goal to my heart | s. jake

six

Astrid shook her head in disbelief as she walked out the revolving doors of the hotel. It was dark and cold and she was far from her apartment. She was pissed off about her whole day, being ruined as soon as she stepped foot into the press company. Astrid just prayed that she would no longer get involved with Jake. Despite it being every girl's dream to meet a hot superstar footballer, Astrid was over it at this point and could not stand being manipulated by men.

"Ms. Park," a voice called out, "Ms. Park, wait!"

The voice of Jake Sim lingered in the back of her head as she felt herself pause for a moment, but then ignored his desperate call. Astrid continued to walk away from him, getting closer and closer to the crosswalk. When she felt his hand tug on her wrist, Astrid finally turned around.

"Please Astrid," at this point Jake was practically begging, "I need your help. I'll do anything."

"What exactly do you want me to do? Your agenda compared to your agent's seems different to me."

"In an interview, reveal the truth. Reveal everything from when I first arrived in the UK to now."

And so Astrid reluctantly agreed. For some reason, Jake's desperation was compelling to Astrid. The more she looked at him and heard his pleas, the more he reminded her of herself when she was younger. He was willing to do anything to gain his reputation back and this article would give her one hell of a bonus.

**

They exchanged each other's contact info and that night, Jake and Astrid would come up with a detailed plan to get Jake's life back on track. Not only would this help Jake's career, but also Astrid as it would pave the way to the big league of sports journalism.

The first step to their plan was to get rid of Gabriel Crawford. In order for Jake to succeed, they needed to cut off the people dragging him down. In this case, it was Crawford as he did nothing to help Jake, didn't find him sponsors, and constantly bullied him. There was no way for Jake to climb the ranks with him. Lucky for Jake, Astrid had connections and the people she knew had connections.

"Hey, Jake," Astrid held her phone between her ear and shoulder as she was busy doing house chores, "I found you a new agent already."

It had been only 3 days since Jake and Astrid's official alliance and things were looking bright for the troubled athlete.

"Already?" The pitch in Jake's voice rose as he was shocked to hear the news on his way to the training center.

"Yeah, he's a good friend of mine. His name is Jay Park. His credentials are pretty good. Graduated from NYU Stern with a degree in business management and finance and minored in sports marketing. Right now he's working at Goldman Sachs, but on the side, he said he would gladly help you out. He knows so many people since he's in the top-notch world and his dad is a CEO of a company too. You're in good hands. I'll email you his contact info so you can reach out to him. Once things are officiated between you two, I'll ask to release an article about Crawford getting fired and getting your new agent. Jay should be able to help you with sponsorships and advertise you better."

"Thank you so much, Astrid," he exclaimed with a sigh of relief, "I owe you my life."

"You sure do," she let out a wry laugh, "Anyways, have you talked with Crawford yet? About ending your contract with him. I know he's going to make you pay a fee for ending early, but it'll be better for your reputation. Being with him for 2 ½ more years is going to ruin you."

"You're right. I wouldn't be here without Crawford, but since my downfall, he hasn't been doing much. I'm grateful for your help," Jake exclaimed, Astrid truly being able to hear his genuineness.

"All right so here's the plan: the first article released will be about the termination of your contract with Crawford, the second will be about your new agent, the third will be about any new sponsorships coming your way, the fourth will be about you doing philanthropic goods, and the fifth article will be the full interview about your experience. Anything else will just be to promote your rep."

"W-wait," Jake interrupted, "How are you so sure that this will go well? Like what if Crawford files a lawsuit for defamation or something?"

"Well, you have evidence that he was verbally abusing you, right? And he stopped doing his job properly since your downfall, right?" Astrid questioned.

"Mhm," he hummed softly, nodding his head.

"So, don't you worry about a thing. You asked for my help and help you shall receive."