Trying to Hate the Player: A Sweet Romantic Comedy (Love on the Court Book 2)

by Tia Souders

  Sure, he did. Never mind the knife twisting in her back. Why couldn’t he mind his own business? Was this really over his concern for the team? Or because he’d lost? Maybe she should inform Bannon of his inappropriate advances. But that would just make Jinny seem even more like a liability, like it was all her fault. The blame would surely fall on her lap because she was the woman.

  “Dean will be fine. He’s just being an overprotective brother,” she said. “He’s never liked anyone I’ve dated.”

  Bannon shook his head. “Regardless, we cannot have the situation persist. Even if tensions with the team fades, we can’t have your personal bias or preferences interfere with your ability as a professional. Not to mention, seeing as how Emmett was the one to provide us with a recommendation on your behalf prior to your hire—”

  “He what?”

  Jinny blinked. Did she hear them right? Emmett had been the one to refer her for the job?

  “Yes, and you can see how that might look with the two of you now dating.”

  Jinny’s stomach churned, and her thoughts swirled as she stifled a groan. This looked bad. Why would he not tell her he had provided a reference for her job? Now they probably thought he only did so because they were seeing each other prior to her being hired. It was the furthest thing from the truth, but they’d never believe her now.

  “We don’t believe in making personal life choices for our staff,” Bannon continued. “That’s why we’re letting you choose. You can either stop seeing Hall, or we can provide you with a great letter of recommendation for whatever alternative career path in physical therapy you choose to pursue.”

  Jinny’s stomach sunk. So, that was it? Either choose Emmett—a brand new, uncertain relationship—or choose her career? It wasn’t even a choice. Choosing Emmett was like buying a lottery ticket and then quitting your job because you were so sure you would win. It would be senseless, reckless, even. They had only just begun.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid. She knew better than to get involved with him. Set aside the fact that he wasn’t the arrogant jerk she had thought, how dumb was she to ignore the fact that he was her patient? Getting involved with him should’ve been off-limits from the start. And it was. Until something between them shifted. Somewhere on the road from Pittsburgh to Vegas, things had changed between them, and what had been a spark of attraction turned into something deeper.

  She hesitated a moment, trying to find her voice and the energy to speak. A monumental effort, considering she felt drained. “I’ll speak to him. If it’s okay with you, sir, I’d also like to transfer his care to another therapist.”

  What was she saying? Her heart screamed at her to find another way. But this was her dream. Her livelihood.

  “I think that’s very wise. And it shows your dedication to the job. Thank you, Miss Kimball. I guess we’re done here,” Bannon said.

  “Um, if it’s okay. I might go home for the day.”

  She clutched her stomach. It roiled, an unexpected nausea bubbling up her throat. She pressed her fingers to her lips then muttered, “I’m not feeling so well.”

  “No problem.” Bannon nodded and flashed her a sympathetic smile.

  Jinny sat in the boardroom until they’d left. Silence surrounded her, providing her little comfort. When she finally mustered the energy to stand, she grabbed her coffee cup with shaking hands and exited, only to have Gabe approach her.

  “Jinny, I’m sorr—”

  “Save it,” she snapped, holding her hand out. She didn’t want to hear his lousy excuses. She was done with him. She’d only put up with him before because they were coworkers. She wanted to be professional, but any kindness she’d had to offer before was gone.

  She headed straight to the waiting room, where Emmett sat, early for their appointment.

  She took in his royal-blue running shorts, the snug, white t-shirt, and the way his thick hair curled around his ears, and her heart squeezed. Call her a coward, but she couldn’t face him right now. She needed a moment to herself. She needed to process everything that just happened, the fact that she’d looked like a fool in front of the Pumas team members, the coach, the team manager, Gabe…

  Spinning on her heel, she hurried back to her office, where she dialed Gloria, the receptionist, and asked that she cancel her appointments for the day, giving the excuse that she was sick and would be leaving for home.

