by Shania Tyler
I could still feel the eyes of everybody on me as I passed them in the lobby, but I was determined not to act any differently than I normally would.
“I’m just heading out for five,” I called to Mary, who sat at her desk still as she had been when I’d greeted her ten minutes before. “I’ll take any messages I’ve got when I get back.”
“Ruby!” Mary called after me, but I didn’t turn around. I simply slipped out of the double doors and began to head down to the nearest coffee shop. I needed caffeine coursing through my veins or I was likely to curl up and die by the end of the morning.
I was only halfway to the shop when I realized that it wasn’t just the people at work who were giving me the eyeball. It seemed that everybody on the street felt the right to stop and stare at me as I went past. There was nothing I could do but grit my teeth and bear it until I realized what it was that they were all gossiping about.
“That’s her,” I heard one woman say. “Isn’t she lucky?”
Lucky? What have I got to be lucky about?
For a moment, I wondered whether there might be a promotion of some kind in my future, maybe even a pay raise. Yet I couldn’t understand how the public would have gotten hold of such information even before I knew myself.
Just get your coffee and get back to the safety of your office, I told myself as I pushed my way into the coffee shop and the bell above my head dinged to tell the server behind the counter that they had yet another customer. I groaned deeply when I saw the length of the queue of people who were all waiting for their early morning fix. It would be a long time before I was back in the safety of my office. I slipped into the back of the queue and focused my attention on the pastries and cakes that were on show in the display window of the counter as I tried to force away the fact that everybody inside seemed to be talking and staring at me just as much as everybody else had been.
I was more than a little creeped out by it. Sure, I’d been the talk of the town many times over before. It came with the territory of being the General Manager of the Houston Buckskins, but this felt different and not in a good way. Something about the stares I was being given told me people weren’t at all happy with me and I had no idea why. This was the kind of attention a General Manager would get when their team had lost the playoffs or, god forbid, the Super Bowl. Yet neither of those things had happened, at least not recently.
I was relieved when I finally got to the front of the queue and was able to order my vanilla Americano. The woman behind the till smiled warmly to me and said, “You know it’s none of my business really but good on you for following your heart. It’s about time you were happy after what that ass did to you.”
I was about to ask her what the hell she was talking about when she quickly turned to begin making my coffee. Another server stepped up to the plate to take the next order and I was practically forced out of the way.
I was even more wrapped in confusion than I had been before as I stood impatiently waiting for my coffee. I began to feel as though I was going insane, barely able to stop myself from rocking from one foot to the other.
I wanted to ask the server what she had been talking about, but I never got the chance as she handed me my coffee and turned to serve the next man in line. Part of me wanted to wait for the queue to die down so that I could ask her, but I knew with the way that people were watching me it wouldn’t be all that long until I figured out what the hell was going on. It was only a matter of time until somebody gave away what had everybody watching me like hawks and the longer I waited the less sure I was that I really wanted to know.
I guess I should just focus on what the hell I am going to wear to a date I have no desire to be on. I wasn’t in the mood for Scotty’s blackmail but to figure out what the hell was going on I had to get answers and there was no way I was going to let him bully me. He would regret ever threatening me if it was the last thing I did.
I headed back to work with my coffee in one hand, my handbag in the other and my head held high because there was no way I was going to let these idiots make me feel any less than I was. I’d been bullied as a girl in school and I wasn’t about to go back to those days of cowering in the shadows just waiting for the gossip to pass before some other poor sucker fell into the trap. I was a woman now and I wasn’t ever going back there.
“Ruby!” Mary called as soon as I entered the lobby. She pushed herself up from her desk and came around to me quickly. The look on her face told me I wasn’t going to like what she had to say, and I dreaded the fact that I was almost certain it had something to do with whatever was being spread around town about me. “I thought you told me you weren’t interested in him?”
Before I had a chance to ask her what the hell she was talking about, she pulled a magazine from behind her back and shoved it at me. I slipped the strap of my handbag onto my arm and took it from her feeling my entire body begin to shake with dread. The picture on the front cover was one that caused my head to ache even more than it already had been, and I took a quick swig of my coffee in order to hide my shock from Mary, who was staring at me as though I’d grown an extra head.
“I thought you didn’t mix work and pleasure?” she questioned, and I sighed deeply, closing my eyes for a moment to think of how best to reply to that comment.
Even when I closed my eyes, I saw the picture of me and Major walking out of the Black Orchid with his arm wrapped tightly around my shoulder. I remembered the way he had held onto me as though he was protecting me from whoever might attack next, the way that he guided me down the street as I’d walked in my dazed, traumatized state in the direction of his hotel. Not for the first time, I regretted going there with him but at least I could hold my head up high and say that I was a grown woman and had nothing to be ashamed of. I was single, unmarried, and Major was more than sexy. It had only been a matter of time before I’d caved to those biceps and that face.
