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"I'm not particularly happy about it, but if you prefer to do that, then okay. I'll get over it." Kallie shrugged carelessly as she tied the laces on her sneakers. Kaikara had come to ask how Kallie would feel if she sat in the Aston Martin garage to support Fernando, rather than sit in the Maserati garage. "Uyibrat." Kaikara muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Kallie scoffed in offense, "how am I being a brat? I'm not the one who promised to support my kids and turn around and choose to support my new boyfriend instead."

"Kallie, enough," Lewis spoke and she turned to him with a glare. "No, I'm sick of you defending her. I let you do that enough last year. I'm done." She turned back to her mother, the woman already upset at her daughter's words. Kezie and Kaylen were the only ones supportive of her relationship with Fernando. Kallie had chose to ignore it, pretend it wasn't happening. It ruined her friendship she had with Fernando but she didn't care. She just saw him as a man who was trying to replace her father. "It's bad enough you moved on from on Baba and now you don't wanna do your job as a mother and be there for me."

"Kallie." Lewis sighed, unable to do anything as Kallie stormed out of the hotel room with her bags. "I'm sorry, Kai. She's just...very stressed out. She got into it with Kaylen and now this." He said, gathering the rest of Kallie's bags she left behind as Kai sat on the chair next to the table. "Don't apologize for my daughter. She's always been like this. Every time I got into an argument with Jae, she'd beg us not to divorce cause she didn't want another dad. I wasn't even going to entertain Fernando. I couldn't see myself with anyone who wasn't Jae. But, it just happened, ya know?"

"I get it. It happens, you can't really control it. But, I know how she's feeling, it's just hard for her to adjust to it. She still has these moments where she forgets that he's gone. A few days ago, we were talking and she got excited and said she had to tell her dad about it but when she called him, it just went to voicemail and she remembered. I can't imagine how hard it'll be when she has to race in Spa on the 28th." Lewis said, and the realization finally hit Kaikara. She hadn't even realized that Kallie would have to race the day she lost Jae-hyun. Lewis was grateful they didn't have a race in Germany this year cause he knew Kallie wouldn't be able to drive on that track, the same one she got the worse news of her life at.

"I need to go, but thank you for your kindness. I'll see you at the track." Kaikara smiled politely before rushing out, not giving him much time to react but he just shrugged it off and pulling his wife's bags over his shoulders to carry them down to the car.

Kaikara rushed into her hotel room, the one she shared with Fernando. He looked up from his phone and immediately grew concerned at the tears that ran down her cheeks. "I'm such a horrible mother." She breathed out. Fernando reached out, bringing her to sit down next to him on the bed. "No, no, you are the best mother I've ever seen. What happened?" He pulled her into his arms, not even caring that her makeup smudged against his shirt.

"This season is going to be so hard on her, and I just made it worse. I was being so selfish, only thinking about how it would affect me. I didn't even think of her. She's going to race on the day her world fell apart, and I basically told her I didn't want to support her." Kaikara rambled, more tears running down her cheeks. He sighs, rubbing her back in a comforting manner. "You couldn't have known that. This is a hard year for you too. It's a tough year for all of you. That doesn't make you a bad mother. You've given everything to your children, you sacrificed a lot. You deserve to be a little selfish."

"I know, I know I do, but it's hard when I'm their only parent left. They depend on me for everything. And now my daughter hates me because she thinks I don't love her father anymore." Kai spoke, running a hand over her hair with a exasperated sigh. "She doesn't hate you. That'd be impossible. Do you want me to talk to her? I think hearing it from me would help." Fernando asked, cupping her face gently. "I'm not sure. I don't want her to snap at you."

Fernando chuckles lightly, shrugging his shoulder, "I'm not scared. It wouldn't be the first time she snaps at me."

