Chapter Text
The sun filtered through the blinds at 8am on a more breezy than usual day in July. Ollie turned them upwards ever so slightly so that it didn’t get in the way of his emails, before getting up ten seconds after he’d done that just to shut the window anyway.
At 20 years old, it was weird for Ollie to have his life ‘figured out’—at least for the while. Why is this, you may ask?
From a young age, Ollie had always enjoyed seeing people fall in love. Some people were empathetic, but Ollie wasn’t sure if he’d drawn a line in the sand and just completely catapulted over it.
He was lucky enough to be born into a family where he hadn’t had to experience any divorces or family fights as such, with his mother and father retaining a healthy relationship all of their lives, there were only really his siblings to bother him as such.
It all started to click for him, however, at the age of 13. His aunt Patricia was getting married, and it was his first ever formal wedding that he had to attend. Considering that most of his parents’ friends weren’t immediate family, they’d usually go off to the wedding themselves and Ollie would feel some sense of FOMO at the fact that he’d missed out on all of the canapes that his parents were describing.
The next thing he knew, he was being transported in a limousine to one of those exact venues with his brother Thomas on his left and his sister Madeleine on his right. Honestly, it was a bit surreal, but his mind couldn’t keep rewinding to the point before that.
You see, Patricia was always the ‘cool’ aunt of the family. She was younger than his mother, and she’d always been the one to call their mother out when she felt that her sister was acting slightly out of line. She was the one that would buy each of them ice creams if there was a particularly sad look on their faces, the one to brave the potentially bone breaking activity of a trampoline park with him.
When it came to the point that she’d found the one that she’d actually loved, there was a slight part of Ollie wishing that it wouldn’t last. He already had uncles—it’s not like he particularly wished for an uncle-in-law after all.
As he sat on the left side of the limo, the trees of the countryside blending in with the tint of the interior, he found his mind replaying back to the moments in the reception.
The way his aunt had cried when they were reciting each others’ vows to each other. The look of glee on their faces as Madeleine was tossing petals high into the air as they walked out of the church into their carriage. The look in her eyes when she’d made eye contact with her partner for the first time.
Subconsciously, it reminded him of the moments when he’d trundle downstairs to try and sneak some chocolate up to his room, having to stealthily move behind the walls to avoid his parents’ eyesight. It didn’t matter half the time anyway—they were too busy caught up in each other’s eyes. Nothing that they would do in front of them, although it was far from crossing any lines.
Vaguely, it reminded Ollie of love. A word he wasn’t used to hearing, rather trying to understand.
Eventually, it brought him to the questions that would come once his aunt had initiated a conversation at her wedding. Her and her newly wedded husband had just performed their first dance, before minutes later one of her bridesmaids along with his aunt had started Irish dancing on the wooden floor that resembled the dancefloor.
Her veil was somewhere at the side of the venue—probably near the top table—but even she had switched into more comfortable footwear.
Funnily enough, that’s how the conversation started. “Don’t tell James that I’ve taken my heels off, Ol.” his aunt began, slightly breathless. “I can only do so many hours in those before they begin to give me pain.”
Ollie zipped his lips as a way of keeping the secret between them, and she just ruffled his hair. “Where have Thomas and Madeleine gone?” she inquired.
“I think they said they were going to go to the sweet stand again to see if there was absolutely anything there that was worth it anymore. I’ve eaten a little too much, so I’m just…drowsy? Is that the right word?” Ollie replied.
His aunt giggled, nodding. “Your vocabulary’s about to get more advanced than mine, huh?” she teased. Ollie giggled along with her, before a comfortable silence came over the two.
He thought now was the right time. “Do you think you’re in love, aunty Pat?”
The younger boy had expected her to look taken aback or surprised that someone of his age would be mentioning love—it wasn’t a foreign concept, but she’d always gone on about how high school relationships would never last.
It was the opposite, however. She just nodded and moved her chair a little closer to him. “I think so. Why do you ask, little bear?” she answered, making eye contact with him.
Ollie shrugged, a weird expression on his face. “I don’t really know. You always referred to yourself as somebody who…enjoyed being single, right? Then you’ve met…James, and it’s like something’s changed. I can tell. It’s the way you look at him.” Patricia only nodded as he was speaking, agreeing with every word that came out of his mouth.
“It’s not a bad thing at all, because I’m very happy for you. I think it’s just…fascinating? Is that weird?” he pondered, looking down slightly to cast his gaze away from his aunt.
His aunt made a sound that was close to one of adoration, potentially. What he didn’t expect was the embrace that he felt around his body seconds later, which he found himself unconsciously returning.
