Page 12 of Downforce

I pause working on the flights for some time and instead focus on the other tasks that I need to prepare for the new season.

A while later, my phone rings.

It’s Norm.

“Annalise, I have a list of all of the names Travis is to meet with while in Melbourne and in Shanghai.”

I immediately pull up Travis’ calendar and input the names, dates, and times of the meetings with notes for the purpose of each meeting. It takes about another thirty minutes for Norm and I to coordinate the schedule.

Once that’s completed, it’s time for my afternoon meeting with my personal trainer. Working out regularly is one tool in my arsenal when it comes to managing my OCD.

So, even though I haven’t finished finding the right flights for Alyssia and Lucky, I change into my tank top and leggings to head up to the top floor of my luxury apartment building.

“Hi, Charles,” I greet my trainer, who waits for me in the weight room, about ten minutes later.

He and I always meet at the far end of the gym where all of the strength training equipment is located. At the front of the gym is the cardio section featuring treadmills, spin bicycles, stair machines, and rowers.

The best aspect of the gym, in my opinion, is not only that it’s in my apartment building, but the top floor view looks out over the marina. My building’s not directly on the main street in Monte-Carlo, like my brother’s apartment, but the view from this place is unmatched while also still being slightly out of the way.

For the next sixty minutes, nothing goes through my mind except the sound of my trainer’s directions, my heavy breathing, and the counting of reps.

“Nice work today,” Charles says.

I wipe down my face with one of the towels provided by the gym and thank him for pushing me.

“I didn’t think I was going to make those last few reps of back squats,” I joke.

He chuckles. “Your form has gotten much better.”

We confirm our next appointment for the following week. Once the season starts, the amount of times I’ll meet with Charles will go down from three times a week to maybe once or twice, depending on my travel schedule.

While I don’t travel to every single Grand Prix, I attend most, which means I spend close to ten months out of the year traveling around the world.

It’s worth it. I love motorsports and adore getting to see not only F1 drivers do their thing, but the lower levels as well.

My stomach begins growling the minute I exit the gym doors. I opt to head down to the ground floor and over to my favorite coffee shop, which also sells the best smoothies.

The shop is only a five-minute walk from my building. My fingers twitch in anticipation of the chocolate, peanut butter, and banana smoothie with added protein powder that I plan to get.

There’s no line in the shop once I get there. Which means it takes me less than ten minutes from the time I left my building to get my order and take the first sip of my delicious smoothie.

As I start walking back home, my phone rings. It’s the travel coordinator for the Amato team returning my message. I fill her in on my issue with booking Alyssia and Lucky’s flights, and within a few clicks of her phone, she’s helped me find an adequate solution.

“Thanks, Tracee. I’ll let Alyssia know when I see her tonight.”

“Let me know if you need anything else,” she says, but I only catch half of it before she hangs up because I spot a group of movers at the front of my building.

New people move into apartment buildings all of the time. It shouldn’t be a big deal to find a new owner of an apartment here.

What makes me stop with my smoothie halfway to my mouth is the man who’s just walked out of the front door and is now speaking with the movers.

“You better be kidding me,” I say to no one in particular.

Max’s eyes alight on me as I slowly approach, taking in my surroundings and trying to make sense of what’s in front of me. My conclusions have to be wrong, though. They have to be.

“What are you doing?” I ask none too nicely as I approach.

I’m not certain if I expected him to immediately throw back his response with the same level of attitude I tossed his way, but he doesn’t.