Grace's dream was a career in the fashion industry. But while she's finally pursuing that dream, her personal life remains a nightmare. Will she be able to escape an abusive relationship? And will she be able to find happiness and maybe true love?
"Oh, sorry", I say, turning my back to him. I've been to quite a few shoots by now, with female and male models but this isn't a model. It feels wrong to be seeing him like that.
While I'm asking for the earth to swallow me, I hear a deep laugh. A laugh that keeps getting closer. "You can turn around. I have a shirt on now".
"I...", I turn to find that he does have the shirt on. I'm both relieved and sad. "I'm sorry, I thought you'd be done with the shoot".
"We are, Grace", says Doug, saving me from this very uncomfortable moment. "Rúben, this is Grace, she'll interview you today. Our journalist that was going to talk to you is sick, but she's an incredible journalist as well so you won't notice the difference".
He didn't know me forty minutes ago but thanks I guess.
"Where are we going to do this, Doug?"
"Follow me, both of you".
So we walk towards a little room with two chairs. I sit where Doug tells me to and get my notes out to make sure they are in the right order.
"Mister Dias, I have to say that this has been a bit of a surprise for me so I apologize if I got any information wrong. Please don't be afraid of correcting me if it's necessary".
His immediate response is a big smile. "I'm sure you'll do fine".
"Ok", I start, taking a deep breath.
Ten minutes later, we've already talked about his career in Portugal and England. Getting all the cliché football questions out of the way.
"So, obviously this magazine focuses a lot on men exercising. You do that for your job but is it something you make part of your routine away from what the club asks you to do?"
"Yes. I like doing extra gym sessions at the club and I enjoy doing some sports on my time off".
"Such as?", I offer so he can elaborate.
"Swimming, running, ...when I'm in Portugal I like to take advantage of all the nature we have there and ride on my bike or even do some hiking. But I can't do too much or else the club will kill me. Actually, don't write about the hiking", he laughs.
I join him. "It sounds like you are really active in general. Have you always done that? Different sports since being a kid?"
"Yes, my parents encouraged my brother and me to do that".
"That's nice", I say, smiling and remembering how mine used to do the same. "But what about your time off? I'm sure people will love to know about your hobbies that don't involve any training or football".
That last question was not in my notes but...I want to know. He seems so focused on working, he kind of reminds me of myself. And I sometimes have to tell myself to stop and just sit down and watch a movie to relax properly.
"The normal stuff I guess. I like going out to eat, maybe to watch a movie...what about you?"
"Me?", why is he asking about me?
"Do you like those types of plans?"
"Sure. Like you said, they are normal hobbies so sometimes I do enjoy that. Whenever my job allows me the free time".
"What do you do for a living? You don't work for this magazine but I assume you work for another one".
I look around to see if anyone is hearing this. I shouldn't spend interview time chatting about my hobbies with the person I'm interviewing. But no one is here with us.
"I work at a fashion magazine", I say, hoping he'll go back to talking about him.
"I like fashion".
I can't stop my face from making a weird gesture at his words.
"What?", he asks, laughing.
"Sorry, it's just that whenever I hear a footballer saying they like fashion I go to their social media and...let's say it's not my type of fashion".
He surprises me by laughing at what I said. Laughing really hard.
"I didn't want to insult you. I...".
"No, Grace, you didn't insult me. I think the same when I see my teammates. My style is a bit more...traditional. You might like it. Or you can take me shopping if you don't".
"I think maybe we should stop talking about me and finish the interview, please. We don't have long and I need to go back to my job".
That makes him stop smiling and I already feel bad it was because of me that happened. "Of course, sorry. What's the next question?"
Not much later, we finish the interview and I'm quite happy with what I got. Doug told me I have a week to put it all together so it won't interfere too much with my real job.
"Thank you for your time, mister Dias. It's been lovely interviewing you", I say, offering my hand for him to shake.
"Please call me Rúben. And the pleasure is mine. I'm sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable earlier".
I'm definitely not used to people apologizing to me. "No...you didn't. Please, don't worry. I just worried we would go too out of topic and I needed to get all the information for the article".
"Good", he says, smiling again. I can't believe he was actually worried about offending me.
"I gotta go now. Nice meeting you".
I take another quick look back before leaving the room and can see him looking at me. I lift a hand to wave at him and he shakes his head laughing before doing the same.
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