“It’s not weird at all, Ollie. You’ve always been really perceptive, empathetic…excuse me, I can’t think of any more words. I think the champagne is getting to me.” she brushed off. “There’s lots of ways that you can tell that people are in love with each other, and it definitely helps when you care about the people that you’re helping.”
“Really?” Ollie pressed.
“Mhm.” his aunt confirmed. “You know, I wouldn’t have gotten anywhere without Florence, our wedding planner. She seemed to understand both of us on a personal level and while there were things she couldn’t plan with James, she was always there for me and it was like… a mutual understanding. James isn’t the type of person to need that counselling per se, but especially for me, I think I’ve made such a big step in my life.” she paused slightly, tears welling up. “Like you said, you enjoyed being single. Look how that turned out.”
The chuckle that came after was the slightest bit wet, but her face didn’t show signs of tears after a few seconds. Ollie just smiled up at her, thinking that somewhere, somehow, he’d want to try and do that for as many people as possible. To be that person.
Which is why he found himself where he was, in the midst of Monaco, as a wedding planner like his subconscious 13 year old self at the time would’ve wanted him to do. It was a little weird explaining his career path to people—but once his parents had caught light of it, they’d wanted the best for him and started making changes to their lifestyle for him. For that, he couldn’t be any happier.
There were a couple inquiries in his inbox which he passed onto his boss, a couple which he shared with other wedding planners which he thought specialised in certain things. It was a small boutique, but there was a lot of work that went on behind the scenes considering the location they were based in.
As he was getting his to-do list ready for the day, he heard a voice from the side of his cubicle. “Ollie?” He’d recognise that accent anywhere.
Turning around, sure enough, it was his boss. Esteban Ocon. “Do you mind if we have a word just for two seconds? Or maybe…a bit longer?” Esteban asked. To Ollie, it seemed like more of a request, so he just nodded and said he’d be there once he finished his to-do list. Esteban told him to take his time, and sauntered off in the direction of his office.
Some people in the boutique thought it was weird for Ollie and Esteban to have the relationship that they did, when the truth was—Esteban was the person that had really landed him this job.
Said Frenchman was on a visit to the UK from Monaco, after he’d moved there pretty recently to set up the wedding boutique and to find a less saturated market for wedding planning to take place. Events management may be a…broader term for it.
The college Ollie was studying at was lucky enough to get a personalised class from Esteban when he was in his second year of the course that he was doing to try and further his career. Time flew by, the two of them managed to end up talking and realised that their ideas were in the same boat, and so it was only a matter of time before Ollie considered himself qualified, at least.
He’d been with Esteban for around a year and a half now, and he wouldn’t change it for the world. He likes the commute from his flat in Nice to the wonders of Monaco, the way he reads people’s personal requests as if it’s a purpose for imagery in his head.
After he’d stuck the piece of paper that was his to-do list on his slightly smaller than necessary notice board, he locked his computer and headed to the white door with a red sign that was at the back of the building. He heard the muffler come in! from the inside, and so he did exactly that to see Esteban at the other side of his desk.
“How’s my favourite intern?” Esteban joked. Ollie only huffed in exasperation and sat across from him at his desk.
“That’s your favourite running joke, isn’t it?” Ollie deadpanned, the expression on his face seriously telling. Esteban only winked at him before getting a little more serious.
He tapped a little on his computer as he continued talking. “Yesterday I got a very interesting call out of work hours, and usually I wouldn’t pick those up, as you know. It was somebody that I’ve known for quite a while and I consider for them to be one of my best friends, so like the samaritan I was, I picked up.”
“I picked up, we exchanged pleasantries, you know the deal. Anyway, to cut a long story short, they wanted to arrange a wedding service with me for sometime in 2027, around the winter time of year. December or January time so that it doesn’t get in the way of either of their schedules.” Esteban explained, still clicking away.
This made Ollie think. “Why would anybody want to get married in winter? Willingly? It’s so cold and you’d have to keep most of it inside.” his thoughts broadcast out loud. Esteban hummed as if he was to agree slightly, but then turned to Ollie once he seemed to find what he had been looking for.
“I asked my friend to give me a sort of…let’s say brief, on what he would want to happen. The sort of things that he’d want, the sort of timeframe he’d expect. He told me everything and I thought it was best that we give ourselves 18 months instead of the regular 12 just because these people are…so incredibly busy.” Esteban said, a calm tone to his voice. Ollie didn’t know whether it was alleviating his confusion at all.
“Who even are these people—or person? Are they calling on behalf of someone if they’re your friend?” Ollie asked once again.
