Break Down The Walls

I was greeted with an enormous office that had been refurnished and redecorated into a modern workspace. The walls were made of all glass, where I could see the entire soccer field, the outdoor gym, the conditioning area, the resting area, and the small box for family and friends to watch practice.
I didn’t even know what to say because I was so amazed.
Directly in front of me, in the back of the room, there was a large glass table adorned with a gigantic big screen computer, utensils to write, a stapler, a printer, a phone, and a faxing machine. In the corners of the room, there was an espresso machine, a mini-fridge, a large flat screen TV, and a candy machine. I almost passed out. I expected to be working in a small cubicle, crushed between other offices.

I turned around to thank Mary but she was gone and the doors were closed. I was in so much shock, I had not heard her leave. I had to remember to thank her later.

A small knock on the door interrupted my thoughts, as none other than Vicente Del Bosque, the coach of the Spanish team, opened my office doors. A huge smile spread across my face. Even though I was here for business solely, I couldn’t help but to love the sport and I respected him greatly as a man and a coach.

“Hello, you must be Mrs. Fernandez.” he said, extending his hand.

I quickly extended my hand as well to shake his. “Yes, and you must be Mr. Del Bosque” I returned, giving him a small smile.

“Yes, it is a pleasure to work with you Mrs. Fernandez.” he said, a sincere tone in his voice.

“Oh, please call me Sophie!” I said quickly.

“Okay Sophie. How is your first day so far?” he asked curiously, admiring my new office as well.

“Spectacular…I’m at a loss of words.” I mumbled, shaking my head. This was all too good to be true. He must have seen the shocked look on my face for what he said struck me.

“Sophie I would like you to know that you deserve this all. We have been following you closely through school and you are exactly what we need. You are a hard worker, you are a determiner, but best of all, you have an enormous heart which is exactly what we need. During our interview, you didn’t answer the questions in a way that you thought we would like, but you answered the questions sincerely. Your answers showed us that you will truly care and look out for our boys on the team, and that is what we were looking for. I am sure you will be a fantastic press manager for us.” he said genuinely.

I felt tears prickle in my eyes, for I had been working for so long and to hear that someone was recognizing all my hard work made me really happy.

“Gracias, Mr. Del Bosque. I will not let you down!” I said, a sudden wave of fire coming in my heart. I was going to be the best press manager they were going to ever have.

“Yes I know Sophie. Now come on, why don’t I introduce you to the boys? You will be working with them for a while now, so you need to get to know them. Vamos (Lets go).” Del
Bosque said. I immiedately got nervous.

Suddenly, I wondered if maybe I had chosen the wrong outfit? What if they hated me? I
looked down at myself. I was wearing a tight black high-waisted skirt, and a tight white v-neck blouse that had been tucked in. I had paired it with simple black pumps and I had left my natural brunette waves fall behind my back. I had however straightened my bangs, and let them fall on the left side of my face. I followed Del Bosque to the elevator and we made small talk all the way to the field.

“Ninos! Come here and meet your new press manager!” Del Bosque bellowed. I was taken aback by this man. Just a few minutes ago he had spoken to me with a kind, gentle voice and now he was shouting like a drill sergeant. I found it funny.

Just like in a movie, all the boys that were practicing turned to face us, and came running almost simultaneously towards us.

When they all had formed a semi circle around Del Bosque, I immediately felt all eyes on me. I knew they were judging me and rating me in these few seconds and their opinions would be set for a while. I didn’t know what to do, so I chewed on my lip and looked to the side, feeling incredibly awkward.

“Wait wait wait, is this the new press manager, or the press manager’s daughter?” Xabi asked, eyes wide.

“Xabi you are stupid, did I not just say that this was your new press manager? This is Sophie Fernandez.” Del Bosque scoffed, obviously questioning his intelligence.

“Ya but all our old press managers were either old ladies or hairy men. This woman is young and…sexy!” Xabi said raising a fist in the air.

“Yes, yes she is!” Sergio Ramos murmured looking me up and down licking his lips. These boys were like a pack of wolves and I was the prey, which was scary but quite flattering.

“Ignore these fools, and meet a real man. I am Jesus Navas but you can call me tonight.” Jesus winked, kissing my hand slightly. I blushed at the cheesy pickup line and giggled softly.

“Ay dios mio! Leave the poor girl alone” Fernando shouted, smacking Jesus Navas on the back of the head.

“NINOS! This is your press manager, meaning she works for you. Let me clarify for you. Mrs. Fernandez is not another fan girl, and you are to respect her, not regard her as a piece of meat. Furthermore, you WORK WITH HER.” Del Bosque stressed. What an irritable little man he was, I thought to myself smiling.

“But Del Bosque, she is so hot!” Iker whined, cradling a soccer ball in his hands.

A chorus of agreed murmurs followed Iker’s statement and I blushed. I still had not said anything, for they did all the talking for me.

“I do not care. And I hope you will act like the gentlemen I know you can be.” Del Bosque concluded. “Now we must go, for Mrs. Fernandez has much to learn.” he said, leading me away.

“Adios!” I smiled and waved as I hurried behind Del Bosque. Yeesh, he needed to take a breather.

Once upstairs, I spent the rest of the day learning what I was to do, sending emails introducing myself to other teams and the press, and learning more about the entire team. Before I knew it, it was 10:00 and I was exhausted.

What an amazing first day at work.
Fuck, I could get used to this.