"Do you think it's bad that I'm a nepo-sibling?" Billie asked Madison, her other best friend and housemate, as she placed her half full mug of hot chocolate on the kitchen counter.

The early morning sun slipped through the open windows into the small space that the friends shared. It was the small sliver of time before they all dispersed for work that they could actually talk. Alfie had already left, given that he had to commute into The Guardian's London office for a meeting before coming back to Richmond for Coach Lasso's press conference. But Billie had roughly ten minutes with Madison before her best friend would leave for a day of work at the local secondary school teaching history.

"You didn't choose to be Roy Kent's sister, Bils," Madison assured her as she held onto her mug of coffee, "And you've been working so hard applying to all those other jobs, you deserve this opportunity."

"The people in my Instagram comments wouldn't agree," Billie sighed, the surge of messages from strangers on social media only reinforced her doubt about whether or not she deserved the job.

"What do you mean?" Madison asked, even though she had an idea of what Billie was getting at.

"People have found out about the job and they're telling me I don't deserve it," Billie admitted, glancing down at her phone. As a result of being Roy Kent's younger sister she had about eighty thousand followers, most of whom craved the opportunity for extra access to Roy Kent's private life. But along with those fans came the misogynists and the jealous wannabe wags, so everytime someone would leave a comment of criticism Billie just saw them as people who hated her.

"Give me your phone," Madison held out her hand with the same stern integrity she'd have if one of her students was looking at something they shouldn't be.

"Fine," Billie huffed, handing over her phone.

Madison typed in the girl's phone password, as they both knew each others. Her home screen flashed up which was black and white photobooth pictures of her and Phoebe from a day trip to Brighton. She opened the Instagram app and when straight for settings, not bothering to read the comments, knowing how vile they could be. She changed the comment permissions before handing the phone back.

"Now the only notifications you'll see will be from the people who you follow back, so just friends and family," Madison assured her, "And get off Twitter, it'll rot your brain."

"But I have to be on it for work," Billie sighed in defeat.

"So just use the club's account, all you'll do is doom scroll, you've got too much going for you to just live in your phone," Madison insisted, "You've got a fit boyfriend, an incredible job, a family that love you, focus on that and not what strangers on the internet think about you."

Madison didn't necessarily approve of her best friend's relationship. In fact she despised Bradley Barker, he had cheated on Billie multiple times, everyone knew it, but Madison knew her best friend better than anyone else, she knew it was complicated. She knew that Billie could see it too, which is what hurt the most, watching her best friend be with a man like that, believing that she deserved to be treated like that. But she knew that to keep Billie close she couldn't say a thing until Billie came to her. She best likened it to someone with a dairy intolerance, they'll eat the dairy knowing it's bad for them, and they'll keep going back to it because they enjoy the feeling of the moment. But then they wake up with a gutteral pain, laced with regret but a craving for what put them there in the first place, and the cycle continues.

"Speaking of work, I should hop to it, we've got a press conference and I want to get some content prepped ahead of the match," Billie explained, finishing her hot chocolate and discarding the mug beside the sink, "Thank you for the pep talk, Madds."

"I'm always here," Madison assured her, "You just need to keep putting yourself first, alright?"

"I will, love you." She smiled.

"Love you too."

Billie made her way down the stairs and onto the street, grateful for the decent weather as she made her way past the green.

"Billie!" She looked over her shoulder to see Ted and Coach Beard walking towards her, "What brings you here?"

"Hi Coach squared," Billie smiled at the two men, "I live over there."

"No way, it really is a small world after all," Ted beamed, his cheery disposition amazing Billie.

"Great ride." Beard nodded, further reminding Billie that he was a man of few words.

"Disney World," Ted remarked, noticing the confusion on Billie's face as the trip began walking in the direction of the training ground, "I realise that may not translate so well internationally."

"So how are you both finding things in Richmond?" Billie asked.

"You got yourselves one fine town, haven't you?" Ted replied, "Still working on winning the locals round."

"This is London, you've got your work cut out when it comes to making people like you," Billie told them both, "People in our town like keeping themselves to themselves, you've got to give them something worth rooting for."

"Well that's what we're hoping to achieve," Ted assured her, "Tell us about you and your brother, the great Roy Kent."

