RACE 2 - Max Verstappen

52

"I don't understand why I am here," Daniella complained as she sat back in her chair like a little kid and crossed her arms. "I am not the one who messed up or threatened Horner," She glared at Toto. 

Toto had a guilty sheepish look on his face as he took his place at the head of the table. Lewis was already fuming in anger as he just wanted to leave and forget about the day or the car. 

"You three need a bit of PR training," Myra sternly said to them. "Luckily Dani behaved today because she was not well after the crash but you two…" She looked at Toto and Lewis. "You two really messed up today."

"I was just defending Toto and Dani," Lewis argued. Nico Rosberg has been getting on his nerves, obviously he doesn't show it to the world but his former teammate's effort to gain his attention at the expense of his team really bothers him.

"And I was just defending Dani and Lewis," Toto defended himself, making Daniella smile a little. "Can you believe Horner said Daniella should have stayed in Red Bull and Lewis should retire?"

"And I don't remember the next two hours after the race," Daniella added. 

Myra took a frustrating breath. 

"Your intentions were good but it got some…actually it got more than expected backlash," She explained. 

"I blame Horner."

"I blame Nico."

"I still can't find Charles and yell at him. He is avoiding me. Am I really that scary?"

"No, no more yelling and blaming," Myra sternly said. "And yes Dani, you can be very scary sometimes."

Daniella dramatically gasped and looked at Toto and Lewis who shook their heads no, but as soon as she looked away they nodded at each other, agreeing with Myra. 

"It will just take an hour, I will give you three some instructions and advice about how to deal with the backlash, questions and all that till the next grand prix," Myra explained. 

The drivers and their boss groaned but there was nothing they could do. To Lewis and Toto, Daniella's PR manager is just as scary and stubborn as her. 

***

Max was waiting for Daniella in her room. He wanted to bail on the team celebration or cut it short but she encouraged him to go forward with it as the PR meeting took longer than expected and after that Lewis dragged her for dinner and Toto tagged along without an invitation, complaining about RedBull the entire time. 

"My boss hates you and your team," Daniella said in her tired voice. 

"If it makes him feel any better, Christian hates your team too," Max chuckled and pulled Daniella closer to him and she sat on his lap. "He ruined the entire celebration talking about Toto."

"Hmm," She let out a deep breath. "I know exactly how you feel."

She gently touched his hair and pushed it back away from his forehead to see his face properly. 

"Congratulations on the win today," She gave him a genuine smile and kissed his cheek and slowly moved to his lips. 

"I wish you were up there with me and Lando," Max confessed. 

"What? You are not happy that Checo shared the podium with you?" She chuckled. 

"I am," Max smiled. "But he is not you." He remembered how last year they shared a lot of podiums and the celebrations after that, of course they were just friends and teammates, but now it feels more special. 

"Christan got too drunk today and was saying how he plans to get you to re join Red Bull," Max informed her. 

Daniella can't help but frown. 

"You can tell Christian that it will happen over Toto's dead body," Daniella sarcastically said, making Max let out a laugh. 

"Can I ask you something?"

Daniella nodded. 

"If Christian had chosen me instead of Pierre to do that fake dating stunt last year, would you have stayed in Red Bull?" He asked. The question has been bothering him since last year, and most of the time he doesn't remember it but now it seems like a good time to ask. 

"I don't know…," Daniella honestly replied. "Obviously I would have felt more comfortable with you but I would have still felt betrayed and used," She explained, remembering how she felt when she found out about Christian's plan for her and Pierre and how Pierre was on board with it but she was kept in the dark. 

Max nodded, understanding her feelings. There was always a small part in his brain that thought she would have stayed his teammate if he was involved in the planned publicity stunt but now the doubt is cleared and he has to admit, he is not surprised by her answer. 

"Anyway.." Daniella sighed. "I am tired and the shower is calling me." She tried to get up but Max tightened his grip around her and kissed her again. The kiss soon deepened. 

Max smirked as he took her by surprise when he stood up and picked her up. 

"What are you doing?" Daniella let out a nervous laugh. 

"Taking you to the shower."

**********

A/N: I don't know about you guys but I am in love with the Merc family. 

Max and Dani are so cute and I want to remove Carlos from the picture to make things easy for them but the part of my brain that screams drama wants to keep him😁

I have already posted it on the message board but…What type of OC (personality, profession, background etc) do you ship with each different F1 drivers?