Our Little Secret [ Max Verstappen ]

part six

Pre season testing, Bahrain, day 2.
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Hey, you." Lewis said as he approached the Red bull garage.
"Lewis! Hey." Lilia said, standing up to hug him.

"How are you?" He asked.
"I'm good. But how are you? I haven't seen you since.." She said, her voice trailing off.
"Yeah.. I'm okay. After taking time to clear my head.. I'm over it now. Hopefully this season I can get going again but the car is just so difficult." He said.
"Are you sure you're not sandbagging?" She asked with a smirk.
"Honestly, I promise we're not. What about you guys anyway- that isn't the red bull you were expecting surely?" He said.
"No.. no it wasn't. But I don't think the car was entirely to blame. There was a lot of oversteer that made it difficult but my head wasn't in it yesterday." She admitted.
"Ah. Yeah, I understand. Well, it's good thing you're not running today then. You have to be fully committed in that car, god knows what could happen if not.." He said.
"Yeah.. after my mistake yesterday I don't want to cause anything worse- for me or others on track." She said.
"That's the smart thing to do. Are you worried about anything in particular..?" He asked.
"I- .. I'm not worried as such. Just.. got a lot on my mind." She said.
"Yeah? Well, if you ever need someone to talk about it with I'm always around." He said.
She smiled. "I know. Thanks, Lew." She said.

A sharp cough interrupted their conversation. "Um, Lilia.." The Dutchman said.
She turned around. "Oh, Hi max. What's up?" She asked.
"I tried to keep him away for a while but he really needs to speak with you." Max said.
"Who?" She asked.
"Christian." He said.
She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Right.. great." She said, then turned back to Lewis.

"You better scram before he sees you. He'll launch an investigation on you- say that you're conspiring against red bull or stealing our car design." She said to Lewis, laughing.
Lewis chuckled. "Yeah, I suppose so. I'll see you soon, then?" He said.
Lilia nodded. "Sure." She said.
"And remember what I said, okay?" He said.
"I will. Bye, Lew." She said.
"See ya, Lils." He said before he got back on his scooter and rode off back to the Mercedes garage.

"Lew? Lils?" Max said, pulling a face.
"Yeah... what?" Lilia said, frowning.
"It's not smart to get friendly with the opposition." Max said.
"Lewis and I have been friends for, like, three years now. Doesn't mean I go easy on him on track." She said.
"Just friends, yeah?" He said.
"Uh.. yes? Can't we be?" She said.
"I don't know, just the way he looks at you.." he said.
"Jealous?" She retorted.
"No. I just don't think it's smart to be like that with another driver." He said.
"How ironic." She muttered.
"What?" He said.
"Nothing, I better go find Christian." She said, removing herself from the situation.

She walked over to the pit wall, where Christian stood chatting to some of the strategists before the testing session began, a cup of coffee in his hand.

"Hi, Christian." Lilia said.
"Hi, Lilia. Is everything okay?" He asked.
"Yeah, all good. What did you want to speak with me about?" She asked.

Christian looked back at her blankly. ".. Nothing? Did you receive an email?" He said.
"No- Max just said you need to speak with me. I assume about yesterday?" She said.
"I.. haven't spoken to Max." He said.
Lilia frowned. "Oh.. right. Well.. um. Never mind then." She said.
"We'll have a team debrief after the three sessions, but not yet. Unless you wanted to ask me anything?" He said.
"Oh, no. I'm all okay- no issues really apart from oversteer but I already mentioned that on radio and we'll discuss it in the debrief.. thanks anyway, Christian." She said.
"No problem." He said.

She said goodbye and walked away, the fury rising in her more and more with every step she took.

"You lying bastard!" She shouted at Max as she stalked over to him.
Max, who still stood where she left him, jumped at the sound of her anger. "Wha-"
"No acting stupid. You know what I mean. You lied about Christian needing to speak to me." She said.
"I.. okay, I did." He said, avoiding her eyes.
"Are you going to offer me an explanation?" She said.