"I barely saw my brother when I was growing up, he was sixteen when I was born so he'd been up in Sunderland for seven years by that point," Billie explained, "So to make him feel part of my life our parents let him name me, but he wanted a little brother, so after ruling out names like Thomas and Caleb, Billy became Billie."

Their parents wanted Roy to be involved in his baby sister's life and given that he was hundreds of miles away in Sunderland they concluded that the best thing to make him feel part of it all was to let him name her. Well, Roy Kent wanted a brother, so when the little girl arrived the only names he'd prepared were boy names, and out of a concise list he landed on Billy, which became Billie. He'd been reading through dozens of baby books and he liked that it meant 'resolute protector' and as a sixteen year old teenage boy he hoped it would protect her in the way he couldn't while they were all those miles apart.

"And when he moved to Chelsea?" Ted continued, intrigued by the dynamic between the two siblings.

"I thought it was the best thing to ever happen, I didn't care about the football, I was just happy to be living in the same city as my big brother again," Billie explained, reminded of how different life was all those years ago, living in that tiny council estate flat with her parents and sister when Roy returned, "Still stands, I don't watch the matches to watch football, I watch them to see the look on my brother's face when he's doing what he loves."

"So what you're saying is that deep down beneath all that hostility and chest hair he's actually a big cuddly teddy bear?" Ted observed.

"I suppose so, even if he struggles to show it he's always been a lover not a fighter," Billie explained.

"The Kinks, great choice," Beard muttered.

"I was thinking of Tinie Tempah and Labrinth, actually." Billie smiled.

"Generational differences."

"The thing about Roy is that he did most of his growing up away from home, surrounded by strangers, so expressing his emotions was not something he wanted to do in front of those strangers," Billie told the two men, noticing how much they seemed to care about her brother as a person beyond the impressive football career, "If he's talking with his fists it's only because he cares."

"That'd explain the whole tussle with young Jamie yesterday," Ted agreed.

"You've just got to give him a sense of purpose I suppose, I know he's the captain, but he needs to believe that it's more than just a title," Billie explained to both of the men.

"I had no idea young people could be so wise." Ted sighed, inspired by the information Billie had given him.

"Podcast generation." Beard nodded.

"It's true, I do get most of this shit from podcasts," Billie laughed, "And my housemate who's a high school teacher, it's how she deals with the teenagers at school."

"Are you comparing your thirty eight year old brother to a teenager?" Ted frowned.

"No," Billie smiled, "The whole team."

Billie had been at work for a few hours before Sam appeared in her office. It was all part of the plan that Ted had told her about that morning, explaining that it was Sam's birthday that weekend and he wanted to plan something special with the help of the team. When Ted explained his idea to Billie she told him that she was happy to help, which is when they came up with the decoy plan.

"Billie, Coach said you wanted to see me," Sam smiled as he stood in the open doorway.

"Yes!" Billie grinned, looking up from her laptop where she'd been editing photos and videos from that morning's training session, realising she needed to come up with an excuse to keep Sam in the office, "I've been working on some content ahead of the match against Crystal Palace, I thought you'd like to see it."

"Me?" Sam smiled eagerly as he approached the desk.

"Yeah," Billie nodded as Sam took a seat opposite her desk, "I'll speak to some of the other boys later too, get their thoughts, anyone in particular you think I should talk to?"

"Colin and Isaac are good guys, even if they are friends with Jamie," Sam explained as Billie spun her laptop around, showing him the high energy short montage video she had put together using footage from training with a Traktor by Wretch 32 in the background.

"He seems complex," Billie remarked, having yet to fully understand the sort of person Jamie Tartt was.

"That's one word for him," Sam muttered, transfixed on the video as he tapped his foot along to the beat of the music, impressed by the difference between the video he was watching and the videos the old media team used to create, "This is a masterpiece, the boys'll love it."

Billie had tried her hardest to feature clips of as many of the players as possible in the video. But that was easier said than done, she'd got good clips of the players like Sam, Colin and Isaac, even some of her brother. However, as much as it pained her to admit it, Jamie remained the star of the show, weaving the ball between his feet with ease, scoring goal after goal. It quickly led Billie to the conclusion that Jamie wasn't a typical team player, but rather a showboat.

