Formula 1 | One Shots (1)

You've Got Mail | Max Verstappen

Authors Note: Honestly we can all use some Max fluff after Austin!  

This is a slightly longer story, enjoy 🍒 
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The Red Bull motorhome was loud and chaotic as I rushed through the hallways, practically sprinting towards my desk. My heart was racing, and I was pretty sure my upper lip was sweating at this point. Not exactly the cute look I was going for when I had to be at the team debrief in less than five minutes.

"Where is it? Where is it?" I muttered to myself, shuffling through the clutter on my desk. Papers, pens, my phone...it was all here except for the one thing I needed, my tablet with all my notes.

I was so focused on finding it that I barely noticed my hands shaking a little from the stress. If I walked in late, it would be a disaster. Christian had been clear, timeliness mattered. And I did not want to get on his bad side, not today, not when tensions were already high ahead of this weekend's race.

Finally, my fingers found the edge of my tablet, underneath a stack of paperwork and a few other things. I yanked it out so quickly that one of the things that flew off the desk and hit the floor was an envelope. My instinct was to reach down and pick it up, but my brain told me I had no time.

I could deal with it later. Right now, I had to get to that debrief before I made a fool of myself. With the tablet tucked under my arm, I practically bolted down the hallway.  And of course, just as I opened it, the entire room went silent. I cringed inwardly. Great. Just what I needed...everyone's eyes on me as I made my awkward, slightly too loud entrance.

I tried to keep my face neutral, though I could feel my cheeks heating up as I stepped into the room. Christian was mid sentence, but now his attention was on me. Awesome, Violet. Real smooth.

Max and Checo were sitting near the front, their eyes instantly darting toward me. Max, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed, raised an eyebrow, his lips quirking up in a smirk. Checo, seated next to him, just gave me a small, knowing smile, probably sensing my panic. 

"Nice of you to join us, Violet," Christian said, his voice calm but with a hint of amusement. "Everything alright?"

"Uh, yeah. All good. Just...misplaced something," I mumbled, quickly slipping into an empty seat at the back of the room, trying not to make any more noise.

Max's smirk hadn't faded, and I could practically feel his eyes still on me as I straightened myself in my chair. I exhaled slowly, trying to calm my nerves, as the debrief resumed. Just focus, I told myself.

After Christian wrapped up his overview of our race strategy, everyone began piling out of the conference room. I stayed back for a second, letting the others pass before standing up and heading toward my office. Max gave me a quick grin as he walked by, but I only managed a weak smile in return. My brain was already shifting to the pile of paperwork I had waiting for me.

By the time I reached my desk, my mind was clearer. I settled into my chair, scanning the scattered papers and tabs open on my laptop. There was so much to catch up on...emails, reports, all the usual race weekend chaos. I sighed, grabbing my pen and diving into the work, letting myself get lost in it for the next hour or so.

The motorhome had quieted down, the only sounds coming from the occasional footstep down the hall. Just as I was finishing up one of my final reports, the familiar sound of the mail team was coming coming through the hallway. I barely looked up when the door to my office popped open.

"Hey, Violet! Got anything for me today?" the girl from the mail team asked as she popped her head in.

Without much thought, I scooped up the nearest stack of papers and envelopes from my desk, half of which I hadn't even reviewed properly. "Yeah, here," I muttered, still focused on my screen as I handed her the pile. "These need to go out. Thanks."