"Are you sure? She can say some very hurtful things when she's upset." Kaikara says, and she wasn't wrong, when Kallie was upset or very angry, she'd whatever came to mind, she didn't spare feelings. The only times she's never said anything hurtful was rare, but it was always with Lewis. She couldn't say a hurtful thing to him if she tried. "It'll be fine. I can handle it. I know how she is, I used to babysit her, remember?" Fernando smiled.

"Ja, don't remind me. She used to call us all night telling us how bad of a babysitter you were." Kaikara admitted, rubbing her neck awkwardly with pursed lips.

Fernando feigned an offended look, letting out a scoff. "I was a great babysitter. She was just evil and no fun."
She shrugs, "good point. She never could have fun," Kaikara chuckles. "Think Lewis knows how much of a party pooper his wife is?" Fernando asks jokingly but Kaikara nods nevertheless. "Oh, definitely. He probably sees it firsthand."

"Think I should talk to her today or wait until tomorrow?" He asked, and today was just media day, and the next day would be practice 1.

"Tomorrow, preferably before practice so she doesn't run you into the wall." Kaikara replied, patting his shoulder with a small smile.

Fernando chuckles, leaning down to pull her into a kiss. "You're a perfect mum. Don't tell yourself otherwise," he whispered softly against her lips. She smiled, and pulled him back down, connecting their lips again. His hands furthered down her back, grabbing onto her waist and pulling her onto his lap. "How much time do we have?" She asked, pulling away to catch her breath. He shrugs, pushing her hair behind her ear, "enough."

"Let's make the most of it."

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Kallie jogged towards Lewis and he smiled, throwing his arms out dramatically. She laughs as she jumps into them, her legs wrapping around his torso. "Quite the greeting." He jokes, pulling off his sunglasses so she could see his eyes. "That's because I'm always happy to see you. And I don't have to pretend you're my boyfriend anymore." She grinned, connecting their lips into a short and sweet kiss.

He hums in delight, "ah yes, I love being your husband. Add it to my list of achievements."

"Other way around. I'm not a big deal." She denied, jumping off his waist, much to his dismay.

"Stop saying that. You're a bigger deal than me right now." He pressed a kiss to her head before pulling his sunglasses back on.

"Liar." She scoffed, pulling on her own sunglasses. Ever since she got eye surgery for her eyesight, Lewis would always get on her about wearing sunglasses because she had a bad habit of looking at the sky. "Lying to yourself isn't attractive," he adds with a sassy roll of his eyes. "If I was lying, it'd still be attractive because I'm me." She shrugs, putting her arm around him and pulling him closer to her, his arm wrapping around her shoulders.

"Very true. It's why you're still attractive, even if you're a horrible liar. By the way, you have a terrible habit of lying." Lewis points out, glancing down at her, the Maserati suit hanging low on her waist because of the heat. "No, I don't." She scoffed, before pausing, her brows furrowed slightly as she looked at him, "do I seriously lie that much?" He chuckles, nodding in reply, "they aren't big lies but you do tend to lie a lot. Specifically when you say things like, you don't beg, or that I'm not hot, or that time you said you weren't terrified of pickles."

"I don't beg," she mutters lowly.

Lewis laughs, shaking his head in amusement. "I'm quite sure I proved you wrong last night." She quickly slapped a hand over his mouth with wide eyes. "Put on your filter, there's cameras and mics everywhere." He frowned, pulling her hand off his mouth carefully, "I'm being silenced. I don't like it." She rolled her eyes in amusement and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Hey, lovebirds!" Lando called, waving the married couple over excitedly.

"I just talked to you yesterday," Kallie scoffs, letting go of her hold on her husband to hug Lando. "Over the phone is not the same." He replies, hugging her tightly. A few of the others went over when they spotted the two. Everyone was very eager to greet Kallie, much to her surprise. "Now we got two Hamilton's to worry about," Esteban comments, getting a few laughs around the group. "Not sure you'll worry about much with me being race leader and all," Kallie retorts, getting some more laughs.