  CHAPTER twenty-six

  Jinny

  She spent the afternoon driving around the city aimlessly and drinking one too many espressos until her hands shook and her heart was in fits.

  By the time she arrived back at her apartment, her nerves were raw, and she was more on edge than she had been that morning during the meeting. Soon, her caffeine buzz would fade, and a crash would follow. She couldn’t wait.

  She swung open the front door, finding no solace in the bright and cheery exterior. Pushing her way inside, she dropped her purse by the door and was greeted by Callie before she even had her shoes off.

  “What the heck happened?” she asked, blocking her entry into the kitchen. “You got in late last night. I spoke with Dean. He told me about you and Emmett then I tried to call you all day at your office and on your cell. Gloria said you were sick. I was worried.”

  “What are you doing home?” Jinny asked.

  Callie’s expression turned sheepish. “I took the day off. Dean and I are supposed to spend it together.”

  Jinny nodded, wordlessly. When she said nothing, Callie reached out and touched her arm. “Jinny, you’re scaring me. Emmett came—”

  “He’s here?”

  Callie nodded, and Jinny’s gaze shifted behind her, focusing on the leather chair, where Emmett sat, leaning forward with his elbows on his thighs. When his eyes met hers, her heart thumped in her chest.

  “Great,” Jinny mumbled through her tight throat.

  “I’ll give you guys a minute,” Callie said, clearly realizing that whatever was wrong with Jinny had something to do with the man sitting in her living room.

  Jinny took a deep breath and headed toward him. The remnants of coffee buzzed in her veins. Whatever expression she wore must’ve looked ominous, because as she approached, his expression morphed into one of concern.

  She stopped in front of him and cleared her throat, then sunk down into the sofa.

  “What’s going on? Are you sick?” he asked, his gaze traveling over every inch of her, looking for a sign of illness, but she knew he’d find none. All he’d see was her weary, tired eyes.

  “I’ve felt better. But, no, I’m fine.” She took a deep breath, wondering why this was so hard. They’d spent ten days together—three trapped in a car, and seven in Vegas. Her chest shouldn’t feel hollow or her heart heavy. They had barely begun anything, so ending it shouldn’t hurt.

  “I had a meeting with some of the staff today. Swanson, Garrison, and Bannon to be exact,” she said.

  It was better to rip the bandage off fast. It might hurt more initially, but the sting would fade faster in the long run.

  Emmett’s eyes widened. “And?”

  “Why didn’t you tell me that you recommended me for the job?”

  Out of all the things to address first, this was maybe the most irrelevant, but it was the first thing she could force out. Maybe it was the irony of it all. He had accused her of getting the job due to her familial connections. It was what put a wedge between them in the first place. But all along, he had given her a recommendation.

  He raked a hand through his hair and winced. “Are you mad? I only put in a good word because I knew you had already applied. I caught wind of it and thought you deserved it—”

  “It’s fine.” She shook her head then sighed. “I’m not mad. I wish you would’ve told me though. It makes our situation look particularly bad. Like you tried to get me the job just because you had an ulterior motive.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “I know that,” she said, raising her voice. “But Gabe told them abo
ut us...that we’re dating, seeing each other. Who knows what else. He also filled them in as to how angry Dean was.”

  Emmett winced. “Okay, and?”

  “I didn’t deny it. What’s the point? I told them it was probably best that someone else take over your therapy.”

  Emmett nodded, his jaw hardening with the knowledge. “Sure. Yeah, that’s probably for the best. I mean, I want to work with you, but if it means we can be together, then…” He shrugged and reached for her hands. “It’s a small price to pay.”

  His fingers clasped hers, causing a painful thumping in her chest. “You don’t understand. They don’t want us seeing each other.”

  “They can’t tell you what to do with your personal life.”

  “Whether or not it’s legal, I don’t know, but they gave me an ultimatum. I’m six weeks in. I don’t have a leg to stand on or a way to fight them. It’s my job or us.”

  She stood, moving away from him, needing the distance. She needed to breathe without inhaling his spicy cologne, without the warmth of his skin on hers.

