Chapter 23 - Holly
Holly
I walked into the office and got hit with it before I even closed the door. Bob’s expression was a masterclass in smug superiority. A little disappointment, a little “I told you so,” and all predator.
“You need to explain this,” he said, his voice clipped, the video looping on his iPad.
The bar fight from last night was already trending online, hashtags spinning around like a tornado: #SurgeOutrage, #HockeyChaos, #CallahanRage. And yes, Hunter’s face was unmistakable, even in the chaos.
“I—” I started, but he cut me off, hand slicing through the air.
“No, Holly. Don’t start with excuses. Look at this.” He gestured at the screen like the crime scene itself was personal evidence of my failure. “This is bad. Really bad. And it’s all over social media. The team’s image? Ruined. And you, you’re responsible for cleaning this up. Fast.”
I let the words sink in, grit rising in my stomach. Fast. Responsible. Like I hadn’t been managing crises for months, like I wasn’t the one spinning narrative after narrative, putting out fires the size of the state of Texas.
“I’m not responsible for them fighting, Bob,” I said, keeping my tone low but deliberate. “Hunter didn’t start it. None of the guys started it. Grayson’s temper got them into it, but it was the fans, too. There was provocation. You want me to control the crowd? Or rewrite physics?”
He leaned back in the chair, steepling his fingers, the picture of innocence with a side of schadenfreude.
“It’s not about who started it, Holly. It’s about optics.
And optics where Callahan’s concerned, are your problem.
Management doesn’t care about nuance. They care about spin.
And if you can’t get it done, you’ll be out the door before you finish your coffee. ”
I gritted my teeth, stepping closer. “You know, Bob, it’s starting to feel like you’ve been waiting for me to screw up just so you could wag your finger and remind me who’s in charge. Like you’re keeping score, instead of mentoring.”
His eyebrows lifted, but that was the extent of the reaction.
“Mentoring?” he said, voice oozing that patented oily smoothness.
“Holly, this isn’t personal. This is business.
You were hired to handle situations like this.
You signed up for it. That means you’ll have to explain why this bar fight after the game last night hasn’t been contained yet. ”
I could feel my pulse start to thrum, my patience thinning by the second.
“Yeah, I signed up to manage Hunter, not babysit the whole team. You think this is about optics? It’s about competence, and maybe about the fact that you don’t want to admit that I’ve been keeping the whole circus from going off the rails while you… do whatever it is you do.”
“Holly,” he said, voice dangerously calm, “let me make this crystal clear. You clean this up, and you do it fast. My advice is to forget the details, and focus on what will work best for management.”
“Forget about my client?” I asked, not lowering my voice, letting some fire in me shine through. “Because that’s what you’re suggesting, right? Please feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.”
He smirked, the kind that reminded me why people call him slick as pig shit. “Holly, sweetheart, this sort of thing isn’t in the handbook. It’s just a given. You want results, you get them. That’s it. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have other things to do.”
I clenched my fists at my sides, trying not to slam them into his polished desk.
Every muscle in my body was vibrating with a mix of rage and disbelief.
“Fine,” I said finally, voice cutting through the tension.
“I’ll fix it. But don’t act like you’re doing me a favor by breathing down my neck while I do it. ”
Bob raised his eyebrows as if I’d just delivered a life-changing revelation. “I knew I could count on you.”
I turned sharply, fists still tight, and stormed toward the door, my heels clicking sharply against the tile floor. My jaw was sore from clenching it. My thoughts raced as I reached for my phone. Hunter needed to be in my office, now. No games, no niceties.
I dialed his number, tapping the screen impatiently. “Hunter, meet me in my office. Now. And don’t make me wait.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said immediately, a sharp edge to his tone that mirrored my own.
I didn’t wait for him to arrive. I paced the small office, pulling up social media feeds and scrolling through clips of the fight, already calculating how I could frame the story, manage interviews, and diffuse the outrage before it mushroomed into a full-blown scandal. Every second counted.
When Hunter arrived, he stepped into my office, eyes alert as he gave me a brief nod. He wasn’t smiling.
“Let me guess… a cousin I never knew I had posted something damaging about me online,” he said with a sigh. “Or is it my dad again?”
“It’s what you and the guys got up to after the game last night.”
He rolled his eyes. Actually rolled them! Which didn’t do much for the frustration gnawing at my insides.
I waved him over to the chair in front of my desk. “Sit. And we’re going through this fast, because management isn’t going to give a damn about delays, and Bob has made it clear this is on me,” I said, exhaling. “So, first, tell me exactly what happened from your perspective. Start at the top.”
He took a seat, leaning forward, elbows on his knees.
“I wasn’t there when it started. I just heard Grayson getting into it.
Some Minnesota fans were mouthing off. I tried to pull people away, but…
” He trailed off, running a hand through his hair.
“It escalated fast. By the time I got into it, fists were already flying.”
I nodded, jotting mental notes. “Good. I need you to be completely honest, but also strategic. I don’t want you saying any of this to the press. Not a word.”
He nodded. “Got it.”
My mind was already spinning. Social media damage control, press statements, video edits.
Everything had to be airtight, or Bob’s threats about my job wouldn’t just be idle talk.
I looked at Hunter, grateful for his composure, but my gut tightened.
There was no hiding from the fact that even now, every move, every word, had consequences.
And Bob? He’d just be sitting back, waiting for the first misstep.
“Don’t talk to anyone else,” I said, eyes locking on him. “We handle this together, and we do it smart. If you get wind of anything, tell me immediately. No improvisation. Clear?”
“Jesus, why are you being so dramatic? It was a stupid fight.”
