‘Amelia’ Robert sighed as he finished reading her article and threw it on his desk in front of him.
Amelia closed her eyes in painful disbelief, this was the third time she had been called into her boss’s office in a month and she knew that her luck was running out.
‘How many times do I have to tell you that even though you may be interested in how the dynamics of the boots that a player wears affect their game it’s not what I am paying you for. I took you on as an investigative journalist and I want you to find out what the players are really like and expose them as the phonies they actually are and not the sweet caring kind guys that they want everyone to think they are’
‘But isn’t that an invasion of privacy? I mean if they wanted the world to know everything about them wouldn’t they just stay in the spotlight all the time instead of shying away from it? And besides how can you be so sure that all of them only act all kind when in public and are really different in private?’ Amelia exclaimed.
In response Robert picked up the mornings newspaper from his bag and placed it on the desk in front of Amelia.
Amelia read the headline ‘Hotshot superstar in hot water over leaving pregnant girlfriend’ and looked up at Robert who was smirking.
‘You still think your precious footballers are as innocent as they appear? See this is why you will never succeed in this business I mean you always assume the best in people but here’s the reality not everyone in this world is who they say they are.’ With that Robert took a deep breath and continued ‘I am sorry Amelia but you leave me with no choice but to tell you to pack up your things and leave for good’
Tears began to form in Amelia’s crisp blue eyes as soon as she heard the words that she was inevitably going to hear.
‘Wait! What if I get you what you want? I mean a real undercover story please you know I can write now let me write something you believe everyone will want to read’ Amelia begged as she leaned forward in her seat.
A defeated look spread across Robert’s face as he looked up and sighed ‘Ok but this is your last chance if you mess up on it you are out of her faster than you can say Vamos Espana’
‘Oh thank you Robert thank you I won’t mess up this time I promise’ Amelia exclaimed as she picked up her handbag and made her way out of his office.
However as she closed the door something hit her; she had no idea about what she was going to write about and a wave of anxiety came over her. She was quickly brought back to reality as her phone beeped as a text had arrived from her best friend and housemate Olivia asking if she wanted to join her for lunch at their favourite local cafe.
Deciding she needed some help with the huge task at hand she quickly made her way out of the office building and down the street to the cafe.
When she arrived she found Olivia sitting at a table near the window reading a newspaper.
‘How can they write this about him?!’ Olivia exclaimed as Amelia sat down at the seat opposite where a latte was already waiting for her.
‘About who?’ she asked
‘David Villa. Carmen has revealed that she is pregnant and she has said that David knew before he left her and now he is not offering her any support whatsoever! She’s lying!’
‘How can you be so sure?’ Amelia asked taking a sip of her hot drink.
‘I just know what type of a person he is and he would never ever do such a thing like that’ Olivia said her voice rising slightly revealing her anger.
‘Well there’s no way of finding out unless we ask him!’ Amelia sighed
‘Yeah and how are we going to do that I mean go up to him and just ask?! I highly doubt he would tell complete strangers all about his personal life, he cares about his privacy’ Olivia informed her best friend.
Suddenly an idea hit Amelia ‘What if the person wasn’t a complete stranger and actually some-one he trusted?’ she asked
‘What on earth are you talking about? Wait I completely forgot did you get fired?’
‘Not yet but I have an idea that will not only let me keep my job but most likely get me promoted too!’ Amelia smiled
‘And what exactly is this great idea then?’ Olivia asked
‘Oli my dear I am going to go uncover the truth about what type of a person David Villa really is’
A look of sheer delight spread over Olivia’s face however it was short lived as her practical side emerged as she asked ‘Wait how exactly are you going to do that?!’
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‘Are you sure they here Oli?’ Amelia asked as she waited in her car for the Barcelona team to emerge from the training ground.
‘Of course I am, trust me they will be out soon’ Olivia said on the other end of the telephone.
