— Good morning, Isabel! Welcome to the club, my name is Sara and I am secretary to the football director of the club's women's team. — Sara did not immediately say the name of the director, as we are going through a process, as our former director recently left his position and we are now considering other names for the position.
That's why the training center office is empty, only Sara and I are occupying it. Only on this floor, because the marketing team is downstairs and their floor is certainly not empty.
Those who works on the men's team occupy other floors and wings of the building.
Sara has already given me a brief tour and is now showing me my work desk.
She directed me to an empty table, crammed into a corner. The standing desk was at full height, with an ergonomic chair hidden underneath.
This is supposed to be a work desk, but it's so far away and so much larger than the other desks in the area that it's almost like I have my own office.
— You are free to customize it however you want. There is also a lockable drawer under the table. —Sara pointed to a set of black metal drawers. — Is this alright?
Something in Sara's tone indicates nervousness. Everyone knew that I am Joan Laporta's niece, but my uncle and some members of administration assured me that no one would give me special treatment. I was to be treated like any other training center employee, with the utmost respect and a certain level of expectation.
— It's great, thank you. The view is great. — I point and look at the large glass windows that directly show a training ground.
— Let's meet the team, shall we? — I nodded and followed Sara to the elevator, keeping the conversation going about the team's schedules, but my pulse quickens, my ears tingle, and my limbs tremble at the thought of meeting the team.
It's not that I'm afraid of girls, I follow women's football more than enough and I know that the girls are friendly and warm.
I just can't help but be nervous.
And well, there's still Alexia. That occupied my thoughts since the day of the meeting about her contract renewal.
I confess that I had difficulty sleeping yesterday, the anticipation kept me awake, tossing and turning on the bed with my heart pounding in my throat.
Jonatan, the team's coach, was the first to welcome us to the field where the players train.
— Bon dia com estàs? — I already knew him and had a conversation with him about my new role at the club.
—Hola Jonathan, I'm a little uncertain, because I don't know if the players will be willing to share their dissatisfactions with me.
—If I were you, I wouldn't worry about it, I already told them about your presence earlier and they seemed quite excited. — I agree with him and see him walking to the gym. The women's team's gym is very close to the field where they train.
I believe that the work they had to do in the gym is over, as all the players left the gym and got ready to warm up, I also saw some members of the technical team preparing the football equipment and goalposts.
I believe today's training will be about shooting on goal and finishing. Free kicks and dead balls can also be part of today's training.
I intended to watch the training session quietly and unnoticed and have a quick chat with the players after training, but Jonatan disrupted my plans.
—Entonces chicas, presten atención aquí! — Jonatan draws the team's attention, pointing at me with his arm towards the women in front of him. — This is Isabel Laporta, the new sports advisor. She will work with the new athletic director, but mainly she can only do her job with your cooperation. So please be participative.
The players formed a circle around me and Jonatan and paid attention to all our words and instructions.
—As Jonatan said before, I'm Isabel Laporta and I will work with you from now on. I know you may be confused or even questioning whether this function is necessary. So I'm going to use a little bit of your training time and I'll answer any questions you have. — I try to make eye contact with some players, the sunlight gets in the way, but I continue looking for that interaction as I speak.
I smile when Patri and Mapi greet me, Lucy waves to me, we met when she played for Lyon. There are several familiar faces in the Barcelona squad, and obviously there is her.
A warm wave of recognition ran down my spine as I met her intense gaze.
Alexia is serious but I see the sparkle in her eye change when our eye contact lasts longer.
— I'm here to basically monitor the board's actions, propose statutory changes, investigate various irregularities, among others. Obviously I'm not here to turn a blind eye to any mistakes made by the board and you can use me to point out any mistakes made by the board. —The girls didn't seem as confused as I expected, but they still had their questions and I calmly and assuredly answered them.
— So it's like, we complain to you and you're going to take this complaint to the people who can resolve this complaint? — Patri raises her hand and asks.
— Technically, that's it.
— Ah, it's like a SAC, Customer Service? — Pina innocently questions which makes her comparison even funnier.
—I hadn't thought of it that way but it could be, my work was created to make the relationship between the players and management more direct and closer. Basically a SAC, yeah. —Jana and Bruna laughed at Cláudia Pina's question and also laughed at my reaction to the question.
Other players asked later, when I realized that no one had any more questions, I said goodbye and let the training continue normally.
Some players have already trained free kicks, Marta Torrejón and Mapi Léon hitting some shots.
My breath stops when Alexia appears in my field of vision with a member of the coaching staff.
My gaze follows her as she concentrates on taking the free kick. Tanned skin on her toned legs glowing in the Barcelona sunlight.
I should be professional and pay attention to the player's performance, but I can't help but notice her athletic body in Barcelona's training kits.
My gaze goes up more and more, checking out her messy, very blonde ponytail, I see her biting her lower lip, focused on the task.
The training is light and relaxed, but I see her aura change. So controlled and serious.
The players stopped what they were doing and watched with me as Alexia picked up momentum and kicked the ball towards the net.
The players, especially the younger ones, celebrate every time Alexia hits a shot. As if they were in a match.
Her technical quality is absurd, it's crazy how Alexia's talent clashes with other players. Far beyond the average.
— Oye, yo también marqué goles así, ¿por qué no celebraste así conmigo? — "Hey, I scored goals like that too, why didn't you celebrate with me like that?" I'm laughing the moment Mapi Léon starts complaining about the girls celebrating, even though she celebrated some goals of Alexia too.
— You have to accept that Alexia is everyone's favorite, Mapi. — Keira Walsh says laughing as she pretends to comfort Mapi, who also pretends to be upset with the younger players.
Alexia sees the interactions laughing, as her tousled blonde hair falls from the ponytail over her forehead and as her big hazel eyes shine in the sun.
As soon as training ended, the team captains, Marta Torrejón, Sandra Paños and Alexia had a short conversation with me.
Alexia, despite being the first captain, let the conversation be led by the co-captains. She only agreed while Marta and Sandra gave their opinions.
The agreement is that they will help me, especially with the younger players or those recently recruited into the team.
— Isabel, wait! — I was about to leave the training environment when I heard a familiar voice calling me.
It was Patri Guijarro who called my name, but she was accompanied by her teammate, Aitana Bonmatí.
— We are very excited about your presence here at the club, so we thought we would celebrate. — Aitana smiles excitedly. — Without going beyond the point, obviously. We are in the middle of the season.
— We thought it would be a good idea to visit Ona's cousin's recently opened restaurant. So if you don't have any plans for tonight, please come with us.
I think for a while, probably too long for the players, as they looked at me in advance and impatiently.
— The whole team will be there, come on, Laportita.
I raise an eyebrow at the nickname Aitana gave me but I accept the invitation.
— Okay, I'll be there. Tell Alexa to send me the location and time.
The two players nod, but I saw the curious, integrated looks on their faces.
— She's the only one on the team who already has my number. — I felt my blood rushing to my cheeks and neck, my face heating up quickly.
Patri and Aitana looked at each other and laughed lightly.
— Don't worry, Laportita.
I hope the rest of the team is unaware of this embarrassing situation, especially Alexia.
But from the laughter and hurried steps of the players, the entire locker room will know that I have Alexia's contact on my phone.
English is not my first language.
I hope you understand.
The story is purely fiction, the player's personality is invented. Please do not associate the personality of the players mentioned in the fanfic with reality.
Thank you and I hope you like it.