"I know it's easier said than done, Sam, but when it comes to people like Jamie you can't let him see that he's getting under your skin, that shit's his kryptonite," Billie told him as she took the laptop back.

"I know," Sam sighed, "He's just annoyingly good at it."

"Remember what Coach Lasso said," Billie smiled.

"Be a goldfish," Sam grinned, "Your brother's a good captain, what's it like having him as your brother?"

Billie knew that the question came with no ill intent, Sam was a genuinely lovely person who just wanted to know more about his captain. She was just used to people, especially men using her as a stepping stone to get close to her brother.

"He's great, he always has been," Billie smiled fondly, "And he does a great rendition of Let It Go from Frozen."

"Really?" Sam grinned.

"Mmhmm, but that stays between the two of us, alright?" Billie smirked.

"Of course," Sam nodded.

"Billie," Colin walked into the room, accompanied by Isaac, "The press conference is starting soon."

"Thanks boys," Billie smiled as both players gave her an overly dramatic wink, hinting that the coast was clear.

"You boys have got to watch Billie's video, it's like seeing yourself in a music video," Sam told them both.

"I wouldn't go that far," Billie replied as she turned the laptop to face them as the video began to play, unfamiliar with receiving such high praise for her work.

Once the boys had finished watching the video they gave Billie a subtle nod of approval, Isaac uttering, "That's pretty fucking sick."

"What McAdoo said," Colin added in agreement, "Much better than that shit the last team used to make."

"Glad to hear it, thanks boys," Billie smiled, "Don't let me keep you."

Isaac and Colin slipped out of the room wordlessly, closely followed by Sam who turned to Billie with a beaming smile, "Bye, Billie!"

Billie promptly made her way to the press room, slipping through the side door as she joined Rebecca left of the desk where Coach Lasso sat, camera flashing and journalists shouting a lot of indistinguishable words.

"Have I missed anything?" Billie whispered to Rebecca as she scanned the sea of reporters for Alfie.

"Nothing worth repeating," Rebecca sighed.

"Marcus, what you got?" Ted pointed to one of the reporters who stood up in response.

"How are you feeling about taking on Crystal Palace this weekend?" Marcus asked.

"A palace made out of crystal seems mighty fragile if you ask me," Ted remarked, causing the journalists to laugh.

"Yeah, right there," Ted pointed into the crowd again as the journalists erupted in indistinct chatter.

"Trent Crimm, The Independent," The man introduced himself, a man who Billie knew that her brother despised for one very specific reason.

"Oh, I remember, Trent," Ted grinned.

"He has great hair," Billie whispered to Rebecca.

"Coach Lasso?" Rebecca whispered back.

"No, Trent Crimm." Billie smirked.

"I'm just curious, could you explain the offside rule?" Trent asked.

"Well, Trent, I'm gonna put it the same way the US Supreme Court did back in 1964 when they defined pornography," Ted remarked, stunning the room into silence, "It ain't easy to explain, but you know it when you see it."

"Strong answer."

"You sir, third row," Ted smiled, pointing at Alfie.

"Alfie Sykes, The Guardian," Alfie nodded, glancing briefly at Billie, "Can we expect any changes to Richmond's usual starting lineup this weekend now that you've had the chance to work. with the team?"

"Well, Alfie, as Bruno Mars once said, There's not a thing that I would change," Ted replied succinctly, "Who's next? This gentleman right here."

"Ernie Lounds, The Sun," The reporter replied, "This question's for Miss Mannion."

"It's Welton," Rebecca quipped as she approached the front of the room.

"Of course, my apologies," The man replied, even though Billie could tell it lacked genuity, "Any thoughts on the newest Rupert girl?"

"Uh well, Rupert and I are no longer together, so...he may consort with whatever model-actress, actress-model he pleases," Rebecca answered.

"No, the girl who came forward today is another one who was with Rupert while you were married," Ernie replied, knocking Rebecca for six, "She says it started five years ago, and they kept it going until, well, still."

"Oh," Rebecca shrugged her shoulders as cameras continued to flash, "And all this time I thought men couldn't multitask."

