The Bull Prince | Max Verstappen

Chapter Four: Mark Webber

A few hours of peace in the sun would do her good. Maybe she would be able to finally clear her mind. Not even the time at home had helped this time. Well, she was never the biggest fan of living in Monaco, but it always served as a great distraction. Some parties on a yacht, a trip with a fast car, a good gamble in the casino or generally getting drunk with friends in the sun. She was 25, she shouldn't feel too old for that live style yet, and still, it was all getting a little bit much as of lately.

Joanna had seen him walk up to her from behind her dark sunglasses, but she decided not to move for now. Lounging outside, right in front of the Ferrari facility, all she wanted was to enjoy the sun on her skin. To be true, she hadn't expected Max to walk up to her after what she did in Australia, but he didn't seem bothered much by it. No angry words, no explanation demanded.

Either he got into her game ready to play, or she misinterpreted the signs. She was a little bit curious about which of the two possibilities the case was.

He had flirted with her during the press conference like he always used to, despite Josie's best tries to turn it into jokes in front of the media, flirting back a little bit, just to maintain her reputation. She was known to be the one with a smile, which could change a room's atmosphere. The one with a heart of gold and an angelic appearance. 'He' didn't manage to hurt her reputation and an 18-year-old hormone-driven teenager wouldn't succeed either.

"Hey," Max called as soon as he had sat down right in front of her. Crossed legged and with a Red Bull in hand. At first, Josie thought about ignoring him. All she had to do was not move in her lounge chair, but she couldn't help raising an eyebrow when she heard the delighted tone in Max's voice.

Which was odd. She couldn't figure out how anyone could be in a good mood when Marko and Horner were always on your ass. Not to mention his father.

Joanna would have understood if he were a moody teenager, yet Max was a bit awkward at best, but he played with the press. They loved to hate him and Max gladly played the underdog for them. He didn't mind. He was totally cool and confident. He didn't care what others thought about him.

Josie grimaced as he opened the Red Bull and took a big sip. She despised the energy drink. It reminded her far too much of her wilder days, India in general after Sebastian won the title again. The two were so drunk on the way to the airport that they asked the driver if the elephant they saw on the road was actually real.

"Can you not drink that next to me?" She asked him, causing Max to smile brightly at her. Well, fuck. He thought she was asleep, but now he knew that she wasn't. Why did the boy resemble an excited golden retriever when he smiled triumphantly?

"Not a fan?" Max questioned and Josie could barely believe that the six-year younger Dutchman simply walked up to her and started a conversation.

Since when did people just come up to her to talk? She belonged to the upper league. Was a champion. She preferred the times when people still gazed at her from a distance. These boys were so carefree in their pushiness, Joanna didn't understand why.

Maybe she had been like that once upon a time as well. If she was, she now understood why Mark and Fernando disliked her and Seb so much. A few years ago, they were the golden retriever puppies, which were following them with awe and excitement in their eyes. She never imagined she would stay long enough to have to raise the next generation.

Normally, she had an army of PR people to keep the puppies away when they got too annoying and she already had a run-in with Stoffel today. It was not every day that the replacement driver was actually allowed to drive the race. Another excited puppy. Well and Jenson but the Brit wasn't a puppy by any means more like an old blind god, which had an artificial hip.