Fast Lanes and Headlines - Toto Wolff

Office talk

Sorry guys....fucked both my knees and got depression (side effects to that seems a writer's block🤭😍❤️🫶)

So you better like this chapter. Im writing in the middle of the night with a big headache🙏🏻 kissess guys

The next two days pass in a blur. I spend a lot of them at the restaurant or showing Lando around London. During university, I got to know a lot of cool spots that I wasn't gonna gate keep. Sometimes Will joins and at the beginning he is always a bit nervous but that passes fast when they start cracking jokes about something they both find funny for no reason.
Regina from the media team and I set the appointment for the following Wednesday and today is finally the day. I got to do some laundry, which means my usual wardrobe was back in option. For the possible interviews, I want to look good or at least presentable. I mean I am Toto Wolff's assistant.

Mirrors are a haunted thing. Somehow they always show you what you don't want to see or at least that's what it used to be like for me. In my early childhood, my mother would stand behind me when looking in the mirror. Mostly right before we would leave for family events.

"I told you to take off that stupid headband"

Her voice rings in my ear and I stare at my reflection

"Mila I only want you to look good, okay?"

Little me grabs the headband and pulls it off. With that some of the hairs in my ponytail losen and mother pulls her eyebrows together.

"See now we have to do it again... if you would've just listened to me"

The memory is like a small needle being moved in a heart full of them.

Forcing myself out of that moment, I flatten out my dress with my hands and straighten my posture. I'm not that little girl any more and my mother is not here. She is not here to criticize what I'm wearing or the way my hair is straightened. She is not here to tell me that there is a scratch on my boot or that my ponytail is too high but it doesn't really matter if she's here. There is always her voice in the back of my mind when I stand in front of a mirror. Most days it's not too bad but on days like these where looks especially matter the voice is louder.

No. I turn around and away from the mirror. Not today. I look good and I'm ready.
I throw my lipstick into my bag where already my keys and my phone are. As I pull the bag up to my shoulder, I hear the familiar click of the glass of my phone screen against the plastic of my lipstick. The last time I had noticed this noise was back when I sank to the floor right before Toto found me. Slowly the memory is turning into a good one and I smile proudly. Screw you little voice in my head. I wouldn't have made it anywhere if I had listened to you.

Right on time I get into the train to the Mercedes headquarters. Only now I realize that it's the first time I will ever be there. Even if Im squeezed between people in a busy and stinky subway, I'm way too excited to care. Ive only ever seen Mercedes Hq on picture and it looks so modern and big.

........
The building is alive. Well that's what it feels like. People are walking around left and right but still it doesn't feel stressful. They are chatting and laughing. Reading or writing. The atmosphere is light and calm. It's exactly how I imagined it after already knowing some of the other employees. Most of the people here were also at the celebration a few days ago and I had great conversations with a lot of them.
With confident and steady steps I walk up to the reception.
"Good morning"

The guy smiles up at me from behind the screen. He is wearing a wholly west and his hair is perfectly in place.

"You are Mila Runner I presume?"