Amelia waited when she noticed a black BMW emerge ‘Wait Olivia Xavi just came out of the gates so let me see where David is’
Almost as if he had heard her David Villa emerged from the gates in his car but instead of heading in the direction back to the suburbs where the other players stayed he turned left.
‘I gotta go Oli he’s on the move wish me luck!’ she said before putting her car in gear and heading in the direction that he had driven off in.
‘Where are you going?’ she mumbled as the black car made its way through traffic and finally came to a stop by the beach.
She watched in confusion as David parked his car and stayed there for a while. Amelia drove passed turning her head in the opposite direction so he wouldn’t see her face and found a spot by the pier.
She closed her eyes for a moment as she reminded herself why she was doing this. ‘It’s because your job depends on it’ she told herself ‘And I really need this job’ she said aloud.
As she opened her eyes, David walked past the front of her car; she watched as he made his way out onto the pier as the sun began to set beyond the horizon.
She waited as he reached the end of the pier and got out of the car and slowly made her way over to where he was walking. However as she watched him he put his right leg over the edge and stood up with each leg on either side of the cold metal barrier that protected him from the turbulent waves that crashed against the jagged rocks below.
‘Oh my god! He’s going to jump!’ Amelia thought as her paced quickened and she began to run as fast as she could to where David stood.
‘You don’t want to do this, jumping won’t solve any of your problems. Please get down and we can talk things through I’ she cried
Immediately she wished that she had not scared him and he began to sway dangerously in the direction of the ocean. Amelia raced over and grabbed David’s arm to steady him.
‘I was not going to jump. I always stand like this whenever I come out here the fresh air helps me clear my head’ David informed her as he swung his leg back over and jumped down onto the pier.
‘Oh’ Amelia replied as her cheeks began to glow red with embarrassment.
‘But thank you for your concern. I appreciate it. I just wish that if anyone else where here they would have done the same but most people don’t really like me enough to care at the moment to say the least’
‘Why is that?’ Amelia asked
‘Haven’t you been reading the papers recently? My ex girlfriend is telling everyone that I got her pregnant and that I am now refusing to support her or the baby’
‘Well is it true?’ she asked however as soon as she saw David’s reaction she quickly added ‘Sorry it just slipped out, your private life is yours not to be publicised without your consent, which is why I guess I only skimmed through the papers recently’
‘Wow you’re probably the only person who is not interested in all that’s going on with my life’
‘That doesn’t mean I don’t want to help, if you need some-one to talk to you know just to listen I am offering my ears to you um David isn’t it? My name is Amelia’
‘Yeah that’s my name. Like I said I appreciate the offer but I just want to be alone so please if you wouldn’t mind’ David replied
Feeling like the whole plan was a wrong idea Amelia turned in the direction she had come her hair blowing in the warm breeze.
As she made her way back to the comforts of her car the realisation that her dream career as a journalist was over and that she had failed and there was nothing that she could do. She felt so lost. She pulled her keys out of her pocket and pushed the unlock button. As she placed her hand on the door handle she heard some-one call in the distance.
‘Hey wait!’
She turned her head and found David running towards her; he was running like she had seen him do many a time during football matches.
As he drew closer Amelia could see that his eyes glistened with fresh wet tears.
‘I think I could use somebody to talk to, can I still accept your offer?’ he asked
Unable to comprehend what was happening Amelia took a moment to gather her thoughts before the words that she was looking for finally came to her
‘ Sure Hop in’ she informed him
Following her instructions David got into the passenger side of the car beside Amelia.
‘So where are we going?’ he asked
‘No-where This way you have my undivided attention and I promise to only listen and not pass any comments at all’ Amelia explained as she watched David appear to relax a little bit more.
He stared straight in front out of the window and Amelia wondered if he was contemplating just like her whether or not this was a good idea.
‘Can we please just go for a drive? I just want to watch the world go by for now I don’t want to be alone but I don’t want to talk is that ok?’ he asked
‘Sure. I understand’ Amelia smiled as she put the can in gear and drove in the direction of the city. She drove through the streets which were slowing emptying as people left their work to go home all the while David just stared out the window in deep contemplation.
