11. Surprise (Pt. 1)

LARA'S POV

Today was the day Cameron's mother arrived, but I had to leave early in the morning to fix a couple of things with the team and what the rest of our season would be like. 

Right now, I'm sitting in the conference room in Manchester and wondering what the fuck I was doing here when I wouldn't have to be here for another two weeks. My representative was agreeing to everything they were saying, but at this moment I couldn't be more off-centre than anything else, I wanted to be at home, which is the place where I should be at this moment. 

"Lara?" asked one of the bosses, so to speak, of our team "I don't know what the hell you said, and I can tell you in advance I should be on vacation and not sitting in this room." 

"Lara, you have to understand…" another of them started, but I raised my hand to stop them "I don't have to understand anything. To begin with, I don't even know why I came. Would you like to be disturbed on your vacation? You don't need to answer me, because I know the answer to that question. So, for the next time you bother me on my vacation, I'll tell you in advance I'm not going to show up." 

"Lara…" the same man tried again "Lara nothing. I'm sick of you thinking because I'm a woman I don't know what to do, because I can assure you, I know more than half of the people who are sitting here and you only care about the numbers the team does." I assured angrily. 

"We're the ones in charge." Said another arrogantly, causing me to be in a worse mood "You can be my bosses and whatever you want, but you don't have the slightest idea of what happens in the box. You just give money expecting to get more in return when the rest of us out there are working to win races." 

"We are the ones who pay you." the same stupid man said again "And we're the ones who get the money with which we pay ourselves and at the same time the money you earn for yourselves. Don't you realise how much money you'll lose if we stop wanting to work for you?" 

"And that's why no team would want to have a female driver." he snorted, and my annoyance increased even more if it was possible. "Then kick me out if that's what you want. Of course, nobody assures you what has been said here today will not go to the press, much less the payments made so my car isn't at one hundred percent. 

"That's the biggest nonsense you could say." said the guy laughing "It's not. If it wasn't for myself and MY mechanics checking the car before every qualifying and race, I would never be where I am." 

"Some mechanics we pay for." assured the asshole "But some mechanics I trust." I assured "I don't want to know how you earn his trust." he said with a mischievous smile on his face "What the fuck are you talking about?" I asked, even though I could already see what he means with it. "Just look at how you have Edwards eating out of your hand." 

"Are you insinuating I sleep with everything that comes my way?" I asked stunned he was implying it. "That's just what I'm saying." he assured with his arrogant smile "I can't believe it... Sam, what will happen to me if I end this contract at the end of the season?" 

"You would have to pay a certain amount of money for the two years of your contract you have left." he said, and I nodded, because that's something I could do. "Well, let it be done." I said starting to get up from my chair to get out of here "Do you think another team will want you in their team?" asked the same stupid "Sam?" I asked turning slightly in his direction "You have offers from other teams, Herlitz and Collen the ones that suit you best." 

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving. Sam, fix everything with these people…" I'm about to leave the room when a woman entered it. I'm angrier than anything by now and was almost out the door when she grabbed my arm. 

"Can you stay a second?" asked the woman "I don't do anything here; in the end they made it clear to me what they think of me and I'm not going to work in a place like that." I assured her, and she turned to those men with a big smile on her face "Guys, you're fired." 

"Who the hell do you think you are to fire us?" asked the stupidest guy I had come across in recent years "Your boss, and I don't want her to leave my team, so get out." she said pointing to the door "Our boss was a man last time I checked." 

"Until you sucked him off, I assume, because let me tell you, this is what he left me when we divorced." she assured and I kept looking at her without understanding anything "Yes, of course, and I believe it." snorted another "You can do it, but get out of my building, I don't want you to step on it again." 

The woman passed some papers to them, and once they had read them, they looked up in her direction and it could be said that looked at her with regret. "Not this..." the stupid man who had dared to say those things to me began "Don't fire us... Please..." begged another. 

"That would have thought before speaking as you spoke to her. Now get out, and don't come back or I'll call the police. Lara, I ask you to stay, please." I look in Sam's direction, because at this point, I'm more than confused, and for good measure, he was, too. As those guys walk out of the room, the woman stretches out her arm in the direction I was sitting before. Sam nods and I end up doing it. 

"I'm sorry for everything those madmen said you." said the woman "It's not the first time they've told me." I said with a shrug, but that didn't mean it didn't bother me any less. "But no less annoying." 

"Right, you better tell me what you want to talk about, because I shouldn't even be here to begin with." I said crossing my arms, "I know, but I want you to consider staying with us for the remaining years of your contract." 

