Always Under Pressure - Charles Leclerc

Chapter 1

"Are you really going dressed like that?" Diana heard one of her roommates ask. 

"Something wrong with my outfit?" 

"No, it's just you're meeting all your soon-to-be colleagues, maybe you could put on a smart blazer?" 

"A jacket in this heat? No fucking way." 

"And boots are okay?" 

Diana looked in the mirror. She had chosen an all-black look. Did she even own any other coloured clothes? A black tight-fitting t-shirt, black high-rise ripped jeans and black platform boots. Her already natural dark hair was styled with undone and messy waves. She could feel Elena judging her behind her back. 

"It's just a casual meet and greet. It's not an audience with the Queen." 

Diana had just landed a job as a trainee data analyst with Scuderia Ferrari. She would undertake the internship as part of her major in computer science. She had moved from Spain to Bologna, Italy,  a year ago to complete her masters. 

"Leave me alone, Elena. I need to nail this winged eyeliner." Diana scolded her friend who kept showing her boring grey blazer jackets from her own collection. 

She lived in a decent-sized flat with Elena and Ana, twin sisters, from Romania and also studying at the same university, albeit undertaking different degrees. Ana had gone for the weekend on a romantic getaway with her new beau, leaving the two singletons behind. 

"I fear you're going to look too intimidating!" Elena said, referring to Diana's arms covered in tattoos.

"Good, I need to! Otherwise, they won't take me seriously." 

Diana's field was mostly dominated by men. There were very few women in that area and they were usually not taken into consideration. Diana wouldn't take a no for an answer and almost bullied Ferrari into giving her the opportunity. 

It was lucky that she had a good scholarship and wealthy parents. She was able to focus on her studies entirely without having to worry about anything else, however, she was now ready to become independent and start making her own career. 

She already had ties with Ferrari, as her parents were Carlos Sainz Jr. godparents and they grew up as siblings, nevertheless, Diana still had to fight for a position in her field. She had kicked off with the big bosses when they tried to offer her a job as a personal assistant and stormed out of the room. 

"Will Carlos be there? And when will you finally introduce me to him?" Elena asked with sparkly eyes. 

"I guess he will be there. I didn't ask him." Diana shrugged her shoulders completely ignoring the second question. She wasn't much in touch with him due to his crazy schedule. "It's just a PR stunt, Elena. They're only putting us all trainees together and make it seem like they care about us." 

Diana wasn't too keen on the get-together idea, but she wasn't one to shy away from free food and drinks. She was certain that they would just take some photos with the drivers for the Scuderia social media and then they would get on with their lives. It was all just to put out a good impression on the world. 

"At least check out the guys! I'm sure there will be all sort of hot stuff in there!" 

"Trust me, I'll be stuck looking at screens all the time while at work. You don't want to meet those guys." 

Once she was happy with her smoky eye makeup, which complimented her dark green eyes, she grabbed her small YSL shoulder bag and walked out the door. She still had a 30-minute train ride to Maranello ahead of her. 

The social event was taking place in Cavallino Restaurant just opposite the Maranello factory. Diana walked through the series of arches as she observed the red walls covered in Ferrari memorabilia. She saw some people in the main dining area and joined them. She scanned her colleagues. There were very few women and they were all dressed in cute cocktail dresses. She rolled her eyes as she felt people staring. 

"Good evening." Diana was very self-assured in the way she acted and spoke. 

She introduced herself and got to meet some of the other trainees. They were all starting the following week on all various departments within the Scuderia. She was relieved when she spotted Carlos walking in; a familiar face at last. He greeted her with a hug, making the others stare even more. 

Diana wasn't bothered about anyone else's opinion and she wasn't planning on keeping it a secret that she was close to Carlos. She knew she got that job fairly and that was all she cared about. 

"Look at you all grown up!" He told her while placing a protective arm around her shoulders.

"You talk as if you're my old creepy uncle." She said with a smile. Carlos was like an older brother to her, but they only had a 4-year gap between them. 

They smiled for a photo and went on to grab an appetizer. 

"Champagne?" Someone asked her. 

"Hell yeah." She took a glass and clinked glasses with Carlos. 

"You should go around and talk to other people!" Carlos told her.

"I don't give a shit about them. What do you want me to talk about?" She replied back in Spanish. 

"Ay, don't be like that. Go on and be nice for a change..." Carlos said nearly shoving her into a group of people standing around. 

Diana hated small talk. She smiled politely at her new colleagues but made zero effort to get to know them. She simply sipped on her glass as they rambled on about their experiences. She eyed some of the engineers. Elena would definitely approve of them. She was very selective when it came to men. Diana knew she was not the typical girl next door beauty. She was stunning and she was aware of it. She could get any guy she wanted to, whenever she wanted. The guys in front of her were cute, but none of them fit her high standards.

"Now we're talking..." She muttered as she sipped on the champagne. 

Charles Leclerc had just walked in. She had seen him in photos before, but never in person. That was a man worth her time. He was looking rather casual as well with jeans, a red polo shirt and a red backwards cap. Charles greeted everyone politely and joined Carlos. Diana noticed that he had the attention of almost every other woman in the room and decided to make a move before them.

"Hi. I'm Diana!" She introduced herself extending her hand for a handshake. 

"Oh, hi. I'm Charles." He said politely with a shy smile but his eyes straying checking her out. 

"I'll be part of the IT team. Data Analysis."

"Really? You don't look like a..." Charles suddenly stopped talking before he said something stupid.

"You were going to say nerd, right? I get that a lot." 

Diana was definitely making him uncomfortable with the way she kept eye contact. He scratched the back of his head and excused himself to get a drink. 

"Stop it, Diana. He's got a girlfriend." Carlos warned her quietly. 

"As if that ever stopped me."