Connections (F1 story)

Chapter Four: New Day

On the journey back to London I couldn't think straight. My mind was everywhere and I couldn't put my finger on why that was. Daniel was a genuine guy and I was eager to get to know him better and I could subsequently tell that as long as I stayed on the right side of him, that we (fingers crossed),would get on like a house on fire- at least not literally, I hope.

Today had gone better than expected although Rebecca and Daniel's relationship was one to be envied.

Behind Rebecca's professional work exterior you could see their bond and friendship. I had to get around Daniel's accent too. The Aussie twang had always been a weakness of mine and his was no exception. It made my heart flip, as cringy as that sounds. His eyes were beautiful too and his...what the fuck was I thinking? I snapped out of it. He's my boss, I do as he wishes and in return I make sure his press is as positive as possible. Strictly work orientated only.

When I reached my flat I slumped down on my beige couch and threw my keys on the coffee table. My salad had well worn off. I was planning to shut my eyes for a few moments and clear my head of thoughts and then I'd head down the gym with Joe, I'd come back and get some work done...

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I woke up at 2am, six hours after I should have met Joe. Bugger. Bleary eyed I sent him a message saying how I'd dozed off and that I was very sorry.
I grabbed a glass of fruit juice from the fridge and powered up my laptop, stumbling in the darkness of the night to find a light switch. I had work to do.

I read through my hundreds of emails of requests asking to interview Daniel, for him to be the face of something, or for him to make an appearance at an Award show or...the list was endless. I drafted replies as I looked through the itinerary that I had been given on Monday. There were a few gaps where interviews could be squeezed in so I narrowed the list down to the ones that I felt were Daniel's best option. I was left with an Aussie chat show, and Australian Magazines for when we were out in Melbourne for a week.

I replied (not remembering the hour of the night) and penciled the dates into my diary. I then emailed these across to Bridget so she could approve and confirm.

I did have one email that wasn't to do with Mr Ricciardo though.I had to read through it a number of times in order for it to make sense in my head, even though it was written extremely well.

It was from Sam, rear left tyre Sam. He'd wished me good luck for today and was asking if I'd see him again this week.

He'd also asked for my mobile number, I blushed as I read that in part in my mind. I tapped away at the keys forming a response, including my number. Sure enough a few moments later my phone bleeped.

My Samsung lit up in the half dark space.

Saskia hope you're alright. God knows what you're doing up at this time. Sam

I laughed a little and fumbled to reply. Why was he up? And more importantly, why was he talking to me at half two in the morning.

The answer to that question was one that I wouldn't know until I saw him again. I'd drifted off to sleep for the second time on the sofa. I wasn't aware of how comfortable it was.

Realistically I needed to invest in a new one because I awoke at 9am with a dreadful pain in my back.

I pushed myself up and staggered over to the kettle supporting my lower back, I should have gone to bed like a normal person. But no, instead for the next few days I was going to be walking like a cripple. Fantastic.

I set off at 10:30am to get the tube to London Euston where I would then get another train to Milton Keynes. Rebecca was fully signing over to me today and she'd only shadow the work that I was doing. Exciting and nervous times.

A car that Bridget had arranged for me picked me up from the station at 12:30 and took me to the HQ where today I'd get my little office.

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At the entrance of the striking building I flashed my brand new identity card and the automatic doors opened. How I loved the foyer, full with if in not a hundred trophies. It took me by surprise even though I knew what was coming; a different one caught my eye each time.

The receptionist greeted me, I said hello back proudly. I was in my Red Bull top and felt very happy to be so.

I walked along the corridor spotting a few faces that I recognised, they too smiled at me. I then saw Callum, I could only presume that he was on his way to the cafeteria for lunch.

"Saskia." He stopped me. I glanced up at the tall figure, I was unaware of just how tall he was because I'd only seen him sitting down before.

"Hi, Callum, alright?" I replied.

"Yeah not too bad, have you seen Sam?" His face looked slightly puzzled and confused.

"Nope, just got in, sorry." I was annoyed that I didn't have an answer. I hadn't seen him yet, had I?

"Ah, no worries. I just thought you would have known. He hasn't stopped going on about you since Monday. I told him to man up and email you!" Callum blurted all of this out and left me surprised. I stood there like a gooseberry. Think, Saskia, think. Any reply will do!

"Must have got me confused with someone else!" I chuckled and walked past him to meet Rebecca.