“You said you were a fan of Formula 1, right?” Esteban wondered. Ollie nodded, albeit apprehensively. “Then you may recognise the name Charles Leclerc.”
Ollie’s mouth shot wide open. It stayed there for a couple of seconds before he continued. “Charles Le— Este, do you know how serious that is? The privilege that you have? He’d probably want everything to be so perfect considering how highly regarded he is…and he’s from Monaco too.”
He tried his best to leave all of the fangirling behind in his head—fanboying, rather. He just couldn’t explain why Charles would choose their quaint little boutique over people who were perhaps specialised in…celebrity weddings, let’s say. Did Charles want to make a spectacle out of a boutique from his own country? Did he want it to be more private with just his immediate family? All the questions ran round in Ollie’s head, that he’d of course never get to answer.
In the midst of his thoughts, he could see Esteban shaking his head slightly. “I won’t be the one catering to them, Ollie. While I would love to take this on, I specifically mentioned to Charles that I would need two people to work on this, and you know how I am. I don’t get along well with other people.”
Ollie’s mind traced back to when Esteban had walked into work one day, maybe when he shouldn’t have at all. His hair was sticking up all over the place, as if he’d gone back to using gel overnight—the sun was very clearly having effects on him, and some of the only words that Ollie heard from him that day were to never interact with Pierre Gasly.
(Of course, Esteban clarified this after. He still stood on what he said, but he admitted to not getting any work done that day. After one too many conversations at a gala with the other Frenchman, it turned into Esteban creating a fight between him and his girlfriend, he knew that it was his time to leave.
Pierre Gasly didn’t let him leave, from his own accounts, anyway. Ollie has stayed far away.)
Esteban continued. “So, I’ve decided that you’re going to be the one to help service Charles’ wedding.”
The words were like a grenade, as soon as they came out of his boss’ mouth he just sat there like his brain had gone dead, the overtime that it had worked over the years finally catching up to him.
He didn’t have much time to ponder over it, whether fortunately or unfortunately, before an afterthought came to him. “You said that two people would be working on this. Who’s the second one?”
As if comedic timing didn’t exist outside of movies, three knocks at the door interrupted them slightly. Esteban shouted the same as he did to Ollie just minutes ago.
The door opened. In stumbled somebody that Ollie would much rather drink blended fish eyes than be within a 5 mile radius of outside work.
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He didn’t know how Kimi Antonelli had wormed his way into the company, but he remembers the month vividly. It was June, 6 months after Ollie had been there himself, and Esteban had mentioned that they’d had another young ‘intern’, per se, joining their team.
It wasn’t until a week later that Ollie actually met Kimi for the first time. He was just minding his own business trying to make an invitation that was fit to his client’s brief, before he heard an accent that he could only describe as one that was meant to sneer down on him.
“Surely you should make the font something that makes all of the letters legible?” He turned around his shoulder to see someone that he couldn’t put a name to, leaning on the edge of his chair. Ollie was almost tempted to back away and watch him lose his balance, but he was a nice person.
Before he even got a chance to get a word in, the boy spoke again. “Kimi. Kimi Antonelli. I’m sure we’ll be seeing a lot of each other soon, no?” he commented, before Esteban shouted across the room, beckoning Kimi away for something unknown.
After all of that, Ollie didn’t even get a chance to defend himself about how his invitation was quite obviously not meant to be right on the first try, but now this new hire comes in here and acts like he knows everything?
He wasn’t going to have it.
Fortunately for him, he didn’t really see Kimi all that much as Ollie had heard that he worked different shifts to Ollie, claiming he worked ‘better at night’, either that or he was exploring venues in the day that even Esteban had to shrug off.
It wasn’t until the end of the summer that Kimi had made…a slight reputation for himself. It could be seen as a good thing, it could be seen as a bad thing. All Ollie knew is that people had different opinions on it.
One day, he was heading to the coffee machine that was in their secluded lounge area, and he overheard his colleagues Luke and Dino talking about Kimi.
“Did you not hear? The first people that he had to plan for literally gave him 5 stars for everything, and they even invited him to be part of the wedding photographs.” Dino commented, sipping tea from his mug. In his peripheral vision, Ollie could see Luke’s eyebrows lift just slightly.
“That’s what you’ve heard?” Luke retorted, surprise to his voice. “I heard that some of his clients feel like his ideas are too outlandish, but it doesn’t even matter at the end of the day because sometimes he’ll just show up to the wedding and get completely drunk after it.”
