just one that stood out.

"Your leg said otherwise," Danny smirked, confident in his ability to read my body language.

"I don't know what to expect. Like I know I am here to take over for Jeff, but why am I out here and six people are in there talking about me, without me? I do not understand," I huffed, dramatically dropping my head back into my hand.

Danny chuckled at my blatant impatience. "Don't think too much about it, Miami. You are here to step into bigger shoes. That's just the world of Formula One, taking the first opportunity at a better position. And frankly, you are off to a better start than most."

"Are you up for some Nonna's after this?" I changed the topic, suggesting a pizza place that I had discovered shortly after moving to England. I hadn't spent much time in Milton Keynes to know what places were good and which ones weren't, but during the two weeks prior to the start of the race season, I did some exploring while I was feeling slightly homesick.

I was never expecting to miss Italy this much after moving back into Europe, but luckily I discovered Nonna's, which had some of the most authentic pizza I could have found. That was one of those moments that Tessa would tell me to buy a lottery ticket if we were back together in Miami. Finding good pizza anywhere in America was rare.

"Oh my gosh, how do you know about Nonna's? That place is a gem," Danny's face lit up at my mention of the pizzeria. "It's only a five-minute drive from here, too."

"I had a little bit of time on my hands to explore Milton Keynes when I moved in," I explained. "Wanted to find a place that reminded me of pizza from home."

"I keep forgetting you are from Italy. As if the accent wasn't obvious enough," Danny admitted.

"Sicily, specifically. Anyway, not important. I haven't lived in Sicily in six years. There is not much to talk about," I felt myself relaxing significantly, now that I wasn't overthinking the whole situation I found myself to be in. All for a job that I never would have even expected myself to want if it weren't for Terrence's generosity...