Hopelessly Devoted ☆ Pierre Gasly

XXIII

The ambience at the Mercedes HQ ...there was a certain tension; it was awkward, somewhat painful and embarrassing. What had happened in Germany...stayed in Germany. It was a good race for the fans, but not for every team. The meetings about that race were over and left in the past, yet the feeling was still present at the office.

Juliette was working behind her computer, she finally had the correct workflow. Let's say Juliette was sensitive to uncomfortable situations; it made her giggle because of the embarrassment the people had, and she couldn't focus properly.

"Can you follow this up?"

"Of course," Juliette replied to a colleague and grabbed the file that was handed over to her. She opened the file and scanned the first pages. A new task on the to-do list. She noticed someone was standing behind her, it was bothering her. Juliette turned around on her chair.

Toto looked at her and smiled. "Hi."

"Hi?" Juliette raised her eyebrows.

"Thanks for the sweets," he said and pointed at the glass jar with sweets. He unwrapped a candy and put it in his mouth.

A laugh rolled over her lips. "You're welcome. Enjoy." Juliette had a jar of sweets on her desk, she barely ate them herself, colleagues, drivers, and the team principal were the ones who stopped by to get a few sweets.

Toto walked away and waved at Juliette.

"Pass me one," Delilah said from across the office. Juliette grabbed a sweet and threw it across the office towards Delilah. "Thanks."

"Juliette, this is perhaps not a question you can answer, but I'm gonna ask it you anyway," James asked. After the visit of Toto, the focus was almost gone. "Reynolds works at Red Bull, on Gasly's team. Do you know if the rumours are true?"

"What rumours?" Juliette asked and pressed a thin smile on her face.

Peter finished typing the sentence on his computer. "Gasly leaving Red Bull?"

"Pathetic guys, fishing for information," Delilah smirked and was waiting for the tea. "But do you know anything about it?"

"We basically have a first rang connection between Mercedes and Red Bull," someone else said. "So, Reynolds Junior, do you have any information on this?"

Juliette parted her lips and was thinking of any information bits. "Reynolds Junior?" A laugh rolled over her lips. "No, I don't have any information. I know just as much as you do."

"The R.J.," Delilah widely smiled. "Shit, I was hoping for some gossip," she added disappointedly. "There's no tea. Sad, RJ, I didn't expect this from you."

"That sucks."

"Do you really not know anything?" Peter was finishing, he wasn't the only one in this room who wanted information.

Juliette was shaking her head. "Nothing," she continued. "I have five n.d.a.'s at Mercedes and five n.d.a.'s at Red Bull, so does my dad, because we happen to be family," she mentioned. "But if Pierre is leaving...rubbish."

"But I'm not gonna lie, Gasly is underperforming," Delilah said and shrugged. "I wouldn't be surprised if Gasly has to leave. You are a hero or a zero. I'm not saying he's a zero, but also not a hero."

James nodded. "He's performing well, but not great. As a team, you should reconsider your options..."

Juliette bit on the inside of her cheek, stay calm. She didn't want to start a debate because she disagreed on this situation personally, but team-wise it was a logical decision. "I don't want to be the party pooper, but I honestly think he deserves more time... I understand money, and team-wise it is for the best to let him go, but he needs to grow into the team. He came from absolutely nothing when he entered F1, and he is working his arse off to make better results. "