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Emmy Parker. Of all the requests Jamie’s team had filtered these days, this one actually had him buzzin'. She was good; people came to her, not the other way around. She didn’t concern herself with unserious people, and somehow Jamie had landed himself on that shortlist. He knew he had to say yes even though he felt grossly inadequate and a bit like an imposter. He had only recently got his shit together with the help of Ted, Dr. Sharon, the lads, and primarily one Roy fucking Kent. He wasn’t immune to the chatter surrounding his meteoric rise the talking heads went on and on about. Several months ago, he might have been an afterthought, but here he was. Night after night, compared to Zava, Haaland, and Mbappe, fucking mental.
He owed it all to one person. For once in his life, Jamie had everything he wished he had when he was a younger. Everything his mum would have scraped by to give him had she lived to see it. He had a sound support system, friends who were more like family, and he had love, at least a version of it that would do for now. None of that depended on how many euros were in his bank account or if he decided to walk away from it all. And at the times when he didn’t quite believe that, Dr. Sharon would reel him back in from the deep end. Reel him in from his father’s voice that tried too hard to silence the others in his mind.
“Jamie, we’re ready for you,” the PA, Julie, said, ushering him out of makeup and onto the set.
He supposed it was designed to look cozy, put him at ease to bear his soul, a reasonable effort even if all for naught. Jamie didn’t take himself too seriously these days, and he felt entirely out of his depth being interviewed by Emmy fucking Parker, even with his PR team seated just a few meters away.
Emmy was more gorgeous in person. Effortlessly stunning and ready to get down to business, Jamie observed.
“Thank you for accepting this interview. We're so happy to have you here. We can stop anytime for any reason; want you comfortable, yeah?” Emmy said with a smile.
“Of course, thank you for having me. I feel honored, truly,” Jamie responded in kind.
Off in the short distance, he could hear people shouting commands and readying the lights and cameras. He wished again for the fourth time that day that Roy had come with him and then chided himself for leaning on Roy for every little thing. Adopting Collin’s mantra for a moment, he believed he was a strong, capable man; he just wanted one other very strong, capable man at his side for this moment and every significant moment, really. One day he might have the courage to say that. Right now, he’d need to focus.
“And we’re rolling,” a voice said in the distance.
We’re joined today by a man who has taken the football by storm. At just 26 years old, he’s at the center of every conversation regarding top awards and his inevitable place on the national team, and his central role in bringing AFC Richmond back from the abyss. The team a former permanent fixture in the bottom 10, now firmly in the hunt to win it all. Jamie Tartt, welcome to the show.
Wow. That was wow. Thank you for having me. It’s a great honor. However, I think you’ve given me entirely too much credit.
Let’s dive into it, Jamie; you’re native to Manchester?
I am, born and raised. We moved around a bit in council housing, but Manchester has always been home.
In recent years there’s been a few stories coming out about your family and your upbringing. What was life like for young Jamie Tartt growing up?
Yeah, there’s lots of things I would’ve preferred to keep private, but that ain’t always how it goes, yeah? Life for me as a young lad was hard. As you might know, me mum passed away when I was seven. I don’t remember much, but I know she was lovely and kind. She made me feel like I could do anything if I wanted to. She’s the one that got me my first football and played with me at the park when she could, when she wasn’t working. She was a big footie fan, from what I remember.
Her team?
Chelsea.
And your, Dad, was he a fan?
Yeah, he was, is. His happiest moments, which were ultimately mine, was watching City play. It’s the only time I had peace other than on the pitch in those early years.
Has your relationship with your dad always been... complex?
I’d say so. After me mum passed, he was left to raise a little boy on his own. I couldn’t imagine that would've been easy. I understand that now as an adult who’s had a lot of therapy. I know I might get shit for admitting that, but it’s true. I have. What I can’t understand is everything else that followed.
The abuse?
Yeah. No child deserves that. We didn’t have much, for reasons. He struggled with his vices and whatnot, but it wasn’t my fault. In many ways, I think being good at football saved my life. He saw I had talent and could be a ticket to something better. He laid off me then.
How was life when you were selected to go to the academy?
Much better. I knew it was my chance, whatever that was. The staff was friendly enough and only severe to herd little energetic boys around long enough to focus. I worked really hard and pushed me'self to be better at every training. Somehow as a kid, I knew what was on the line.
And what was that?
Not to be dramatic, but it was life or death—a new life of possibility, or death at my father's hands for God knows what reason.
But here you are. You, Jamie Tartt. You soared quickly to the top. How did that feel? Years of dedication, training, paying off. You’re a young man in the Premier League signed with a hefty contract, was it everything you’d hoped and dreamed for?
Yes and no. It meant stability. I had more money than I’d ever seen, way too much for one fucking person, sorry, but it was a lot. I knew I’d be dead smart with it. Seen too much growing up. Got people around me who knew how to manage it properly. But I was still a young twat with a big checkbook and no real support system, family who meant well, or anything like that. Those first few years, I lost two accountants because I wanted to help the people I was told to.. people my dad told me to help. I nearly got injured, and the one accountant that had stuck around, Jim, gave me my first bit of fatherly advice. I realized that I wasn’t invincible and the money would run out much faster at the rate I was going. Jim tied things up and set boundaries for me that made sense, and I haven’t had to worry since. It pissed off my Dad and his friends, if you could call them that, of course, but what didn’t.
Must’ve been a hard lesson to learn?
It was. I wasn’t accustomed to saying no, but it was the right decision. My teammates, the ones I got a little closer with, helped me to see that.
You’ve been in several locker rooms; how have the dynamics been different from club to club?
