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totowlff · 10 months

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chapter forty-two — sweet fortune

➝ fortune of the day: you are not elisabeth lauda

➝ word count: 2,6k

➝ warnings: none

➝ author’s note: i would have thousands of things to say here, but i'll limit myself to a wish that you like the chapter.

APRIL, 2018

A subtle heat rose to Elisabeth's face, brought on by a delicate, familiar touch. She stirred slightly, letting out a sleepy sigh. She didn’t want to wake up. She was comfortable on the couch she was sleeping on in Toto’s office, covered and warm under a throw blanket she’d found, her head comfortably resting on one of the decorative cushions. She couldn’t think of a single reason she should wake up right then, not when it felt so good to sleep.

— Liesl — she heard someone whisper, as the warmth of the touch slid toward her head. She didn’t move. After all, there was no reason to get up. She’d been so tired lately. “No, I need the sleep,” she told herself.

A new touch, this time on her forehead, made her move again. She reached up to swat the sensation away, this time making contact with something - someone’s hand. She opened her eyes to see that Toto was hovering just above her, staring at her intently.

— Good afternoon, sleepyhead — Toto said, sweetly — How are you?

— Good afternoon — she replied, bringing her fingers to his face and touching his jaw — I'm fine. Is it time for qualifying yet?

The team principal laughed.

— Qualifying is already over, my love — he said.

Elisabeth blinked. She couldn’t have possibly slept through the entire session. How had she not heard the engines or the cheering coming from the stands? “The jet lag must have been bad this time”, she thought, sitting up on the couch as she rubbed her eyes.

— How did it go?

— Valtteri was third and Lewis fourth — Toto said — We had problems with the tires heating up.

Raising a hand to his face, Elisabeth caressed Toto’s cheek again.

— Shit — she muttered, making him chuckle.

— It's okay — Toto replied — Tomorrow will be better, I'm sure.

She cocked an eyebrow at him.

— You’re being optimistic?

— Well, someone has to be.

— And that someone is never you, Toto — Elisabeth said, making Toto laugh again.

— The data is promising, Liesl, I'm sure we'll have a good race tomorrow — he said, kissing her forehead again — And it's not just me who thinks so, your father agrees with me.

— Of course he does— she murmured, getting up from the couch as she rubbed her eyes — Speaking of my father…

— Downstairs, having coffee with Mark and Mike — Toto replied, already on his feet in front of her— Actually, he was the one that told me not to wake you up for qualifying and to let you sleep.

— Good thing he still cares about me — Elisabeth said, as she ran a hand over the front of the blouse she was wearing, trying to smooth out the creases that had formed during her nap — Is it really bad?

Toto looked thoughtfully up and down, taking in the state of Elisabeth’s clothes.

— Yes, it looks awful. I think you're going to have to throw that blouse away — he said, before giving a mischievous smile. Elisabeth stepped forward into Toto’s embrace and playfully patted his chest, just over the embroidered Tommy Hilfiger logo.

— Idiot.

— Just stating a fact, my love.

Shaking her head, she went to Toto's desk, where she had abandoned her bag before collapsing on the couch, searching for her phone. She saw a few notifications on the screen, including a number of messages from the secretary of Michael O'Leary, CEO of Ryanair, about the next steps in the negotiation of 75% of Laudamotion's shares, they left the office and walked downstairs, into the hospitality’s common area.

Niki was holding court at one of the tables, his coffee cup almost empty as he chatted with Mike Elliott and Mark Ellis, both of whom seemed entertained by the story Niki was telling, something about a helicopter next to his hotel room in Zolder. Elisabeth had heard that story more times than she could count.

— Talking about Gilles, dad? — she asked, after placing her hands on his shoulders. Looking up at her, Niki smiled.

— Yes, Mauslein. Telling them what a complete nut he was. Imagine, landing a helicopter…

— In zero visibility — Elisabeth added — And then him telling you that he miscalculated the travel time between Nice and Zolder...

— Ah, you’ve heard this story before, I guess.

— You always tell it when you see a helicopter — she said, giving her father’s shoulders an affectionate squeeze as he laughed.

— Good stories always deserve to be told, you know that.

— Agreed, Dad — Elisabeth replied, before addressing the two men in front of Niki — Everything okay, boys?

— Everything’s alright, Elisabeth — Mike replied.

— Toto told me we had problems with the tires.

— Yes, we did — Mark said — They just weren't firing up.

— But they'll be fine tomorrow, dear, I'm sure — Niki said — We'll be able to recover at least six tenths with them at the right temperature.

— Are you sure? The weather doesn't look like it's going to change much, Dad.

The former driver raised an eyebrow.