"Hermosa," Carlos grinned, pulling her into a hug excitedly, her feet lifting from the ground, his arms sliding around her waist. "Chili," she laughs, pressing a peck on his cheek. Lewis scowled, grabbing her waist and pulling her away, "alright, back off the wife, man. Hands to yourself." Carlos put his hands up in surrender, "sorry, sorry, don't kill me, please."

"Can I get in on this lovin'?" George moves Carlos out the way to hug his pseudo sister, again, much to Lewis's dismay.

"You guys are gonna suffocate the poor girl," Valtteri comments, seeing how they pulled her into the tightest hugs possible. "Trying to injure me already," she laughs, pulling away and moving over to Valtteri. "How are you? Haven't seen you in a minute." She hugged him, the driver hugging her back gently with a smile. They always got along, and maybe it was because Lewis encouraged Valtteri to befriend her.

"I've been good. You?" He smiled, rubbing her back. She nods, "good, very good. Nice haircut. You pull it off brilliantly." He chuckles as he thanks her.

"This is what British people do to you. Kallie never uses the word brilliantly," Pierre comments knowingly. Lando points at himself proudly, "all thanks to me." Lewis rolls his eyes, of course Lando would make it about him. "You're forgetting who's actually married to her," he retorts. "There you go, making it all about you. She liked me first. Get over it," Lando argued, the group of drivers just laughing at him.

"Actually he's kinda right, she used to hate Lewis," Alex adds. "Mate, you weren't even around during that time," George laughs, hitting his shoulder. "Fuck off, I watched the documentary. It made me cry. It was very heartwarming and you can't talk because you weren't around either." Alex retorts defensively.

Carlos walked back over, bumping fists with Lando first, and then George. "Cabrón." Yuki came over to the group, greeting everyone, and sharing a hug with the taller Kallie. "Oh, there is the man! Cabrón!" Pierre says jokingly, bumping fists with Yuki. "I think Yuki's got smaller," Lando jokes, gaining a few laughs around. "Even Kallie's taller than him," George adds. "I'm not even short," she scoffs, getting looks from the group. "Hate to break it to you, but your height with heels doesn't count, Kallie," Lando mocks.

"You're seriously testing my patience, child." Kallie glares at him, causing Lando to quickly pull Alex and George in front of him. "My bad, my bad! Don't hurt me!" They all just snickered at him acting like a chicken. She glanced over and spotted the workers moving the Maserati chassis right next to Max's car for the photos and videos.

Kaylen approached the group, smiling as he greeted his friends. "How's Merida?" Lando asks, looking over to Charles. "She's good. She's in Paris right now for work." Charles answered, a small smile on his face as he thought of his girlfriend. "You know, how am I so unlucky when it comes to this family? You get Merida. Lewis got Kallie. Fernando got Kara. Daniel had a thing with Kezie. And I'm stuck with nothing. The only one left is Kaylen but I'm not that desperate yet," Lando frowned.

"Even if you were, I wouldn't be interested," Kaylen snorts.

Lando gasps dramatically in offense as they laugh at him. "You see that? I've been rejected by the whole family." Carlos chuckles, "good to know if Kezie was ever single and looking, it would be me over you." Kallie laughs, nodding in agreement, "it's true. Carlos is next in line." Lando frowns, "I'm not even in line." As everyone laughs and mocks him, Kallie looked behind Alex and noticed his rookie teammate, Logan Sargeant just standing there listening to the conversation. She hadn't met him yet, but she watched him in F2.

As Charles, Lewis, and his new teammate George were discussing the Aston Martin car, along with their own and Maserati, Kallie made her way over to Logan, spotting him talking to his Oscar, who was also a rookie for this season. "Hi, we haven't had the pleasure of meeting. I'm Kalliope, everyone calls me Kallie." She stuck her hand out with a comforting smile and he quickly took it with a nervous smile. "It's nice to meet you. I'm Logan. I've met you before though, not that you'd remember cause I was really young." He chuckles nervously.