Dino gasped. “Was that the reason he didn’t come into work for like 3 days straight?” he pondered, to which Luke nodded. “Must’ve been one bad hangover…”
Luke shrugged. “Then again, I overheard Esteban and George talking, and George seems to like Kimi’s…unorthodox style about things sometimes. I think I remember him mentioning something like,” as he put his next words into air quotes, “as long as he gets the job done. He said Kimi had little to no flaws in that area.”
Ollie’s coffee had finally finished, so he didn’t feel the need to stick around for the conversation. Then again, it matched up with the perception of what he’d had of Kimi already. A loose cannon, but then always wanting to be a perfectionist when the time occurred for him.
It was like the Italian was putting on a front, and that’s who Ollie couldn’t get along with. He’d rather be with somebody that was able to be down to earth with him.
Which brought Ollie back to the current moment. Esteban had left the two alone in his office because he believed it to be ‘a good space for the two of them to plan’. “Or even to get to know each other, because you’ll be working together for a while,” he added. Ollie thought that it came across in quite a sly tone.
The two sat in silence for seconds that seemed like hours—before he heard the same grainy voice chirp up from the right of the room. “You know, Leclerc is going to want a big wedding that makes a statement. So you might as well leave this to me.” Kimi opened, his tone arrogant as ever.
Ollie scrunched his nose up in shame. “You think? You don’t think that he’s going to completely disregard his family and instead invite every famous person that he has in his contact book? Let’s get real for a second, here.” he retaliated back. Kimi only chuckled, and Ollie didn’t understand how this was a laughing matter.
“Sure, Bearman.” Kimi rattled out. “Of course you’ll know better because of the six months extra time you’ve had at the company. There’s only so many weddings you can put on before they all become repeats of each other.” he leaned back in his chair, as if the words leaving his lips weren’t directly offending the passion that Ollie had about his job.
He turned to Kimi. “Enlighten me, then. What do you think a wedding is all about, self-proclaimed expert?” it came out as a jeer, exactly as the British boy had intended. Whether fortunately or unfortunately, it didn’t faze Kimi.
“A celebration. Not every wedding has to be a spectacle on such a scale, but everybody has to have fun. The boring shit lasts an hour and then you get onto the reason why everybody has the hen parties, the stag-dos, the atmosphere of it all. Much more different than your idea of being together for a lifetime, or whatever.”
Ollie tilted his head. “So you don’t think it’s important that these people have given themselves to each other for eternity, in the purest form? You don’t think there’s anything special in making these connections?”
“Why should I?” he called back. “They’re the ones who made the connection and made the jump to marriage, so my job is only to provide what they’d want before they then deepen that connection on their honeymoon. You’d think they had much of an idea by love, and that it all didn’t come to them at the reception.”
He decided not to respond. At least not for a little while, because it was clear to him that their visions did not line up at all. Ollie was about affection, Kimi was about complexion—at least in his mind. It’s not that he’s starkly against a huge celebration, either, but everything should be tailored to the specific clients that they get. Maybe that’s where Kimi gets it wrong.
He wouldn’t bother wasting his brain cells on somebody that clearly saw the self-benefit of this job over the benefit of the people that came to the boutique for one reason, and one reason only.
The silence didn’t last long, as the clunk of a chair saw Kimi bring himself closer to Ollie. “No matter how different we are, don’t you think we’ve been chosen for a reason?” Kimi suggested. “We’re going to have to make many compromises, and maybe it’d help if we stopped putting each other down all the time.”
Ollie’s eyebrows raised, a blown away expression donning his face. “Mind you, I wouldn’t even have a problem with you, but then you decided to try and fix my work that wasn’t even finished.” Kimi looked puzzled, before Ollie mentioned “The invitation?”
The other boy smirked. “You don’t like it when somebody corrects you? Tell you when you might, in fact, be the slightest bit wrong?”
“I wasn’t wrong,” Ollie boomed, the statement coming out a little louder than intended. “You’re just poking your nose into everybody’s business because you’re some sort of prodigy that has made a reputation for yourself in a year!”
He was exhausted. Just the sheer sight of Kimi had him wanting to go home to open the 12 pack of cider that he’d bought on the weekend.
Luckily, something was on his side just then, as Esteban told them both that they could leave early for the day, and that Charles would be coming into the boutique sometime when both of their schedules lined up.
“I hope you’ve made some progress in your friendship!” Esteban called as they were both leaving.
Oh, how far from the truth that was.
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It was Tuesday when Ollie had stumbled in at 12pm that day, reading his emails to see that Esteban and George had sent himself and Kimi a notice that Charles would be dropping in at 3 today.
Ollie found it to be as relieving as it was scary. It was nice to finally have something to assign himself too, considering he’d been much of a free agent yesterday, leaving early that day as well.
