Thorns

09

March 3rd
Saudi Arabian Grand Prix

Lelia Amani

"You are not being serious right now," Daniel's jaw dropped, his pizza flopping with his hesitation to take a bite. I stopped chewing, giving him a sympathetic smile with my pizza-stuffed cheeks. "Say you are joking. This is a prank. Where are the damn cameras? This is not a fucking joke." He looked around Nonna's in shock, clearly not processing the words that I spat out just before shoving the slice of Margherita pizza into my mouth.

Unfortunately, it wasn't a joke.

After Danny and I finish pizza, I am going to hop in a cab and drive the hour and fifteen minutes to Woking. The sooner I can get started at McLaren, the better. Primarily for the legal aspect, but there is also eighty grand with my name written all over it.

"McLaren? Of all the teams that had to contact you... it had to be them," Danny sighed, setting his pizza down while giving me a disappointed look.

"Hey! You can't be too mad at me. You are the one who told me just before I went into the meeting that this was just the world of Formula One. That everyone is always looking for something bigger, something better. Is that not what you said to me?" I chastised, feeling a bit nervous about how Danny was reacting. I knew he wouldn't be super excited about it, but the way his expression dropped when I name-dropped Zak Brown.

"Yeah, I... Like... ugh," he groaned in defeat, unsure how to back himself up. "I did say that, but I wasn't expecting you to take that advice right out the Red Bull doors and to McLaren."

"Is that not what you did?" I found myself saying that before I was able to think about it. Regret hit me instantly as it was not my intention to ruin our pizza celebration. Was it even a celebration at this point?

"You are correct, I did do that, and that was one of the biggest mistakes of my career. If I could go back and not leave Red Bull and walk right into the trap that Zak Brown had waiting for me, I would one hundred percent. That man cannot be trusted," Danny's mixed expression narrowed on seriousness, and all other emotions were set aside. "If it weren't for Horner's generosity, I would be nowhere near the world of Formula One, all because of the one season I spent at McLaren."

"It's different for drivers, though. Your job is to score your team points, and my job is to make sure the drivers are healthy and fit to get in those cars and score their points. I can't imagine my career will be ruined because I am not on the track scoring points," I rebutted, getting slightly irritated with what Danny had to say. It was the second time in the last hour that I had been hearing this lecture.

"You know what, ultimately it's your decision. Don't say I didn't warn you," he picked up his slice of pizza once again, taking a large bite and staring at his phone while he chewed. "What did Christian have to say about all of this?" He asked while chewing, still not looking up from his phone.

"Pretty much the same thing you had to say," I mumbled, fiddling with my pizza crust as my appetite was slowly disappearing. Suddenly pizza didn't sound that good anymore.

I opened the conference room door slowly, seeing everyone look in my direction. Smiles filled their faces at my reappearance, ready to get the ball rolling and the contract signed and dated.

"Lelia! Ready to get this going?" Ben asked, motioning his hand over to my seat I had been in just a mere ten minutes ago, fully prepared to sign the contract with desire and intent to have this job. Even Jeff seemed excited for me to take over, despite his unusual lack of words.

"Um... Christian, may I have a word first?" I asked Horner, ignoring Ben as I looked directly at the CEO. He seemed confused, and rightfully so. There was no reason I should have been interrupting the meeting the way I was unless something drastic was about to take place...