GIMME!GIMME! | Lando Norris

One ✨

For the first time in many years, Isabela was happy. At just 25, she was finally one step closer to living her dream. Their dream. She and her father's dream. Maybe moving countries, leaving the little family she had left behind, and settling in a not-so-sunny place was paying off. Or maybe that was what she liked to tell herself every time she felt lonely. A win was a temporary fix for a heart that had little to no prospects of being mended.

Holding on to that small hope and excitement about her life suddenly taking a turn, Isabela found herself in a messy room, with nothing to wear, on the phone with her best friend, Ema.

"Seriously, I really have nothing to wear."

"You're being dramatic, Bells," Ema's laugh echoed through the phone. "And why are you so worried about what to wear? It's not like you don't know all of them already."

"It's not about them." Isabela rolled her eyes, frustration bubbling up. "This is the start of a new era for me, and I just want to feel pretty. I need one less thing to worry about, you know? I wish I had come back to Woking earlier so I could shop and save myself the stress."

"Isabela, listen to me." Ema's tone shifted to one of authority. Suddenly, Isabela felt herself relinquish control of the situation. "Take a breather. Grab the tight black dress—no, don't give me that look. You are gorgeous, curves and all. Put on the cropped long-sleeved striped sweater, the white boots, and the black long wool coat."

Still unsure, Isabela complied. Turns out Ema wasn't completely useless after all. "It's not half bad, thank you."

"You just need to relax. You are beautiful, Bells, and you will definitely rock this new job. Who knows? You might even make one of those hot drivers fall for you."

"Okay, hold up," Isabela said, rolling her eyes even though Ema couldn't see her. "You do realize Oscar has a full girlfriend, right? And I'll be working directly with Lando. That wouldn't be smart."

"It would be the smartest thing!" Ema replied with conviction. "Traveling the world with a super hot and famous guy for free? It would be a dream."

"Okay, it's too early in the morning to explain to you why that's wrong on so many levels." Isabela laughed a little. "Besides, he would never look at me that way. I'm not pretty or skinny enough."

"Why are you so mean to yourself? You are beautiful, hot, and an amazing person. He would be lucky to have you; never the other way around."

"Okay, Ema, let's not get ahead of ourselves here. I have to go. Love you!"

The phone call ended soon after, and with Ema's words still ringing in her head, Isabela grabbed her bag, her headphones, and her public transport card, leaving her house slightly late for the long day ahead.

💨 🏎️ 💨

"I'm sorry I'm late! There was an accident that caused traffic on my way here."

Isabela would never admit, in a room full of men, most older and richer than her, that there had been no accident or traffic. She was late because she (a) lost one of the two buses she took to work because she had been freaking out about her outfit and (b) couldn't afford a car.

"It's okay, Isabela. We were just getting started," Zak said, surprising her with his calm demeanor. "Now that we're all here, I'd like to introduce you to our new head of PR, Steve Atkins." He gestured towards the man Isabela could only describe as fatherly looking. "Take the lead, Steve."

"Hi everyone! It's good to join this team. A true dream come true, not only for me but I assume for some of you as well." He looked in Isabela's direction, making her blush with embarrassment. "Isabela and Mark, I'm looking forward to working closely with both of you. I've only heard good things about your work, so I'm sure we'll be the true definition of a dream team."

"Of course, sir," Isabela and Mark replied in unison, sharing a light laugh. "We won't let you down," Isabela added.

"Now, I don't want to make this too long. I've scheduled individual meetings with both of you, and in the meantime, I'd advise you to check your emails for the tasks I've left you. You both get your own offices right around the corner from mine; that should make it easier for me to find you today."

Everyone said their final goodbyes, and Isabela and Mark left for their offices. Isabela was still processing the fact that she had her own office and that her closest colleague would be Mark.

It's not that she hated Mark—she didn't hate anyone, really—but out of everyone in their big media and communication team, did it really have to be him? From the day she joined, Mark had made her life at work hell.

Granted, it had been easier to ignore him before, when they worked in slightly different departments. It would be much harder now that they would have to collaborate more closely.

Entering her office—still trying to grasp the concept that she had her own space—Isabela decided the one thing she liked most, besides her name printed in big orange letters on the door, was the large window facing the small "track" outside. Watching the cars was always a nice reminder of why she got into motorsport in the first place.

Shooting a quick text to Ema to tell her the meeting went well, Isabela opened her laptop and got straight to work. Most of her morning consisted of going through all the emails Steve had sent her and learning about Lando's schedule.

It wasn't until it was nearing lunch that someone knocked on her door, and she knew exactly who it was—Steve. Punctual, she thought, remembering the schedule for their meeting and making a mental note to always be careful with timing around her new boss. "Come in."

"Isabela, how are you finding your new office?"

"Different. I love the view."

"I'm glad you enjoy it." He smiled a little. "Listen, Isabela, I like to get straight to the point because I believe that's more productive than going around in circles. Does that sound alright with you?"

"Yes, very."

"Good." He adjusted himself in the plastic chair in front of her desk. "I want to start by saying that Charlotte said only good things about you. From what I've heard, you're pretty much on top of all the things planned for this year, correct?"

"Yes, sir. Although I wasn't part of the PR team, I always took an interest in it. Since Charlotte needed help, I stepped up as much as she needed."

"Well, this year, Lando is going to be our number one focus as a team since he's McLaren's top driver. It's a demanding job, and that's why we chose you." He spoke with such conviction that Isabela could only nod. "You and I will be working closely together. When I'm not there, you're in charge. You call the shots and make things happen. Are we clear?"

"Yes, sir, but—"

Steve didn't even let her finish before continuing. "I know Mark is a royal pain in your ass. He spent a great part of our meeting boasting about how good he is and how much of an inconvenience you are. But don't worry; I know he's only here because of his daddy's money. Zak and Charlotte believed in you, and because of that, so do I."

"Thank you, sir. I promise I won't let you down."

"I know you won't." He smiled, rising from the chair. "The drivers won't be back until next Monday, but I left Norris's contact information in your emails so you can talk with him and arrange his commitments for next week."

"Sounds great." Isabela stood to accompany Steve to the door.

"And Isabela? Please call me Steve."

She nodded and watched him leave, looking up and silently thanking whoever was up there—most likely her father—for such a great start to her year.

💨 🏎️ 💨

✨ Your author speaking  ✨

I know these first two chapters were a little bit boring, but I want to set the scene for Isabela and her life—she is our main character after all!

But don't worry, our lover boy is about to make an appearance soon!