I don’t know that it’s really the club as much as it’s been me changing. I’m not the man I was a few years ago. I was a right prick, and probably still am, but I'm trying, yeah? Each club has its culture, and the tone is set at the top. I’ve been lucky with leaders who care both about the sport, but more so, the players.
Ted Lasso. We could stop right there. But of course, we won't. How has his leadership impacted you, especially at this phase in your career?
Well, that’s a loaded question, innit? Ted is the father figure I never had. Our relationship started rocky, but he cut through all my bullshit, sorry, and helped me. He cared. It’s not the quote-on-quote traditional way of doing things, but there’s not a person that’s played for him or worked with him that could say he doesn’t care. Ted Lasso is a good man and saved me from me'self. Him, Ms. Welton, Roy, and Coach Beard, the team behind the team, they all did. People have it wrong when they think that I’ve done something magical-like with a football and we’re suddenly higher in the rankings for it. I didn’t. I didn’t do anything alone. I’d be nothing without the team and everybody who shows up every day for us to be better. AFC Richmond is the home I never had.
A ringing endorsement for a club on the rise?
It’s just the truth, Ms. Parker.
You’ve mentioned in previous interviews about a constant in your life, a person you’ve always admired. Tell us about that.
He’s not going to like this. Not because he’s a prick, but because he hates attention of any sort, which is fucking bizarre if you’re Roy fucking Kent. Sorry for the language.
It’s alright, Jamie, go ahead.
But yeah, me mum loved Chelsea, so I loved Chelsea, and you can’t love Chelsea without loving Roy Kent. Early on at the academy, after his intensity on the pitch, all you heard about was his work ethic and discipline. He’s known for his speed, every fucking where yeah, but his mastery of the fundamentals and speed makes him a legend.
How was it playing with your hero when you came to Richmond?
Sorry, I don’t mean to laugh at that. Roy being Roy and me not being an entirely reformed prick yet, yeah? It was brutal. We drove each other mental, and I’ll take the credit for most of it. But like most things at Richmond, they sorted themselves out. We grew as a team, I grew as a person, and Roy saw that, I think. Saw me trying, I mean.
We've heard you credit Roy for your success and growth these past few years. Has him taking you under his wings and molding you into a phenom the key to your success?
Roy would take issue with that. Even though that’s how I might have put it, he would say you can’t mold what isn’t there. I still agree with you; Roy, like Ted, has changed my life in so many ways. He’s the most caring human, outside of Ted, I’ve ever met.
Roy Kent?
Yeah.
The Roy Kent? The most caring; you've got to explain.
He is, honest. He’s kind, thoughtful, considerate, caring, and intelligent; he reads a lot, and the man’s brilliant about most things. He could have his own catering business outside of football if he wanted, feeding everybody. Everything he cooks is amazing. Food is his love language, if that’s a thing. Takes care of his family and the team, and he took care of me when he had no reason to. I treated him and everyone poorly when I first got to Richmond. He had no reason to overlook all that, any of it, but he did.
You light up when you talk about him.
It’s hard not to.
What’s next for you, Jamie?
I hope for many more years in football and doing something good with the Tartt Foundation. Helping kids who were like I was, figure it all out much sooner with the help of a solid support system.
And what of love, Jamie? Is that in your future?
I hope so, Ms. Parker.
Thank you, Jamie. I can’t say that I’ve appreciated a guest as much as I appreciate you.
******
The feedback from the interview was overwhelmingly positive, bar the commentary from a few Twitter trolls. People used words like raw, honest, endearing, sad, and extraordinary, which made him feel mostly good. He hadn’t intended to go so deep right away, but he had processed so much with Dr. Sharon over the year. It felt like being honest might help someone somewhere.
What he hadn’t anticipated was the clips doing rounds and think pieces on him and Roy. He didn’t say anything wrong per se; he just didn’t school his expressions as well as he should’ve talking about Roy. Colin had called him a besotted fool. Whatever the fuck that was.
Roy simply said he did good and that his words would mean a lot to the kids they would help in the Tartt Foundation. Jamie couldn’t imagine doing it without Roy.
“You sure it was okay?” Jamie asked one night after Roy had made them dinner and brought over a few things from TF to review.
“You did great, Jamie.”
“I had hoped you could’ve made it,” Jamie said, sipping his water.
“I’m kind of glad I didn’t,” Roy responded, revealing nothing.
“Oh, well, I know you don’t like those sort of things,” Jamie allowed out. The thought of Roy not wanting to support him, even in one little thing, hurt more than it should.
“Jamie, it’s not that,” Roy cleared his throat before continuing.
“I’m so damn proud of you. It was good. But I wouldn’t have been able to hold back, being there with you.”
“What do you mean, Roy?” Jamie asked, thoroughly confused.
Rounding the corner and taking Jamie’s hands in his own, “If you light up Jamie, what the fuck do you think people would say with my uncharacteristically radiant arse beaming like a proper idiot in the background,” Roy rasped.
"They would know, Jamie."
Roy released their interwined hands only to wrap them around Jamie, pressing his lips against Jamie’s hairline. Jamie’s arms found themselves tightly around Roy. Jamie was engulfed in warmth and sandalwood, and love. This had to be love.
“What do you think about the Tartt-Kent Foundation?” Jamie mumbled into to solid of Roy’s chest.
Roy unlaced his arms to lift Jamie’s chin, looking at him with fresh eyes.
“You’d want that?” Roy asked, tucking a few loose hair strands behind Jamie’s ear.”
“More than anything, Roy.”
“Well then,” Roy said taking Jamie’s palm and flipping it over to place a kiss on the inside.
“Let's see about changing your name first then, yeah?” Roy said, pulling Jamie into him.
“Yeah, first things first and all that.”
This was love and so much more.