"Really? I don't recall," she pursed her lips in thought, nothing coming to mind.

"It was at your sister's concert in Florida, I was with my brother and you were standing next to us with your friend and bodyguard. We got a picture with you." Logan explained. Kallie's eyes widened in realization, "oh my gosh, that was you? I remember, you're brother asked if he could get my number. And you asked if I knew Lady Gaga." She laughs and he nodded, his cheeks turning red. "Yeah, that was us. He still asks if I could get your number for him."

Kallie chuckles, shaking her head in amusement. "What's your Instagram so I can follow you? I'm trying to get everyone. I don't wanna leave anyone out." She pulled out her phone and held it out for him, his eyes widened slightly as he fumbled to grab it, making Oscar face-palm in exasperation. He quickly clicked on his account and handed it back to her, careful not to accidentally drop it. "Alright then, I see you already follow me so that's good. I gotta go but message me if you ever need anything, advice, tips, etcetera."

"Yeah, definitely. So nice meeting you." He watched as she jogged back over to her husband, Lewis pressing a kiss to her cheek as she introduced herself to Zhou Ganyu. Oscar turns to his friend with a baffled look, "mate? It's just Kallie. How do you get that nervous? You look like a tomato." Logan shoots him a glare mixed with offense, "It's Kallie Kumalo, are you seriously judging me? That's Keziyah's sister. I was just talking to greatness. You can't honestly tell me you weren't like that when you first met her."

"I wasn't," Oscar denied.

"That's bullshit," Lando comments as he walks pass the two rookies.

Logan grinned triumphantly, sending his friend a pointed look, "see?"

"I heard Fred Vassuer is team principal for Ferrari now, yes? When my sister told me, I thought she was drunk." Kallie spoke, directing her words more towards Charles. "Definitely not drunk. He's been pretty good though. We get along very well. Hopefully he can help bring us back to the top, you know?" Charles said. Kallie nods, crossing her arms over her chest, "yeah, I like Fred, he's always been super kind to me, and not just when he was trying to steal me from Red Bull."

"The only one able to successfully pull that off is Sang," George chuckles.

"She's always looked better in blue anyways," Carlos comments, walking over to the group of four. "I'd think she'd look pretty good in red," Charles chuckles. Kallie shook her head with a light chuckle, "I don't know about that. I think red would flatter Lewis more." Charles pursed her lips with a nod as he looked over at Lewis, the man just staring at his wife with a small smile. "I can see that." (little do they know 😏)

"Where is Lance?" She questioned, not seeing the second Aston Martin driver anywhere. "Oh you didn't hear? He broke his wrist, can't race until maybe Barcelona? It's unclear." George answered. Kallie frowned, "ah, that sucks. I'm gonna send him some flowers." Lando joined the group again overhearing the conversation, "so what I'm hearing is, I need to get injured for Kallie to send me flowers and potentially nurse me back to health?" He smirks.

"Stick to the other sister. This one is taken," Lewis scowled.

"She's not answering my calls," Lando frowns in sadness. "She's a busy woman, mate," Carlos pats his shoulder with a sympathetic look.

Soon they were called over to the cars for the photos and videos or whatever. Kallie and Kaylen stood alongside their car up in the front. It was right beside the Red Bull as they wanted the new Maserati up in front but they also had to have the champions up there as well so they put them side to side. "Okay, thanks everyone. That's a wrap. Thank you." The man announced.

"Not gonna inspect your competitors?" Darren questioned, passing Kallie her sunglasses again when she went back over to him. "Nothing to inspect. Doesn't matter how good their cars may be. I'm simply...better." She replies with a shrug of her shoulder, leaning up against the wall as everyone was chatting about, inspecting the cars, mostly the Maserati. There was cameras everywhere, so they definitely caught what she said, not that she cared. A laugh escaped her lips as Lewis basically fully leaned in to see the details inside her car. "Inspector Lewis," she giggles to herself.

