Caught up Between Two Loves

I gulped looking around me. I still stared in awe like the first time I came in here. Nothing seemed to have changed since then. We approached the receptionist and she smiled at us, well mostly Fernando. I knew that look in her eyes and couldn’t help but glare at her. She was flirting with my boyfriend right in front of me. It looked like they knew each other since she said “Nice to see you again, Fernando.”

Oh right, he came by yesterday. Great! God knows what she had done to him then. I wrapped an arm around Fernando’s waist sending her the message that he was mine and grinned at her. “What did she say, love?” I whispered in his ear. Thankfully I was wearing heels and didn’t have to stand on my toes to reach him.

“We can go to his office in a few minutes.” He answered while I ran my hands up and down his toned chest and abs over his shirt which made him shiver a bit. I noticed a tint of pink forming on his cheeks and looked over at the girl satisfied with my achievement and let her know I was the only one who could make him blush.

“Come on, let’s go sit.” He pulled me with him as we sat down on one of the couches. All the while, Fernando had a huge smirk plastered on his face that made me wonder.

“What’s with the smirk?” I crossed my arms getting curious.

“Oh nothing…You’re jealous, aren’t you?” He said looking at me with the corner of his eyes.
I scoffed staring at the wall. “No, I wasn’t.” My eyes landed on the receptionist again and sent her another glare which made Nando nudge my side.

“Then what was that back there? You getting all over me? You’re never like that in public.” He pointed out. It was true. I never showed any affection in public.

“I most certainly was not jealous of her.” I tilted my head to her direction and glared at Nando. “She just needs to know when to back off of taken men. How can she flirt like that with you right in front of me?!” His smirk was getting wider every second if that were possible.

“Well, she can flirt all she wants but I only have eyes on you.” He said stroking my right cheek. Now it was my turn to blush. He pecked my lips lightly then whispered in my ear. “I really like this side you. You should get more jealous.” His hand dropped on my knee and started to go further up my thigh, but I stopped him.

“Nando! Not here.” I groaned pushing him away.

“I’ll get you back at what you did earlier. Just wait when we get back home.” Fernando warned me sounding serious and I rolled my eyes.

I sighed glancing around and decided to walk around a bit. I checked each poster on the walls. It held the past and present players of Manchester United. I smiled as I spotted Eric Cantona’s picture. The collar of his shirt standing upwards like always. I was about to check the other posters when I felt someone beside me. I held my breath not wanting it to be the last person I wanted to see.

“Hey, we can go in now.” It was only Fernando. I let out the air I was holding in and nodded making our way to Ferguson’s office.

“Are you sure you want to go in with me?” I asked for the last time that day.

“Yes, I’m sure. Now come on.” He chuckled stepping forward and knocked on the door. We heard a ‘come in’ and obeyed. There he was sitting on his chair waiting. When he spotted us, he smiled getting up and greeted us.

“Hello, Miss Smith. Mr. Torres.” We both greeted him back and took a seat in front of him.

“Well, I never liked wasting time so I’ll just get to the point…Will you accept working here in MUFC as a physician and physiotherapist?” Sir Alex asked leaning forward.

I wanted to say no, but the word couldn’t get out. I opened my mouth to answer and nothing came out. Why couldn’t I just answer? It’s a simple yes or no question. I had decided a few days ago that I was going to refuse and was sure about it. However, now I was hesitant. I glanced over at Fernando and he looked hopeful at me and was eager to know my final decision. I was searching for the answer in his eyes, but couldn’t find it. It was up to me and I was sure that Sir Alex was getting impatient. I sighed looking at the boss.

“No.” Was all I could say, but it wasn’t loud enough for him to hear.

“I’m sorry, couldn’t catch that dear.”

“I refuse to work here.” I couldn’t look at the both of them so my eyes landed on my heels. I glanced at Fernando with the corner of my eye and saw him shaking his head disappointed. Wait…Did he want me to say yes? I furrowed my eyebrows in confusion.

