Brute

9. Max

A/n: AAAAAA IM SO SORRRYYY the update completely slipped my mind it's not like I'm doing much this summer I've just been taking naps and eating endlessly 😭 but some how my pea brain forgot to update. I'm sorry! I hope you enjoy this update :)

Much to his dissapointment, Neel didn't have any scoops to offer. Raymond had just landed and he would see him directly at track, he said that he had news to share after the qualifying session of course.

With Evi gone, Max didn't know what to do. She wouldn't answer his calls or texts, her friends told him to leave her alone, he was making it more difficult for her than it already was. He couldn't understand what went wrong, they had their fair share of arguments that had left either one of them angry at the other but nothing had ever been quite this bad.

He wanted to get his mind off of it, there were other responsibilities he had to focus on. With Evi not by him at the passenger seat of the car, it felt alone. Neel had already figure out something had happened and put Max in a bad mood, being the good friend he was, he tried to take Max's mind off it it by asking him questions about the car, what he was hoping for during today's sessions and how he wanted to spend the evening. It was actually working, he didn't look so sullen anymore.

They reached the paddock and headed to the garage, Max showed him around and Neel took in the place with much awe. He even got to meet Christian Horner, something he decided he was never going to shut up about. He went back to Max's driver room, he found him warming up for the practice session.

The practice session went by relatively uneventful, after a break it was time for Max to get back into the car and give his absolute best for a good position on Sunday, the crowd went wild seeing the pace he was at. The atmosphere the spectators had created was a sight to see, orange as far as the eye could see and everyone chanting for their prince.

"He's doing good today isn't he?" An older man asked Neel. He looked at his face for a while and everything clicked, it was Raymond, Max's manager.

"He's flying! Pole's gotta be his." Neel beamed.

And it was, the garage went wild. Neel and Raymond cheered at the top of their lungs and rushed to the barricades. Max hopped out of his car and took off his helmet to reveal a tired but content expression on his face, Charles, who finished third congratulated him for his pole and walked away.

Max gave interviews, cleaned up and finally got to talk to Raymond. He couldn't lie, the entire time after hopping out of his car, all he could think about was what Raymond had to share with him. He walked back to his garage and found Raymond waiting for him there.

"So what do you have to say?" He asked taking a sip from his bottle.

"Remember how you said that you wanted me to travel with you all the time?"

"Yes I did, so have you changed your mind about it?"

"I have not. But I did get someone who will stand in for me, travel with you to every race and I think it should work well."

"Can you tell me more about who you've chosen?" He asked taking a seat opposite to him.

"She's really good at her job and she will definitely keep you in line." Raymond smiled.

"She?" Max looked at him in confusion. She. It didn't take him too long to connect the dots, in this moment he didn't know if he should argue with him or just walk away. "You've got to be kidding me."

"I'm not. She knows what she's doing and she is good at it, she's working on some of the best projects on the Antwerp fashion scene at just 26."

"That's fashion. This is racing, it's miles different. One is about shallow pretty people and racing isn't about pretty people." Max scoffed.

"I think you forget the thrashing she's given you on track-"

"As a child. We're adults now, what does she know about racing?"

"She doesn't need to know about racing. She needs to know about how to get you to behave, and I'm sure she can."

"You make me sound like a delinquent." Max frowned.

"As if you're not short of one. You've caused me all the grey hair boy." Raymond laughed.

"I don't want her managing me. I want you managing me."

"I will manage you, she's my representative." Raymond explained. "Give her a fair chance, if you don't like her I'll assign her elsewhere. A mind as sharp as hers doesn't come so often."

"Fine." Max huffed. "When is she going to start?"

"Next week. She'll be coming to Monza with you."

Max thanked him and left to find Neel, who was deep in conversation with mechanics from Checo's garage. They headed back to the hotel and decided to get dinner and spend all night gaming. Max told him what Raymond had told him, Neel couldn't help but laugh. He could not imagine Kalki and him work together, let alone be present at the same event without clashing with each other.

"You've been tense even before that, I don't mean to invade but how are you doing, actually?" Neel asked him.

"It's whatever man, Evi got mad at me and went back home before I could even explain myself to her." He sighed.

"I hope you apologised at least."

"She won't even answer my calls or texts."

"Oh she's MAD alright, what did you do?"

"I don't know! That's the problem."

"It's best to let her have her own space and time, I'm sure she'll talk about it once she's cleared her mind."

"You're a bit of a chick magnet aren't you? With all that emotional intelligence."

"Being around two teenage girls going through puberty will give you a lot of patience and emotional intelligence." Neel laughed.

"What's the dating scene like for you?" Max asked diverting attention away from his train wreck.

"I'm just not that interested at the moment, I've got way too much going on the career aspect of my life."

"What's happening? Tell me more!" Max asked hoping to distract him, so that he could beat him in this round of their game.

"Nice try Max, I can beat you with my eyes closed." Neel smirked.

"Any advice you've got for me? Before your sister becomes my chaperone?"

"Try not to bite each other's heads off, and cooperate with each other."

"I can try. No promises." Max laughed.