Fernando walked over to her, "you mind if we talk? Privately?"

Kallie sighed, and nodded, "sure, let's talk."

They went to the side of the Maserati building towards the back so no cameras or mics were anywhere near them. Now, Kallie had given Netflix complete permission to film her for DTS, but it had to be F1 related, cause she wasn't about to let them record much about her private life, such as this. "What's this about? I don't have much time. I'm on a very busy schedule," Kallie spoke, pushing her glasses up as the sun wasn't directly on her anymore.

"It's about me and your mum," he started, noticing how her face fell and her eyes averted to the ground. "Kallie, I understand your frustrations. But, I want you to know, I'm not here to replace your father, I could never do that. Jae was a very special person and I have the utmost respect for him. I'm not at all trying to become a father to you, you have one, and it's not my place. But, I really love your mother. I would never do anything to hurt her. She means the world to me."

Kallie looked up, her eyes softened. "I appreciate you saying that."

"And, you should know, it wasn't easy for your mum to move on, okay? It wasn't at all. She's turned me down several times, we've had a lot of troubles, and she's struggled to move on. It was not easy. It took her three years to even try, and even now she has some difficulty. It's not easy, so please, try to remember that when you bring up your father." Fernando said, still holding an understanding smile, which brought some hidden comfort to her.

She sighed, running a hand through her braids, she crouched down, processing it all- how much she regretted her harsh words, and how she treated Fernando when it wasn't at all his fault. She stood back up, pulling her eyes off the floor because she was raised to look someone in the eyes when she spoke. "I'm sorry for the way I treated you, it wasn't fair to you, it's not your fault. It's just- hard to see her move on, cause then that means he's really...it means he's actually gone. That's just difficult to process. I didn't really blame you. I was just upset and it blinded me. I'm sincerely sorry if I said anything hurtful to you. I'll talk to my mum. I owe her an apology."

"You do, but don't worry about that right now. You can speak with her later. You should focus on practice for now." Fernando reassured, and she nodded in response. He held out his hand as a way of a truce but she just hugged him instead, and he smiled as he accepted her embrace.

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Q1 was excellent for Kallie, gaining P1. And Q2 wasn't super good- stuck in P3 behind Max who was in P2, and Fernando in P3. Lewis was behind Kallie in P4. Kaylen didn't do so well in any of the practices, which was a huge shock to many as he got P7. Kallie wasn't worried about him. He didn't want her help and she wasn't gonna give him any, not after the way he had been treating her.

Kallie took a small break after Q2 to go see her husband. He waited outside the Mercedes motorhome for her and smiled widely when he spotted her running over, Darren huffing as he tried to keep up with her. "You're kicking my ass out there and it's only qualifying," Lewis chuckles, extending his arms as she throws herself into them. "I warned you." She retorts, pressing a kiss to his cheek as she jumps off of him, much to his dismay.

"I got you those brownies you're obsessed with," he says, handing her the small container.

She gasped, quickly taking them with excitement. She hadn't had them since she left Red Bull. They had always had them in the Red Bull hospitality for her so Lewis made sure they had them this year. She squint her eyes at him playfully, "how did you know I was obsessed with these?" Lewis raised a brow, wondering if that was a serious question. "I can't tell if you're being serious. You do realize I know literally everything about you?"

She scoffs, taking a bite of the salted caramel and chocolate brownie. "That's not true. You don't know how I drive."

He smirked, a playful twinkle in his eyes, "don't I?"

"Funny," she scowled, although he knew she was just joking.

"You feeling okay? Everything feels okay for you?" Lewis asked. As her husband, he was extremely concerned about her mental state when she was racing. He promised to protect her from fading into her past self and he wasn't gonna fail at that. He wasn't gonna lose her out there. Kallie nods in assurance as she munched on the brownies. "I'm okay. Everything feels completely different, in a good way. I feel more...free."