"In a team where the people who run it don't like me? I pass." I assured her, getting up and starting to walk out the door, "That was before, because even though my ex-husband wasn't like these madmen, he didn't care too much about the company, but now I'm here, and I'm interested, especially having you in the team." 

"I don't understand." I said with a frown, "I don't know anything about cars, and even less about F1, I would like to learn from them and I want you to continue making history, if possible, with our team of course." the woman assured, and I'm understanding less and less "What do I gain with all this?" 

"You will continue in the team, you will choose your entire team of mechanics and people around you, in the end that should always have been the driver's choice in my opinion, and I will do everything necessary, at first, there's not that kind of guys on our team." he assured and I kept thinking for a couple of seconds "Wow… this really was not what I expected." 

"I suppose. This sport is primarily for men, and with you in it, you are making a difference. You are proving to everyone out there a woman can be better than any man out there. The dream of thousands of girls around the world can continue with you and now Amelia." 

"What do you gain from this?" I asked, trying to understand what was happening "I nothing. I want our team to have the image anyone can achieve their dreams. And I would like to learn what this sport is from the woman who made history in the sport." 

"Any driver can teach you more than I can do." I sincerely said, "But I want to learn from the best." she assured with a big smile on her face "I don't know what to say, really." 

"You don't have to say anything yet. I only ask you at least stay until the end of the season. With the changes that will be applied to our team, I hope I can convince you." she answered intertwining his fingers on the table "And what changes would those be?" 

"Include more women in this, help other girls and women to follow their dream. I only ask you to give me until the end of the season to show you the start of change in the team." I thought about it for a couple of minutes, because despite what those idiots had said, I was fine with the team I was working with, and I would resent leaving it, I admit it, I know this team can achieve more. 

"Okay, you have until the end of the season to convince me." I said and it doesn't take long for her to get up from her chair and come to my side "Great, and by the way, you can call me Serena." She said, "As you wish, now if you'll excuse me, I'll go back to my vacation." 

"Of course, have a good rest of your vacation, Lara." Serena said with a big smile and shaking my hand "Thank you, I hope so too." With that, both Sam and I left the conference room and headed for the elevator, discussing my chances if they end up not convincing me. 

"Did Herlitz really offer me a contract?" I asked Sam in surprise "Pretty much everyone wants you on their team Lara, so I don't know why you're surprised." he said with a big smile on his face "I didn't expect it, after all, they have Cameron." 

"What better than having four world titles, well, better said, five titles in one team?" he asked, and I kept thinking for a couple of minutes "It could be, I don't know." I replied with a shrug. "I also have an offer from Collen for when Eric retires." 

"Eric will take time to retire." I assured him "Not from what is rumoured." he countered "What?" I asked surprised "That's what they say, I thought you would know better than anyone." he said and, in my mind, I hit myself, because Eric wouldn't retire without telling me first "Maybe, better let me know if there's any change in the contract with them. Let's hope what Serena says is true." 

"She seemed convinced." He said after a few seconds in silence "That's what they all seem like until they're not. Better to be attentive to other offers in case it is." I replied, "I'll let you know if there are more, and you let me know what you decide." 

"Okay, until another time Sam." I said shaking his hand "See you later, take care Lara." he answered, and I nodded. Outside the building, I say goodbye to Sam and start walking in the opposite direction to clear my head for a while, when a hand grabs my arm and makes me turn to see who it is. 

"Cameron? What are you doing here?" I asked surprised to see him here "Well, since my mum didn't want to come to the UK to get things for the rest of the season, I decided to come and get them so I could see you too." he said with a big smile on his face "How did you know I would be here?" 

"Your sister told me your bosses called you and had to come to Manchester for it, so I decided to come. Let me tell you your bosses aren't the best to have called you during your vacations." He said denying and I nodded, because at least until a few minutes ago, that was true "I know, and believe me it bothered me, but apparently that changed." 

"You seem surprised." He said looking at me "I am, I just hope it changes for the better." I replied, "Isn't what you expected from the team?" he asked surprised "From the team I work with every weekend? Yes, they are the best, but apparently the bosses thought I'm doing sexual favours to get where I am." 

"Did they really tell you?" he asked, and I could feel his anger rising "Of course, that's how I got your attention, apparently." I said denying "What? Right now, I'm going to talk…" he started turning around to enter the building, but before he could do anything, I grabbed his arm. 

"Cameron... They got fired... you don't have to worry about what they say about me..." I assured him, trying to calm him down "Of course I have to... those guys are assholes for thinking that about you..." he started, but I put my hand on his face, so he would focus his gaze on me. "I know, and I appreciate you care about me and everything, but it's not the first time they've told me something like that." 