— Are you being pessimistic?

— Considering that he — Elisabeth said, nodding toward where Toto was talking to Bradley — Stole my position as the optimist, I think that's all that's left for me.

— You should leave this post vacant, Mauslein.

— And where is the fun in not having anyone saying “I told you so”? — she said, flashing her father a mischievous smile. Niki shook his head. The moment was interrupted when Toto came back to the crowd, slipping a hand around Elisabeth’s waist.

— Everything’s good, Toto? — Mike asked.

— Yeah, I just came to invite Mr. Lauda for an interview.

— With whom?

— Sky Sports.

— Kravitz? — Niki asked, shoving his cell phone back into his pants pocket.

— Yes, sir. Are you going to talk to him?

The former driver gave a small smile.

— Do I have another option?

— Bradley didn’t say so, if there was.

Niki stood up, adjusting the Mercedes coat he was wearing. The less-than-excited expression on his face made Elisabeth drop her bag on the table and turn to her father.

— I'm going with you — she said, her voice full of determination.

— Are you sure? — Toto asked — Don't you want to rest a little longer? You still look like you got hit by a truck.

— I appreciate the compliment — Elisabeth murmured, running her hands through her hair. She straightened it every day, but her nap had brought out some of its natural waves.

— I'm just looking out for your well-being.

— And you do it by saying that I'm ugly?

Toto huffed, running his hand nervously through his hair as his two engineers stared at him, looking clearly uncomfortable.

— You're never ugly, my love, I always tell you that.

— And since when is saying that I look like a hit-and-run victim a way of saying that I look pretty? — she replied.

— I just want to say that you still look a little tired and you should take it easy if you’re still not feeling well.But, if you feel comfortable doing it, there's no problem.

— Great — Elisabeth said, putting her hand on Niki's shoulder — Let's go, Dad.

The former driver nodded, giving a quick wave goodbye to Mark and Mike before heading outside alongside his daughter, one hand casually placed in his pocket.

After opening the door leading to the paddock, the two of them walked down the small ramp together, finding Ted Kravitz holding his ever-present blue and red microphone, along with a clear bag with a red package inside. In front of the reporter, Ted’s usual cameraman, Pete, aimed the broadcast camera at them, the bright red light indicating that they were live.

— What you have there? — Niki asked, picking up one of the handles of the bag to look at what was printed on the plastic.

— Nothing much, I just have a bag of fortune cookies. We don't want to leave any Chinese clichés behind — Ted replied, his voice full of his usual good-natured cheer — Oh, by the way, congratulations to you on the deal with Laudamotion.

Elisabeth couldn't help but smile at the mention of the family business. “Another perfect deal”, she thought, as her father talked about the partnership with Ryanair and the number of Boeings in their fleet. Then, the reporter looked at her with a smile.

— But will the planes have the Laudamotion or Ryanair brand, Elisabeth?

— No, they will continue to carry the Laudamotion branding — she replied — We will continue operating with our Airbuses, while Ryanair only works with Boeings, completely separate. Michael only wants the Laudamotion product and we will continue like this.

— And you have routes leaving from Berlin to popular destinations…

— No, no — Elisabeth corrected — We will take routes within Europe leaving from Vienna. In fact, the plan is to increase the number of routes departing from Austria, just like Niki did. And we're looking forward to it, aren't we, Dad?

— Yes, the intention is to increase competition and bring more benefits to passengers. Prices will fall, people will travel more, they will be happy and we will be happy too.

Ted smiled.

— I understand, and this is the Lauda family’s third airline, right?

— Actually, it's the second one — Niki replied.

— But…

— First we had Lauda, which was sold to Austrian Airlines, then we had NIKI, which was sold to Air Berlin but which we bought back last year — Elisabeth explained — So, in theory, it's Lauda, NIKI and NIKI again, but with a new name.

— Oh yes, perfect. So, good luck to you with Laudamotion — Ted said, looking at the producer who was next to the cameraman, gesturing for them to go towards the subject that really mattered there — Well, I think I'd better ask some questions about motorsport since we're here. It was a problem with the tires heating up today, do you think you can be better in the race? You know, Mercedes needs a win...

— No need to worry — Niki said, with a small smile on his face — We did what was on our run program and the data is looking very favorable. What's more, the Ferrari is only six tenths faster, so it's a gap that Lewis can certainly close.

— Do you agree with your father, Elisabeth? — Ted asked — By the way, I didn't see you in the garage during classification...

She swallowed hard, forcing a smile.

— I ended up having a last minute meeting. But I caught up on everything and I agree with my father. If there is anyone who can reduce the gap to Ferrari, it’s Lewis.