But it was more than just sex, and that worried me. The sex had been fantastic, but it was the sweet side of him that had taken me more by surprise. A sudden image of him holding me tight to his chest after he’d woken me from a nightmare flashed into my brain and I remembered the sensation of slipping into his open arms and resting my head upon his chest. I quivered again, though this time it was with pleasure and delight and not dread.
“So, tell me all about it!” Mary told me before I had a chance to set her straight. “How was he? Did he have a big…?”
I cut her off with a raised hand before she could finish that sentence. The last thing I wanted to do was have a conversation about Major’s private parts, even if it was to tell her that the whole big hands and feet thing was stereotypically accurate.
I needed to get those thoughts out of my head once and for all. There was never going to be another chance for me to see Major naked again. He’d already seen me my naked body in a few different positions and I wasn’t about to make that a regular thing.
“Nothing happened, Mary,” I told her with a sigh. “You shouldn’t believe everything you see online.”
“Why was your dress ripped? Did he get aggressive? Oh, I bet he was aggressive! I love that in a man!” Mary began to babble as though she hadn’t heard me, and I simply rolled my eyes at her.
“Like I said, nothing serious happened,” I told her and even as I said the words, my phone began to ring in my handbag. With a sigh, I pulled it from the bag and saw Tessa’s name flashing across the screen.
“Just what I need,” I whispered under my breath. She must have seen the picture, too. I was certainly going to be in for an angry rant as soon as I answered the call, especially after telling her not even an hour ago that nothing had happened between us.
“Is that him?” Mary asked, and I rolled my eyes at her again.
“He’s already in the building,” I reminded her. “Why on earth would he need to call me?”
With that, I turned and began to head for my office. I couldn’t deal with any more questions from her.
I waited until I had turned the corner to pick up the phone to Tessa and braced myself for the scorn that was to come. “I thought you said nothing happened!”
Even though I was ready for it, her anger still made me flinch. She had always been a drama queen, and things were only amplified when it came to men.
“Nothing serious happened,” I assured her as I slipped into my office and kicked the door shut behind me with my foot. “It was just a one-time thing with Major.” Twice, my brain reminded me. “But it’s not like that. I don’t care about him that way.”
“What other way is there?” Tessa sounded almost hysterical, and I was just about ready to hang up on her. This was the last thing I needed right now.
“We slept together.” My entire body shivered as I remembered waking up curled against Major’s side. For those few seconds between sleeping and wakefulness, it had felt right. I had felt his warm body beside my own and I had felt blissful peace. That was until I realized what I was doing and jumped up. “But it was just sex. It’s not going to be a reoccurring thing. Just a one and done.” Two and done, unfortunately.
“And you’re not going to put out again? Why the hell not?”
I could imagine Tessa gaping in shock at me that I’d broken my sacred no-mixing-business-and-pleasure code, and I couldn’t help but smile with amusement.
“Not all of us are looking for a serious, one-man thing. Even if it was pretty great,” I told her and instantly regretted it. The way that I had phrased the question suggested something that I hadn’t meant. At least, I wouldn’t allow myself to think I’d meant it.
“So, you admit there is something going on between you and Major?” Tessa zeroed in on it like a hawk to a field mouse and I groaned inwardly, cursing myself for speaking in such a way when I knew that my best friend would instantly pick up on it.
“There is nothing going on between me and Major and if you keep on asking me, I am going to shove my fist down your throat the next time you ask,” I insisted.
Tessa laughed on the other end of the phone. She loved to antagonize me.
“You would tell me if something was going on, wouldn’t you? I mean, sex is one thing, but if there’s more…” Tessa questioned. “I mean, I know that if something was going on between you two then it would be dangerous with you being coworkers and all and you being his boss, but you know you can trust me, don’t you?”
“Tessa, I trust you with my life,” I assured her and that was true. I had always trusted Tessa, ever since we had been best friends in high school and she had been the only girl in school who didn’t join in the bullying. “If anything was going on past just a quick bang, I would definitely tell you.”
I suddenly felt as though I was lying but I had no idea why. There was nothing to tell her. I could tell her that I found Major stubborn, arrogant, and annoying. I could tell her that he annoyed me to the point where I wanted to slap him. Yet the truth was he annoyed me so much that I wanted to kiss him just to shut him up. I couldn’t bring myself to admit that I was actually attracted to the likes of him. And I couldn’t share with her how amazingly earth-shattering the sex had been. How, even right now, I wanted him to fuck me. Here, there, anywhere. It was like a bad Dr. Seuss book.
All of a sudden there was a hurried banging on my door and before I had the chance to yell for the person to enter, the door flew open to reveal Mary. “Ruby, you have to come quick!”
“What?” I gaped at her. “Tessa, hold on a minute, will you?”
I then turned back to Mary and furrowed my brow at her. “What’s going on?”
“You need to come quick.” Mary gestured me up from my seat. “There’s been an accident.”
My heart sank, and I suddenly saw an image of Major broken and battered on the field with Wills standing over him, a fist held high above his head in triumph. Bile rose in the back of my throat at the thought of it, and I pushed myself quickly to my feet, praying that I was wrong.