  “There has to be a solution.” Emmett shrugged like it was no big deal.

  For the first time since her meeting that morning, Jinny felt a well of anger rise inside of her. “There’s not.”

  “So, we sneak around. We hide it. Now that I’m not your patient anymore, it’ll be so much easier.”

  She stared at him, biting her tongue, saying nothing.

  “Jinny, I promised you nothing would change, and it hasn’t. I still feel the same way about you. I’m not just going to throw this all away because Gabe is a jealous prick that couldn’t stand to see you with me.”

  Jinny chewed the inside of her cheek, thinking about everything Dean said. She thought of the drive down to Vegas, how she saw another side of Emmett. Her thoughts flickered over their week spent together. But one week did not make a solid relationship. One week was nothing.

  “Emmett, I care about you, I do. But we had one good week. Ten days when we weren’t at each other’s throats. We’re just fooling ourselves to think this will work. Just two weeks ago, we couldn’t stand one another. I was intent on getting you to switch therapists on your own, and you were busy goading me, doing everything to get under my skin. It’s just not realistic to risk my career, my dreams, over one week and a change of heart when everything in your past suggests you’ll just get tired of me like all the others and move on. And then what? I’ll be jobless and single?”

  Emmett slammed his fist on the coffee table, making her jump. He shot to his feet and stepped toward her. “I thought you trusted me. I thought I had proved to you that I wasn’t that kind of man.”

  “You did, but—”

  “But what?”

  Jinny’s throat closed. He was asking too much of her, too soon. “I can’t risk everything for something that may or may not work. You have to understand that.”

  He nodded, his jaw hard. “Sure. We’re not worth it.”

  “Emmett, I didn’t—”

  “So, you just give up? Just like that? Maybe it’s new, but I’m falling for you.” He reached out and grasped her hands. “Jinny, I’ve never felt this way before about anyone. And if there’s even a chance you’re feeling the way I am, and I know that you are, we can’t just throw this away.”

  She turned her head. “Don’t make this harder than it needs to be,” she whispered.

  “Tell me you don’t feel the same way, and I’ll go.”

  “Emmett…”

  “Say it.”

  “I think you should leave.” Her words fell, heavy and leaden between them.

  A moment passed before Emmett dropped her hands and stepped away. “What if your job weren’t the issue? What if none of that mattered?”

  “But it does.”

  “What if it didn’t? What if they told you they knew, but they didn’t care?”

  “Then everything would be different. We wouldn’t be having this conversation. But that’s not reality.”

  Emmett stared at her. She could all but see the wheels spinning, and she had no idea what he was thinking, but she knew there was no way out of this. They couldn’t wish away their circumstances, and sneaking around behind the team’s back was a weak plan and a very temporary solution that would eventually blow up in their face.

  She couldn’t risk all the long nights studying for her exams, the years just scraping by at her residency in order to gain experience. All the hard work, her dreams, would be for nothing. And for what? A chance at love? She didn’t even know if they could get there. She didn’t even know if Emmett was capable.

  She needed to end this and end it now. No leading Emmett on. As long as she was the team’s physical therapist and he was a Puma, he was off-limits.

  She pressed a hand to his forearm, trying to ignore the flex of muscle beneath her hand or the current of electricity coursing between them. “This thing between us, whatever it was, or whatever it could’ve been, is over. Better for it to end now, rather than later when one of us could get crushed.” More specifically, her.

  ∞∞∞

  Jinny strode into the kitchen and nearly went straight back to her bedroom when she spotted Dean standing at the breakfast counter, his arms wrapped around her best friend. Double standard much?

  Never mind. She was strong, independent, and unafraid of confrontation.

  And angry. Anger helped.

  She stormed into the kitchen and grabbed her travel mug from the dishrack, slammed it on the counter, then poured steaming hot coffee into it before tightening the lid. She wondered if it was hot enough to give third-degree burns, because dumping it over her brother’s head sounded pretty good right about now.

