Bound To You // LN4

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Lando's POV

25 March 2028

"Lando, we have a situation," Matt says, poking his head around the door of my driver room. I look up from where I had been frowning at the cards in my hand before glancing between Sophia to the man in question. I'd have been tempted to continue pretending he didn't exist but the urgency in his voice caught my attention and the fact that he seems caught off guard when he sees her there next to me. We're about an hour out from qualifying and so his arrival wasn't unexpected but the urgency on his face was. "I, uh, can I talk to you out in the hallway?"

It's an unusual request and before I reminded him that he can say anything in front of her, I decide to follow him out the door. It was either the tone or expression on his face but I don't argue with my instincts and instead give Sophia an apologetic look before putting my cards down and hear her sigh. She's not the most calm person in the world and given that I am actually agreeing to get the information away from her, she's immediately suspicious. I think the only reason she doesn't argue otherwise is that she realises I'm willingly going somewhere to talk to Matt. I give her a final glance as I follow him out, silently warning her to not look at the cards I've left on the bench before closing it behind us and turning to Matt, my arms crossed as I try to stay calm about being interrupted.

"Jason Roberts is here, currently in the McLaren garage, and getting a smiley intro to it all from Abbie," he whispers the words out fast and any grievances I was holding against Matt fall away as I realise that there's something far more important to focus on. I look down the hallway towards the garage across the paddock, subconsciously looking for the guy that I just want to punch before letting out a sigh to try and control my anger. He was definitely right about something... this was a situation and not a good one.

"Is he a McLaren guest?" I ask him, restarting my brain as we stay hovered outside the room that protects Sophia from the guy that would mess with her head. I definitely would have remembered that from the media meeting but I had been pretty distracted this entire week with ideas of sight seeing that I'd been gathering from McLaren team members so that Sophia wouldn't get bored and I could satisfy her need to explore.

"I don't know... he might just have a paddock pass but McLaren is apparently where he wants to be," Matt says, the last part of the sentence coming through gritted teeth as he fidgets with his bag and looks to me for help. "I can't demand he leaves," he says simply with a shrug and I nod, wondering for a moment if I'd be able to do that. Guessing the question on my mind, Matt gives me a shrug, apparently not knowing either. It wasn't something that I had ever thought of requesting.

"Okay... I'm going to find Julia, you stay with Sophia, don't leave her side and don't let her go to the garage," I tell him, already irritated and a little rattled from this annoying addition to my day. Matt nods, not arguing with me for even a second and heads inside the room as I go out to the paddock, looking around for the woman in charge of the teams guests before heading up the stairs to the hospitality, hoping that she might be easily found there. It takes a good few minutes and many asks to various staff members to find her with a sponsor in the garage, smiling as I say hello to them while also trying to pull her away from them.

"What's up?" She asks, glancing at her phone and sending messages, always switched on and never able to keep her attention on just one person - especially when it's this busier part of the weekend.

"Jason Roberts - is he a McLaren guest, general guest?" I ask, touching her arm lightly to get more of her attention and she frowns at her phone before looking up at me and I can see that she is trying to run the information through her head to remember it.