For some reason Amelia found the fact that David was sitting beside her both comforting but at the same time heart-breaking; David just looked so lost and vulnerable and she knew that she wanted to help him.
She continued to drive until her phone rang. David looked at it and picked it up.
‘It’s Olivia’ he said as he read the name that flashed on the screen
‘Oh she’s my housemate and I suppose that she’s going to start cooking dinner soon so she probably wants to know when I’ll be back’ Amelia answered as she checked the clock that flashed on the dashboard as the ringing stopped; she had been driving for two hours and didn’t even notice the time fly by.
As she pulled up by the pier and turned the ignition off she knew that she couldn’t let this be the last time that she saw David.
Apparently David was thinking the exact same thing as he started typing on Amelia’s phone and handed it back to her.
‘I put my number in there just in case’ he told her as she called his number so that he would have her number on his phone.
‘Feel free to call whenever’ she smiled
He smiled back and Amelia could see unequivocal sincerity in his eyes before he unlocked the door and returned to his car.
Amelia sighed as she leaned her head back on the headrest before she put the car in reverse and headed home.
When she returned Olivia welcomed her with freshly made lasagne.
‘So tell me everything!’ she instructed as Amelia began to tuck into her dinner.
‘Well…’ and Amelia recalled the day
‘Well this is good, I mean you have his number which proves that you seem trustworthy…. well for the time being’ Olivia added
‘You know I wouldn’t be doing this if I didn’t need this job I mean I need the money to help support my parents. Ever since dad had that stroke and can’t work their source of income is me’
‘I know sweetie anybody in your position would do the same’ Olivia comforted ‘Let’s hope you hear from him soon’
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‘Amelia it’s starting! Hurry!’ Olivia called as she sat down on the soft sofa and placed a big bowl of popcorn down beside her.
Amelia hurried down the stairs and ran into the sitting room and placed herself beside Olivia.
‘Ooh this is going to be a good one!’ Amelia exclaimed as she took a handful of popcorn.
‘Turn up the volume’ she instructed Olivia who happily obliged.
The two quickly settled into the match between Barcelona and Real Madrid.
‘So still no word from the man then?’ Olivia asked as David’s image flashed on the screen.
‘Nope’ Amelia sighed
It had been two weeks since she had first met David and not heard from him since and she contemplated ringing him as she wanted to get the story written so she could impress Robert.
‘I’m sure that he’s just busy you know with training and other things’ Olivia tried to reassure.
‘Oh it’s not like I have any personal feelings for the guy in the way you do. I mean I need him for the story for pure business.’ Amelia explained
‘I know but will you be saying that once you get to know him and plus he doesn’t know about the business part so please be careful not to hurt him he’s been through a lot with all the bad press’ Olivia warned
The match ended with a draw 3-3 and the two watched the post-match interviews before Amelia got up from the sofa and went into the kitchen to make some tea for the two of them.
As the kettle clicked indicating that the water was boiled Amelia heard frantic footsteps in the hall and turned to go find out what was going on.
‘Oh my gosh Amelia! It’s him, it’s him!’ Olivia cried coming to a halt in front of Amelia waving her phone in her face.
Holding the ringing phone Amelia remained staring at the flashing screen.
‘Well go on answer it!’ Olivia encouraged.
Amelia clicked the answer button and held the phone up to her ear.
‘Hello?’ she answered
‘Hi um Amelia?’ she heard David ask from the other end
‘Yes hi David. I’m sorry about the draw but you played great if that’s any consolation’ she said waving Olivia away who was pressing her ear up against the back of the phone to try to hear what David was saying.
‘Well actually that’s what I was ringing for. Is there any chance that you could meet me now at the pier?’ he asked sheepishly
‘What now?…. of course! I mean yeah sure I can meet you’ she smiled as Olivia was mouthing at her to say yes
‘Great I will see you in let’s say twenty minutes?’ he arranged
‘Sure see you there’ and Amelia hung up.
