Smoke and Mirrors (Smoke #1)

[ 9 ]

"As part of the formal introduction that I'm required to give all people being interviewed, my name's Scarlett Wilde, a sports reporter from The Melbourne Autograph and today I'll be undertaking the interview with you Marcus." I said as confidently as I could, removing my hand from my - previously- blind interviewer's hand. He looked over at me and forced on a smile as he introduced himself to me.

"I'm sure you already know who I am but just to help your formal introductions, I'm Marcus Bontempelli. So, uh how is this interview meant to be conducted Miss Wilde?" He asked as I kept myself poised for the interviews sake.

"For today I will just be asking you basic questions about you such as your career, the previous season and then later on we'll get onto the more personal questions." I said, looking over at Marcus, who seemed to have a blank expression upon his face.

"Personal questions?" He asked defensively as I let out a sigh, unsure of what kind of questions he assumed I was going to press on him.

"I was referring to your football career Mr Bontempelli." I exclaimed, still feeling confused but pushed away the though as I took my seat, grabbing the notebook and pen tightly in my grip, ready to get the interview underway. I watched curiously as he had done the same as me but only cautiously taking the seat opposite of me. I sighed, rolling my eyes, irritated that he was doing his best to avoid me as much as he could. As disheartning as it was the way our last meeting went, I was more than happy to pretend like nothing had happened between us. Of course, it seemed for the prestigious athlete he would have enjoyed the opposite.

"Is there a problem Mr Bontempelli?"

"Wait what? No Miss Wilde, why would there be any problem? I'm just waiting for you to ask your questions." He added quickly with a blank expression plastered upon his face. I couldn't help but wonder if he was anxious because he still wasn't used to getting interviewed orm

I was a journalist or, if he was still feeling weird over the whole awkward encounter at the bar last week. I did my best to ignore the feeling when I noticed something as my eyes trailed to arms crossing over his chest. I raised my eyebrow before turning my attention back onto him.

"Before we begin the interview process, I would like to discuss your rights during the interview process. Everything we speak about will be documented and held for publishing until a specific date. According to previous documents that I've recieved, no topic is off limit unless previously stated before or anytime during the interview process. So in shorter means, if you don't wish to speak about something, just tell me." I said as Marcus stared at me blankly as I pouted my lips together.

"Okay." He mumbled quietly, slowly rocking his head forwards. Gritting my teeth in annoyance, I put the notebook in front of me and shot the athlete a look of annoyance. For someone known for making hearts race on the field, he sure was doing quite the opposite for me during this interview.

"Should I just come back another time? It's clear that you aren't up for the interview -"

"No, no it's fine Miss Wilde. I've just never met anyone who has been committed to an interview the way you are right now. I mean, yeah. I've met people who are passionate about sport but most of the times it's just about the athlete they're meeting or the team they play for. You don't seem to showing that you're interested in me just for what I do." He admitted as I crossed my leg and sighed before forcing on a smile, trying to keep my calm for the sake of my interview subject.

"That's because I genuinely care about my job. I really couldn't care less if the team you play for has won three premierships or hasn't one a single premiership. My duty is to get out information that is relevant and newsworthy to the public. I'm certaintly not the type of person to desperately want to interview you because of your achievements. Don't get me wrong, as much as your achievements are bloody amazing, I want to interview my subjects for the people they are and their journeys they had to go through. Not just because of what the media see you as or your fame."