MASTERMIND | Jamie Tartt

TWO: WELCOME TO THE DOGHOUSE

Billie had barely slept, she spent the entire night berating herself for agreeing to her brother's plan rather than just turning him down. It wasn't necessarily that she didn't want the job, she really fucking wanted a job in media, but rather, there was a quiet voice in the back of her mind telling her that she wasn't good enough to do the job. She could try and tell herself that she was more than capable of assisting the club's media team, but there were no words that could silence that voice in her head.

She had planned her outfit the night before, because as she read in an article in Vogue once, your clothes are your armour. So in an attempt to appear professional yet laid back she'd opted for a sky blue sweater vest on top of a white t-shirt, paired with black jeans and her trusty Adidas gazelles, and she hadn't even realised they were AFC Richmond's kit colours. In the end she opted for minimal makeup and tied her hair back into a loose bun, letting the front pieces frame her face before stacking her fingers with gold rings and spritzing herself with her favourite vanilla scented perfume.

Her brother appeared his usual grumpy self when she rushed out of the flat and into his unnecessarily fancy car, struggling with the heavy tote bag that weighed her down. She felt a need to be prepared for any media based eventuality so she had packed her big camera with a few different lenses as well as her laptop, iPad and a disposable camera, she always carried one of those.

Roy had spent eighty percent of the drive to the training ground complaining that she had been late and he'd been waiting outside her house for ages. The truth was that Roy was just early, but Roy Kent was rarely early, especially when it involved picking up his sister. In the end Billie silenced his persistent winging with a quip about how she could've used a Ring Doorbell for VAR to see when he actually arrived if she had one, implying that Roy didn't care enough about her personal safety as he hadn't bought her one. She knew that wasn't true, and he didn't care to deflect because that was the first time in years he'd heard his little sister make a football based joke.

"Do I get to sit with you at lunch today?" Billie asked with a playful grin, her feet up on the dashboard as her brother concentrated on parking his car in between a Lamborghini and a Porsche, "Like at school?"

"Billie, you were still wearing nappies when I was doing my GCSEs, we were never at school together," Roy huffed as his parking sensors beeped like mad.

"First of all, you left school to become a footballer, meaning the last exam you sat were the end of year exams when you were eleven, secondly, when I was doing my actual GCSEs you were thirty two, how old does that make you feel?" Billie grinned, knowing exactly how to wind her brother up.

"I'm starting to think I shouldn't have got you this job interview," Roy groaned as he removed the key from the ignition, promptly realising just how insufferable his sister's teasing would be once she'd met the team.

"You just want to keep an eye on your little sister, I suppose you couldn't do that with Hannah, seeing as you need GCSEs, A Levels and a degree to become a doctor, none of which you have," Billie continued to probe her brother.

"Is it time for your interview yet?" Roy huffed, glancing at his watch.

"Starts in ten minutes," She answered succinctly, watching as a green sports car pulled into the car park, a young player with a kind face climbing out of it and heading into the club building, "I'm enjoying the view."

"You could just be early, it's a good way to make a good first impression," Roy remarked.

"I'm actually really happy sitting here, Royston," Billie grinned.

"If you get out of my car in the next ten seconds you can sit with me in the canteen at lunch," Roy mumbled.

"See, that wasn't so hard, was it, big bro?" Billie laughed, opening the car door, picking her bag up from the footwell, "I'll text you to let you know how it went."