"That's good, it's progress. If you ever slip back into that state just remember what I said, okay?" Lewis pressed a kiss to her head, making her smile cause he still loved kissing her even if she was covered in sweat. "You know my dad keeps joking that he's gonna switch teams to support the better Hamilton right now," Lewis spoke, taking her hand so they could sit at one of the tables in the shade rather than stand in the exhausting heat.

"Well, is he really wrong?" She smirked, crossing her legs on the chair.

"Very funny. It's only qualifying and you're already being arrogant," he scoffs, smiling at her with a hint of sarcasm. She shrugged, biting into her brownie, "I seem to recall, you like when I'm arrogant." He pursed his lips, deciding not to argue that. "I noticed in your interviews, you're accent is lighter. Why is that?" He questioned, glancing over at her, noting the way she paused for a second before returning to eating her brownies. "Probably just spending too much time away from home," she mumbled.

Truthfully, she had seen a ton of comments about people not being able to understand her because her accent was so thick. Lewis scoffs and leaned forward. "You shouldn't care what anyone says about you. These are the same people who told you that you would never amount to anything, that you'd be nothing without Red Bull, and you don't believe that, so why is this any different? You don't need to change yourself to please others. You tried that before and nothing changed. Don't start that again. Your accent makes you who you are, and it's beautiful. Don't change yourself."

Kallie wiped her mouth and finally moved her head to face him. "You sound like my father."

"If I do, then maybe that means I'm right," he countered.

"Didn't say it was a bad thing." She mumbles, shrugging her shoulder.

A smile etched it's way onto his face before he presses a kiss to her cheek. "You talk to Kez?" He asked, taking a piece of the brownie she was reaching for. Kez's condition wasn't super bad but it also wasn't good either. Kallie had found out when she went on a checkup and seen Kezie talking to Dr. Montgomery. She had a few breakdowns due to fear of losing her sister, but Lewis was there for her. He left a race once immediately when he found out she had passed out during a panic attack in the kitchen and hit her head on the counter.

"Mhm, she got here yesterday, she's just been resting. She'll be at the race tomorrow to handle all the press and stuff for being CEO and all that." Kallie answered, resting her head on his shoulder tiredly. "I seriously don't know how she has time to do all this. Isn't she filming a movie right now?" Lewis questions, putting an arm around her, his hand rubbing her arm gently. "Yebo. She'll get it done though. It's her last Marvel movie, so they're not gonna overwork her."

"What do you think of the new kids?" He asked, his hand subconsciously twirling one of her braids around his finger.

"I think they're very nice, very kind, very respectful. Nyck de Vries was a bit too arrogant but I think it's just him trying to be confident and fit in. I adore Oscar, Yuki, Liam, and Logan, they're so sweet. Honestly, everyone is just so kind and welcoming, it's very nice, but very different. I'm not used to all the driver's being so kind and welcoming to me. It definitely wasn't like that the first time around so it's been very heartwarming to see from these newer drivers." Kallie took his free hand in her own, smiling as he pressed another kiss to her head.

"I'm glad your experience has been better, you deserve it, you're one of the best." He mumbled against her head before pressing yet another kiss. He had been away from her for majority of the day so he was trying to get in as much affection as he could. "Maeanna's gonna kill me for all the PDA," Kallie chuckles. Lewis shrugs and pulls her into a kiss, unfortunately it was cut short as Maeanna was calling her since Q3 would start soon and she needed to be out there.

"She seems like a buzzkill." He comments as Kallie stands up from the chair with a tired groan. "She is. Every hour I get the urge to fire her." Kallie signals Maeanna that she was coming so the woman could stop making such a scene. "Am I at least going to get a kiss goodbye?" Lewis frowns, looking up at her as she zipped up her suit. "I don't like saying goodbye, but I will kiss you." Kallie chuckles, and leaned down, connecting their lips. She kept it short and sweet, aware how cameras were everywhere so you could never be too careful.