“Tessa, I will have to speak to you later,” I said into the phone even as I hurried after Mary. “Something’s happened and I’m needed.”
Before she could ask me any more questions, I ended the call and shoved the phone into the pocket of my dress. My feet carried me like lightning through the corridors to the football field behind Mary, who seemed to be struggling after already running to my office.
I found the team crouched in a circle around somebody who was laid on their side in the recovery position. My heart hammered in my chest as I drew closer, half expecting to find Major.
Relief washed over me at the sight of Wills grimacing in agony. “This is your fault, Lawson!” he grumbled, and I knew that there was nothing dire about his situation. He was still being his usual grumpy self.
“Did somebody call an ambulance?” I asked when I saw the odd angle at which Wills’ leg was bent. It was clear that he’d broken something. My heart sank further at the thought that our star quarterback had such an injury. It could be the end of his career.
“I called one before I came to get you,” Mary told me, and I placed a hand on her shoulder to show my gratitude.
“Thank you,” I told her before I yelled, “Major! Get the hell over here!”
The coach suddenly looked up from where he’d been trying to attend to Wills with little success. The quarterback didn’t seem to want to be anywhere near him.
“Can’t you see I’m a little busy over here?” he growled back at me and the stubbornness on his face made me want to run out onto the field and slap him. It was a good thing I was wearing heels, otherwise, I might have braved the muddy field.
* * *
21
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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
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Major
“What the hell happened?” Ruby demanded as soon as I joined her on the sidelines of the field. I could see the anger barely veiled on her face and knew she was thinking I’d done something to Wills to make him hurt himself or worse, that we’d been in a bust-up like me and my former quarterback. The accusing glare she gave me set anger deep inside my soul, and I struggled not to snap at her there and then.
“I don’t have any clue what happened,” I told her honestly. “I glanced down at my paperwork for just a minute and the next thing I know, all I can hear is screaming.”
Ruby looked at me with a raised eyebrow as though she didn’t quite believe me but when she glanced at the other team members and none of them spoke up against me, she must have thought better of it.
“I’m going to need you to come to my office and fill out an incident report once Wills is taken care of,” she told me simply before she turned her attention back to the man who was still laid on the field. Her demeanor had turned cold since this morning, and I was sure she wasn’t pleased with the way I had refused to tell her anything. I felt guilty for a moment before deciding that it really wasn’t any of her business and that was how I was going to keep it.
“I’m sure I can do that,” I told her before I turned back to the field. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have my team to take care of.”
I slipped back onto the field and carefully made my way back to Wills. The guy clearly didn’t want me anywhere near him, but I needed to take care of him to take my mind off the fact that I could feel Ruby’s eyes all over me. I thought again of the night before and how she’d ridden me and again I wished that I hadn’t pushed her away so quickly that morning. I wished that I could speak to her about everything that had happened for me to lose my last job, and I wished that I could share more of myself with her, but she was my boss, and I couldn’t cross that line. If I did, it would make it even harder to stay away from her, and I couldn’t afford to lose this job, too.
“How many times have I got to tell you to keep still?” I snapped at Wills, who was wriggling in agony on his side with his legs spread awkwardly out. I didn’t like the look of the way his lowe
r leg was bending the wrong way and the sight of it made me feel sick, not just with the goriness of it but with the fact that a broken leg usually meant the end of a career in football. I could only imagine the kind of damage another bad hit on such a leg would do once it had healed. Even though Wills and I didn’t see eye to eye, I wouldn’t wish that kind of future on him. I’d seen it all too many times before. He was soon to be chewed up and spat out.
It wasn’t long before the paramedics arrived.
“Let’s give them some room,” I told the other team members, who were crowding around their injured teammate as though they didn’t want to leave him unprotected. That was one thing I loved about football teams, they were like packs of wild animals, always ready to defend their brethren. It was one of the redeeming qualities of some of the stubborn assholes I had to train.
I was relieved when the entire team listened to me and moved back so that the two paramedics could see to their patient. I helped the two men to get the injured man onto the stretcher before I realized that my job was over. There was nothing left for me to do but follow Ruby to her office to file the report she’d asked me to file. My heart sank at the thought of being alone with her and my stomach flipped.
I watched the paramedics begin to carry the injured man off the field and avoided Ruby’s gaze for as long as possible. I could feel her standing impatiently with her arms crossed over her chest, but I couldn’t even bring myself to look at her out of the corner of my eye. I was having a harder and harder time of staying away from her and the thought of going into her office alone with her made my cock harden instantly. The last thing I needed was to be alone with her.
“Shall we?” She gestured toward the door as I finally approached her and my heart sank just a little further. She was still being cold toward me. I could hear it in her voice as though she was seriously pissed with me. I hated it, but I knew it was better than the alternative. At least, if she was pissed with me, she might try to push me away instead of attracting me. Yet the angry look on her face only made her look even more beautiful.