"I'm afraid that's all we have time for," Billie added as she addressed the room, concluding that Rebecca and Ted would want to vacate that hostile environment as promptly as possible.

"Thank you so much," Rebecca nodded before quickly exiting the room, leaving Ted and Billie equally stunned.

Billie took it upon herself to follow the club owner out of the room, but by the time she had reached the corridor, Rebecca had vanished, no doubt retreating to the safety of her office.

"Billie," She turned around to see Jamie walking towards her, "Can I have a word?"

"What is it?" Billie sighed, folding her arms across her chest.

"You didn't post any pictures of me on the club's Instagram last night," Jamie replied as though it were some sort of colossal crisis, "I got the ones you sent me, they were sick, but I wanted to know why I ain't on the team's feed."

"You're one of twenty, Jamie," Billie reminded him, "I just didn't choose you to be in last night's post, that's all."

"You don't like me, do you?" Jamie frowned with a smile, "Everybody loves me so I can tell when someone doesn't."

"My brother painted a vivid enough picture of why I should steer clear of you, Tartt." Billie remarked.

"That old man doesn't know shit about me," Jamie retorted, quick to defend his reputation once Roy Kent had been thrown into the mix, "Anything he's said is bullshit."

"Your actions speak for themselves, you walk around the place like you own it, just because your foot was kissed by God it does not give you a free pass to treat everyone else like shit." Billie rambled, barely stopping to breathe.

"You think my foot was kissed by God?" Jamie smirked, pursing his lips, frustrating Billie that he thought that was the most important part of what she had said.

"Fuck me, you're insufferable." Billie rolled her eyes before turning to walk away.

"Wait a minute," Jamie called out, stopping her in her tracks, "I'll pay you to do a shoot that's just me."

"How much?" Billie raised her eyebrows, grateful for the extra cash, intrigued by just how eager Jamie was to boost his social brand.

"Seven grand?" Jamie offered, which Billie could hardly say no to, given her financial situation, that could easily cover her rent for some time.

"Deal," Billie sighed, "But, you've got to promise to stop being such a prick to Nate and Sam."

"It's just banter, relax," Jamie huffed.

"Do you want that photoshoot?" Billie raised her eyebrows.

"Fine," Jamie sighed.

"Billie," She looked past Jamie to see Alfie walking towards them both, "How's it going?"

"Good," Billie nodded awkwardly, "Alfie this is Jamie, Jamie this is Alfie."

"Bils, I know who he is," Alfie smirked, given that he was a sports' journalist so it was part of the job to recognise all the Premier League players, "It's good to meet you."

"I know," Jamie nodded with his usual egotistical smirk before glancing at Billie, "I'll see you around, Kent."

Billie and Alfie watched as Jamie made his way down the corridor, disappearing into the locker room as the pair exchanged a knowing look, "Well he's really quite something."

"He's just offered to pay me seven grand for a photoshoot," Billie told Alfie, "Seems pretty focused on building his personal brand."

☆ ☆ ☆

"We are moments away from Crystal Palace facing AFC Richmond and their new manager, Ted Lasso. While on the pitch all eyes will surely be on young phenom, Jamie Tartt."

Billie wasn't exactly sure what to expect of the match against Crystal Palace, the last match she'd attended was when Chelsea played Arsenal at the start of the season. It was an effort to paper over the cracks of the last cheating rumour when Bradley was pictured leaving a nightclub with a young woman following his win in Liverpool. Any match she'd ever attended she'd been sat up in the director's box with other family members or girlfriends, never in the stands among the fans, so to be on the sidelines of the pitch for the duration of the match was a daunting prospect.

"You ready for your first match, Coach?" Billie smiled as she appeared in the doorway to his office, the locker room remaining a hive of activity.

"As ready as we can be, kiddo," Ted smiled, looking up from his laptop to see her dressed in low rise tracksuit bottoms and a white t-shirt with an AFC Richmond team jacket she had acquired when she spoke with Higgins, "Heck, it's Sporty Spice!"

"Figured I'd need to look the part if I'm taking pictures from the sidelines today," Billie smiled, leaning against the doorframe.

"It's good!" Ted assured her, admiring her ability to adapt herself for the task at hand, "I should probably get those boys ready, is Sam's surprise ready?"

