Lover II- ML

329. Altitude

A team meeting at 8:30am was called the very next morning, with Mapi and Kaia having to bring Fabian since they didn't have anyone who could look after him so early.

Luckily, Fabian was still sleepy and Mapi willingly suffered sloppy banana falling on her from Fabian's mouth as he fed himself whilst sat in her lap.

"I am sorry for the early meeting everyone." Miquel apologises from the front of the room. "But thank you all for coming, this shouldn't take too long and you can all be on your way for breakfast soon enough."

A few players spare Fabian a look as he ate his banana quietly, but none of them could be mad with the way he smiled kindly when he realised he was being looked at.

"I think you've all become aware of Pere's absence since yesterday morning." Miquel says carefully, surveying the room to see if there are any whispers or laughs, shocked expressions or eye rolls. Any emotion. But everyone remained professional. "I don't want anyone to worry, but he has been called back to Barcelona by Joan Laporta."

"What? Why?" Cata asks, not actually knowing the extent of what happened in the meeting with Kaia and Mapi.

"I will be completely transparent with you all." Miquel states, once again surveying the room. "He is under review for misconduct against player rights."

That got reactions, shocked breaths, shared glances, whispered conversations.

Mapi simply put her hand on Kaia's thigh and gave it a gentle squeeze, saying 'we're ok'.

Kaia responded by placing her own hand over Mapi's, both of them trying to ignore the unconscious glances everyone shot their way.

"It's a serious accusation, at this time I can't tell any of you what the outcome will be." Miquel carries on soberly, clearly stressed about the disarray this has caused. "With the start of the season so close, I'm stepping in as interim manager until the review is over."

"What do the public know?" Alexia asks professionally.

Miquel meets her eyes. "Nothing as of this moment. But with Pere now in Barcelona, they'll know he's not here soon enough, they press will ask people in this very room for information and I must stress to you all that you do not disclose anything."

It was mainly an order to the younger players without media training, so Kaia let herself get distracted by taking a whiny Fabian into her arms and carefully wiping the food from his mouth with a wipe.

"Hey," Mapi whispers as she passes Eduardo over next. "Are you ok?" She asks.

Kaia finally meets her wife's eyes, both of them knowing their reaction might've put a man out of his job. "Laporta will do whatever's right." She sighs.

There was no need to get into it now, not when they didn't know the full extent of this review, not when they needed to focus on football and finishing off preseason against their hosts.

They were playing Club América at Estadio Ciudad de los Deportes, a stadium that had stood for almost eighty years and was the definition of South American football with the wide open stands and lack of a roof.

There wasn't no modern injection of money like many European stadium had in recent years, no padded private boxes or heated substitute seats.

Just plastic chairs worn down by the sun for those who love football.

Kaia loved the feel of stepping onto the pitch for the warmups, because the grass was patchy in areas and it felt like she was truly getting to experience the proper South American atmosphere.