Still, there was the fact that he was literally about to plan Charles Leclerc’s wedding. Not only that, he didn’t know who his partner was—and whoever it was, she was pretty lucky. As much as Ollie wished to be in whoever that was’ place, he didn’t want it to get controversial.
He hadn’t seen anything of Kimi since he stepped into work, but he believed it wouldn’t hurt him to at least…debrief with him before the new client came in. After finishing his emails once again, he set off for the other staff area, which is where Kimi was apparently situated.
It was slightly embarrassing how quickly Ollie noticed Kimi given the brown curls that were visible, covering part of his neck. His posture was a little bad, but he seemed to be typing pretty fast. He decided not to waste any time, though, tapping him on the shoulder.
He quickly closed off the tab he was on before turning around to Ollie. “Oh, my wonderful partner.” Kimi said with no glee whatsoever. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Ollie put the snarky remark in the back of his head. “I just thought it would be useful for us to…debrief? As much as our ideas were different, I wouldn’t want us to overlap in front of them.” His tone came off a little nervous, which he internally cringed about. Kimi didn’t bring up anything, thankfully.
“I think it’s pretty simple, eh? You can stick to the reception part and I’ll try and stick to the rest of it. No doubt they’re going to want that sort of wedding, at least that’s what George told me. We’re not going into this completely blind, you know.”
Maybe Este had said something similar to him, but he can’t remember for the life of him. “Right. Okay. You know they’ll be here at—”
“At three, yes, I know. I’m kinda busy with something at the moment, so do you…mind?” He wasn’t sure if it was Kimi’s intention to be rude, but he sure felt the brunt of his speech.
“Yeah, whatever. Just don’t be late.” Ollie finished, and left Kimi to continue with whatever was so important. He didn’t see how anything took priority over a client such as the one they were dealing with, but hey? What did Ollie know?
Sitting back down at his desk, the coffee that he’d made just a bit earlier had gone slightly colder than he’d usually like. He drank it anyway, the sun peeking out of the clouds. The wind wasn’t as bad as it was on Sunday, and so Ollie enjoyed the sound of the waves as the window stayed slightly ajar.
He thought about what was going to happen later. Would he and Kimi clash? Would Charles and his partner not be impressed with the way they displayed their services?
After all, it was just the first meeting. It was more for them to be clear on what the client’s vision was, and then for them to go and conjure up some wedding plan if the client was willing. He’d usually done this alone, but having someone beside him was a mystery.
It was hard to look at the bigger picture. If they were to split up and try to delegate both of their areas, then both parts of the wedding might be starkly different from each other.
That’s when it came together in Ollie’s brain. No matter how much he detested it, he was going to have to work alongside Kimi Antonelli for the foreseeable.
The worst part was, he couldn’t even say no. Not when this big of a project was on a silver platter.
He found himself in one of their consultation rooms at around 2:45pm, 15 minutes before schedule. He wanted to make sure that the temperature was right in the room, that everything was in place, that he had a notebook ready to try and brainstorm what Charles was looking for without actively ignoring him by hiding behind a laptop screen, for example.
Expecting Kimi to turn up any moment, he revelled in the bliss that was peace for the moment. Most of the room was white, with the added touch of red and blue that finished off their brand logo (of course, because Esteban was French!).
The seats were a far cry more comfier than the one he’d usually be sat at if not occupied with a client, and he seemed to have everything prepared. Now all he had to do was wait.
Wait he did—because Kimi came in around 2:55. He looked a little more put together than usual, and Ollie wondered if he’d used any sort of makeup to hide the blemishes that he saw just hours ago.
Not that he was inspecting Kimi.
“You’re cutting it fine.” Ollie commented.
Kimi just eased into the seat next to him. “I’m still here before schedule, huh? There’s nothing wrong with that.” he replied. He did have a point. “Everything looks…weirdly in place.”
Kimi’s head turned all over the room, no longer oblivious to everything that Ollie had attempted to make perfect. “Have you ever heard of a good first impression?” he chided.
“I thought you would’ve…” came a slight mumble from Kimi, but Ollie didn’t find himself catching the end of it. Naturally, he doesn’t really care about any more statements that Kimi has to say towards him.
They sat in silence for longer than Ollie would’ve liked, the ticking of the clock the only thing to accompany the sterile white walls. The sun was still shining, but there was no window, just the accompaniment of the air conditioning in the room to stimulate a breeze.
Not that he had much of a view. The only thing that he could see in his immediate sight was Kimi pulling out his own notebook, trying to look the tiniest bit prepared, as what was next to him was a frosted window for privacy.