“This is why.” My voice rose, tempered with exasperation as I jabbed the screen. “Because from where I’m standing, after everything we’ve done, after all the progress we’ve made, this is a disaster.”
“I was trying to stop it!” he insisted, leaning forward, jaw tight. “Look closer. Watch the video again. That’s me holding people back, not throwing punches. It’s Grayson, okay? He got into it first!”
I pressed my hands to my temples, trying to keep the sting of anger from slipping into pity.
“Hunter, I know it wasn’t your fault. I can see that.
But the world doesn’t work that way. The team can’t have the captain branded as a troublemaker.
Not now, not ever. Grayson is the face of the Surge.
He sets the tone. I can’t release anything that puts him in a bad light. ”
“He did that to himself,” Hunter scoffed. “You’re telling me he gets out of this without consequences just because he’s the captain?”
I took a breath. “You… you’re fresh. You can survive a bit of bad press better than him. You’ll take the hit and come out fine. I’ll make sure of it.”
The words struck him like a physical blow.
I could see the disbelief flicker across his face.
“What? What are you saying?” And when I didn’t answer, acidic laughter spilled out of him.
“You’re spinning it so I take the fall? Me?
I’ve worked my ass off for years. I’ve earned every ounce of trust I have with this team.
And you—you’re going to use me as a sacrificial lamb so the captain doesn’t look bad? ”
“I’m not using you, Hunter.” My voice hardened. “I’m protecting the team. Protecting the brand.”
“Fuck the brand. You’re talking about lying to protect Grayson, but I’m your client. Not him.”
“This isn’t about right or wrong. It’s about optics.
” I sounded like Bob and it fucking sucked.
“It’s about perception. Not what’s fair, but how things look.
The story we tell. And yes, in this story, the narrative has to make you appear responsible, but it’s calculated.
It’s the only way to contain the damage.
You’ll survive it. You’ll get through this. ”
He shook his head, stepping back as if distance could shield him from the sting of my words.
“You don’t get it. This isn’t surviving.
This is betrayal. This is the exact thing I thought you’d understand.
All the things we’ve built—trust, teamwork, everything—we’ve worked for months and now…
” His voice cracked slightly. “Now you’re telling me it doesn’t matter.
That it’s just a story, but I’m not the one who gets to write it. ”
I swallowed, the weight of it pressing against my ribs, but I didn’t let it show. My fingers curled around the edge of the desk, knuckles white. “Hunter, I hate that it has to be this way. I hate it. I hate even saying it. But it’s my job.”
“I’m your job!”
“Exactly,” I replied. “And I’m going to make sure this doesn’t have a lasting effect.”
He stood up now, pacing the small gap between the chair and my office door. “I can’t believe this. You’re always talking to me about not getting into trouble, keeping my nose clean, and now you’re gonna pin this fight on me when I did everything right? What’s the point? Why do I even bother?”
“Please, Hunter, you have to trust m–”
“No,” he cut in. “I’m sick of the excuses, Holly.”
“Excuses?” I scoffed. “I’ve been offered a job at Harper & Keene, a marketing firm in Chicago.”
He froze and stared at me like I’d told him something that was impossible.
“They offered me a position,” I said, “and I haven’t said yes yet. Because this job is important to me. You’re important to me.”
That last part was a huge admission, a vulnerability I wasn’t prepared to expose. But it felt like the right time. If not now, then maybe never.
His eyes softened, but only for a moment. Then they went hard and he resumed pacing, saying, “You want to go? Then go. Don’t stay here on my account.”
I felt myself recoil internally. That stung a lot more than I expected it to.
“That doesn’t change what needs to happen,” I said, steeling myself against any more blows that may come my way. “If this isn’t managed properly, if it spreads without context–”
“Made-up context, you mean.” I didn’t say anything to that, and he shook his head, laughing bitterly. “All this time, all the work we’ve done together, and now you’re telling me I’m the fall guy. You’re protecting everyone else but me.”
“I’m protecting you. You just don’t see it,” I said, voice quieter now, trying to let him hear the truth behind the words.
“It’s messy, I know. I hate it, but the alternative is worse.
The statement I’m releasing frames you as the one responsible, but also that you tried to de-escalate things.
The team can’t have Grayson branded as a troublemaker. This is how it has to be.”
He ran a hand through his hair, looking like he might scream, or cry, or punch something. “I thought you got me. I thought you understood. And now I find out, you’re playing me just like the rest of them. Using me so someone else looks better. God, I trusted you.”
I winced as though I’d been physically struck. I might as well have been. But I couldn’t back down.
“Hunter…” My voice wavered slightly, though I kept my posture tight.
“It’s not personal. It’s never personal.
I hate doing it, but it’s the only way to contain the fallout.
The job doesn’t care about friendship. It doesn’t care about trust. The brand is what matters.
And right now, the brand needs you to absorb this. I promise, it’s temporary.”
He stared at me like I’d just ripped the ground from under him. Then he stormed out of the office, slamming the door so hard the frame rattled. “So much for trust. Enjoy Chicago,” he muttered, voice trailing down the hall.
I sank into my chair, shoulders slumping, hands gripping the edge of the desk. My stomach churned. I hated this. I hated that I had to make him the scapegoat, even temporarily. Every fiber of me screamed against it.
My fingers hovered over the keyboard, hesitating for a split second before I submitted the statement.
Every word I typed was deliberate, carefully balancing damage control with truth, ensuring Hunter took as little heat as possible while protecting the captain and the team’s image.
The cursor blinked, the cursor pulsing like a heartbeat in my chest, and then I hit send.