Premier Deception (5 page)

Charlotte once again
looked at them both. Mitchell was obviously the one who did most of
the talking. He seemed genuine enough and was looking at her with
hope on his face. Maurice appeared the more nervous of the two,
however he had a kinder face and she somehow felt more comfortable
with him than with Mitchell, who seemed brash with a hard edge to
his personality. She wished that she could get advice from her
parents but it was obvious that they needed an answer right now;
she didn
’
t think asking to phone a friend
at this point would cut it. She quickly weighed it all up in her
mind. If she took it she would embark on a huge adventure, the
likes of which she would probably never see again. The experience
would be great and stand her in good stead for the future and she
would be helping to save many people
’
s
jobs and careers. It wasn
’
t as if she had
to make any decisions herself after all, she was just a front man,
a figure head more like a promotions person. On the other hand it
may all go horribly wrong and she may be found out as a fraud,
ridiculed by all, persona non grata and wind up destitute and in
the gutter when the team failed and everybody blamed
her.

Nevertheless, maybe
it was the inexperience of youth coupled with her adventurous
spirit and downright naivety but all of sudden she answered them in
a voice that seemed to come from somewhere else.
“
Ok then I
’
ll do it, I
will help you, I accept the job.
”
She
could feel the relief of the two men radiating across the room as
they both jumped up and offered her their hands.
“
Well done,
”
they said
beaming.
“
Thank you, we are forever in
your debt,
”
said Mitchell, a broad smile
cracking his weather beaten face.
“
Thank
you,
”
said Maurice.
“
You can always count on me day or night should you need any
help or advice.
” “
We should get things
moving,
”
said Mitchell and pressed a
buzzer on the phone on the table.
“
Elsie,
bring Luke and Ronnie in and rustle up some beverages we have work
to do.
”

As they sat down the
door opened and the man that had scrutinised Charlotte so carefully
in the reception area came in.
“
Meet
Geoff Brady, my assistant,
”
Mitchell
said.
“
Pleased to meet you again,
”
said Charlotte shaking his hand.
“
I am sorry for the strange first
meeting,
”
he said jovially.
“
I was sent to look for any suitable candidates
and the beautiful girl in a Chanel suit was the only real
one,
”
he said flirtatiously.

Charlotte felt
herself go red as two more men entered the room. Charlotte stood up
and found herself facing one of the most intimidating, scary
looking men she had ever met. He had dark eyes and dark hair and he
was frowning, looking like he was angry at something. He was very
attractive- if you like the dark brooding sex God type with a body
to die for she thought, and then once again she compared him to
Max, who she had only just met thinking that if she
hadn
’
t met Max already he may have been
her type, but for some reason she couldn
‘
t get the mysterious fellow job seeker out of her
mind.
“
Meet Luke Sandor, our head
coach,
”
said Maurice interrupting her
thoughts.

“Hi,
”
he mumbled and sat down. Maurice laughed.
“
A man of few words our Luke,
”
he said wryly. The other man approached her with
his hand outstretched.
“
My name is Ronnie
and I am the team Captain,
”
he drawled in
a slow voice. He was also obviously fit but there was something
unappealing about him. His eyes were cold and his smile
didn
‘
t quite reach them. Although good
looking he had an arrogant face and was obviously used to getting
favourable reactions from people he met, judging by the smug way he
approached her. Charlotte went to shake his hand and he held onto
it far longer than was necessary, giving it a good hard squeeze as
he did so. Extricating herself from his grasp she mumbled her
greeting and sat down. Mitchell motioned him to sit down and
addressed the group.
“
Charlotte Dawson is
our new Manager,
”
he announced to the
room.
“
She is starting today and I am
sure that you will all do everything in your power to make her feel
welcome and help her out in any way you can.
”
He paused looking at the two men who had positively turned
the temperature in the room to freezing, such was their
coldness.
“
This is a bold and risky move
by us to secure our sponsorship going forward and generate a buzz
and excitement around the club, something that the team has failed
to do this season,
”
he remarked
spitefully aiming his comment to the coach and the captain. Both
men looked daggers at him and Charlotte felt that they were not as
happy about this appointment as their bosses were. Elsie Baker
entered the room at this point wheeling a trolley laden with tea,
coffee, water, soft drinks and all manner of biscuits, cakes etc.
She started to hand out drinks and Charlotte gratefully accepted a
cup of tea, she was still shaking and coming to terms with
everything. Elsie looked kindly at her and Charlotte felt relieved
that there was at least somebody who appeared to be approachable
and kind.
“
Now we have to work out what
our approach will be at the press launch,
”
said Mitchell.

“Geoff work out a
press release, Charlotte, just follow our lead and keep any
comments to the minimum. Geoff will do the talking. You can freshen
up in the ladies outside before we go, as there will be television
cameras and press photographers so we want you to look your best.
Try to look confident and excited as though you are the best thing
to ever happen to this club.
”
Elsie
chipped in,
“
Come with me Charlotte and
I
’
ll show you where to go.
”
Charlotte sprang to her feet grateful to escape
the room even for a few minutes and followed Elsie outside. As the
door closed she could hear raised voices inside, no doubt at least
two of them had something to say she thought.

As they walked along the corridor,
Charlotte turned to Elsie and said, “how long have you worked
here?” Elsie replied, “ten years and most of it working for Mr
Maloney.”

