CHAPTER 2 #3
“That’s why they used to call him the cat!” a player shouted.
“Your ankle’s not hurt, is it?” Theo asked quietly as the men loudly congratulated the manager on his quick reflexes.
“N–no. Thank you,” she said gratefully when his hands finally fell away from her body.
He gave her a short nod of acknowledgment and turned around to face the team that was smiling and waggling their brows. Picking up the silver whistle that hung around his neck and placing it in his mouth, he blew.
“Let’s go! We’ve got sprints!”
The players quickly finished dressing and hurried out the other door as Theo walked to the tiny office. Gary came up to Scarlett.
“Impressive handling, Miss Simmons. These guys don’t tend to listen much—to anyone.”
“Well, hopefully we can change that,” she said. “I’m looking forward to meeting with you, Mr. Fielding.”
“Gary, please, and whenever you need me, I’ll be there.”
“Oh, well, in that case, I think I’ll probably start setting up meetings this afternoon. Maybe around one p.m.? My office? Once I find it, that is.”
“Sounds good. I’ll be there,” he said, gesturing to Theo with a mock salute as he exited the office. Gary followed the team out.
Scarlett faced Theo as he approached her. “I thought we would finish the tour—”
“Listen, Miss Simmons, I don’t know what exactly you want from me, but I’m not going to be your friend while you’re here. As far as I’m concerned, this team doesn’t need what little funds we have allotted to a whole other team, particularly when we can’t even fill the stadium for games.”
Scarlett’s brow lifted. “Well, maybe if you get a winning team under the Bees banner, you’ll have better sales.”
Theo scowled at her. “Now wait a minute—”
“No, Mr. Ross, you wait a minute. I’ve been hired to fix the issues this team is having, as well as help introduce the city and fans to the women’s team.
I know money is tight, but it is not because of the women players.
They’re making a fraction of what your team is making, and your team would not be magically better if you had a handful of cash.
You’ve been here solo for two years with the pitch all to yourselves—every day, morning noon, and night—and where has it gotten you?
” He opened his mouth to answer, but she continued, “Nowhere. Now, I appreciate your not wanting to have to deal with me, but a big, tall grump telling a woman that ‘this isn’t her place’ is so passe that I’ve had to come up with a speech just to get it over with, because it is such a waste of time.
So, this is what’s going to happen.” She took a step toward him.
“I’m going to do my job, which I’m pretty fucking great at, and you are going to be as courteous as humanly possible, because if there’s one thing I can’t abide, it’s rudeness.
And lucky for you, I’m a people pleaser—but not one that gets pushed around.
So, I’ll do my work, and you can do yours, and we’ll try to make this as smooth a nine-month partnership as possible. Agreed?”
Theo opened his mouth to speak but then closed it. For a moment, Scarlett was thrilled to think that she had robbed him of speech, but then she watched his Adam’s apple move up and down, and she couldn’t understand why it was so mesmerizing.
“Yes.” And with that deep rumble of a syllable, he brushed past her shoulder, following the team out of the locker room.
Scarlett watched him go before peering around and exiting the room herself the way she’d come.
At least she had stood up to him and made it clear that she wasn’t going to be taking any shit from him or anyone.
Taking out her phone, she saw that she had a missed message from Mr. Wrong Number twenty minutes ago.
This is going to be the longest day ever.
She laughed. That was an understatement.
You have no idea.
Work got you down too?
Oh yeah.
How so?
Scarlett began typing out a laundry list of worries—whether she had made the right decision flying across the ocean for work, the uncertainty she felt about being able to rejuvenate the Bees’ image—but for some reason, Eric’s face flashed in her head, and she deleted the entire paragraph.
She didn’t want to overshare with a stranger, and what was worse, she didn’t want to spell out that she had essentially gotten her new job because her ex-boyfriend didn’t want her around anymore.
Have you ever gotten a job because someone you broke up with recommended you for it?
No. I can’t say any of my exes would be stellar references. Is that how you ended up in Manchester?
Sort of…
Three little dots appeared, shimmering along for several seconds until a message appeared.
Well, I’m not sure what you do, but I think it’s pretty telling that a former partner would recommend you for a job, don’t you think? I think my last girlfriend would get me fired if she could.
Scarlett frowned.
Bad breakup?
Eh… A difference of opinion. I’ve stayed away from dating since. Can’t focus on work with all the drama.
Scarlett’s brows popped up. Was it relationship drama, or was Mr. Wrong Number putting his work in front of his relationship? It wasn’t any of her business, but still, she took his words with a grain of salt as another text came in.
Still. Keep your chin up.
I will. You too.
She smiled. Although she didn’t know anything about him, she felt a little bit of a kinship with this stranger, the only friend she’d made herself since touching down.
Observing the room, she gazed left and then right. Now all she had to do was find her new office.