"You make it worse for me, they should never have said something like that to you." he answered, and I nodded, because I knew it was true. "That's not how this works, I can assure you." I answered letting my hand fall down his arm "At least tell me this won't get in the way of my chances." 

"What chances are you talking about?" I asked curiously, because he seemed concerned about his chances with me, I'm sure. "About the ones I might have with you, about the relationship I want to have with you." He said looking into my eyes "Wow, and it's only been a couple of hours since we had our first date." 

"It might sound rash to you, but I seriously want to be in a relationship with you. I like you Lara, I never felt this way for any woman in my life, seriously. I love spending time with you, and what I feel for you is stronger... I can't help but imagine a relationship with you... And I promise I will do whatever is necessary, so nobody says things like that to you again... I will do what whatever it takes to make you the happiest woman…" 

I knew what he was referring to from the beginning, but I loved seeing the sparkle in his eyes when he talked about something he liked, which apparently, I'm one of those things too, and what he described, I felt it too, so I approach him and shut him up with a kiss. I know we're kissing in the middle of the street, but I really didn't care, it's the best kiss I'd ever had in my life, soft and told me what he couldn't explain with words. 

By the time we broke apart, his hands were on my hips, while mine were on his neck. The glow I was talking about earlier? It was gone for a much brighter one if that was possible. His smile widened with the passing of the seconds, and I couldn't do anything but return it. 

"Isn't it you didn't kiss until the second date?" he asked surprised, but I could see his smile widening. "And who's to say we didn't have it yesterday?" I answered returning the smile "Did you leave me wanting to kiss you? You are cruel Lara Gallego." 

"You should know it well, meu rei." I assured laughing "What does that mean?" he asked, and I looked back at him "Meu rei?" I asked assuming that was what I wanted to know "Yes, it's not the first time you've told me." 

"It means my king, it's a way of saying at home." I replied "Mmm, I like the way it sounds. I don't want to imagine everything you can say." he said more to himself than to me "I can hold a whole conversation for you if you want, but I assure you it has nothing to do with the specific language I could use in other circumstances... with less clothes involved..." 

"Sometimes I think you like to play with me." he grunted, and I laughed, because that was the truest thing he could say "Oh, you don't know how much I like it, meu rei. Now let's go get your mother's things so we can come back." 

"And do you want me to walk with what you woke up?" he asked with lust present in his gaze "You should, after all, it's not the first time you've done it." I assured with a smile that practically occupied my entire face "I like your game more than I should." 

"I know, why do you think I do it?" We laugh and I stand in front of him while he fixes his little problem and then we start walking towards what looks like a car, which makes me tense up. 

"It's just to peak up a few things, then you decide in what we can go to the airport." I really had nothing to think about, because I know the airport was a couple of hours away on foot, and although I had no problem with that, I also wanted to get home as soon as possible, so I had no other way than to get in the car. At least they were of those who ran. 

"No... we can go in the car."" I said, taking a breath. "Are you sure? We're going to find a traffic jam." He said with a worried tone "At some point I'll have to try to get over it, right? Besides, you'll be there with me, I know you won't let anything happen to me." 

"True. Let's go then?" he asked, taking my hand and giving it a squeeze. As Cameron led me to the passenger side, which at home was the driver's side, he opened the door for me, I took a deep breath and got into the car. After he closed the door, it didn't take long for him to get into the car and speed down the street. Luckily for me there wasn't too much traffic and when Cameron noticed I'm getting nervous, he would take my hand and start making circles with his thumb, which calmed me down a bit. I must also say he's not going low, which helped. 

After about half an hour, we arrived at the airport and as soon as he parked, I quickly got out of it and waited for Cameron to come to my side, which doesn't take too long. 

"How long is the flight?" I asked, "About two hours, we're lucky we don't have to wait, the plane is waiting for us." he replied with a big smile on his face "Lucky us." I said returning the smile "Lucky me that I get to have your full attention." 

"You sound very convinced, Edwards." I joke. "No, I just hope that's the case." He replied, "Well, you might be lucky." I replied without the smile disappearing from my face "The luckiest guy." 

"Could be, considering someone have to mess with me to get my attention…" I continued joking "Ha, ha, very funny." he said sarcastically "What? It is what is said." I assured, in the end, he himself had said it in the interview. 

"I didn't know you were this kind of person." he answered, and I kept looking at him "So how did you imagine me?" I asked curiously "I don't know, you always seemed like a very quiet girl, less... sassy..." He replied "Really? Did you expect me less daring? 

"Off track? Yeah, I did expect it." he assured "What else did you expect?" I asked curiously "That you didn't like to talk about your life too much. From what I could see, I know you like to listen, but I thought it would be more difficult for you to share something about your life the way you do, especially what happened to your father." 

