She was sweating.
Her eyes were burning holes at the table in front of her, the suit she had bought suddenly felt so hot and she felt like she was sticking out like a sore thumb.
I mean, she was. She's the only girl in here. And by here, I mean the draft.
Like, yes, there were mothers, sisters, girlfriends, wives or whatever the hell these women's relationships to the players are but she was here because... she was here because she was in the draft. She was here as a player.
And it was weird because she's 5'10" at most. She's again, a girl and she's convinced she and her family are the only British people here.
Plus, she's not even sure she'll get selected.
"With the 19th pick in the 2019 NBA draft, the Los Angeles Lakers select..."
The words hang in the air and she doesn't even bother listening. She'll never get on that stage. She'll never wear a hat and play for a team. She's only here because her dad got her in the draft. She was only here because of her name. Otherwise, she'll still be in college playing basketball because she wanted to.
"Perrie Edwards."
And just like that her world had turned upside down. At first she didn't get why her dad was suddenly hugging her so tight, why her sister was squealing and jumping up and down. She didn't get why her mother was seconds away from bursting into a sob.
She's... she was drafted. She was chosen.
"I'm proud of you." Her father whispers, still holding her close to his chest as the spotlight finally landed on their table. Then she was up on her feet, dazed with all of her senses heightened as she approached the stage.
She could feel the eyes on her. She could practically hear the grown men beginning to type shit about her online. She could feel the confusion some of the crowd was emitting. Most of all, she already knows that this was probably a publicity stunt with who her dad is and all, which sucks, obviously.
But then, she feels pride swell in her chest. She could see the little girls watching this with their dads thinking they could do this as well. She could hear the roaring crowd cheer her on as she put on the hat, shaking the commissioner's hand as they posed for the photo.
At that point, it didn't matter anymore. She didn't give a shit at what people were about to say. She was here, she did it not just because of her dad and she had a point to prove.
-
"Edwards! We don't pay you to hog the coolers!" Coach Vogel yells with a bit of mirth as Perrie stands by the coolers, still deciding what flavor she is going to get when she releases a chuckle, "I won Rookie of The Year, I can do whatever the hell I want!"
The coach laughs, then she hears footsteps approach her. Ruffling her hair was her teammate, who was, you know, obviously taller than her, giving her an impressed smile, "You grew a spine. Last year you barely even talked to us."
"I also averaged 20 a game last season. 27 on the finals." She adds, just to prolong the joke when Anthony laughs, "And you're being cocky now, too!"
You see, being a woman in a team full of men, hell, being a woman in a man's sport is a lot. If you thought the superstars who get consistently shit on had to work ten times as hard then she has to double that because she's also a woman.
It hurts, yeah, of course it does, but then again she knew she had a point to prove the moment she first stepped on court.
Her first game was against the favored Phoenix team. They were down by 21, their superstar was down and there was approximately 2 minutes left. They were expected to lose and to not even make the playoffs.
Well, that was until she was subbed in.
She took every shot, every opportunity to steal, every block and defended like hell. She only missed one shot - then proceeded to rebound it herself and throw it in for a score and a foul.
Suddenly, it was the Suns down by 4 with barely a second left.
Suddenly, they were in the playoffs and she was the star of the team. And even when their superstar got back and healthy, her position didn't change and she was still proving to everyone that she belonged here.
"I have every right to." She finally replies and the man sighs, slumping on the bench as she opens the cap of her bottle, "I know. That's why your contract got extended."
With a smirk, she made sure their general manager was around to hear the next thing she was going to say, "Are you sure it's not because TV ratings skyrocketed since I got here?"
Looking up from his phone, Harry picks up a towel and throws it at her, "Say that again and I'll trade you to the Kings."
"I would rather retire."
Harry was right around her age, maybe a bit older but they're not that far off. He wasn't even supposed to have this job but he was the reason she got picked by this team and another trade that secured them a finals win that they kept him.
"Nobody's retiring. Edwards, they want you in the front office." And there he was. The crown jewel of the team. LeBron James walked towards the court with so much dominance. Like he owned it. And he did.
The blonde furrows her eyebrows, "Me?" She asks, jabbing a finger to her chest as he rolls his eyes. "No, they actually want Brodie — of course, you."
He wasn't an ass, he's actually like her dad while she's here. But there's days where he's off and she gets that.
"He's getting grumpy." She whispers, downing the rest of her drink and throwing it to the trash when Anthony sighs, "Pardon him, he's nearly 40."
She flashes him a grin, doing their little handshake as a sign of goodbye before walking towards the lockers, which were slightly altered for her. She was given a special one where only she had access to. She takes a quick shower, discards her jersey and goes out wearing a hoodie.
The office was pristine, obviously. The staff was either making sure deals were done, flights and hotels were booked, tickets were secured and, well, some of them were cleaning up messes some players created.
She knocks on the receptionist's desk, flashing her ring she had gotten from the previous championship. She knew them, their name was Florence if she wasn't mistaken.
"I was told I was needed?" She smiles sweetly at the blonde who doesn't even bother looking at her, too busy typing, "They want you in media relations."
At that, the blonde's body goes rigid, her face pales and her hands suddenly feel cold. "Holy shit... I didn't do anything, did I?" She asks, whispering to the other girl who gives her a shrug, "Wouldn't know."
Knowing that she wasn't getting any answers from her, she thanks her and begins walking to the office, "Fuck." She mumbles, wracking her head for anything she had possibly done.
She opens the door to the office, her head hung low, still wondering why she was even called here.
Was it a tweet? An Instagram story? Something she said in the press?
"Perrie, take a seat." Her manager's voice says sweetly and she finally looks up. Inside was her manager, the media relations guy, the chief communications manager and two girls she wasn't familiar with.
"Tom, you better tell me what I did before I burst into tears." She whispers tensely and the guy laughs, "You did nothing, don't worry."
That somehow relieves her, making her slump back in her seat.
"You're probably wondering why we called you here." The communications manager for the entire league, Alvin, was his name, maybe, she doesn't know, asks her, "I'm not in trouble, right?"
"No, no, don't worry. Your record is clean." He replies with a laugh, hoping to make a good impression to the player who nods, "Thank god."
"You're here to meet your new girlfriend." Their media guy says out of the blue and suddenly her eyes were bulging out of her head. Did she just hear that right?
"Excuse me, my new what?" She asks incredulously, her mouth had gone dry as she watched the two unfamiliar women in front of her. The one with black hair was smiling, looking at her with soft eyes. She seems sweet.
The other girl, however, was biting her lip, her knuckles were white and she was convinced she's just about to claw Perrie's eyes out.
Smiling, Tom pats her back before gesturing to the second girl, "Perrie, this is Jade Thirlwall. She'll be your girlfriend from now on."
And just like that, her world was upside down... again.