It didn’t take her long to get ready and as she sat in the car in the same parking spot as the last time she was down by the pier she found herself checking her reflection in the middle mirror before opening the driver’s door and getting out into the fresh afternoon air.
She made her way down the pier as before except this time she walked at a steady pace. As the end of the pier came to focus she saw a figure standing with his legs on either side of the barrier the air blowing through his soft dark hair. As she approached he turned to face her and a smile crept onto his face.
‘What? You’re not going to try and save me again?!’ he asked a hint of mocking shock in his voice.
She rolled her eyes as her lips began to curl into a smile. ‘Mind if I join you?’ she asked motioning toward the barrier.
‘Of course not’ he smiled as he extended his hand to help her up onto the barrier opposite him. When she was safely on the two sat facing each other.
‘Wow you were right the fresh air does feel good from up here’ she commented
‘Yeah it’s great for clearing your head’ he agreed as he took a deep breath in inhaling the salty air
‘So how come you watched the match? I thought you said that you weren’t interested in football?’ he asked after a few moments of silence.
‘No I said that I wasn’t interested in the personal lives of footballers but that doesn’t mean that I don’t love the beautiful game’ Amelia responded matter-of-factly.
‘Oh ok then in that case tell me who is in your opinion is the best player?’ he asked curiosity evident in his voice
‘Oh well you know Fabregas, Ramos, Torres, Pique,Puyol…’ she listed deliberately not mentioning David’s name.
‘Oh and a certain David Villa you may have heard of him?!’ she continued in response to the hurt expression in his eyes.
‘Oh yes I have heard of him, I hear he’s quite a nice guy once you get to know him’ he responded playing along with her game.
‘Well I hope that one day I can find that out for myself!’ she replied a hint of laughter evident.
‘So tell me what do you do for a living?’ David asked causing Amelia to stop laughing almost instantly as she quickly tried to think of response.
‘Oh I am a….. shop sales assistant’ she lied
‘Oh ok for which shop?’ he asked
‘Um that shop in the town that sells the clothes’ Amelia replied her voice trying desperately to hide her awkwardness which she was sure would give away the fact that she was lying.
‘Oh yeah that one!’ David said sarcastically knowing that there were at least fifty clothes shops in the town.
Desperately trying to avert his attention away from her before she blew her cover.
‘The water looks so nice’ she commented as she observed the waves beneath
‘Yeah it does’ he smiled
Before she knew what she was doing Amelia swung her leg over the barrier and landed on the pier, she turned to look back at David and beckoned him to follow her as she ran down the pier. She kicked her shoes off and ran over the soft golden sand towards the inviting ocean.
As she reached the edge she could hear David approaching his voice light with laughter.
‘What are you doing?!’ he exclaimed
‘Having fun!’ she chirped as she stepped into the water.
‘Gosh knows the last time I had fun’ he mumbled.
She turned to face him and kicked her foot against the water splashing him with the salty liquid.
He raised his hands over his face to no avail as he was now saturated with water.
‘Oh that’s it’ he laughed as he bent down scooping up a handful of water and splashing Amelia.
‘No!’ she cried but it was too late her top was now dripping wet as he continued to splash her.
She tried to run away but he followed grabbing at her arm and just when she turned to check how close he was she fell on her back and without fully understanding how David had landed on top of her his face dripping with water only inches away from her.
At that moment time seemed to stand still for Amelia and she had not realised how heavy her breathing had become. They stared into each other’s eyes and Amelia began to feel unexplainable butterflies as she anticipated what could happen next.
And just as that thought crossed her mind David’s head had moved closer and his lips were now gently pressed against her soft lips.
At first Amelia stiffened in shock but when she finally gave in she relaxed and found herself kissing him back.
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‘Oh my Gosh! You did what?!’ Olivia squealed as she sat on the edge of Amelia’s bed who was under the covers after arriving home and headed straight for the shower.