“Which one?” said Charlotte. “Maurice,”
she replied. “He is a lovely man and totally committed to the club.
He’s a good boss and spends almost every waking hour here. Nothing
is too much trouble for him and the staff all love him. His brother
on the other hand is totally different. His assistant is Geoff who
can be a little bit tricky and his wife Gloria, although
undoubtedly beautiful is somewhat high maintenance. Anyway you must
think me terrible talking about them like this. The most important
thing is how they treat you my dear. Don’t let them get away with
bullying you and watch out for that Ronnie, a nasty piece of work
if ever I saw one.” “What do you mean?” said Charlotte, looking
alarmed but not surprised. “Well he is a bit of a bully to the
newer members of the team and an absolute pig to his gorgeous wife
Sylvia. She used to be a successful model when she met him but gave
all that up when she married him. Spends all her time running
around after him and their son Jackson, a right chip off the old
block. It’s such a shame as she is so kind and lovely and doesn’t
deserve the way he treats her.”

By now they had
reached the toilets and Charlotte went inside, glad to be alone at
last to collect her thoughts. She looked at herself in the mirror.
What a lot had changed since this morning. This
couldn
’
t be happening. She should be
getting a bar job or similar with the other applicants. Her
thoughts turned to Max and Chantelle and wondered what had happened
to them and where they were now. Thinking about Max made her smile.
He was so good looking. There was an air of mystery about him and a
sexiness that surrounded him. She hoped that they would meet again
soon. But then she was brought back to reality and thought, how on
earth could she? When would she have the time to make new friends,
despite how much she wanted to? If she did manage to catch up with
them, how would she explain all of this anyway? It
didn
’
t make sense to her let alone anyone
else and soon she was going to have to go out there and meet the
press and television crews and carry off the biggest pretence she
was sure in Premier League history. Maybe I just got caught up in
the moment, she thought, or this is just a dream and I will wake up
any minute now. This could just be one of those set ups that you
see on the television and any minute now somebody will jump out at
me and say
“
Got Ya!
”
or something like that.

All of a sudden she
heard Elsie calling for her and she quickly checked her reflection
in the mirror and hurried outside.
“
We
have to go now,
”
said Elsie,
“
there is a deadline to meet and we cannot keep
the media waiting.
”
They hurried back
down the corridor and approached the boardroom door. The muffled
voices inside stopped as they went in and
Charlotte
’
s heart sank at seeing two
openly hostile faces and three bemused ones looking at her.
Mitchell motioned for her to sit down and said in a brisk
voice.

“Ok we have to get
going. We must all agree that this is for the benefit of the club
going forward and any fall out must be dealt with by Geoff, and the
press department. Charlotte, you must take your direction from us
and once again only we must know the full reasons behind this. We
must all stick together and see if we can pull this one
off.
”
Maurice turned to her and
said,
“
Charlotte we are very grateful for
your help with this matter and appreciate the position that we have
put you in. Please do not hesitate to call on us at any time if you
have any doubts or questions.
”
He looked
around at the group and with a deep breath said.
“
Right then. Elsie please let them know we are
ready and then call us when it is time.
”
They all sat in silence and waited for her
return.

So this was where Charlotte now found
herself, walking through the players tunnel to the pitch where the
fans and media were waiting. She could hear the hum of the masses
outside which grew stronger with every step. Either side of her
walked the two brothers. Behind her was Luke and Ronnie both
silent, with Geoff and Elsie bringing up the rear. Charlotte felt
very nervous, her hands were sweaty. She felt herself flushing and
getting hotter and hotter as they approached the entrance. The
darkness of the tunnel gave way to the brightness of a sunny day.
The roar of the fans was deafening as they spied the party making
their way to the pitch, cameras were clicking away and the press
were shouting questions. As they came to a standstill, Mitchell
Maloney approached the microphone that had been set up and put up
his hand to speak and then there was silence.“
Ladies and Gentlemen,
”
he
began.
“
Thank you all for coming on this
auspicious occasion. We at Kingsbridge United are very excited to
introduce to you our new team manager, who we are very proud to say
will be leading our team next season. This as it turns out is to be
a historic occasion, not just for United but also for the Premier
League, because it is my pleasure to announce the first female
manager of United and indeed any Premier League Club, Charlotte
Dawson.
”

He pulled her forward into the foreground and she
stood there like a rabbit in headlights, not sure what she should
be doing. Then she noticed that there was absolute silence. Now she
knew what the term meant - deafening silence- The fans stood in
their rows aghast, the press and media, although used to being at
the forefront of breaking news, were stunned. Charlotte expected
tumbleweed to blow across the pitch in front of her at any
second.

All at once there was
an explosion of noise. The fans not really knowing what to do
started to jeer, which was replaced by a slow clap. The
photographers burst into life, and the press started shouting all
at once. It was utterly chaotic and nobody could make anything out
over the noise. Charlotte was bewildered and stood there shaking.
Maurice moved forward and placed a steadying arm around her and
gave her arm a squeeze as if to say, don
’
t worry we are all in this together. Mitchell was beaming
and enjoying the furore, and Ronnie stood in the background as
though distancing himself from the decision and wanting no part of
the circus. Luke typically looked angry and Charlotte could see
that he was shaking with anger. He must really hate her, she
thought, as the job was really his and now they had all of this to
deal with. Questions were flying thick and fast and Geoff moved
forward to address the crowd.

“
Please take
your pictures and then we will take questions in the meeting room.
Refreshments are waiting inside and then we will answer all of your
questions.
”
He gestured for Charlotte and
the others to come forward for a photograph and gave Charlotte a
team shirt to hold up; ensuring that the picture that would be on
every news bulletin and in every newspaper would show the team
colours and advertise the club around the world. The photographers
went into overdrive and were shouting instructions at Charlotte,
asking her to turn this way and that and in general adding to the
total chaos of the situation.