As she pulled away, he pulled her back down, mumbling, "one more" under his breath before connecting their lips again. Another shout from Maeanna was enough to separate them, both rolling their eyes at the woman's voice. "I love you. Be safe." Kallie says in Xhosa, grabbing her phone she left on the table. "You too, darling." Lewis took her hand and pressed a kiss to her wrist, right where she had his name tattooed on her skin. "Love you. Looking forward to kicking you into P2 again," he winked.

"Haha. Very funny, mhle." She laughed sarcastically before walking down the two steps and making her way to Maeanna and Darren, able to hear Lewis's faint laughs.

He certainly did not kick her into P2. Kallie made pole position, Max in P2, and Lewis in P3.

》* 。 • ˚ ˚ ˛ ˚ ˛ • 。* 。° 。* 。 • ˚《

"Hello, Ms. CEO," Kallie jogged over to her sister and wrapped her arms around the taller woman. "You're gonna suffocate me," Kez jokes, throwing an arm around her. She reached behind her and shut the door of her Maserati, spotting Lewis climbing out of his Mercedes, his performance coach being the one driving. "Driving separately?" Kez questioned, taking note of Darren gathering the grid bags from the boot of Kallie's Maserati.

"Maeanna said I needed to come in the Maserati's they give me. But we leave together." Kallie answered, letting go of her sister. She walked over to Lewis and he welcomed her into his arms with a bright smile. "Now I miss my boyfriend," Kezie mumbles, brushing down her two piece dress, cringing to herself when she seen all the cameras on her. Of course she was gonna be featured on DTS, courtesy of being CEO.

Neela stepped out of the passenger seat of Kezie's car and brushed down her dress with a huff, the sun glaring down on her. "We got a lot to do. Say your greetings and let's move." Neela said, pulling on some sunglasses and joining Kezie's side. "Yes ma'am," Kez mumbles sarcastically. She quickly greets her brother in law before they all separated from each other. Her bodyguard was quick to join the two once they started walking the paddock.

"What's on the schedule for today?" Kez asked, glancing over at her manager, the woman holding a tablet in her hands. "We're gonna have you attend some debriefs with the team. Then were gonna get you in a room with Sang for an interview, just answer questions and such, and if we have time, we'll take you to the meet and greet, answer some questions from some fans." Neela answered.

"We'll make time. They paid money to see me so that's what they'll get," she decided.

"All right. Debriefs are in ten minutes." Neela adds.

"I'm hungry. Is there a café around here?" Kez asked, adjusting her prescription sunglasses so they didn't fall off her face. "Kez!" Her eyes widened slightly and she turned around, her eyes landing on Daniel Ricciardo, a team of Red Bull employees around him. "Red Bull, eh?" She chuckles, accepting his embrace. He chuckles, shrugging his shoulder, "yeah, I'm the third driver right now, so I'm really just doing media and all that."

"Well, you'd be driving with Kallie right now if you hadn't turned us down," she shrugs, making him laugh lightly and nod in agreement. Maserati had offered him a contract to drive with Kallie during the time he was still with McLaren, but he turned them down in hopes of finding something better. Turns out, he didn't do a very good job at that. "I deserved that."

She smiled, shaking her head, "nah, I'm sorry, it's probably annoying to think about anyways. You wanna join me for coffee? I got some free time."

"Sounds amazing. Let's do it. I know a place." He agreed, and his team separated from him, accept for the main woman who probably managed all of his Red Bull duties. He led her to a nearby café at the paddock and they walked in, a lot of eyes going to them but they ignored it and took a seat at a table in the corner. Her team and his sat away from them, giving them their privacy, or whatever, nothing was really all that private when you had cameras following your every move.

"So, how is it doing all of Max and Checo's homework?" She smirked, leaning back in her chair as an iced coffee resided in her hand.

