[ ten ]
My boss instantly noticed the way my face changed when he mentioned James. My heart stopped in my chest and my hands became cold and sweaty at the thought of not only seeing him again, but I'd have to talk to him. The man behind the desk watched me with a curious expression. "What's wrong, Miss Paez?" He wondered.
"Nothing." I replied a little too quickly. "I just--does it have to be tomorrow?"
If I was going to face James, I wanted at least a few days to emotionally prepare myself. But my boss wouldn't have that. He shook his head. "That boy doesn't talk to just anyone." He informed me. "But I got a call from the people who handle public relations at Real Madrid and Rodriguez specifically asked for you about five minutes after you left the training ground."
Shrugging, I figured, "Maybe he's just trying to apologize for almost knocking me out earlier, when I was interviewing Kroos." The memory of James trying to hurt Toni and I replayed in my head.
"What?" My boss chuckled.
"Forget it." I said to him.
Our conversation soon ended and I went back to my cubicle where I would write an article on Toni Kroos and his performance at Madrid, according to what he said in the interview. That night, I presented my segment on the sports show and the crew was very welcoming.
From what I had been told, the show only had male presentors until I was hired. Before, it had been a show centered on getting male attention and there were women in short shorts and tight shirts everywhere, but they were only there to look good. The male cast was very polite and welcoming and were very helpful when I made a mistake on air.
That night I returned to my hotel room in Madrid, happy that my first day went well.
But I knew the second day would be everything short of the first.
.
.
.
.
The same was the procedure when I returned to the Real Madrid training ground the next day. I showed the guard my parking pass and left my car in the lot. This time the manila folder in my hand bore the name of James Rodriguez etched across. The same man was there to greet me, but I knew the way and I walked ahead to get the interview over with.
When I walked out onto the bench area, a grin spread out onto James face.
Toni was nudged by one of his team mates and turned in my direction. I waved hello at my new friend and shot him a smile. The man beside me waved James over before leaving me alone. The camera crew was setting up nearby, just within ear shot.
James jogged up to me with the same grin on his face. "Hola." He said to me.
"Hola." I looked down at my feet like a shy little girl. The shame was still too much to allow me to look at him.
"Hey, sorry about almost hitting you with the football yesterday." He apologized. Though he sounded amused, there was a dark tone to his words. "I was kinda aiming for Toni." He admitted with a nonchalant shrug of his shoulders. And I also noticed he was speaking in a way which hinted that we didn't know each other. Like we were meeting for the first time.
"Its fine." I assured him, biting hard on my lip.
I could feel my heart breaking in half, the heart which I had worked so hard to put back together, when he stuck his hand out for me to shake. Knowing where this was going, the next words that left his mouth were the very things that nearly killed me, "I'm James Rodriguez. What's your name?"