— Perfect — Ted said, finding the producer pointing to her wrist, informing him that their time was running out — Oh, do you want a fortune cookie? They have been amazing so far.

— Well…

— You don't need to eat, you can just look at the fortune inside it.

Elisabeth and Niki didn't have time to refuse before the reporter reached into the bag and pulled out two little red packages, handing one to each of them. Then, the former driver smiled, showing the packaging to the camera.

— Ah, the fortune is inside the cookie, do you want to open it? — Ted asked, holding back a laugh.

— Is there a fortune here? — Niki returned, looking surprised.

— Of course, that's the point of fortune cookies!

The former driver then tried to open the package, but was having a bit of difficulty. Ted took over, handing Niki the microphone. While the journalist talked about what was inside the fortune cookies taken by George Russell and Sebastian Vettel, Elisabeth decided to open her cookie, trying to imagine what was inside it.

— Here you go, Mr. Lauda — the reporter said, while returning the cookie to Niki — What does it say?

He allowed himself a few seconds to understand the sentence on the paper.

— Your wish will… Be granted after… A short delay.

— Your wish will be granted after a short delay! — Ted repeated, smiling — It means you want to win the race tomorrow, there will be a little delay because you're not on pole, but tomorrow it will happen.

— Yes, maybe — Niki said, looking at the paper again, a little thoughtfully.

— And you, Elisabeth, which is your fortune?

She looked up at the journalist after reading what was written.

— It says here that the love of my life is closer than I imagine, so I don't know if we can really take that into account — Elisabeth replied, giggling.

— Well, from what I can see here, there's someone standing at the hospitality door looking very enchanted with you — the reporter said, pointing to the building's entrance. When she turned her face, she found Toto peering at them with an admiring expression on his face. Waving quickly, she got a blown kiss in response, which made her cheeks blush furiously.

— He's always enchanted by her — Niki murmured.

— Of course, he's my fiancé. It's the least I expect from him — she said, smiling.

Ted ended the interview by wishing them good luck, to which they both thanked him. After the journalist walked away, the two returned to the hospitality door, where Toto was waiting for the two with his hands in the pockets of his team coat.

— How was the interview? — he asked.

— It was good. We even got fortune cookies — Elisabeth replied, showing both parts of her cookie — Do you want one?

Toto nodded, and Elisabeth popped one of the pieces of cookie into Toto’s mouth. She thought it was adorable, and so was his satisfied smile.

— And what fortune did the cookie have for you? — he asked, still chewing.

— Ah, something like the love of my life being closer than I imagined. In the end it was right, after all, I hadn't seen you at the door.

— Indeed — Toto said, before looking at Niki — And yours?

— Something about my wish being fulfilled after some delay.

— Ted thinks it's about the race tomorrow — Elisabeth said, before putting the rest of her cookie in her mouth.

The former driver snorted.

— I think it's about something else.

— What would it be? — Toto asked, raising an eyebrow.

— A grandchild — he replied, putting his hands on his jeans — More specifically a granddaughter, from the two of you.

Elisabeth rolled her eyes.

— Dad, you already know that we’re only going to plan our children after the wedding…

— And, considering the pace that all of the planning nonsense is going, you are not getting pregnant any time soon, right?

— It's not nonsense, dad, it's our marriage...

— I don't know why you insist on planning a big wedding when you both can go to the registry office, sign the papers and start fucking like rabbits to expand this family...

— Niki, please — Toto interrupted him, running a hand through his hair — We don't need to discuss this kind of thing here, do we?

Her father huffed, frustrated.

— If we don’t, I'll probably be dead before I hold my granddaughter in my arms. Excuse me — he said, before heading towards the hospitality stairs.

Elisabeth pursed her lips as she watched her father walk up to the second floor.

— Something tells me he's looking forward to another baby in the family — Toto murmured, his thumb stroking her arm.

— You think? — she asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

— Well, it's a guess, considering he wants us to postpone our wedding so we can start trying to have a baby — he said — And, if you wanna know, I don’t think it’s a bad idea…

Elisabeth snorted.

— You know this is not the right time. The season has just started, the car is terrible, we are ten points behind in the constructors' championship. We don't need another problem now.

— A child is not a problem, Liesl.

— Besides, I'm not going to cancel the buffet, the flowers, the venue, or my wedding dress...

— Have you had the dress made yet?

— Of course, in January.

— Well, I think there would still be time to adjust until the summer break…

She stared at him for a few seconds, not believing Toto's suggestion.

— You…

— Your belly wouldn't be so big, it would look good in the dress.

Elisabeth slapped his arm.

— If you think we’re getting married while I’m pregnant, you’re dreaming, Torger.

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