Striker (Book 1 in the 'Striker' Trilogy)

by Michelle Betham

  ‘You reckon? Not today they won’t because you’re off to Tynebridge in a minute. There’s a press conference to introduce one of the new signings Red Star have made during this January transfer window and we need somebody down there to cover it, so…’

  ‘You’re doing this deliberately, aren’t you?’

  ‘Doing what?’

  ‘Sending me to Tynebridge when you know that puts me right in-between Ryan and Jim. It’s like you almost want to throw me to the lions.’

  ‘I’m asking you to do your job, Amber. That’s all.’

  ‘Yeah. Of course you are.’

  ‘It all kicks off – pardon the pun – at ten 0’clock, kiddo, so I’d get organised if I were you. See you later.’

  Amber watched him leave, sighing as her phone rang from the depths of her oversized handbag. Reaching inside she scrabbled around, trying to find the phone she’d casually thrown in there on her way out of the house, finally retrieving it from underneath a copy of the Newcastle Gazette.

  ‘Amber Sullivan,’ she said, answering the call without looking at the caller ID.

  ‘I could have been anyone, including another journalist trying to prise more personal details out of you.’

  ‘Ronnie,’ Amber smiled, sitting back in her chair, happy to hear his voice. He was like a shot of calm amid the crazy, complicated mess that still lay all around her. ‘You okay?’

  ‘Should be me asking you that, really. And check your caller ID before you answer the phone next time, alright?’

  ‘Yeah, alright. Sorry. I’m not used to this level of media attention, remember? Hang on… how did you know I hadn’t checked the caller ID before I answered your call?’

  ‘I know you, Amber, that’s how I know. Anyway, how are things between you and your dad? Has he calmed down yet?’

  Amber closed her eyes briefly, trying not to remember the confrontation she’d had with Freddie Sullivan after the news of her and Jim’s secret past had been revealed. To say he’d been disappointed would be an understatement. He’d been angry – obviously – not to mention upset, but most of all, betrayed. That’s how he’d told her he’d felt when he’d first heard the news – he’d felt betrayed. And it was his reaction to it all that bothered Amber more than anybody else’s.

  ‘Well, yeah, he has calmed down a bit, I suppose. But to say his friendship with Jim is now severely strained is putting it mildly, really.’ She opened her eyes and leaned forward on her elbows, resting her head in her hand. ‘It was awful, Ronnie. When he said he felt betrayed, it broke my heart. Oh, he blames Jim for so much more than he blames me, but that’s not the point. We both kept secrets from him, and we shouldn’t have done that.’

  ‘Finding out your best friend slept with your daughter when she was just sixteen-years-old is bound to have an affect on any father, Amber.’

  ‘I don’t want to go over it again, Ronnie. It’s all still so bloody raw.’

  ‘Are you sleeping alright?’

  ‘Not really. There’s a lot going on in my head, y’know? A lot to think about.’

  ‘You’re not thinking about taking Ryan back, are you? Only, I’ve seen the stories in the papers, how he wants you back and…’

  ‘I’m not taking him back, Ronnie, don’t worry.’

  ‘Good girl.’

  ‘Anyway,’ she sighed, ‘… how’s your love-life going? Everything still going okay with your new girlfriend?’

  There was a slight pause before Ronnie replied. A long enough pause to make Amber think something maybe wasn’t quite as straightforward as it should be. ‘I’m engaged, Amber.’

  Now it was Amber’s turn to stay silent. Did he just say he was engaged? When had that happened? ‘Engaged…? I… When…? Aren’t you… aren’t you rushing into this slightly, Ronnie? I mean, this new relationship, this new woman, you’ve only known her five minutes, haven’t you?’

  ‘Not really. Amber…’

  ‘Not really?’ Amber suddenly felt her stomach sink. ‘Don’t tell me… Not… You’ve taken Karen back, haven’t you?’

  ‘I didn’t want to tell you just yet, Amber, but…’

  ‘How long, Ronnie?’ But Amber already had a sneaking suspicion she knew exactly how long it had been going on.