“Would you excuse us for a minute, sir?” Fernando said getting up, but Ferguson shook his head.

“You two stay. I’ll just head out for some fresh air a bit. I’ve been locked up in this office all day.” He joked and left his office closing the door behind him.

“Ok. I’m confused…You wanted me to say yes?” I asked curiously and his answer shocked me.

“Yes. I don’t want you to throw this chance away. You probably won’t get another offer here so take it.” Fernando insisted and I shook my head.

“You know why I turned it down…”

“I know and it’s not a good enough reason. Please, I don’t want you to look back someday and regret making this mistake.”

His words were so honest that it touched me. He was right, I should let this opportunity go. I wasn’t sure what reason he was talking about, but we would discuss that later. I didn’t want to keep Sir Alex waiting, after all this was his office.

Just as I was about to speak, Ferguson came in. “I hope I’m not interrupting.”

“No, sir. We just finished.” I assured him as he sat back down.

“Um…I answered a little too fast without thinking. I would really like to work here.” I said hoping he would accept since I turned down his offer a minute ago.

“You’re hired, Miss Smith. However, not yet.” I looked confused at him. I just said yes, what more did he want?

“As you may or may not know, I discussed this matter with Mr. Torres yesterday and we decided that you start working next season.”

I glanced at Fernando with wide eyes then it hit me. So, that’s why he was here yesterday! “Told you, you’ll understand everything later.” Nando said giving a slight wink. As much as I hate to admit it, the arrangement sounded perfect. I would be very ready to work there next season.

“That sounds great, sir.” I said grinning at the both of them. I signed the contract and after a few minutes we were ready to go.

“I can’t believe you actually came here to Manchester willingly just to get me to work here. How did you pull it off? No, wait…The obvious question here is: why do you want me to work there? You didn’t say anything yesterday and were thrilled that I was going to say no.” I asked curiously as we sat down in the car.

“Like I said before I didn’t want you to regret this and be unhappy. I wouldn’t live with myself knowing that I was the one who held you back.” He answered truthfully and I took his free hand.

“Aww! That’s so sweet, love. Thank you!”

He brought my hand to his lips and kissed my knuckles. “You’re very welcome.”

“So, um…what reason were you talking about earlier that wasn’t good enough? I only told you about not wanting to be away from you and the tabloids ruining our image.”

“That’s what I was talking about.” Fernando responded pinching the bridge of his nose not glancing at my side.

Why did I have a feeling that he was lying? Oh right, he pinches his nose when he lies. “That’s nice that you remember, dear. Now tell me the real reason you were talking about.” I insisted letting his hand go.

He sighed in defeat and said “The reason that you were going to turn it down is because Ronaldo somehow got you upset and mad and that you didn’t want to deal with him again. He shouldn’t be the one to stop you from your dream. And…” I cut him off.

“Wait, how do you know all of th…Xabi!!! He told you didn’t he? Ugh! Wait till I see him and he’ll be sorry for even telling you this.”

“No no no. It’s my fault; I forced it out of him. He’s weak and I threatened him so he spilled it out. I’m sorry.” He kept apologizing while looking my way. “Please don’t kill him. He’s the only close friend I have in Liverpool.”

I smiled slightly then giggled. “Alright, but he’s still going to get punished for that. And you...for threatening my friend to spill a secret. I just didn’t tell you about it because you hate Ronaldo’s guts and would kill him instantly. Well, now I hate him too so I guess you’re happy about that.” I sighed staring out the window.

“Well, yeah I am but you’re not. I can’t believe you’re friends with that guy…”

“Ex-friend.” I reminded him.

“Right. Let it go, Rach. If anything happens I’ll be there to punch him again.”

I laughed and nodded. “Alright, but I think I can do that myself. He would fight back if you punched him, but not when I do it.”

It felt nice to let everything out in the open. I was no longer caught in a web of lies that I created. I wondered if I would ever make one again. I just hoped it wouldn’t be any time soon.