The Undercut | Max Verstappen

chapter 5

Micah's POV.
Milton Keynes, UK.
August 3rd, 2023.

I tap my foot incessantly against the floorboards. I'm aware it must be annoying to the other three people around me, namely,  a representative from our production company called Jamal Thakur, Christian Horner and Lillian Fleur, another chief officer in the Red Bull communication department. But I can't help it, I'm nothing but a ball of nerves and anxiety. I've been this way since I was thirteen years old and my life was flipped upside down. In that moment I felt the ground being removed from under me, and I've been in a perpetual state of unease ever since. Through the years I have had to learn ways to cope with my anxiety in an effective manner. But anytime I found myself in high stress situations I resorted to certain ticks: tapping my feet, scratching my thumbs, or fumbling with whatever was in my hands in that moment.

This situation most definitely classified as high stress. We were sitting in a large meeting room with floor to ceiling glass doors and a gigantic projection screen at one end of the 20-seat table I was in. And I was waiting for the rest of the team to arrive so we could start with the debrief of the initial impact the first episode of Max's docu series had had. Of course, I was aware of the fact that it had gained over two million views in just four days, and I'd been checking social media to see what people were saying in general. But Red Bull's media & communications team had more accurate data and statistics to analyze the real effects of the product upon release. I was nervous, of course I was. The entire course of my career depended on this.

On the other hand, we would also find out the team's plans for how the docu series would continue its production during the summer break. I was already getting used to the idea of having to visit Monaco quite often to film, but none of us were really sure of how the logistics would work. We were going to find out today, and that only added a whole new level of uncertainty and stress to my already unsettled mood. So much so, that when Max arrived (not late, actually, distinctively right on-the-dot-on-time), I was snapped back to reality so violently that my body jolted where I was sitting.

"Great! Max! What have you been up to these days?" Christian exclaimed with his usual kind smile, once Max sat down on the chair across from mine, acknowledging me with a slight movement of his head.

"Not much, to be honest. I've been relaxing at home, I met Lando for lunch yesterday. I've taken naps with the cats every day, to be honest."

He's a cat owner? Well, that's new. For some reason I'd say he has a face that screams dog owner. So this is most definitely one of the small pieces of information that made my mind spark with curiosity. And if I was curious about the dynamics of Max with a bunch of cats, then others would be too. I found myself thinking that maybe, at some point, if he allowed us access to his home, I'd like to meet the cats that so happen to be the protagonists of a story that Max was then telling, so engrossed he was with the narration, that he barely even noticed me sitting there, waiting for the rest of the team to arrive and take the seats I'd been saving for them.

"And so I spent fifty minutes looking for him, only to find him hidden in the laundry closet, sleeping peacefully while I freaked out." he explained, shaking his head while not even trying to hold back the smile that graced his face. He looked calm, at ease. "That's why I was late to the airport. When I got to the plane the pilot looked like he wanted to kill me on the spot for messing with his schedule."

"You say that cause you don't have kids. Wait until you have to gather actually little human beings around before going anywhere." Christian laughed.

He was interrupted by the sound of Nick entering the room, an apologetic look on his face for entering the conference room a few minutes late. He'd been there when I arrived but had excused himself saying he had to take an important call. Now that he was joining us, he took a seat next to me and smiled over at everyone with that usual politeness that was so characteristic of him.