"It's definitely not my favorite," he chuckles, and obviously he was trying to find some humor in the situation, which she had to applause cause she'd hate to be in his position. "I was certainly bummed to hear you turn us down for the second time. Thought you'd at least reconsider." Kez smiles tightly, not hiding her disappointment. Him turning down her offer is what really messed up their relationship, even if it wasn't really a relationship, but they had kind of been building up to it, until all of that happened.

Daniel smiled, but it wasn't his usual cheesy smile, it was more a disappointed smile. "You're not the only one. I tried to contact you after Christian offered me a third seat, and turns out, you had already signed your brother, so that was very unfortunate." Kez nods, taking a sip of her coffee, "well, we had to sign someone, and if it wasn't you, it had to be someone who's family." Danny shrugs, pursing his lips as he thought of Kaylen's results so far. "Guess it didn't work in either one's favor. Kaylen's not doing so good."

Kez shrugs, she was a bit upset about her brother's results but it's not like she could go back and change it. I mean, she did have the power to get a new driver if he wasn't delivering, but she wouldn't ever do that. She wasn't gonna be like Red Bull and completely give up on her drivers. "Yes, but I'm sure he'll improve, it's probably just nerves of being in a new team. I'm not gonna kick him like Red Bull would. The last thing my drivers need is pressure so early in. Kallie's doing excellent though, pole position, hasn't lost her touch. What do you think of that?"

"I'm thinking, I wish I was her teammate right about now." He chuckles, and the waitress comes over, setting down the muffins Kez ordered.

"Ah, I'm sure she's wishing that too." Kez mumbles, unwrapping the muffin.

"Maybe in a few years, that seat will be open again," Daniel shrugs. Kez looked up from the muffin and smiled, "if so, you'll be the first one I call. Maybe then you won't break my heart again." There was definitely a double meaning to her words and he caught on to it, a sad smile on his face as he thought back to their breakup, or really just a difficult falling out between two friends who loved each other.

"Sorry to cut this short but we need to leave or we'll be late and we can't afford to lose time," Neela interrupts, clearing her throat awkwardly at the eye contact between the two. "Right. Well, this was nice, hopefully we can catch up some more. You still have my number, just give me a call." Kez stood up, grabbing her coffee and muffin. "I'll do that. Good to see you again, Kez." Daniel smiled and she pressed a kiss to his cheek before Neela escorted her out of the shop.

"That was...awkward, but nice." Kez chuckles, glancing at Neela who gave her a small smile of amusement. "You are truly something, Keziyah." Kez laughs, shaking her head in amusement.

On their way to debriefs, Lando was walking the paddock, and his eyes found her, how could they not? Despite his coach advising against it, he quickly ran over to the singer. "Lando," she grinned, accepting his hug, his arms snaking their way around her waist. "You look stunning, darling," he said, pressing a kiss to her cheek, his hand still residing on her waist.

"Thank you. Not so bad yourself." He smiled at her words before he was being called away. "I'll see you later, CEO." He chuckles, his hand leaving her waist as they parted. She smiled, waving him off.
The cameras followed them as they headed into the Maserati hospitality, finding the team gathered at a table, Kallie and Kaylen sitting as far as they could from each other. She sighed, forcing a smile as she greets everyone. She shook hands with Sang before taking a seat next to her sister.

"All right, let's get this started. First, everyone, let's give an applause for Kallie. Pole position will do us some good in this first race." The woman says, and everyone does as so, it took Kaylen a nudge from his older sister to do the same.

"Thank you so much," Kallie smiled brightly, her older sister just smiling to herself, the sparkle in Kallie's eyes enough to warm her heart.

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a/n: absolutely obsessed with ceo kez rn, she's so mwauh

i hate when kallie and kara argue 😔💔 it brings me sm pain

anyways- LEWIS BEING HUSBAND OF THE YEAR IKTR

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