3rd & Long

Chapter 16: Facemask

The first sight that greeted Nat when she arrived at the infamous Sofi Stadium was superstar Dustin Haggard's face front and center, right above the entrance.

Good thing I won't be working with him.

It was a little less than a year ago that Nat was last at Sofi. From the look of it, the stadium had hardly changed. Sofi was sleek, modern, and had a certain quality to it that made Nat feel like she was stepping into the future of American football. Though her previous year working at Sofi still brought her painful memories, Nat was nevertheless feeling an excitement bubbling up at the idea of working here once more.

Nat scanned the screen by the entrance that was adorned with the most popular players on the Los Angeles Boars and she was able to pick out a few she recognized. There was the quarterback and a few wide receivers, but while Nat knew their faces, the names that went with them escaped her. In fact, there was only one player whose face was familiar that Nat felt she could confidently name. He was a linebacker who, while not immediately resembling his younger brother, bore a familiarity Nat could notice after staring at him long enough. There was no mistaking it- that was Jerry Bosa's face on the screen.

Thank God he doesn't look that much like Nick.

Nat turned to her left as she heard a man approaching her. He was tall with dark blonde hair cut short and his build seemed to suggest he once worked out a lot. However time had certainly passed, which showed in both his body and his face. The new man was clean shaven and had a few wrinkles near the corners of his eyes. Nat knew he was likely loaded with work and probably didn't have the time nor the desire to maintain his appearance beyond shaving in the morning.

"I'm going to assume you are miss Nataly Casillas. Did I pronounce that right?" The blonde man said to her in a surprisingly enthusiastic tone.

"Yes that's me and yes you did." Nat replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

The man took Nat's extended hand and gave it a light shake. "Awesome. I'm Jackson Tilly." He smiled at Nat putting her minor nerves at ease.

"Are you going to be my supervisor?" Nat asked, returning the smile.

"Yes I will. Don't worry though, we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other and talk. I've got a busy day planned for us. First things first: how about a tour of the place?"

Nat thought about telling him a tour wouldn't be necessary, but she was in no rush to get to her onboarding. "Lead the way boss" Nat threw out, and the two began walking side by side.

As they walked, Nat felt a vibration in her pocket. She glanced quickly and saw it was from Stef:

Stef: Let me know when you're done with your first day! I'm getting wine and face masks for tonight.

Nat put the phone away without her new boss noticing. It was now March and the 2022 season was behind her. Teams in the NFA were hard at work preparing for free agency and the upcoming draft. Stef managed to get interviews for the position of team assistant and now she was down to her top two. In a week, she would have to make a decision and then ship out of California, so any time she and Nat could spend together was precious.

Nat made a mental note to get back to Stef later as her new boss began telling her about the Boars' history and the deal made to bring them to Los Angeles. Formerly located in St. Louis, the Boars moved to LA around the time Sofi was being built. It was a difficult decision-making process, but ultimately the NFA decided to have the Boars and Lightning share the new stadium in a way to compromise, though truthfully it left both teams feeling shafted. Nat and Jackson walked through the facility and Jackson made sure to brag about the Boars recent Super Bowl victory. Nat remembered it well since she was working at Sofi the year it happened. The Boars were on fire that season, but once they got their ring, the team went up in ashes, and this year they had a hard time making anything happen.