𝐒 𝐏 𝐑 𝐈 𝐍 𝐓 𝐄 𝐑 [max verstappen x oc]

nine

It was dusk by the time Lena's first day was over. She'd met her two other photographers, Danny and Emilia, who were friendly but ultimately quiet. Lena didn't mind them as much, but she realized she was in for a lot more than she bargained for. The pay was enough to make her shove those feelings aside, but they still lurked in the back of her mind every so often.

When she got back to her hotel, after a two hour bus ride, Lena collapsed onto her bed and scrolled through her messages. She'd gotten the contact information of everyone she would need--Peter, Lucas, Emilia, Danny, Aleksander, Lilah, the intern Jaxx, her editor Laikei (who had told her straight up that Lena would do most of the editing herself, yay!), Naomi (Peter's partner), and a man named Ajax who was apparently in charge of Max and Checo.

Realizing that she had work to do, regarding the fact that she now was supposed to work in a sport that she'd never been exposed to in her life, Lena grabbed her laptop from her bag and opened it up to Youtube. She decided it would be best to do research on the whole sport first, then look into RedBull itself. Lena liked to be prepared for the week ahead, 'training week' apparently. Although she felt out of place being surrounded by people who seemed to know so much more about this than she did, Lena was determined to prove herself. If there was one thing she could do, it was prove people wrong.

After almost an hour of watching Formula One summary videos, researching camera angles and iconic pictures, she started to understand.

Senna, Raikkonen, Button, Schumacher. All of the names were starting to stick.

Lena went on the RedBull website. She'd scrolled through it on her way to Austria, but she was half asleep and tipsy off a red-wine shooter.

Her curiosity got the better of her as she eyed a page titled Max Verstappen. By now, she knew that the man who'd treated her so harshly was a four-time world champion and a pit filled in her stomach, thoughts of self-doubt swirling in her head. She almost convinced herself she had done something wrong before she realized how stupid that sounded and snapped out of it. She had done nothing wrong. He was an asshole, and the championships under his belt probably only inflated his ego.

She clicked through his profile. He was 27 and Dutch. Apparently he was born to race--both his parents were racers. Lena found herself digging through articles and websites about him, unashamed as she read through everything. Pretty soon it was almost three in the morning, and she disappointedly closed her laptop. She had a long week ahead of her.

_________________________________

"These look great, Lena." Peter scrolled through the images. "You're really getting the hang of things, I love it!"

Lena smiled, aware of the blush creeping in through her cheeks. "It didn't take long, I did my research."

Lilah had asked her to tag along to a kids meet-and-greet the drivers had done yesterday so that Lena could get some experience on field. This meant that she had to take and edit the photos all in one night so they would be ready by this morning, the last day of training week.

"Well, you did it right. These need to be posted." Peter nodded before zooming in on an image. "This is a great one of Max, did you send it to him?"

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh, no I thought that was something you guys would do. Aren't I just supposed to send over the images after their edited?"

Peter shrugged. "Yeah, I guess so. Anyway, these are amazing. If there was any doubt in you, it's all gone now."

Lena wanted to cheer but kept quiet. She'd celebrate tonight with a bottle of Coconut Rum.

Peter got out of her chair, allowing her to sit back down at her desk and rearrange her computer. "So, we leave on Tuesday for Australia. The drivers take their jets and everything, we're stuck with commercial."

Lena wasn't going to admit that she'd never flown before, seeing as how different their lifestyles must be.

"It's going to be your first real day out on the field, so don't get too nervous." Peter grinned and clutched his binder that never seemed to leave his hands. "I think Lilah already briefed you on everything--what to bring, credentials, where to go, reservations--so I won't bore you."

"Yep, she told me everything." Lena assured.

"Great!" Peter turned and began walking away before spinning back around. "Oh, and I almost forgot--you're coming to the pre-season event tonight as an official Oracle RedBull Racing photographer."

I'm sorry what?

Lena tilted her head to the side. "Uh, I was told I had tonight off?"

"Sorry, last minute thing. It'll be a good practice run anyway." Peter waved his hand. "It's just dinner and then drinks at the venue--they'll present the car and then say a few words. Just take some pictures of Checo and Max, and the whole team and then you're good to go."

Lena was still wary. "I-okay. Thats fine." She corrected her expression. "Happy to do it."

Peter grinned. "This is why we love you! Wear something nice--a dress would be great but trousers work, too. See you tonight, I'll forward the details."

And then he was gone, this time with no jumpscares. Lena dropped her head into her hands.

______________________________

She had two options for outfits--a somewhat slutty, backless, black dress she'd worn clubbing last weekend, or black pants and a slightly see-through white tank top. She opted for the second option.

Adjusting her black jacket over her shoulders, Lena realized how different she looked. Back in Monaco, she could wear sweatpants to work every day, but now she had her msot expensive clothes on and she'd actually blow-dried her hair after she washed it. She looked....professional. It made her stomach hurt.

Lena sighed as she remembered how the weight of her helmet felt on her neck and the warm casing of her leather pants on the bike.

No. Leave that part of you behind, now. You can always go back to it, but you have more important things to do right now.

She grabbed her lanyard and purse, slinging the camera around her neck and closing her hotel room door behind her.