  ‘I should have told you, but…’

  ‘That’s why it was never going to work between you and Anna, wasn’t it?’

  ‘I couldn’t get her out of my head, Amber. You knew how much I loved her, what she meant to me, what our marriage meant to me…’

  ‘She slept with another man behind your back, Ronnie.’

  ‘And you’d know all about that, wouldn’t you?’

  Amber said nothing for a second. ‘Okay. I probably asked for that.’

  ‘Jesus… I’m sorry, kiddo…’

  ‘That’s why you were off with me, wasn’t it? Just after you and Anna split up? Why you couldn’t even look me in the eye…’

  ‘Because I knew you’d react like this! And maybe now you’ll know exactly how I feel about you and Ryan.’

  ‘Yeah, but the big difference being, Ronnie, is that I’m not taking Ryan back.’

  She heard him sigh down the phone. ‘I know what I’m doing, Amber. Really, I do. I can’t let her go; I’ve got to give her a second chance. You gave Ryan a second chance, didn’t you?’

  ‘I gave him more than that,’ Amber said quietly, fiddling with her pen. ‘Are you sure about this, Ronnie?’

  ‘You want me to be happy, don’t you?’

  ‘You know I do.’

  ‘Well, Karen makes me happy.’

  Amber sat back again, staring out of the window, shielding her eyes as the low winter sun made an appearance from behind a barrage of grey clouds, instantly brightening the day. It would’ve been nice if it could have done the same for her mood. ‘Just – just be careful, alright?’ Amber said, pushing a hand through her long, tousled hair.

  ‘You’re beginning to sound like me, now,’ Ronnie replied, and she could tell he was smiling when he’d said that. She couldn’t help smiling, too. ‘So, do you think you and your dad are gonna be okay?’

  ‘Yeah, of course we are,’ Amber sighed, chewing on the end of her pen. ‘It’s just going to take a bit of time, isn’t it? Not sure whether his relationship with Jim is ever going to be fixed, though…’ She trailed off, checking her watch. ‘Look, Ronnie, I’ve got to go. I’ve got to get to Tynebridge for a press conference in an hour.’

  ‘January transfer window keeping you busy?’

  ‘Whether I like it or not.’

  ‘You okay with that?’

  ‘It’s my job, Ronnie. And if there’s one thing I’m determined all of this won’t do again is get in the way of my work. I can put my professional head on when need be, and you know that.’

  ‘Yeah. Yeah, I do.’

  She said nothing for a second, just stared out of the window again, her eyes following a double-decker bus as it pulled away from the stop across the road from the News North East building. ‘I’m really happy for you, Ronnie.’

  ‘Thanks, kiddo. That means a lot. You take care now, okay? And I’ll see you soon.’

  She hung up and threw her phone back into her bag. She’d see him soon. And that was going to have to do her, for now.

  *

  ‘You alright, mate?’ Gary asked, sitting down next to Ryan on the touchline, both of them taking a quick break from training.

  ‘What do you think?’ Ryan replied, staring straight ahead of him.

  Gary joined him in staring out at the rest of the squad kicking various balls around the muddy practice pitch. ‘I’m really sorry, Ryan. Me and my big mouth, huh?’

  Ryan pushed a hand through his hair, but kept his gaze fixed firmly on whatever was happening in front of him. ‘It’s not your fault, Gary. I should have kept my mouth shut, too. I should have done a lot of things, actually. Or maybe – maybe I shouldn’t have done a lot of things… Jesus, I don’t know…’

  Gary reached out
and quickly squeezed his friend’s shoulder. ‘Have you seen Amber? Since it all came out, about her and Jim?’

  Ryan looked briefly at Gary before he turned away again. ‘I’ve tried ringing her but she rejects my calls. And I’ve seen her around Tynebridge a couple of times but, she just blanks me. All I want to do is make it better, y’know? I just don’t know if I can. I only know I’ve got to try.’

  ‘Is she… are her and Jim…?’