‘See told you that he’s irresistible!’ Olivia said smugly
‘No Olivia what I did was just a reflex!’ Amelia defended
‘Sure sure we’ll see’ Olivia laughed as she rose from the bed leaving Amelia to be alone with her thoughts.
The next morning Amelia awoke to the sound of her phone vibrating on the bedside table.
‘mm.. Hello?’ she answered lazily
‘Oh I’m sorry were you sleeping?’ she heard the familiar Spanish accent ask
‘Oh David!’ she gasped as she sat bolt upright ‘No I was just waking up’ she lied
‘Well I was wondering if you would like to join me for a coffee? You sound like you could use some caffeine in your system!’
‘Coffee? Sure that sounds lovely’ she smiled as she glanced over at the clock that flashed 11:30
‘Great! So how about that little cafe near the pier? Do you know which one I’m talking about’ he suggested
‘The little one with the turquoise door? They have the best cheesecake!’ Amelia exclaimed
‘So shall we meet up at 1?’
‘Sure I’ll meet you there.’ Amelia agreed as she hung up and got out of bed and headed straight for the shower.
It didn’t take her long to get ready and as she walked down the stairs and out the door into the cool crisp day she was trying to plan how she was going to get the inside scoop on what had really happened between David and Carmen.
Arriving at the cafe at exactly one o’clock Amelia made her way inside and scanned the room however it was empty.
She took her favourite seat by the window and watched the waves rhythmically crash against the shore. She was so enthralled that she didn’t notice him enter from the door behind and head straight for her.
‘Hola’ he whispered in her ear causing her to jump
He laughed and said ‘Gosh I didn’t realize that yesterday had the same effect on you as it did on me!’
As did had no idea what to say Amelia just smiled and watched as he removed his jacket and sat in the seat opposite her.
‘Would you care to elaborate on the effect that I had on you?’ she asked smugly
‘Well you have given me this strong feeling that I am not alone and that I have some-one to turn to who won’t judge me like some people who are quite close to me’ David explained.
Amelia nodded and said ‘Well I’m glad I can be of some help’
They spent the rest of the afternoon chatting about their interests (besides football) and got to know each other better and it was also a way for Amelia to build David’s confidence in her in the hope that maybe he would soon trust her enough to share information about his former relationship.
He walked her to her car ‘Can we do this again some time?’ he asked
‘Of course we can’ she smiled as she unlocked her car, breathing a sigh of relief David leaned in and planted a soft sweet kiss on her lips before she climbed into the driver’s seat and started the ignition.
He watched her reverse and waved her goodbye as she headed home.
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As time went on their meetings became more and more frequent and before she knew it a month had passed and they had started meeting each other every day except for when he was unavailable due to matches he had to play in the same little cafe that was hidden away from the prying eyes of the paparazzi and the media.
One morning as she checked her e-mails one was in her inbox from Robert waiting for her. She opened it and read:
‘Amelia,
It’s been a month and still no story. You are really testing my patience. I have a line of girls waiting to take your place in a heartbeat and if I don’t have that story in my hands next week Friday you are over.
‘Next Friday. That’s ten days away!’ she thought to herself
As she got on with the rest of her morning routine she tried desperately to shake the e-mail out of her head. She got dressed and headed down to the pier.
‘So I was thinking that we have been doing this for quite a while now and I was wondering if maybe we should go out for dinner one evening you know on a date’ David asked trying to hide the nervousness in his voice.
The last word caught Amelia by surprise after all she had only been seeing him to get the inside scoop for her story and she completely forgot that for him it was all real. She turned to face him and replied
‘I would love to go out for dinner with you. To be honest I didn’t know how many more panini’s I could handle eating’ she giggled at what had become her staple diet since meeting him and as she looked up into his eyes they seemed to sparkle more than usual.
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As she stared at her reflection in the full-length mirror Olivia entered and screamed in sheer delight.
‘Wow you look……Wow!!’ she exclaimed as she looked at Amelia who was wearing a knee-length dark red one shoulder cocktail dress with matching stilettos; her long hair was curled and pinned at the sides while the rest flowed over her shoulders.
