WILLIE FROZE WHEN SHE TURNED AROUND AFTER SHE PAID FOR HER COFFEE. She was met with a familiar face that she had first seen about a week and a half ago. The same blue eyes stared does at her just like they had in that hotel in Liverpool. "Hey, Willie, right? Remember me?"

"Alex from Chiswick," she pointed out like she was reminding herself. She smiled up at him and tried to stop the blush from creeping up onto her cheeks under his stare. She raised her eyebrows at him in question. "What are you doing in Richmond?"

"I'm here to see my parents. They have tickets to the Man City match against Richmond." he explained. The way he phrased it made the brunette woman frown slightly because that meant that he was a Man City fan, even though he lived in fucking Chiswick. "Are you into football?" he questioned, and she was not sure what to say.

Being a Man City fan was not necessarily a dealbreaker, but she knew that there were a lot of other people close to her that would not be so fond of the fact. She glanced down at her shoes before looking back up at him. "I actually work at AFC Richmond. I'm the Commercial Manager."

"Really? Well, I hate to break it to you, but you lot are going to get killed today," he laughed out, and she rolled her eyes playfully. She did not want to start an argument with this guy that she liked in the middle of the sidewalk in front of a coffee cart. She would if it came down to it, though. "So, do you get to hang out with the team and all that?"

"Yeah, that's actually one of them pulling up right now. He's taking me to work," she informed him, gesturing to the green Lamborghini that was slipping and sliding its way down the street until it landed right in front of them, going over the curb just a little bit. It was a better parking job than he usually did, so she was proud.

He nodded, a little intimidated by the very fancy car and the fact that a footballer was driving her around and that she got to hang out with a bunch of hot, attractive man. "All right. Er, could I get your number before you go?"

"Oh, yeah," she answered, and his face lit up as she dug a pen out of her bag. He offered her his coffee cup, and she took it, handing him hers so that he could hold it while she wrote her number on the side of it. She dropped the pen back into her bag, and they exchanged cups again once she was done. "There you go."

"Thanks. I'll call you," he assured her, and she smiled at him before heading over to the car. She glared at Colin who was staring that man down through his open window and probably making him very uncomfortable.

Once she was in the car, he rolled up his window, trying to look threatening but failing miserably. She strapped her seatbelt and braced herself by grabbing any handle in sight. However, she paused when she saw her best friend smirking at her. "Was that who I think it was?"

"Who do you think it was?" she questioned as they watched Alex walk away.

"That guy from Liverpool," he answered, and she just blushed, giving him his answer without needing her to speak. He backed out of the parking lot, almost hitting, like, three old ladies and two moms with strollers. He raised his eyebrows at her. "Did you get his number?"

She shrugged, trying not to show how excited she was about it. Sher just looked down at her lap and tried not to throw up as they spun around a corner like he was in a Formula 1 race. "He asked for mine." She let go of the handle when she felt her phone buzz, and she saw that she had a text from an unknown number. 'Hey, it's Alex.'

"Oooh, who's got you smiling like that?" Colin teased when he saw her checking her phone. He laughed out, "Is it Mr. Dreamy?"

"Shut up and drive."

《❂》

NATE GOT PROMOTED THAT MORNING, AND HE WAS VERY EXCITED. Willie walked into the press room later that day, and she jumped when he blew his whistle inside for probably the tenth time that day. She could hear it from her office upstairs when he did so. Ted put his hands up to stop him because everyone flinched. "I was saying, now Coach Nate has a video he wants to show."

Nate's eyes widened in realization as he grabbed the TV on wheels and rolled it so that the boys sitting in the chairs that were usually filled with reporters could see. Willie slid into the seat next to Dani and behind Roy, careful not to disturb the meeting. "Oh, yeah. Sorry. Okay. So, I thought you'd all find this motivational. All right."

"Amigo Jamie," the Rojas man cheered when the idiot's face appeared on the screen in front of them. Everyone in the room audibly groaned, but Willie leaned forward, slightly intrigued. Whatever it was, it probably was not good because Nate was using it as motivation. It was probably him saying something really cocky.

