I only crossed my arms in reply, and proceeded to look busy. I was the one winning, with both his sister and niece wearing Belen gear, but whatever made the man feel better, I guess.
“You in the zone yet?” Lucia asked quietly, stepping close to me while Matteo and Gia had their moment and people walked by saying hi.
“I fell asleep on the plane,” I grumbled.
“No!” She mock gasped. “Not the pre-race flight routine!”
“Listen, every part of a ritual is important,” I replied.
“I think missing one more review of races you have one hundred percent already watched back is okay, Alexander.” She smirked at me.
“I might have missed something.”
“No, you drove a perfect race, the team choosing to undercut was not on you.” I tried to keep my heart from jumping out of my damn chest at the comment. I knew she watched the races, for her brother obviously, but it did something to my head to know she was paying attention to my own team and their strategies.
“Better get you on the payroll, because my engineers could learn a thing or two from you.”
“About time.” She smiled and turned, walking back to her daughter. Gianna had been waving while in Matteo’s arms to every single person who passed by. A few crew members from surrounding teams had stopped to say hi. I, however, could feel the glare on my brow. I pulled out my phone, texting Dante.
Alexander:
Are the NDAs signed?
Dante:
Yes.
Alexander:
And fucking ironclad?
Dante:
Your possessive prick complex is showing
I put my phone back down on a nearby ledge with a huff. Like Dante was one to speak, the man was like a Doberman all wrapped up into a scary Italian man who had some insane connections. He was also as loyal as they come. And I paid him enough to do whatever I wanted, so there was that.
“Where is Anna?” Lucia asked, looking between Matteo and myself.
I shrugged as Matteo spoke. “Regretting taking me on as another client, probably.” His lopsided smile was ever present. A constant on and off the track. Lucia was just as bright, her soft smile in place as she turned her attention to Gia, who was half explaining about how she saw a puppy and wanted to find who had the puppy and also could they get a puppy. I took a mental step back, enjoying the mundaneness of it all. Of my people all together. I didn’t have much of a family. My dad was all that was left, but his memory had begun failing years ago—early-onset Alzheimer’s. I saw him as much as I could, had him in the best facility money could buy. He had worked his whole life to give me my future, to build karts, spend every weekend on a track, or driving across the damn country for certain races. He worked harder than anyone I know, and I would be forever grateful to him. As for the rest of my family, it was easier to pretend they just didn’t even exist. My mother had left long ago, not wanting to be a mother at all. Years passed, I worked my way through lower-level racing up to F1. I found out through one of those trash magazines I saw one day walking in London that she had a new family. I pushed it as far down as it could go, and visited my dad that same day. It was a bad day, no memory of who I was. The good days were far and few between now.
Matteo on the other hand, his family had such an abundance of love and support to give. I even received a text message from his parents today wishing me luck. They had sort of adopted me against my will years and years ago. They would make sure to come say hi to me when visiting Matteo in the Moretti paddock, always inviting me to come stay with them during breaks. But I was too busy going to parties, dating celebrities, and being a grade A asshole. That life felt far behind me now, much to Anna’s relief. Probably why she had the bandwidth to take on Matteo as another client— not to mention I had practically begged her to take him on after his last manager had fucked him over.
“We’re going to scout out the lounge and find some snacks,” Lucia announced, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Mine has better food,” I noted.
Matteo shot me a glare. “Fuck off.” He laughed as they walked away.
Lucia mouthed,Bye, and Gia waved, still in Matteo’s arms as they walked away. My stomach growled right on cue. I couldn’t wait to get to the Belen Lounge to eat after; their food was genuinely really good. My phone pinged loudly through the quiet garage; the crew had dispersed when Lucia and Gia came in, giving me some privacy I was extremely thankful for.
Anna
10 minutes, meeting at the lounge deck
Right, back to work.
5
