The Bull Prince | Max Verstappen

Chapter Eleven

28. May 2016

"Are you falling for it?" Was the first thing Max heard as Daniel entered his room, without knocking. The Dutch was just glad he was fast enough to pull his shirt down after changing so his teammate wouldn't see his back. Sure that Joanna had left her marks after he decided to decorate her neck with love bites.

"What?" Max questioned as Daniel stared at him. The bright smile the Aussie normally wore plastered on his face nowhere to be seen. It was concern, which was written all over his face, concern, and interest.

Daniel couldn't say he was proud of how long it took him to understand Joanna's moves in Spain. Something about the whole situation had felt off, it simply wasn't Joanna's handwriting. Yes, she liked to play with the fire, but with her role as GPDA- director her games have decreased in their intensity. 

 Playing with the feeling for two starstruck lovers was beneath her, Daniel knew that she would never lower herself to that level, especially because she was close to both of them privately. Her fights against her friends were always fought nobly, Daniel knew that from experience.

Her go-to method was anger. Not her anger, but one of her enemies. Joanna liked to enrage men; she enjoyed the view. Angry and impulsive people tend to take the wrong step and if they did, Joanna was there to close her trap. Intentionally putting them in situations where they would leash out.

With that tactic, she had ruined Fernando's reputation. Now he was known as a difficult man to work with, with a toxic personality, all thanks to Joanna which is why Fernando loathed her so much. He underestimated her once and since that day, she let him pay for his mistake.

So, Daniel concluded that Lewis and Nico's crash must have been a side effect of her original game. Joanna wasn't one to play with other people's lives, not anymore. The only thing he couldn't figure out was how her move had hurt Fernando. Normally he was her main target, even though her games have reduced over the years, but that was where he went wrong. Joanna wasn't after Fernando, the Spaniard wasn't a threat any longer, but she saw one in Max Verstappen, which concerned him. If Joanna made such an effort to lure the Dutchman into one of her clever traps, then he was also dangerous for him.

The bet with Fernando was always just a cover, a cover the Spaniard didn't even realize he was providing the Austrian with. Despite all the answers, one question still remained. Why was Joanna after Max? 

"The Red Queen," Daniel answered with a light shrug of his shoulder like it would have been obvious to anybody what he was talking about.

"I know Joanna long enough to know that she wasn't provoking Nico. For some reason, she seems to be after you." Maybe Max would simply tell him. The Dutchman was really rather straightforward and chill. Hopefully, he knew something about the Austrian's plan.

"Why would she?" he asked defensively instead of simply answering the question, which told Daniel that he was on to something. The way Max's right hand began to tremble slightly when he tried not to say the Austrian's name showed Daniel that the boy knew more than he wanted to admit. 

"That I don't know, my friend." The Aussie muttered, before sitting down next to Max. Maybe playing the big brother would help. Hopefully, Joanna hadn't sunk her claws too deeply into his flesh yet. Daniel liked the young Dutchman, but if Joanna saw a danger in him, he had to be on his guard, just as he was on guard with the Austrian, even though they were good friends in private. At home, they could do whatever they wanted, but on the track, war was the only thing they knew. After all, there were only 20 seats in F1, and no one who was here was willing to leave.

"But I do know Jo," Daniel added.

"She's openly taking on Fernando. Risking her precious Ferrari, stepping in to defend you, more than her GPDA role forces her to. Lauda's sugar-coating you so you won't see it coming when she's about to snap your neck." Daniel said, thinking it strange that Joanna changed her go-to tactics with Max. As far as Daniel knew she only once before used her body for her games but back then she burned herself playing with the fire. Learning from it, she preferred other methods. Never again doing the same mistake.