Miss Piqué | Sergio Ramos

Chapter 5 - Respect

Eleanor woke up ten times more optimistic then she had been before, drinking a smoothie for breakfast before doing her hair and makeup how she liked it. She'd decided that she was going to dress just as feminine as she usually did - she shouldn't have to act like a man to be respected by one.

She left the house so that she could get there by 8am; she was being given an office today and she wanted to get set up and take some notes on the pitch before training. An intern called Josie showed her the office she'd have for the rest of the month.

Looking around it, she was pleasantly surprised by how spacious it was; it was mostly white with a large desk and and a comfy chair. There was a good computer that she could use as well as a closet to put her stuff in. She found herself imagining how she'd decorate it, before she remembered that she wouldn't be here long.

"You like it?" Josie asked her, and continued without waiting for a reply, "of course if there's anything you need you can call me."

"Thanks," Eleanor replied, "It's really nice." She was a bit taken aback by how bubbly the girl was but found herself liking the energy. Josie opened her mouth as if to say something but stopped.  Seeing this, Eleanor gestured for her to go on.

"Please stay," She asked, "they're talking about how you're only on a trial but you're the only person who's under 50 who's applied,"

Eleanor laughed at the desperation on the girls face, and couldn't help but feel pleased that at least someone here actually liked her. A little reluctantly she admitted to the intern, "I don't know whether or not I'll stay,"

At this she grabbed a couple of notebooks and went down to the pitch. What she didn't expect to see however was Ronaldo himself out on the pitch already. Looking at the time she saw that it was still an hour before training officially started.

The man was practising his free kicks, pummeling them into the back of the net with no celebrations. He only paused to look furious with himself when he missed or got one too central. She debated whether or not to make her presence known and decided not to, instead sitting down to take notes on what he was doing.

She couldn't help but think of his rival, Leo Messi. People often tried to insult Ronaldo by saying that he didn't have natural talent like Messi did and she could see that it was true. Despite that, they were both at the same level meaning that Ronaldo will have had to have worked a hundred times harder. It was impressive.

By 9:30 all of the players had arrived and were warming up so she closed the notepad with her notes - satisfied with the info she'd collected. She'd noticed that he did better either a shorter run up, and knew which positions were his weakest. As she pulled out her other notebook, the one for training notes, Zidane came to talk to her.

"How early did you get here?" He asked her by way of greeting.

"8 sir, the office is lovely thank you." She replied.

"Was he already here?" The frenchman asked, gesturing to Ronaldo. She nodded in affirmation and thought she saw a slight grimace. It was understandable, it would be bad if he over worked himself. At the same time, she understood that the guy was still an arrogant prick and probably wouldn't take being told to sit down very well.

Training went well, but Zidane was called away for an important call near the end of it so left it for her to wrap the session up. She blew the whistle and the squad took their sweet time in getting over to her. Apart from a couple of them, including Marcelo and James, who came over immediately offering her bright smiles.

When Ramos appeared, he grabbed her notebook out of her hands. "What are you? A coach or a journalist?" A couple of the guys laughed and Eleanor felt herself getting embarrassed. Still she was more annoyed then embarrassed so instead of looking down like she had the day before, she looked him straight in the eye.

"Are you a professional footballer or a failed comedian?" She asked, acting confident when in reality she was still scared of the guy. When she received no response she went through the feedback that Zidane had given her. She was finding it difficult to keep their attention, with Isco and Morata nudging eachother and giggling and Modrić still glaring at Kovacic.

During the lunch break, she got changed into her sportswear as Zidane had asked her to do the warm up knowing he was going to be late. She was wearing real madrid leggings with an Adidas sports bra covered by a purple madrid vest top. She slung her hair into a ponytail and made her way back down.

"...looks like a freaking barbie doll, she's probably never broken a sweat in her life.." She barely had to look to know who it was. Sergio fucking Ramos.

She coughed to get their attention and saw his eyes go straight to her attire, looking shocked at what he saw.

"Listen her, Ramos. I have worked my ass off to graduate uni, and get to where I am today. I'm determined to succeed here and I'm not letting your piss poor attitude, or anyone else's opinions, ruin that for me. Now get your ass on the field we have a game to win tomorrow." She said this with with a stern voice, and stared the sevillan down.

In reality, she was half expecting the guy to give her a right hook so she was shocked when he just gave gave her a contemplative look before doing as she'd said.

She knew she'd have to prove herself still so she worked them hard, giving them some laps, sprints and then some footwork to do and by the end of it they'd all broken a sweat and she knew she'd done her job. The coach returned and seemed pleased with how he found things and the guys had, for once, done as she had said.

And all she'd had to do was yell.

She wasn't deluded; she knew it would take more than that in order to be liked by them and she knew that she wasn't seen as one of the team. But now at least she had a little respect.  Everything else would follow if she was smart about it.

After training, she went back to her office to do some work regarding the game on Saturday. It was a match against sevilla tomorrow but Zidane had asked her to concentrate on la liga and the champions league. Absorbed in her work, she almost didn't notice when a certain defender sauntered through her office door and plonked himself down on a chair.

"Can I help you, Mr Ramos?" She asked, trying not to sound nervous.

He had a casual confident demeanor as usual so she was surprised when she heard what he said; "I just wanted to apologise for things I've said, I was messing about but I judged you too quickly."

She was so shocked that she didn't even reply, but she did manage a smile. Sergio Ramos, the one that she'd heard horrible stories about from her brother was apologising?  She'd expected him to yell, or threaten her.

"Looking forward to the match tomorrow?" She asked him when he didn't make any move to leave.

He replied with a grimace, "I don't know.. it's still strange playing against a team that used to be mine."

For a second, she thought that he was actually human, but then he continued,

"But I'm the best player to come out of there so of course they'd be upset to lose me," And his confidence was back.

"Just try not to trip over your huge head, " She commented and recieved a smirk in response.

"I know you'll be watching from the stands, so make sure to cheer extra loud when I score," he ordered jokingly as he left the room and she scoffed.

Had she just enjoyed a conversation with Ramos?

A/N:

To be honest I'm not particularly happy with this chapter but we're getting there.

She's got their respect and they'll have their first two matches next chapter which will be much more interesting to read.

Her and Sergio are starting to form a truce, although the insults will probably never go away

Thanks for reading, see you next week!

Xx