"Yeah," Billie nodded, "The boys are out in the corridor with it."

"Perfect," Ted smiled before making his way out into the locker room; "Alright, fellas, here we go, here we go, Coach, you got any last words?"

"Speed on the outside," Beard replied.

"Speed on the outside, you heard the man," Ted repeated as Billie joined the team in the room now that all the boys were dressed in their kits, "That's all we got for you, except for one thing, and that's Happy Birthday Sam!"

The room erupted in applause as Richard and Bumbercatch wheeled in a trolley with balloons tied to it and a perfectly decorated birthday cake as the centrepiece, along with a bag of gifts.

"Eh, Babatunde's the best!" Sam laughed as one of the boys handed him a framed collage and gift bag.

"Good job, Coach," Billie grinned as she stood beside Ted, offering him a quick fist bump.

"Hey, man, you guys got me Chin Chin," Sam smiled as he looked through the bag of gifts, "Wow, this is all I used to eat growing up."

"We know you haven't been home in a while, so we thought we'd bring some home to you," Ted explained.

"You guys, man," Sam smiled fondly as the room proceeded to clap for him.

Billie watched as Ted made his way over to Sam, she had already offered him her birthday wishes that morning. She had made a post on the club's Instagram for the occasion with some photos of him in training so it felt odd not to mention it in person.

She decided to take a seat beside her brother on the bench as he laced his boots, letting out a heavy sigh as he noticed her presence, "You got some wisdom to offer me, Billie-Bop?"

"You've not called me that since I was ten," Billie rolled her eyes at him with a smile, hoping that Jamie who was sitting on her right wouldn't have overheard.

"You look the part, I wonder how long it'd take till we see you in a football shirt," Roy remarked as he focused his gaze on his boots.

"I've worn a football shirt dozens of times, I wear a Chelsea shirt everytime Brad plays and there are loads of pictures of me at your matches when we were younger," Billie insisted, "Mum's probably still got that shirt I wore at your first England match."

"Don't let her flog it on Ebay, it'll be worth a decent amount," Roy sighed.

"Give me a fucking break." She heard Jamie mutter, expecting it to be in response to her conversation with Roy, but as she turned to respond to him she saw that he was instead talking to Ted and Sam, "Sorry, Coach."

She watched as the striker stood up from the bench and left the room, no doubt on his way to the nearest mirror to preen and prepare himself for the cameras on the pitch.

"Alright, fellas, let's get out there and show Crystal Palace whose house this is, right?" Ted clapped his hands together.

Billie had her camera around her neck, along with her disposable camera in her pocket, saved for any gold dust moments. She watched as the team filed out of the locker room before joining Nate as he struggled with the baskets of water bottles.

"You good, Nate?" Billie smiled.

"I'm alright," He nodded, not entirely sure of what else to say on the matter.

"Come on," Billie replied, picking up one of the crates to make his life easier, "We're a team, aren't we?"

"I don't think those boys see me as part of their team, Billie," Nate admitted as the pair made their way out towards the pitch.

"Without the kitman there's not a team, Nate," Billie assured him, "You keep their kits fresh, their boots clean, their bottles full, it's not your fault they tend to act like petulant children who've never done a day of real work, I promise you that if they went one day without you, they'd lose their minds."

"Thank you, Billie," Nate smiled, "No one here's ever been so nice to me, not since you and Ted arrived."

"Who's been giving you grief?" Billie asked as they reached the tunnel, even though she knew the answer.

"Isaac and Colin, because Jamie tells them to," Nate told her in defeat, "He reminds me too much of those bullies in the playground at school."

"The ones who put gum in your hair and show your brother's biggest faux pas on the classroom projector in free periods?" Billie replied only to be met with a blank stare from Nate, "Niche experience, I realise."

The match could've gone worse, that was a given, Richmond could've lost ten-nil instead of four-one, but it wasn't exactly the showcase that Ted had in mind for his debut match. Billie had managed to get a reasonable amount of photos of the team throughout the match, also capturing the fans' jubilation after Jamie Tartt's goal. She hated to admit it, but hearing the way the crowd reacted to that goal gave her chills.

