Fox Cooper had no plans. No plans with what she was going to do next with her life. No plans to do something new. No plans to fall in love.
When her father decides that she can join his yearly charity project, she didn't expect the terms he would h...
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L A N D O N O R R I S
The two young people sat next to each other as they watched everyone else dancing and having fun. Lando nudged her playfully as they spotted her father walking towards them. "Someone's in trouble," he joked with her in a quiet voice.
"Fox," Maximillion sat on the chair in front of his daughter. He looked at Lando, nodding his head a little before speaking, "Nice to see you, Lando. Hope you are looking after my daughter."
Lando grinned at Fox's father, "I am, sir. I can't think of anyone I would rather spend my week with."
"She's hard work, is she not?" Maximillion lighthearted said with a wink at his daughter.
Fox sighed as she looked at her dad, "I am here. Do you mind?"
Maximillion and Lando let out a laugh as they both looked in her direction. "I'm just checking that you are feeling better, really," Maximillion told her with a serious look on his face. "How is your stomach?"
Lando looked at the young woman next to him; she never said anything was wrong with her earlier. "I'm fine," she told her dad; Lando noticed she sounded fed up as she spoke. "What do you want, dad?" Her tone sounded bored as she looked up at him.
"I'm just checking in with you, sweetheart. You've not exactly been yourself this evening," he pointed out to the young woman.
As Lando watched the exchange, he noticed how Fox's face changed at this remark. She looked almost sad as she looked down at her glass of water before looking at her hands in her lap. He saw her take a deep breath as she looked back up at her dad. Lando wished he knew what she was thinking; he wanted to help her if he could.
Then Fox smiled; it wasn't one he was used to seeing; he knew it was fake. "I guess not," she mumbled. "It must be all the travelling," she said as she looked away from her dad. "I think I'm going to get an early night." She got up from the table before saying goodnight and heading off back inside of the hotel.
Lando was going to follow her, but he didn't want her dad to think something was going on between them. He didn't think Fox would want her father to know that they had been spending some of their time kissing and being that close. He looked at Maximillion and smiled awkwardly.
"Somethings not right with her," Maximillion told Lando as soon as she was out of earshot. "I know she won't talk to me about it. Maybe, you could speak to her."
Running a hand through his hair awkwardly, Lando managed to smile. "I can try."
Maximillion didn't get up, which surprised Lando; he thought that he would soon disappear off to mingle with others. Instead, he called a waiter over before ordering them both a drink, then turned back to Lando. "Has she said much about going home? I know she's desperate to get back home." Maximillion leaned back in his chair as he ran a hand through his short hair. "She never wanted to be here; this was all a punishment."
Lando furrowed his brows as he heard the words from Fox's father's mouth. Fox never gave any indication that she wanted to get home anytime soon; infact from the way things were going, he assumed that she was having a good time on the road. Lando didn't want to question that though; he didn't want to press Maximillion on any of it; it wasn't his business.
"I don't know if you've noticed; actually that's silly of me to say," Maximillion laughed. Lando didn't laugh; he just stared at him as he waited for him to finish what he was saying. However, they were interrupted by the waiter returning with two bottles which he placed on the table before walking away. As Fox's father picked his up, Lando did the same before Maximillion clinked his bottle against Lando's and took a mouthful. "As I was saying," he continued as Lando took a sip of his own drink. "Fox likes to have a good time; you've most definitely had to put up with it every night." Maximillion reached into his jacket pocket and placed an envelope on the table, which he pushed towards the young F1 driver. "This is just a little something; a thank you for taking her along with you. Hopefully, it will cover any expenses from any accidents that you might need to pay for."
Lando was shocked; he didn't know what to say as Maximillion got to his feet before walking away. The young man sat there for a few moments longer, the bottle in his right hand and his eyes staring forward until a loud scream brought him back to reality. He looked around, seeing a woman and a guy who was play fighting, tickling each other as they made loads of noise.
Reaching for the envelope, Lando opened it slightly and looked inside. His eyes widened at the large wade of notes that looked back at him. He tucked the lip of the envelope back inside before placing his bottle on the table. There was no way he could accept the money; he didn't want nor need it.
Getting up, headed in the general direction that Maximillion had gone in. He frantically looked for the man who had just left his table. Rushing around, he finally found Maximillion sitting at a table surrounded by other multimillionaires.
"Thank you," Lando said in a quiet voice as he approached Maximillion. "I don't need this," Lando handed him the envelope back with a smile.
"Please," Maximillion tried to push the money back to the young man.
Lando shook his head as he crouched down to not draw too much attention to himself. "Just being here is enough. Fox has opened my eyes on this trip," he said with a nod of the head. He got to his feet, walking back to the hotel room.
When he got through the door, he was surprised to find the room was empty. He thought Fox would be here, maybe even be asleep, instead it was empty. Her stuff was still here even her handbag which meant she had returned to room after she had left him.
Zipping his jacket up, Lando turned to leave the hotel room but stopped when he heard the bathroom door unlock. He turned on the spot to look as Fox opened the door. "I didn't think you were here," he said with concern in his voice.
"Where else would I be?" She asked with a smile.
Lando stepped towards her, wrapping his arms around her as he held her close. "Are you feeling better?"
Fox laid her head on Lando's shoulder, her arm wrapped around the back of his neck as she felt grateful for the close contact. "I always feel much better when I'm with you," she confided in him. Lando couldn't help but smile at her words, feeling at ease considering what her father had said to him earlier.
