ʀ ᴜ ᴍɪɴᴇ? - juan soto

1.

lyra's fingers hovered over the keys of her laptop, ready to type the title of what she knew would be her best piece yet:

Juan Soto: Baseball's Biggest Brat.

she smirked, surprising herself with her catchy headline. lyra had established herself as a sharp, no-nonsense journalist that was unafraid to unmask the most popular of figures or corporations. she was known for being the one who asked the most seemingly untouchable people the hardest questions. but soto—from what lyra had now learned was a worse kind of figure than she were used to—the type that would smile at the camera and tear anyone down that dared to challenge him.

she'd been following juan soto's career for a while as she did with many young mlb players, watching his massive successes land himself a spot on her favorite team in all of sports: the new york yankees.

her opinions of soto were neutral, leaning towards positive. this was until she had been notified by several of her most credible sources of his off field behavior, prompting her to do her own digging. she had learned of soto's arrogance and received a damning statement from one of his own teammates about his conduct after only one season with the team.

the stories lyra read made her finally understand him fully—it was arrogance, plain and simple.

she hit "send" and her exposé was sent straight to her editor. a few minutes later, she felt her phone buzz with a message from her boss:

This is gold. Run with it.

lyra leaned back in her chair. she knew the story would cause controversy, but it was the truth. and a funny thing about the truth was that it stuck.

✎ 𓂃

the next morning, she awoke to a slew of text messages, emails, and comments on her article. it had gone viral, with sports analysts, fans, and her peers praising her boldness for her wake up call to one of her city's most promising athletes.

of course, not everyone was happy. an email from a man she recognized as a part of juan soto's pr team was at the top her inbox. it was a condescending email, stating that soto himself called her work, "character assassination." lyra could imagine how furious he was. she grimaced about how he was probably making it everyone at that organization's problem. at the end of the message, the man promised they'd be in touch. she closed her laptop.

her phone buzzed. it was her editor. he said:

PR team wants you to meet Soto face-to-face. They're offering a media tour to "get the full picture." It's a chance to make this story even bigger. You in?

lyra's finger hovered over the keyboard, finally typing:

Definitely, but if he thinks I'm going to go easy on him, he couldn't be more wrong.

she hit send, her heart racing with excitement. lyra couldn't believe he actually offered something like this. she was ecstatic to hear the man behind the persona. she couldn't wait to make the seemingly untouchable answer questions he normally wouldn't.

✎ 𓂃

that night, lyra logged into the computer in her home office, her desk lamp casting shadows across the room. the yankees' pr team confirmed the itinerary: she would join the media tour starting with an in person interview with soto tomorrow. she'd been replaying the message thread in her mind all evening, the pr rep practically daring her to accept the challenge.

if he thinks she was going to back down, he couldn't be more wrong.

a flicker of uncertainty crossed lyra's mind. it wasn't nerves exactly, but the sharp reality that this wasn't going to be like any other interview she had done. juan soto wouldn't be some corporate suit or a bland athlete that would only reply in extremely rehearsed answers. he was unpredictable, charismatic, and if her her reporter friends were to be believed, amazing at deflecting blame.

she shook her head, clearing the thought. that didn't matter. no matter how charming he thinks he is, he is only another story to be told.

she stood, smoothing her pencil skirt and glancing at her reflection in the darkened window. she looked back at a face that wasn't just ready—it was determined. tomorrow, she'd finally meet the man who'd called her work "character assassination."

and if juan soto wanted to play games, lyra larosa was more than ready to win.

with a smirk tugging at her lips, she powered down her laptop and headed to bed. the day ahead promised fireworks, and lyra was ready to light the first match.

if soto was half as infuriating in person, she knew this was going to be fun.