"I like to talk about my life, because in the end I have a family that loves me, neighbours that support me and a job I adore, I couldn't ask for more in my life to be honest. And about my father... I don't like to talk about it, just as you don't like to talk about what happened to your sister, I don't talk about what happened to my father, let alone say that I don't I can get into a car that doesn't go three hundred per hour… There are certain things that doesn't have to know everyone." 

"Why did you tell me then?" he asked, curiosity evident in his voice. "After you saw me the way you saw me, would you have believed anything I told you?" I asked, knowing what the answer was going to be "If I hadn't heard Bianca and Eric searching your phone like crazy and the second asking if it was the same old thing, I would have thought you just had anxiety." 

"But you knew that, so what I told you wasn't going to convince you easily. And after you helped me, I think it was worth it telling you." I replied, "I'm glad I was there for you." 

"And even if it didn't seem like it at first, I'm glad you were there. Which makes me wonder what you were doing at the hotel?" I asked trying to understand what happened that day for him to be there "Oh, that, Eli was staying in that hotel because they didn't have room for her in ours. I was going to pick her up to go to the gala together." 

"Eli is someone important to you, right?" I asked, but I knew what he was going to answer me "The most. Her mother is French and when she was little, decided to come to London to spend time with her parents. We were their neighbours and both me and my sister would go out to play when we ran into her." 

"And ever since then, you were the best of friends." I said nodding "Yeah. She decided to become a physio while I wanted to get to F1." he responded "How did she end up working for you?" I asked again "We kept in touch, and once Ellie told me she had finished her degree, I called her to be my physio. Better to have someone to trust than no one." 

"True." We got on the plane and sat across from each other. It had been a long time since I was so happy to be with someone other than my family or close friends. It feels great. 

After a few minutes, we buckled up for take-off, and after about ten minutes, we took them out and Cameron got up to the cooler to get us some bottles of water. 

"Did you never take your sister with you during the season?" I asked and he nodded with a smile on his face "Oh believe me I took her; she was always with me since F1 started." He said, "It was her way of preventing me from going with every girl I saw and keeping me grounded." 

"Well, it looks like she did a great job with you. I would have liked to meet her." I assured "Believe me, if she had met you, I would have lost my sister from the heart attack she had just by seeing you in front of me." 

"Why?" I asked, confused. "My sister was a big fan of yours. I've never seen her excited about what I was doing, but the moment you showed up she looked excited. What's more, even though she was in my box listening to my radios, I could always hear where you were, she wasn't silent." 

"I would have loved to see." I said laughing, "I sure you do, and now that I think about it, you're pretty much like her in personality." he said "And is a good or a bad thing?" I asked, "There's nothing wrong with you Lara, and at least I will be able to remember my sister for the simple fact of how you are." 

"Great then, now I'll be the one to keep you grounded." I replied smiling, "Will you also make me not throw myself at everything that comes my way?" he asked, and I knew he wasn't serious. "Do I need to?" I asked raising an eyebrow. 

"No." He said without the smile disappearing from his face "I thought so." I replied, "What do you think if after picking up my mother's things we have a second date?" 

"It's only been a couple of hours since we had our first date." I said, but I really don't care, "Is there a rule that says you can't have a second date within a few hours of your first date?" 

"Okay, okay. We can have that second date. What I don't promise is there will be a kiss. I joke "Then I'll have to take care of getting it. I couldn't live another minute without your lips. 

"Don't you have a less heard phrase?" I asked laughing "I have, but I'll save them for later. It will be my way of getting my kiss." he assured, and I laughed more if it was possible "Do you say that to all women?" 

"Only the ones I'm attracted to." he said smiling "Then everyone." I said laughing "You're wrong, only one." he replied with a big smile, but I knew he was serious. "Wow, what a lucky girl." I said, "You are." We spent the rest of the flight talking about everything, and once we landed, Cameron stood up and held out his hand in my direction, which I ended up taking. We got off the plane hand in hand and left the airport. 

"I hope you don't mind an hour's walk." Cameron said. "It doesn't, but why do you want to do it?" I asked, getting a slight idea of the reason. "I think it's enough for today to face your fear, don't you think?" he asked, and I denied, because even though it might be true, it didn't imply he had to do it. "You don't need to." 

"But I want you to be comfortable, so yes, I need to. Besides, it doesn't bother me to have to walk for an hour, really, as long as it's with you by your side." he assured "And I thought you were going to leave your sentences…" 

"I said I wouldn't tell you the ones you've never heard of, not the others." he assured "You're right, you didn't say it." And with that, we began to walk through the streets of London, without separating our hands at any time. I really hope to be able to do this more times in the future with him.