"Richmond looked disjointed, uninspired and you have to say, joyless, Palace win and Richmond lose four-one," Arlo White's voice played out from the TV as the team returned to the locker room, Nate and Billie trailing behind the rest of the team, "The only bright spot being the defensive play of Sam Obisanya."

"Only bright spot?" Jamie retorted as he walked towards the TV, "Without me it would've been four-nil, you miserable old pricks."

"And a meaningless consolation goal for Jamie Tartt in injury time," Chris Powell added.

"Thank you!" Jamie exclaimed towards the screen.

"Jamie, real quick!" Ted gestured for the star player to join him in the office. Beard promptly left the office, closing the door behind him once Jamie was on the other side.

"I'm assuming that wasn't the birthday match you had in mind?" Billie smiled as she took a seat beside Sam on the bench.

"It wasn't our best, but I'm just happy to be here, playing in the Premier League against all those incredible teams," Sam assured her with a genuine glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"You wanna see something cool?" Billie asked as turned her camera back on and opened the camera roll, flicking to a photo of the crowd when Sam blocked what would've been a fifth goal from Crystal Palace, "This was when you stopped Gallagher scoring that goal in the eightieth minute."

"That's amazing, Billie," Sam grinned as his eyes remained fixed on the photo, "Could you send me a copy so I can send it to my Dad, I think he'd like to see that."

"Of course, I'll edit it this evening then send it to you before I do the post-match photo post, and this one's definitely going in there," Billie assured him, her eyes flitting over to the office door as Jamie made his way back out into the locker room, "He might be a prick, but there's about twenty thousand people in that stadium who think you're fucking great, you remember that, alright?"

"That was fucking embarrassing!" Roy shouted as he took a water bottle from Nate and slammed it onto the floor.

"Oh, I am equally livid," Nate added in agreement before elbowing the window in the office door, smashing it in the process.

"That's new," Billie smirked.

"Good lad." Roy nodded before returning to his seat on the bench.

"Oh my God," Nate looked at Billie in disbelief, "What did I just do?"

Billie replied wordlessly, offering him a thumbs up before making her way out of the locker room and back to her office to get started on sorting through photos from the match. She had ninety minutes worth of content to sift through before she could even think about editing the best ones. The photo of the crowd after Sam's defending in the eightieth was easily her favourite, but a photo of Jamie with his hands to his ears after his goal was a close second. She didn't like that it was Jamie showboating as per usual, she just liked the composition of the image and the way the floodlights perfectly framed him.

She'd been in the office for about half an hour when her phone buzzed with a text from Ted, telling her that the team were coming together to share Sam's cake. She closed her laptop and left her camera in her bag, taking her disposable one instead as she left the office.

As she walked out of the office she noticed Jamie walking along the corridor towards the exit, "You not a fan of cake?"

"Not when we just lost four-one," Jamie huffed, like the failure lay with everyone else except himself.

"It's for Sam's birthday, not for losing the match," Billie reminded him, "They're your team."

"But I'm the only one who actually scored a goal, they were too busy conceding four easy goals," Jamie told her, seemingly convinced that the fault lay with everyone else.

"I might not know much about this game, but I know that you've got a far better chance of actually winning if you start acting like you're part of a team," Billie told him.

"Billie," Jamie stepped closer to the girl, leaving about a foot between them, "Why don't you just focus on what your own boyfriend's doing on and off the pitch and I'll worry about my game, alright?"

Billie hated to admit it but it stung to know that someone like Jamie knew what Brad had been up to. It also hurt to think that he had seen those headlines, the same headlines that everyone had seen, and no doubt thought so little of her for staying with a man like Bradley Barker.

"I don't get paid enough for this shit," Billie scoffed, brushing past him and heading for the locker room.

"Photoshoot on Monday, yeah?" Jamie called out as Billie simply replied with a middle finger over her shoulder.

As much as Billie hated to admit it, she needed that money, of course the wages at Richmond were more than decent, but that seven grand from Jamie Tartt's bank account would be a big help in paying off her sizable student loan. She might've been the younger sister of a Premier League star, but she had no intention of sponging off of her brother, not when he'd already gone out of his way to secure her the job she was slowly growing to enjoy.