‘If this doesn’t kill him then I don’t know what will! But please bear in mind we have that match coming up so if you do kill him you better bring him back to life!’ Olivia laughed causing Amelia to burst into laughter too.
They continued to laugh until Amelia’s phone beeped.
‘It’s David he says he’s on his way’ Olivia informed reading the letters that formed the message.
As she heard the words butterflies soared in Amelia’s stomach for whatever reason she didn’t know.
It wasn’t long until the doorbell rang and Olivia stayed upstairs while Amelia made her way to open the door revealing a dashing looking David in a smart pair of jeans, a white shirt which had the first few buttons opened revealing a part of his well built chest; he had a black blazer on to complete the outfit and his hair was gelled in his signature style.
When he saw Amelia his mouth dropped open as he took in the stunning view in front him.
‘Amelia, you look amazing!’ he stammered
‘Thank you, you look quite great yourself’ she blushed as she grabbed her clutch and her shawl and closed the door as she stepped out into the warm evening.
David led her to the black car that was waiting for them; he opened the passenger door for her as he hopped into the driver’s seat. Although she couldn’t see Amelia knew that Olivia was watching intently from the upstairs window.
David drove through the familiar streets of the town that Amelia had driven him through on their first meeting and pulled into the grounds of the exclusive five star hotel.
Amelia craned her neck to get a better view of the building which was lit up by thousands of lights.
‘Is this your first time here?’ David asked as he helped her out of the car and handed the keys to the valet.
‘Yes and it is more amazing than I could ever have imagined’ she said in awe.
‘Well wait till you see inside’ he smiled and taking her soft hand in his led her through the front doors toward the restaurant, although she was sure she imagined it Amelia could have sworn that she saw a flash from a camera go off out of the corner of her eye before they had entered the hotel.
They were greeted by the matradee who took their outer clothes and led them to a quiet secluded booth away from the other diners and handed them their menus.
As they waited on their food they started chatting and David told her about his recent trip to London for his match against Arsenal as Amelia sipped her wine.
By the time their food had come their conversation was in full swing.
‘Mmm.. this is delicious’ Amelia commented as she took a bite of her pasta ‘Would you like some?’ she asked scooping up a mouthful and leaning toward David
He leaned in and let her feed him however some of the sauce remained on the side of his lips.
‘Oh here you got some sauce just here’ she said pointing to the side of her lip. David lifted his napkin to dab at his lips but he had not removed the sauce.
‘Here let me..’ Amelia said as she took her napkin and dabbed at his lips. However as she did so she became mesmerised by how soft his lips looked they looked so ….kissable.
After a few moments he leaned in however she backed away.
‘I’m sorry David but if we our relationship is to become more serious I need to know… ‘ she stopped ‘I need to know about…’
‘About my relationship with Carmen?’ he finished for her.
‘Well it’s been a month and the rumours have still not died down’ she shrugged
He sighed and lifted his head to face her ‘So I guess that I should start by telling you the truth and you can see why Carmen is lying’ he began
‘You see our break-up came as a real shock to everyone including myself but when I found out the truth and discovered that our whole relationship was a sham all the feelings I had towards her turned into pure hatred almost immediately. I… I couldn’t even look at her anymore’
He stopped and looked at the waiter who had emerged from the kitchen and walked past holding steaming food on a tray.
‘I just couldn’t understand how she could do such a thing after I had given her everything that she asked for , I never said no and she went and betrayed me by sleeping with…’
‘Anton anyway bottom line is that I am not the father of the baby we never even slept together she had always told me that she was waiting until after she got married and I had never questioned her’
There was something about the sincerity in David’s voice that had caught Amelia off guard and she knew that her faith in people was not futile.
A sense of relief had seemed to wash over David and he continued to tell Amelia the details of how he had found out that Carmen was cheating by receiving the text message that she had sent to him by accident instead of to Anton and how when he found out he immediately kicked her out of the house as the sheer sight of her agonisingly ripped his heart into a million pieces.