Esteban walked into the room shortly before the quiet mood would’ve made the older boy go insane. “They’ve just arrived. Before they come in—I know you’re both professional—but try and remain calm? This isn’t the second coming of Christ.” Esteban told them both, a lopsided smile to his face.
Definitely a weird way to put things, but nonetheless, he nodded. Kimi did the same but with a thumbs up as well, and Esteban just saluted them both before he dashed off. Presumably to meet the people they were meant to plan said wedding for.
“Don’t you think that was a bit weird?” Kimi echoed Ollie's thoughts. For once, he could agree with what the younger one was saying.
“Yeah. You’re right.” Ollie murmured, but that was all he could get out. Esteban stepped back in to return to his formalities, and sure enough, in walked Charles Leclerc.
Standing up, Ollie motioned Kimi to do the same, but as he was doing that—he couldn’t help but notice how Kimi’s face was trying to hide some sort of shock.
It would be rude to whisper to Kimi in front of their clients, but he whipped his head around shortly after—
Okay. He could understand why Kimi was the way that he was.
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“I presume that Esteban did not tell you two about…me coming here, I suppose? That may be the best way to put it.” came an accent that could only be described as one that Ollie also recognised.
It was only right that sat diagonally from him, opposite Kimi, was Max Verstappen. That Max Verstappen.
Ollie thinks he might as well die. Perhaps he’d let Kimi handle this by himself. He had too much of a big mouth to keep this sort of thing a secret. I mean, come on—
“…you had a partner. I think Ollie is a little more knowledgeable than I am?” Kimi pointed, looking in the direction of said boy. It snapped Ollie out of his slight reverie that he’d been in since Max had walked in, reminding him that he actually had a job to do.
He flushed involuntarily. “Sorry about that,” he started, with a slight pitch to his voice. “My colleague is right. As much as hearing all about…” he gestured to the two opposite them “this…would be great for my fanboy side, on a professional side this definitely isn’t about me. It’s about the two of you, and what you want us to provide. So please don’t feel like you’re walking on eggshells.”
Ollie finished his slight little ramble with a smile, and he saw Charles turn to Max with—well. The whole reason he started this job.
It was quite funny how this had turned out. Maybe a delusional side of Ollie would’ve said that he saw this coming, but there’s only so much you can tell from low quality photos.
Right in front of him, however, was the same look you saw in individuals who had perhaps fallen in love for the first time. Not like he wanted to headcanon them—they were grown men like him, for god’s sake.
There were a lot of personal opinions that he had on the situation, but he’d just keep them to himself for now. The engaged pair had stopped looking at each other and their focus was now on himself and Kimi.
“It was always a dream of mine to get married in Monaco,” Charles began, a wistful look on his face that was quickly shut down, “but obviously that won’t happen. I’m not mad about it by any means, but it does mean that some things have to be done a little differently.”
He continued on quickly, as Max seemed to be nodding on with everything he was saying either way. “We decided mutually that we’d want the actual wedding reception to be held in The Netherlands, so that both of our families had a chance to be there. Then, what you can do in Monaco, you plan in Monaco.” Charles pitched.
“Which is why I think Esteban may have decided that two people would be best for the job.” Max added. “Personally, he seemed extremely fucking overwhelmed based on Charles’ recount, so we hope you two can keep it a little more level-headed than him? Even though it’s his business?”
A less fake laugh couldn’t have come out of Kimi just then. “Ollie and I have known each other for long enough. We’ll both do our absolute best for you, and should you have any problems…well, Ollie is the one that knows more about both of you as we can tell.”
He elicited a slight chuckle from Max, and Charles was just there lapping up the scene. Ollie’s face couldn’t have gone more rigid at that point, as he didn’t feel that was an appropriate joke to make. He’d consider himself flaky to break at that, however.
“Thank you, Kimi. How very kind of you.” Ollie jested, before turning to the couple. “Obviously I know how busy you both are, and it now puts it into a bigger perspective as to why we’d need a little longer to do things. Obviously, most of it can be sorted from our end, perhaps with a phone call here and there. If you want to just direct your attention to my notepad for a second…” he trailed off before flipping to the end of his notebook.
Ollie pointed at the list that he’d made. “I’m unsure if you’ve looked at our website, but these are the standard terms that we’d go about with consulting your wedding. Obviously, some of these timeframes such as deciding a venue as such may take longer due to needing to find a venue in Monaco or potentially further afield. Did you have any inclination of the sort of place you’d want to get eloped in the Netherlands?”
While Charles had moved Ollie’s notebook a little closer to him, as if he was planning a calendar in his head, Max was the one to speak outwardly.
