CH 01. Before You Noticed Me
The year had barely begun, and already it felt like it was trying to kill her.
The notification on her phone informed her that she was twelve minutes away from the private terminal.
[Y/N] groaned and leaned her head back against the seat.
The Uber driver glanced at her through the rearview mirror. "Running late?"
"No," she deadpanned. "I'm just practicing sprint training."
The woman laughed while [Y/N] rubbed her eyes. Normally, she was never late.
Years of working in Formula One had drilled punctuality into her soul. If a meeting started at eight, she arrived at seven forty-five, if a flight departed at ten, she was there before nine.
Today, however, the universe had decided to remind her that it hated her.
She had overslept, not by much.
Enough to create a chain reaction of disasters. The truth was she hadn't been sleeping well for weeks. The car wasn't where they wanted it to be.
The simulations weren't matching expectations and the balance wasn't consistent.
Everyone was pretending not to panic.
Which, in Formula One terms, meant everyone was definitely panicking.
Her chest tightened immediately.
She stared out the window.
A few months ago, if someone had told her that Gianpiero Lambiase would leave Red Bull, she would have laughed in their face.
The words still felt strange. Wrong. For years, it had been the three of them.
GP, Max and her. The trio.
Race weekends, strategy meetings, flights, celebrations, arguments.
A constant and now one piece of that puzzle was gone. She should have been happy.
GP had personally pushed for her promotion.
He had insisted she take his position.
He believed she was ready and she was grateful, God, she was grateful.
But that didn't stop her from feeling like someone had removed a support beam from her life.
Engineers she had worked with for years had left. Friends had accepted offers elsewhere.
Departments were being restructured.
Everything felt uncertain.
For the first time since joining Red Bull, she found herself wondering whether she still had a future there or if maybe—Maybe it was time to start considering other options.
The thought left a bitter taste in her mouth.
Because she loved this team.
The impossible standards.
She loved walking into the garage every morning but loyalty only carried you so far in Formula One.
Eventually everyone had to make choices.
She had been so lost in her thoughts she hadn't even noticed the drive. "Thank you."
She quickly grabbed her backpack.
"Good luck." The driver smiled. "You look like you need it."
[Y/N] snorted. "That's the nicest thing anyone's said to me today."
A few moments later she was power walking through the terminal.
Not running, definitely not running.
Formula One engineers did not run through airports. They moved with urgency, there was a difference. At least that was what she told herself as she nearly collided with a luggage cart.
The private jet stood waiting on the tarmac.
Intimidating and undoubtedly filled with people judging her.
She climbed the stairs two at a time.
The flight attendant greeted her politely, [Y/N] offered an apologetic smile before stepping inside.
The cabin fell suspiciously silent.
That was never a good sign.
Several familiar faces looked up.
Some already wearing noise-cancelling headphones and then there was Max Verstappen.
Sitting near the middle of the cabin.
The look of a man who had been inconvenienced.
[Y/N] stopped, Max stared and she stared back. Neither spoke, a few seconds passed.
The entire cabin watched.
Finally she raised a hand. "Good morning."
A few people immediately looked away to hide smiles.
[Y/N] sighed. "There was traffic."
"You live twenty minutes from the airport."
"There was a lot of traffic."
Max's eyes narrowed. "There wasn't."
Of course he had, she should have known. "You checked traffic conditions?"
The answer was so immediate that several people laughed.
[Y/N] pointed at him. "See? This is why your therapist has job security."
A snort escaped from somewhere behind them.
Max rolled his eyes. "Sit down."
"That sounded suspiciously like concern."
She dropped into the seat beside him anyway. The jet door closed shortly afterward.
For a few moments neither spoke.
The playful tension faded and the reality settled back in.
First race of the season.
Without the certainty she had grown accustomed to.
Max glanced toward her, and his expression softened slightly. Only slightly.
The Verstappen equivalent of a warm hug.
[Y/N] looked out the window. "Yeah."
Just understanding, because he knew exactly why. After a moment he nudged her shoulder.
Yet somehow they loosened the knot in her chest.
Maybe because they came from someone who knew exactly how much everything had changed. Maybe because he was feeling it too.
The engines began to roar outside.
A new chapter she wasn't entirely sure she was ready for.
As the jet started moving, [Y/N] leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.