  Ryan looked at Gary again. ‘How would I know? I don’t think so, I mean, even the boss has looked as though he’s carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. I gather the board have had a few words with him, because of everything that’s gone on. Don’t think he’s going anywhere, though.’

  ‘Yeah, well, they read the riot act to all of us, didn’t they?’

  Ryan didn’t reply. His mind was starting to wander now. His concentration was wavering, even though he’d been warned to keep his mind on the football and stay focused. He might be Red Star’s biggest signing in recent months, and he might be their star striker, but if he put another foot out of line he had no doubt that the consequences wouldn’t be pleasant. Not this time. But he was finding it so hard to stay focused when all he could think about was Amber. He had no idea whether she and Jim had got back together – why would he? He’d hardly be the first person they told, would he? But there’d been nothing in the papers about any rekindled relationship and all he could do was take heart from that and hope that, despite their secret now being out, they saw no need to take that as some kind of permission to become an item again. He knew Amber. And she didn’t strike him as the kind of person who’d jump straight into a relationship just to get over a broken one. But then, had she ever really jumped out of her relationship with Jim Allen? Had she ever really loved him as much as she’d loved his boss?

  ‘I’m going to Tynebridge,’ Ryan said, pulling himself up off the ground.

  ‘What? Why? Ryan…’

  ‘There’s a press conference this morning, isn’t there? For that new player we’ve just signed from Denby United. Amber’ll be there.’

  ‘You don’t know that…’

  ‘She’ll be there,’ Ryan said, striding purposefully towards the car park.

  ‘Ryan!’ Gary tried to keep up with him, almost running to catch him up. ‘You can’t just walk out of a training session.’

  Ryan turned around briefly, smirking at Gary as he retrieved his car keys from the pocket of his tracksuit bottoms. ‘Oh yeah? Watch me.’

  *

  Professionalism personified. That’s what Amber could be when she set her mind to it, and that’s exactly what she was as she ran the gauntlet of yet more press and paparazzi that were gathered at Red Star’s Tynebridge stadium. Because they weren’t just there to welcome the club’s newest signing.

  She held her head high but said nothing as she pushed past them into the main entrance, ignoring the questions being shouted at her from all angles.

  She kept herself composed, despite the odd comment from one or two of her male counterparts, as they all waited in the Press Lounge for the press conference to begin. On the whole, her colleagues had been nothing but supportive, but there were always going to be a couple who thought their inappropriate remarks were hilarious. They weren’t. But, despite the fact she was focused and her mind was solely on the job in hand, the second Jim Allen followed his newest signing into the room she felt her heart flip over and her breath catch fast in her throat. As he settled himself behind the long desk there in the Press Lounge, ready to take charge of this press conference, Amber had to look down at her notepad, fearing people would notice her staring. But that’s what happened when Jim Allen walked into a room – people stared. They couldn’t help it. She couldn’t help it. He was this enigmatic, charismatic, handsome, charming man that could hold the attention of a room full of people just by being there. He didn’t have to say a word to make people notice him. And Amber knew that better than anyone.

  She was aware of more than a few of her fellow journalists and reporters taking a quick glance over at her as Jim smiled at everyone in the room. Of course people were curious to see her reaction, to see Jim’s reaction. But they didn’t know the full story. None of them did. And if she met his eyes for too long then she couldn’t be entirely sure of what would happen.

  Taking a deep breath she finally looked up, crossing her legs and sitting up straight, shaking out her dark red hair slightly so it fell over her shoulders in loose waves. This was bread and butter to her – she’d done this hundreds of times over the years. It was her job. It was where she felt at her most comfortable.

  As the press conference got underway, Amber focused on what it was she’d come here to do. And, as her eyes at last met Jim’s, a brief smile passing between them, she sat back and waited…

  *

  Ryan locked his car and threw his keys back into his tracksuit bottoms as he scanned the car park, looking for Amber’s car. And it didn’t take him long to find it. Her pale blue Fiat 500 was parked just a few cars down from his.

  Almost running towards the main entrance he managed to dodge the waiting photographers and press still hanging around outside by pulling his hood up, covering his face enough to make sure that, by the time they’d done a double take, he was safely inside.