“We want that part of the wedding to be super intimate. We don’t really want…the secret to get out. You know people will speculate, especially with rings and such, but ideally somewhere that’s accessible for my family and Charlie’s. The ones that wouldn’t mind, anyway. Maybe just the close family and the ones that aren’t complete lunatics.” His last sentence seemed a little shaky, but Kimi seemed keen to continue the conversation.
It surprised Ollie a little, because Kimi’s lane definitely wasn’t the more secluded setting of receptions, but he couldn’t get too tied up in those thoughts. It wasn’t long before Charles initiated his own conversation with Ollie.
“Some of these things…the guest list, for example. How would we go about that?” the Monégasque questioned. Ollie beamed at him.
“It’s completely up to you. Obviously, we don’t specialise in…let’s say grandiose celebrity weddings. It’s up to you if you want the afterparty or equivalent to be a spectacle, or whether you really do invite those that are trusted and want to keep it a secret. As long as the venue we book can accommodate that certain capacity and that you’re able to stick to that.” he explained.
Charles visibly relaxed at Ollie’s question. He leaned in a little further while Max seemed to be laughing at something Kimi had just gone over. “Do you think it’s a little obvious about…Max and I? I can only presume from what Este said that you’re a big fan of F1, and as much as I would love to share him with the world…how do I put this…”
He seemed to ponder on what was right to actually say before asking to borrow Ollie’s pen so he could write something. He slid it back over when he noticed that Kimi was also doodling something on his notebook. What Charles had offered him didn’t need to be a picture, however.
It was just one word, but it was telling enough. Jos.
Ollie swallowed. It might’ve been a question that he’d want to answer in the future, but meeting two of his idols and talking about what is probably the most sensitive topic to one of them was definitely jumping into the deep end.
He tried to answer as honestly as he could. “There are many people that fantasize for their own good, but I think the environment that you’re in, people wouldn’t even guess. If being careful is what you’re after, then I can do that. Kimi likes to make everything a spectacle.” he spoke, perhaps a little too truthfully as Charles had laughed at Ollie’s remark.
“So you know a lot about him?” Charles joked. If only you knew, Ollie thought to himself, deciding to play it off anyway.
“A little bit. We’re not close enough to say what I actually think yet. If I tell you too much, you might cancel the entire process on us.” Ollie exclaimed
Charles raised his hands in surrender, “You’re the only boutique in Monaco! I trust you not to ruin this for me!” he cried. While it was intended to be funny, it also brought Ollie back into the headspace of how serious this was.
He took this as an opportunity, now that the other two had also stopped their conversation, to speak up about the type of ideas that he had.
“I don’t consider myself to specialise in something, but for me, a wedding is about people who are ready to devote themselves to each other for eternity. Of course, there has to be a way to commemorate that for both of you, and as a client you will always be at the forefront of my mind.” Ollie spoke eloquently.
“That being said, the type of venues that I had in mind would be something that were aimed towards a smaller guest list. Of course, you don’t have to follow this if you wanted to have a more public spectacle, but it’s just something to think about.”
Kimi butted in. “Speaking of more public spectacle, while Ollie may not specialise in anything, that sort of environment is something I think I can do well in. A wedding is meant to be about a celebration, and who the fuck cares if you get a little wasted during it? You only live once, after all.”
Ollie smiled curtly, “Of course you must remember that you don’t want to get too drunk on your wedding day so you can actually remember what happens!”
“So then it’ll be our job to book photographers and people that can make your day as memorable if you can’t!” Kimi retaliated back, as something that was intended as indirect but is seen as extremely direct.
He notices that Kimi is looking at him slightly, his eyebrows down in a position that seems to be one of mock anger. If Kimi knew that all he was doing was setting them up right now, then that would be wonderful.
“It’s nice to have more than one big ego other than us in a room at one time, isn’t it, Charles?” Max commented. It caused everyone to look at him, as perhaps it was meant for a whisper. “Did I say that out loud?”
The room fell into quick laughter at Max’s quick remark. It was as if everything was forgotten and they were all already much more relaxed.
Kimi jumped into what would happen over the course of the next 18 months, and how all of it could be subject to change depending on how free the couple were. Ollie followed it up swiftly by mentioning that Esteban would be able to give both of them their contact details as they were leaving, just in case they had any pre-existing questions that they felt they were unable to say in front of either one of them or their partner.
That part seemed a little bit secretive, considering a wedding was meant to be so open, but there was hardly anything to brainstorm in this first meeting.