His hair that was usually a bit spiked up was combed down with a hell of a lot of gel. The brunette woman wondered if she knocked on his head if it would just sounds like she was knocking on concrete. Colin, who also noticed how awful it was, commented, "Clearly no barbers in Manchester."

"Well, I'd never say a bad word about me old club... even though I did carry them through every match. But they're good lads," the Tartt man said to the person that was interviewing him. As much as she wanted to expect something good of him, Willie knew that he was about to insult them, just as he already had. "Apart from Roy Kent. He is a knob. You know, and it's nice to have a real manager like Pep, instead of that American rodeo clown. You know, Lasso sent me away, now they're facing the drop. Sunday, I get to put the final nail in the ashes. Instant karma, it's gonna get ya."

His little speech was cut off when a chair crashed into the television and broke a huge hole in the screen. Everyone jumped, and a couple of people yelled in shock as they looked over to where Isaac was standing up, nostrils flared and fuming. He glanced around at them, but he just kind of shrugged. "Oops, innit?"

"Well said," Roy told him before they all stood up to head out to training.

As he passed the Carlisle woman, Isaac made a point to apologize to her for breaking the TV since she was going to have to find them a new one. She just laughed and assured him, "It's fine, Isaac."

A couple of hours later, Willie was sitting in between Keeley and Lois in the box. Rebecca was on the other side of the Jones woman, and there had not been any tension so far between her and the brunette woman. Willow really did not want to be mad at her because she loved having her as a friend, but she was unsure of whether or not she should forgive so easily. Anyway, they were all sitting up there and looking down at the pitch and at their players were getting ready to win the game.

"Oh, this sport. I'd forgotten how stressful it is when you actually give a shit," Rebecca murmured with a shaky breath trying to work through the nerves that she was feeling. She had been praying on the team's downfall all season to get back at Rupert, but now this was her life and her family.

"I have a confession to make. I've never really cared about football. I know. I know it sounds insane, but I know how to act at a match," Keeley explained to them, and then she turned to look at the field and began shouting on in a very fake and angry voice. She groaned and pointed at random players and spots on the pitch. "Referee! Offside, you turnip!"

Willie and Rebecca laughed, but Lois seemed really impressed. "Woah, can you teach me some of that?"

"Need to impress Richard with all your football knowledge, huh?" the Carlisle woman teased, and her roommate just glared at her before swatting at her with her Richmond hat that she had bought alongside the Montlaur jersey that was thrown on top of a white long-sleeved shirt.

"It's just that my heart has never really been in it, you know? But today..." They followed Keeley's gaze to where Roy was stretching on the grass and doing some warm-ups. It was annoyingly sweet how much she cared about him, and Willie saw a look in her eyes that she had never seen when the woman was with Jamie. "...today, I care very much."

The match was about to start, and all eyes were on Jamie as he took a look around at his old stadium, at his old team. Willie felt her breath hitch in her throat as his eyes made their way up to the box, even though he probably was looking at Keeley and not her. "Among the many subplots, the return of Jamie Tartt, who enjoyed a successful loan period here, but had an infamous on-pitch dustup with Roy Kent, who is not starting today. I really can't remember seeing Roy Kent on the bench for a big match."

Jamie got the ball almost immediately once the game started, which was an awful sign because they could not start off the match already down a point. He raced down the field, and none of the Richmond players were anywhere near him. He had a wide open teammate across the pitch, and it was a situation much like the ones that he had been in during training with Sam. Just like those times, he did not make the extra pass and instead took the shot himself. Zoreaux blocked it with ease, causing an uproar on the Richmond side.

"Thirty minutes gone. Richmond with an opportunity here on the counterattack. Obisanya with an inch-perfect through ball. Winchester was clearly offside," Arlo announced. Later, they finally got their shot at a corner shot, and Dani ran over to take it. All of the players were shouting at each other, and it seemed like they had a plan. "Rojas to take the corner. It's a dummy. Oh, and another one. What is this?" About four different players looked like they were about to take the shot but then let it pass, tricking Man City. Finally, Dixon went to take the shot. "Dixon again! No! Hamlin saves with his foot."

Willie winced, but she clapped nonetheless. They may not have scored that one, but they confused the other team. And when there was confusion, there was chaos.