  His phone beeped the arrival of a text message and he pulled it out of his pocket, pushing his hood back off his head. It was from Gary, informing him that Colin was on the warpath, but Ryan didn’t really care. All he cared about now was talking to Amber, trying to make her see sense. He needed her to know that he really did love her and that everything he’d done had been – well, it had been stupid. He couldn’t really call it anything else.

  ‘Hello, Ryan,’ Barry – one of the security guards who manned the desk in the main reception – smiled at him. ‘You here to see Mr. Allen?’

  Ryan looked at Barry, frowning slightly. ‘Erm, no. No, I’m… Is the press conference still going on?’

  ‘Finished about five minutes ago. Everyone’s outside for the official photographs now.’

  ‘Right. Okay. Thanks, Barry.’ Without missing a beat he headed towards the doors that led outside, standing quietly at the back of the North Stand as everyone crowded round the new Red Star signing. He was standing down on the pitch below, holding an official club scarf, Jim Allen by his side. The sound of camera shutters echoed around the otherwise empty stadium as Ryan craned his neck to see if he could see Amber. He finally located her, standing near the front of the crowd of reporters. She was smiling as she talked to her cameraman, a smile which made Ryan’s heart ache. He’d never felt this way before, and they were still feelings that confused him and scared him but this time he had to gain some kind of control and instead of hiding behind a front he’d created just to keep up some kind of image, some ridiculous persona, he had to show her that he was serious. That he could love her like she deserved to be loved. Like he wanted to love her. Like he should have loved her before.

  She looked stunning in a flesh-coloured, knee-length dress that seemed to cling to what he considered to be an incredible body, even though most of it was covered by the long, cream coat she was wearing to keep out the freezing cold January temperatures. Her long legs were accentuated by high-heeled, nude-coloured ankle boots, and her long, dark red hair hung down her back in a barrage of tousled waves. She seemed relaxed, happy, even. Did she miss him as much as he was missing her? Looking at her now it didn’t seem as though she did. But then, she was good at hiding her feelings, when she wanted to. Maybe, deep down, she was hurting just as much as he was.

  He watched as she spoke to the new Red Star player, both of them laughing at something she said, and Ryan felt his stomach dip. This young man, this new addition to the team, seemed just as taken with her as Ryan had been when he’d first met her. He knew what an overwhelming day this could be for someone as young as this new player, but it seemed as though Amber knew just how to make him feel comfortable.
>
  He watched as Jim Allen said something to her and she turned away immediately. Ryan craned his neck again to see where she was going, but she’d just taken a few steps back, allowing other reporters some time with the new signing. Had that been a knock-back from Amber to the man who couldn’t seem to leave her alone? It had been a moment in time that had lasted just seconds but it hadn’t escaped Ryan’s notice how many of the photographers in the crowd had turned their lenses in the direction of his ex-fiancée and his boss.

  Looking down at the ground for a second Ryan took a deep breath. Would she want to speak to him? Or would she just blank him like she’d blanked him so many times before over the past few days? They way she’d looked at him, as though he was just another footballer she had to deal with, it had been something Ryan had found hard to cope with. After being so close to someone, having them suddenly treat you like you didn’t exist caused a pain the like of which he’d never experienced before. Life could really deal you some shit when it wanted to, but none of it came with a manual; nobody told you the rules or gave you any idea how to handle the crap that was going to come your way.

  But Ryan had just had the biggest, the final wake-up call. And Amber had to know that. She had to. Because one thing Ryan had finally worked out was that he was nothing without her. He loved her. And everything else could go to hell.

  *

  She pushed the door of his office open, peering inside. He was there, standing by the filing cabinet, his suit jacket now slung over a nearby chair. He was flicking through a pile of papers as he talked into his phone, laughing quietly at whatever was being said on the other end of the line. She leaned against the doorpost, watching him for a few seconds while he was still unaware she was there. She was conscious of the noise of a post-press conference stadium in the background; the hum of voices, the sound of people catching up with each other. They certainly weren’t alone, she knew that much.