However, if Ollie ever found out that Charles Leclerc had been messaging Kimi Antonelli behind his back about him, he’s pretty sure that he’d quit his job.
The meeting ran on for a little longer as they finalised when their next meeting would be, which surprisingly, would be in around 2-3 weeks due to the fact that Formula 1 drivers would be on their summer break soon.
Ollie makes sure to give each of them a way to access his version of a ‘portfolio’ online, in case there was anything specifically that interested them that they could bring into the next time they see each other.
Their next pre-planned meeting was to discuss the venue for the reception (if they hadn’t found one already), as well as the one for the afterparty. “If there would be a shortlist that were all nearby for said afterparty, that would be wonderful. Don’t you think it would be a good day out, chéri?”
Max nodded in response before continuing with his own statement. “We definitely look forward to working with the both of you. I’m not the most secretive person in the world, so expect to learn a lot about me. Some of it you don’t want to know.”
“Max, their job is to sell to us, not you put us off them!” Charles complained before they all shook hands.
Minutes later, the bell above the door chimed to signal that the two had left, and Ollie had been positively slouched in his chair ever since.
It hadn’t been long enough for Ollie to forget what Kimi had tried to do, however. “Well done for trying to ruin that for us, dipshit. Who do you think you are?” Ollie spat, anger obvious in his tone.
Kimi looked as if he’d just had the wind taken out of him. “Me? Mate, are you out of your mind? You were the one that butted in after me after I was literally explaining what I was good at!”
“Oh so encouraging people to get drunk is good service? The next thing we’re going to change our name to the Wine Cellar boutique, because all we do is give our clients alcohol and lock them up in a state of mind!”
“Oh wow,” Kimi laughed. “You’re good. You’re really good at spinning things, Bearman.”
The look on Ollie’s face was incredulous. “Do you hear yourself? Why the fuck would I try to spin things when we have two clients that could potentially bring in the best reputation for us?”
“Now you want to think about reputation? Not making yourself look good in front of two people you consider your idols?" Ollie went to speak, but Kimi jolted up immediately. “Don’t even try and lie to me. We can be civil, but I’m not going to have you tear up my job just because you think your angelic ways are the only way things can go around here.”
With that, Kimi and his black shoes walked on out of the consultation room, leaving Ollie encased in its soundproof walls.
He wanted to think of a witty remark, but he really couldn’t. Was it appropriate for him and Kimi to have blown up at each other? It was obvious that they both thought that they were in the right, but how right could either one of them be?
There were two short knocks at the door before George Russell invited himself in. “I just saw Kimi on his way out. Everything okay?” he attempted to clarify.
George wasn’t the higher up that Ollie would really turn to for any confirmation of things, as his office was stationed in the area where Kimi worked, which would explain their closer relationship.
Nonetheless, he was a nice guy, and the fact that he was British brought a sense of home to Ollie. So he couldn’t really lie to him about everything.
“We’ll sort it out. Him and I have never worked together before, so it’s obvious that we’ll have different ideas.” is all he came out with, and he tried his best not to choke it out. There was so much more he wanted to say.
George’s lips upturned slightly. “Well, Esteban chose you two for a reason, so you better practice what you preach. He said both you and Kimi could take the day off tomorrow, he might catch up with you both via text.” he responded.
With that, George didn’t waste any more time and the door clicked shut behind him once again. Begrudgingly, Ollie didn’t waste any more time once he thought the older man was a safe enough distance away, and slipped off to his office where he saw Dino and Luke conversing before he got to his own space.
The sun still hadn’t set, and it may have had an effect—because Ollie was definitely a much more heated person than he was— give or take half an hour ago.
Part of him hoped this wasn’t a ticking timebomb waiting to explode.
╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮╰☆╮
(“Those two definitely don’t like each other,” Max deadpanned. Him and Charles sat on the sofa of Charles’ Monaco apartment, Leo sat in his dog bed just across from the television.
Charles chuckled. “You’ve given Esteban enough shit over the years. Maybe this is his way of getting back at us, if anything. We were young once, remember.”
Max turned his head to his fiancée, eyes crinkling up when he bored into those green irises.
“They’ll work it out, just like you and I did.” Charles reaffirmed him. “You can tell that they’re two completely different people.”
“Maybe that’s the one difference they have to us, schat.”
There was a huff that came from Charles. “You really didn’t have to be throwing the word ego around in the first meeting.”
“I don’t think that’ll affect their ability to make our wedding the best ever to partying at Jimmy’z, for example.” Max retorted, a calmer tone than usual.
“I wish you wouldn’t discuss the club I used to frequent to be used as something for our wedding, Max Verstappen.”)