  She took a sip and moved to the refrigerator, where she retrieved a yogurt. When she turned back around, Dean had released Callie from his grubby paws, and all eyes were on her.

  Callie, sensing the tension, smiled a little too brightly. “So, how are you this morning?”

  Jinny sipped her coffee, eyeing them over the rim of her cup. “Just peachy.”

  “It’s Friday,” Callie added.

  “I noticed.”

  Dean cleared his throat. “Hey, uh, Callie and I were going to that new place in Station Square tonight. They’ve got an awesome band playing. We thought maybe you might want to come.”

  Jinny turned her eyes on Dean, burning him with her gaze. “Nope.”

  “Come on,” Callie said.

  “Why? So I can be the third wheel for the millionth time? Oh, poor Jinny, she doesn’t have anyone, so we’ll just drag her along with us wherever we please,” she mocked. “Are you going to invite me when you consummate your marriage? Conceive your first child? Do I get to go on your honeymoon?”

  “Okay, someone’s still bitter,” Dean muttered.

  Jinny stepped forward, eyes narrowed, shoulders back, prepared for a fight.

  It had only been four days since she broke things off with Emmett, but it felt like forever. She was lonely. Work sucked without him. She no longer had appointments with him to secretly anticipate.

  She missed his eyes, his smile, those dimples. She missed their back-and-forth—the way he always seemed to know what she was thinking, despite whatever act she put on.

  “Yeah. You know what? Maybe I am,” Jinny said. “Because when I found out you were in love with Callie, my best friend, I supported you. Sure, maybe I laughed a little at the craziness of it, but I was okay with it. Heck, I was even okay with it when I discovered your stupid fake-boyfriend thing was all a ruse. I went along with it because I’m your sister. That’s what family does for each other.”

  She shoved him in the chest, but he barely budged, so she shoved harder. “I supported Callie, too, because that’s what friends do. Because I wanted to see both of you happy.”

  “My situation was completely different,” he said.

  “No. It really wasn’t. But it’s fine, big bro. No worries. From now on, I’ll be married to my job. You don’t have t
o worry about me falling for the wrong guy because I’m done. Soooo, done.”

  She sauntered out of the kitchen to the sound of Callie pleading for her to come back.

  She felt bad for storming out on her. It wasn’t Callie she was mad at, but if she was engaged to her brother, then they were a package deal.

  Slamming the apartment door behind her, she made her way outside to the rental car she got the week they came back from Vegas. Dean had paid for it in an effort, she suspected, to butter her up.

  As she sunk inside, she thought maybe she’d keep it another million years. Maybe she’d rack up a bill so huge, the car would be hers at the end of it.

  Okay, maybe this wasn’t all Dean’s fault. It was hers, of course. She knew better than to date someone at work, but he still could’ve taken her side. Who knew what the team would’ve said had Dean supported her—went to bat for her—instead of opposing a relationship with Emmett. Maybe they wouldn’t have viewed it as a problem and turned a blind eye.

  Whatever. It didn’t matter.

  She didn’t have a future with Emmett. They were a fleeting thing. Her feelings had already started to fade, she told herself.

  If only she weren’t lying.

  CHAPTER twenty-seven

  Emmett

  Almost ten days had passed since they returned from Vegas. Ten days without seeing Jinny.

  It was killing him.

  If he had known how attached he had grown to her in these six weeks of therapy, of seeing her nearly every day, he would’ve refused to leave her apartment after she broke it off. He would have insisted on making it work.

  Of course, he’d immediately called up Bannon and set up a meeting. He pleaded his case. Told them Dean would come around, but in the end, none of it mattered. They said that if it ended poorly, Jinny would be out of a job.

  For an athlete like him, any indiscretions were a slap on the wrist. They overlooked things. And he knew it was true. It happened all the time. Pro-football players abused their girlfriends, were found with drugs, got DUIs, you name it, and they got away with it. It wasn’t fair. It was a double standard that had always irritated him. Yet there was nothing he could do about it.