Amelia could not believe her ears at the story that was unfolding before her the papers had reported that he had just suddenly broken up with Carmen and they speculated that the reason behind his action was so that he could be with another woman.
The more he talked the more his confidence grew and David carried on talking about how one day he woke up and found his face all over the morning papers and they were not focusing on his football skills but now his private life and how he had left a poor woman alone and pregnant when in fact Carmen was living with Anton as she had come to collect all her things a few days before.
By the end of his story the hurt was evident not only in his voice but also his eyes lacked the spark that Amelia had always noticed whenever he was playing football.
‘Um are you ok?’ David asked as something caught his eye and he pointed at her cheek
Putting her hand to her soft cheek Amelia realised that she had subconsciously started crying.
‘Oh yeah I’m fine, sorry’ Amelia said as she hastily wiped the tears from her cheek.
She brought her hand down after she was sure that the tears had stopped however as she did this David leaned forward and placing his hand near her face wiped a tear that had stayed at the corner of her mouth. An unexplained electric spark at the touch of David’s hand against her skin caused Amelia to bow her head down in embarrassment.
However when she looked up and found herself looking in to his big brown eyes and she was convinced that she had felt something no matter how hard she had been denying for the past while.
A few moments passed where neither one spoke and they just stared at the view in front of them going over their thoughts.
A million different contrasting thoughts raced through Amelia’s head; some telling her that now she had gotten the story that tonight was the last time she would see David and that she could forget about him, others were telling her that she should forget about the job and not write the story and that she would find another way to provide for her family.
However her head had won the battle and before she knew it she had risen from her seat.
‘Is something wrong?’ David asked concerned
‘I’m sorry’ she said as the tears began to fall and she turned and hastily made her way to the entrance of the restaurant. She rushed through the lobby as David called behind her. She made it out into the air that seemed to cut into her as she hopped into a taxi and gave her address. David came out to only be left in a cloud of petrol fumes as the taxi sped off.
As she closed the front door behind her Olivia came out from the kitchen to greet her.
‘You’re home quite early!’ Olivia smiled but her smile quickly faded as she saw Amelia’s tear streaked face.
‘I just want to be alone’ Amelia told her as she ascended the stairs and unzipping the dress and letting into fall to the floor of her bedroom she slipped into her pyjamas and crawled into bed and continued to replay the arguments for and against writing the story about David.
By the time she woke the next morning Amelia’s mind had been made up. She made her way over to her computer and opened a new e-mail and started to write:
‘Dear Robert,
I’m sorry for the delay. I got the story will begin writing today. Will send to you as soon as I’m done.
P.S. You were wrong footballer’s are not as cold and heartless as you think’
She opened a new word document and began to write her experiences with David over the past four weeks. She was so absorbed with the article that she had completely lost track of time and it wasn’t until Olivia returned home from work that she realised how hungry she was however that feeling was short-lived as Olivia placed the evening’s paper in front of Amelia.
She could not believe what she saw. Images of the night before was spread over the front page; there were pictures of her and David getting out of the car, entering the hotel and then she looked down and saw images of her leaving the hotel tears on her cheeks, another one showed David standing alone looking on at the taxi. The last picture saw David dressed in a checked shirt, grey jeans, a leather jacket and a pair of sunglasses covering his eyes.
‘That was taken this morning after training’ Olivia explained ‘They are going crazy trying to find out who you are’
‘I don’t care really. I got what I wanted’ Amelia said
‘Yeah but at what price? Is it really worth losing such a great guy for?’ Olivia asked causing Amelia to look back at the paper ‘While I leave you with your thoughts I will be downstairs making us some dinner’ Olivia said as she left closing the door behind her.
As Olivia was busy waiting for the dinner to be prepared the doorbell rang causing her to break away from her chores. ‘I got it’ she called upstairs
When she opened the door she let out a squeal of delight as David looked straight into her eyes.
‘Hi um Olivia? Yes’ he asked
‘Hi um Yes! Hi David!’ she giggled and she noticed that he was holding the shawl that Amelia had worn the night before.
