Premier Deception by S J Crabb Page A

have noticed such things; it painted a different side to
his character that she hadn’t seen before, a softer more
approachable side that ultimately she preferred. They turned to
look as Sylvia came into the room and approached them. Charlotte
noticed Luke’s expression soften and with a jolt realised that he
was in love with her!
    A look passed between Luke and Sylvia as
she drew near that was electrifying and Charlotte felt suddenly
very much in the way. “Charlotte,” said Sylvia, “you must think me
so rude, please let me take you around and introduce you to
everyone personally and then we must get you something to eat as
you must be starving. Please excuse us Luke,” she said smiling. He
returned the smile and said, “No worries there are many players
here that I need to speak to,” and with that he moved away.
    Charlotte saw Sylvia’s expression as he
went, a look of longing mixed with sadness, the same look that she
felt when Max went away from her. So Sylvia, the Captains wife was
in love with the team coach and vice versa. Charlotte felt so sorry
for them as she knew that they could never act on their feelings
without causing a huge upset.
    Sylvia was good company and Charlotte
really got on well with her. She couldn’t understand why on earth
she was with Ronnie so she asked her where they had met. “Ronnie
was doing a photo shoot with the team one day and I was doing one
for Cosmopolitan. We got talking and he asked me out on a date. We
married six months later, we fell in love very quickly and you
could call it a whirl wind romance. What do they say though, marry
in haste repent at leisure.” She looked dejected, but carried on.
“Jackson was born about eighteen months later and Ronnie wanted me
to give up my career due to the pressures of his job. I became a
stay at home mum. Don’t get me wrong I love them both but sometimes
it is very difficult dealing with a professional footballer. He has
the world at his feet and there are thousands of women waiting to
take my place. They feel that they are invincible and normal
behaviour seems to be forgotten under those circumstances.”
Charlotte sympathised and said, “what about Luke, does he have a
wife or girlfriend?” Sylvia visibly stiffened and said, “Not at the
moment, his fiancée left him three months ago, so what with that
and the terrible season he hasn’t had much luck lately.” That would
explain a lot thought Charlotte but said nothing.
    They sat down outside on one of the
comfy seats and chatted about Sylvia’s lovely home and modelling
career when all of a sudden she was called away by one of the
staff. Left on her own Charlotte did what she loved to do and sat
back to observe the other guests. She noticed that the team
appeared to be split in half. The older players that included
Ronnie were all laughing and joking and causing a great commotion,
whilst the newer members seemed excluded and hovered awkwardly on
the sidelines, occasionally becoming the butt of one of the older
player’s jokes. There was a lot of innuendo amongst them and the
waitresses appeared to be fair game to them with lots of suggestive
remarks and flirting. The wives and girlfriends appeared oblivious
and chatted amongst themselves each one looking like they had
stepped out of a magazine. Charlotte felt really out of place. It
was as though she had stepped into another world. They were all
rich and beautiful with gorgeous clothes and perfect figures. This
was a world in which she didn’t belong and all too soon she was
sure that they would find out.
    Just then Rose appeared and sat down
next to her. “A peculiar bunch aren’t they?” she remarked to
Charlotte indicating the other guests. “I wouldn’t give most of
them the time of day, spoilt, selfish and self obsessed with more
money than they could ever spend, although they try their best.”
Charlotte looked at her and said, “You don’t like them much do
you?” “No,” said Rose. “They treat