Minefield of Mirrors

-4-

For the third time that day, Iris dragged her suitcase behind her. Except this time, she wasn't walking around at an airport. She was walking through the hallways of a five-star hotel where the team would stay over.

'You've got my number, so if you need anything, please give me a call.' Linsey reassured her.

Thankfully, Iris looked at the girl next to her. 'You're amazing. Thank you so much!'

Linsey held the key card in front of the lock and after a little beep and a green light, she pushed the door open and put her suitcase against it, so it would stay open as soon as she turned around to hug Iris.

'It's so nice to have another girl in the team! It looks like Christian finally starts to understand that we need so much more girl knowledge in this testosterone-filled world.'

The hug felt a bit uncomfortable to Iris. Even though it's a common thing in the world to give hugs, Iris had never really felt the need for someone to wrap their arms around her. She liked her personal space and it always felt like a little invasion of her privacy whenever someone did hug her.

When Linsey let her go and stood still in front of her, Iris awkwardly repositioned some strands of her hair that were hanging loose in front of her face. 'Well, you're welcome. It's really nice to meet you, Linsey.'

'It's amazing to meet you too! I would've loved to grab a cup of coffee together before heading towards the track, but Max unfortunately already has some interviews today.'

Of course, Iris remembered her saying that she was the PR manager of one of their drivers, but she didn't know that the driver she was actually talking about, was Max.

'Oh god, you're the PR manager of the biggest star of the team? What is he like?'

Playfully, Linsey tapped Iris' shoulder and started laughing. 'Like you don't know. You sat next to him during our drive here, so I guess you already know perfectly fine what he's like.'

It took a few seconds before everything clicked together in Iris' head. Oh no... The guy who bumped into her at the airport was THE Max? Like, the fresh world champion Max? It wasn't just another team member who coincidentally was called Max...?

'You didn't know?' Linsey put her hands in front of her mouth and started laughing loudly.

The realisation of what she had done, kicked in. 'Oh hell no... What did I do...?'. 

If it were up to Iris, she would become invisible right away. Did she insult the world champion? The main member of the team?

The Red Bull team member's laugh went over in a chuckle and she looked at Iris with a twinkling in her eyes. 'I heard the two of you talking together and I have to admit that I loved it.'

The embarrassment took over Iris and she buried her face in her hands as the blood was slowly getting towards her cheeks, making her pale skin suddenly not that colourless anymore. What on earth was she thinking when she spoke to a team member like that? Maybe she should've done her homework while on the plane. If she only looked up a picture just once, she could've prevented all of this from happening.

'However, I really have to get going or I'll be too late for the first interview. I guess I'll see you at the track in two hours?'

Iris nodded and slid her hands to cover the redness on her cheeks. 'Yes, I'll be there in two hours. Gosh, I can't believe I was that stupid.'

After Linsey reassured her multiple times that everything would be right, Iris said goodbye to her and left for her own hotel room one hallway further. Once she entered the room, she put her suitcase in front of her bed and let herself fall on top of the soft white sheets. A moan left her lips when she felt the softness of the sheets. My goodness, everything felt so luxurious up here. A five-star reputation definitely put up some expectations, but everything exceeded the moment Iris' skin touched those sheets.

She closed her eyes for another fifteen minutes to get the little man inside her head completely to stop from hammering. Although the sheets felt like heaven and the silence around her should've made it possible for her to get a little bit of rest, her brain didn't stop from overthinking.

What the hell was she thinking when she spoke to Max like that? Yes, she knew that she had to stop him from talking to prevent worse things from happening, but maybe she should've brought it way nicer. Max alone would for sure have the power to get her fired by just one conversation with Christian Horner. Getting fired within one single day was something no one in her close surroundings ever succeeded in. Right now, the record was being held up by one of her friends Joshua, who was fired within three days. Of course due to some unfortunate circumstances, but still. She never had the intention to break that specific record.

There was just something about that guy that got underneath her skin and was itchy like hell. If her first meeting with him was already like this, how would she even survive the next few months?