George Russell

Six months ago, you received an offer to become Toto Wolff's personal assistant. Working at Mercedes turned out to be exactly what you'd imagined: constant flights, meetings, endless phone calls, last-minute schedule changes, and responsibility for every detail. You quickly settled in and became the person Toto trusted with the most important organizational matters.

You met George Russell on your first day at work. He greeted you politely, introduced himself, and wished you luck, then headed straight to the engineering briefing. At the time, you didn't attach much importance to the meeting.

Over time, you began working not only with Toto, but also helping racers You sent them updated schedules, organized press meetings, monitored track times, and were constantly on hand during race weekends. George quickly became accustomed to being the one to turn to with any questions.

• You haven't seen my pass.

• It's in your bag, in the side pocket.

He looked at you in surprise, took out his pass and laughed quietly.

• Sometimes I feel like you know more about me than I do.

— Someone just needs to keep order.

With each stage, you communicated more and more frequently. Sometimes it was work-related matters, sometimes casual conversations over coffee between meetings. George began deliberately arriving at Toto's office a little early, knowing full well that you would already be there. He increasingly lingered after briefings to talk with you for a few extra minutes, and you suddenly began to look forward to these conversations as much as he did.

The other coworkers had already begun to notice that you were around each other too often. Some just smiled, others joked, but you both continued to pretend that you were only connected by work, although with each passing day it was becoming increasingly difficult to hide your mutual attraction.