Goal Changer

Chapter 5 - The Call

The next day at work was flying by for Donna, she had managed to avoid a bawling from Jason and was feeling very productive.

She was just about to go for lunch when the phone rang.

"Hello, Jason Hadley studios, Donna speaking"

"Hi there, this is Alicia calling on behalf of Jorge Mendes. We believe that our client may have left an expensive watch at your studio. I would like to arrange for someone to collect it or messenger it to us please"

"Ok no problem" replied Donna while taking notes " I will look into that, who may I ask is your client"

"Cristiano Ronaldo" came the voice

"Oh" was all Donna could say suddenly feeling flustered

"Well if you could get back to me as soon as possible" Alicia asked hanging up the phone.

Donna replaced the handset in a daze, she remembered yesterday clearly, she remembered the way Cristiano had said her name, remembered how he had winked at her, those delicious brown eyes of his had stared straight at her.

She felt her heart race once more, just like it had last night when she thought about him.

She would need to find that watch and return it to him she thought. A part of her hoped he would come pick it up himself giving her one last opportunity to see him again but she knew it was unlikely. Of course someone like him would have people to do those kinds of jobs for him.

Donna knew she would have to face facts, she wasn't going to see him again. The thought made her heart sink.

While the rest of the staff were out to lunch Donna decided to hunt for the watch, she searched the entire studio but found nothing. She just wanted to touch it, to feel connected to Cristiano in some way, she knew it was silly but couldn't help it.

Maybe he hadn't lost it in here she thought. He probably misplaced it at a models house while having a one night stand, she knew how guys like him operated, she knew how footballers behaved, everyone knew it. It was a different girl every week.

Why would Ronaldo be any different she asked herself. He was gorgeous, any woman would want him.

Suddenly she remembered the changing room. She ran all the way there and as soon as she opened the door she saw it.

There it was on the small sofa, it was rose gold and extremely shiny. Lifting it up it felt heavy, she stroked her thumb across the face thinking that only 24 hours ago it had been on Cristiano's wrist. The thought made her smile.

Back at her desk Donna made the call to Alicia confirming the watch to be picked up the following day.

She took a late lunch and decided to look for a suitable gift box to place the watch in. She didn't want the piece of jewellery to be damaged when Cristiano received it.

An hour later the watch was packaged in a metallic silver gift box with a tiny blue satin cushion inside that the watch wrapped around. Donna smiled closing the box and placing it in the large brown envelope.

..........

Two weeks had passed since the watch was collected. Donna had only thought about Cristiano a handful of times, she had deliberately tried to put him out of her mind. She knew she would never see him again so there was no point torturing herself with thoughts of him.

Work was the same as always with Jason throwing hissy fits and Donna bearing the brunt of them.

There was only 2 more weeks left of the temp job and she could find something else she told herself. That thought was the only thing getting her through the days at the studio.

She had been busy looking for suitable cities Taylor could spend the next few months in. Her daughter was studying journalism at college and part of the course was studying abroad to gain cultural experience.

Donna wasn't thrilled at the idea of her child being hundreds, maybe thousands of miles away from her but she knew she couldn't stop her. She had to let her grow up and experience the world.

She relentlessly researched the crime rate in each major European City, if she couldn't be there to protect her daughter she wanted to make sure she was sending her somewhere safe.

"I really hope that's work and not personal business your doing" came a voice from behind her

It was Jason, she didn't know how long he had been standing there.

Donna turned around, she had been caught and would have to own up.

"Sorry Jason" she said sheepishly "I'm trying to find somewhere safe for my daughter to finish her studies" she added pleading her case

She hoped Jason would sympathise and go easy on her, looking at his face for a clue his stony expression gave nothing away.

He sighed heavily rubbing his forehead before saying "look I get that you have a family but it simply can't interfere with work. You need to be more professional if your going to get ahead"

Donna was shocked, was Jason really trying to be nice and give her advice, had he maybe grown to like her she wondered.

"Ok I will try my best to separate the two" was all she could say, her mind still spinning

"When you were gone for lunch a Jorge Mendes called for you, he asked that you call him back as soon as you can" added Jason

The name sounded familiar to her but she couldn't place where she knew it from, she looked at Jason puzzled, hoping he would shed some light on the name, after all he had just lectured her on keeping business and personal lives separate so it obviously had something to do with work.

He just looked at Donna and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder. She was speechless, what was happening, what happened to the dictator boss she had grown to know.

"I would return that call immediately if I were you. Something tells me it's quite important" he said as he walked away.

It took Donna a minute to regain her composure after Jasons small display of affection towards her.

Maybe this job wouldn't be so bad after all she thought, it's just a pity it ends in 2 weeks.

.........

Donna replaced the handset, she couldn't believe what had just happened. Surprise, shock, she wasn't sure how to describe it.

She had returned the call to Jorge and had spent the last 10 minutes in deep conversation and now she was left with a huge decision, one that potentially could change her life forever.

Not knowing what to do, she called her daughter.

"Hi mum, what's up" asked Taylor

"I just had the strangest call, we need to talk, I will meet you at home in an hour" she replied

"Are you ok mum? Your scaring me"

"I'm fine, I think. Just don't be late. Got to go. Love you" she said hanging up the phone, still in shock

What was she going to do she asked herself .

This was big, no it was huge. She had some serious decisions to make.

********
AN

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