Her || Charles Leclerc

17. A Boss Ass Bitch

The next day, everybody went back to work like nothing had happened in Austria. A few people noticed how Matilde and Charles just talked to each other instead of ignoring each other and sharing death glances. It brought up some suspicions, but the people were glad there was no tension.

The people who had to be in the pre-race weekend meeting were present: the team principal, all the heads of departments, the drivers and other people who just had to be there.

"A few of you got to meet Ada already, some of you have not yet. Ada, our new social media manager, will work closely with Dario and his team. Ada used to work for LEGO, and we're happy to have her on board with us," Matilde mentioned. "It is our goal to get more engagement with our fans through social media."

"How are we going to do that?" Silvia asked, she was truly interested in the new approach. It was fresh, new, different.

"That's up to the social media team and their strategy. I don't want to name any teams with a very good social media strategy, but I will do it anyway, to give you an example. Aston Martin's social media approach is quite brilliant, and Mercedes's as well. We don't want to copy their strategy, but let's keep it in mind," Matilde replied. She straightened her back, feeling some discomfort in her stomach. She squeezed her eyebrows together and curved her back again.

The people in the room nodded, eager to learn more about the new woman and the new social media approach. The meeting continued with some other topics that needed to be discussed.

"On to the last topic," Silvia said, taking the lead on the last ten minutes of the meeting. "You may have seen or read it, or not yet, but there is a clash going on with some quotes of Matilde," she carefully said, looking at Matilde and analysing her reaction.

Matilde raised her eyebrows, blinking a couple of times.

It was clear to Silvia that Matilde wasn't aware of the situation yet. "Matilde had an interview with Viaplay The Netherlands, and they talked about Charles and Carlos and their contracts. I will quote the interview. Interviewer: 'Matilde, some rumours have been circulating that you encourage Charles and Carlos to speak to other teams. Can you clarify your position on this?' Matilde: 'As a team principal, my goal is to ensure that our drivers, Charles and Carlos, are in the best possible environment to excel in their careers. Part of that process involves understanding what options are available to them. Charles and Carlos are both incredibly talented and highly sought-after drivers, so it's only natural that other teams would express interest in them. I do encourage Charles and Carlos to talk to other teams, it is them who drive the cars and they have an important role within the team, the team is built around them. If they are convinced to see more opportunities in other teams, they are free to go.'"

While everyone in the room listened to the words, heads turned to Matilde. It felt like betrayal, did she just say that she wanted the drivers to go to other teams? Charles frowned; yesterday, Matilde gave him reasons to stay at Ferrari, and now she wants him gone? Carlos sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

"People on Twitter, other platforms and the media are convinced you want them to leave the team," Silvia said to Matilde, who looked just as perplexed as everyone else in the room. Betrayal or surprise? "Do you want to comment on it or leave it be?"

Matilde took a moment to process the words, she was thinking about it and replaying the interview in her head. It was noticeable that she was thinking, her facial expressions said enough. She parted her lips and looked around in the room, it was like she had stabbed her team in the back. Everyone was waiting for a reaction, others already took a side. "I don't have time for this bullshit," was her response. And no, it wasn't the right response. "I have never said that," she added.