Mastermind

Japan, October 6th 2022

I met George and Lewis for coffee and breakfast before heading to the studio for our interview. I had done a few interviews with Lewis, but this one felt different as soon as we entered the building. Once we crossed the threshold, people immediately flocked to us and began steering me away from them. I entered a room with racks of clothes and a full vanity. My gaze lingered on the desk and found an iPad sitting there, May's face already filling the screen and I broke into a smile. The women who had showed me into the room said,

"fifteen minutes," before letting me be alone with May.

"Well hello lovely!" She smiled broadly.

"What time is it there?"

"Mmm...about 4:45 A.M." My mouth dropped slightly but she didn't give me time to protest. "You didn't think I was going to let you go out there without a good pep talk did you?" I shook my head and she nodded towards the racks of clothes behind me. "Go on." We spent the next ten minutes picking an outfit and I did some basic makeup. May updated me on the gossip mill and how it was spitting out different drivers, footballers, actors and even some singers that they thought I had actually been with. "My favorite one is that you had a torrid affair with Fernando Alonso." We both laughed, shaking our heads.

"So...how do you think we should go about the questions about that? I mean there have to be a few!" My stomach began to twist as I thought about the actuality of having to answer those. May was silent for a moment,

"Honestly E, I don't know. I think you need to do what makes you feel the best. If that's saying the song is about George, or the song is about no one and you made it up! I trust you." The words sunk into my skin like I was soaking up the sun.

I trust you.

She had no idea how much those words meant to me. It had been a bit since someone didn't worry about what I was doing and had full trust in the decision I wanted to make. Tears began to sting my eyes but I refused to let them fall. Hearing the doorknob turn, I knew our time was up.

"Hey, you got this. Just trust your gut." May smiled at me and waved goodbye. The screen went black so I rose from my chair and followed the women out into the hall.

Stepping out onto the soundstage made my heart sink just a bit further. The lights were too bright and there were too many people running around. My heart began to race as my gaze flitted around the room searching for George or Lewis. I felt a buzz in my back pocket and I reached for my phone. A text from Lando awaited me and it was a picture of him and Daniel looking bored. The message read,

So you get to do a fun interview while Daniel and I are stuck doing brand promotions. That is so not fair! Code word is HELP if you see that...no matter what I expect a getaway car driver. Good luck Eva, you're going to do great.

A moment passed before another buzz,

Kick ass Eva! You're more entertaining than either of those Merc boys...but you didn't hear that from me <3 Daniel

The messages made me smile and I felt the weight on my chest ease off a bit. I began to type a message back then I heard my brother's voice,

"Well don't you clean up nice." He was dressed in all white and suddenly I felt anxious about my choice to go with color. George followed closely after and he was also dressed in neutral tones, but I thought back to what May said, "just trust your gut", so I smiled at both boys as we were led onto the sound stage.

George and Lewis went first and we laughed about the questions. My favorite that Lewis got was, "Is Lewis Hamilton afraid of onions." I watched as my brother laughed loudly and that was enough to bring a smile to my face. I hadn't heard him laugh like that in a while. The fun was pointed at George next and the best question that George got was, "Is George Russel the type of guy to clap when the plane lands." George smiled and looked directly into the camera as he said,