‘I was looking for Amelia is she in?’
‘Oh yeah come in she’s in her room first door on the left’ she instructed opening the door wider for him to enter.
‘Amelia, David’s here he’s on his way up’ Olivia called to warn Amelia.
Immediately Amelia jumped out of her seat as she tried to fluff her hair to make it look presentable. It was to no avail and her heart stopped as she heard a knock on the door.
‘Come in’ she said
‘Amelia you forgot this in your hurry to leave last night’ he said as he placed the shawl on her dressing table ‘But actually the real reason I came is to ask you about last night’ David began ‘Did I do something wrong?’
‘What?! No’ Amelia said ‘Here let me explain’ she said as she sat on her bed and tapped the empty space beside her prompting David to make his way over and sit beside her.
She took a deep breath and exhaled ‘The truth is….’ however her voice was croaked as her mouth became dry.
‘It’s ok go get some water if you want’ David smiled as he placed his hand on hers.
Deciding that was what she needed she stood up and made her way downstairs to get a glass of water leaving David upstairs in her room.
As he waited for Amelia, David decided to take a look at her photos that were on the wall behind her computer. He made his way over and smiled at the pictures of her with her family and with Olivia.
He bent his head and the newspaper caught his eye. He sat to take a look as he turned the page his hand hit off the mouse and the computer screen came to life.
He looked up reflexively and the words that flashed caught his eye:
‘The Real David Villa by Amelia Curtonia’
He re-read the words unable to comprehend them before beginning to read the article and his heart shattered into a million pieces once he read the end; she had used him to get information on his personal life and she wasn’t a sales-assistant she was s journalist.
He couldn’t believe how stupid he had been to trust a complete stranger but he needed some-one to talk and she had offered to be that person.
Suddenly the door opened and Amelia entered ‘Hey Olivia wants to know do you want to stay for din…’ however when she saw David she cut short.
‘Oh David. I…’ she began
‘Don’t just don’t; I’ve had enough of your lies. You never like me or cared. You’re just like the rest of the media, you have no regard for anybody but yourself’ he spat as he rose from the seat and pushed passed her.
‘David please! That’s what I wanted to explain to you; I won’t…’ but her efforts were in vain as she reached the front door which he had left opened when he stormed out and watched him drive off.
‘What have I done?’ she thought
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The next morning Amelia made her way down the stairs and picked up her handbag as she checked her reflection in the hall mirror; she was dressed in her suit ready for her meeting with Robert.
She headed out the door and got into her car and headed for town.
When she arrived she got out of the car and knocked three times as butterflies began to flutter like crazy inside her.
After what seemed like an eternity the door finally opened to reveal familiar blue eyes looking at her.
‘Hi um is David here?’ Amelia asked nervously
‘Yeah he is but I’m sure you’re the last person he wants to see’ Gerard said
‘Please I need to explain’ she begged as tears began to form in her eyes and she bent her head down in shame.
However footsteps on the wooden caused her to look up and she found David standing behind Gerard and she could see the hurt in his eyes.
‘You have two minutes’ David said as Gerard left them alone.
‘I only need one’ she said as she took out the pieces of paper from her bag and taking them in her hands she tore them in half ‘I couldn’t go through with it. I’d rather be a good person and not succeed than be a manipulative and deceitful person just to get want I want; it’s not the type of person I am’
She dug into her bag and retrieved another sheet of paper and handed it to him ‘This is the new revised version of the article’ she told him and a look of disappointment flashed across his face as he anticipated the worst.
‘Please read it’ she asked
Taking the page in his hand he read:
‘David Villa is the sweetest most kind hearted man who would never treat anybody with disrespect and I love him and I would not do anything to hurt him’
As he finished he looked up with a smile was etched on his face.
He took a step forward and kissed Amelia who kissed him back allowing the passion that had been building up for him over the past few weeks flow freely and for the first time in quite a while she felt completely at ease.