Chapter 45
Gracie
Two Days Later
“Hunter Reyes and I are dating. I’m aware it’s unprofessional, and I promise that it has in no way affected my objectivity or ability to do my job, but I want to be aboveboard and give you all the information so you can make your decision.”
I’ve barely made it past the threshold of Gerald’s office, but nerves are balled up like a tangle of electrical wires.
I can’t bear to make small talk or, worse, pretend I’m here to give him a player assessment.
Not until I unburden myself with the speech that kept me up all night rehearsing it in my head.
Side note—what I said to him bears no resemblance to what I planned to say.
I’m dressed in my usual black pants and low heels, and I have a Devils scarf wrapped around the neck of my red sweater to show team spirit. I’m hoping that will demonstrate my devotion to the team, despite my obvious lapse in professional judgment.
Leaning back with his hands flat on the desk, Gerald observes me as I shift from foot to foot. Lifting a finger, he beckons me closer.
I take a step forward, inching away from the comfort of the doorway, which makes for an easy escape if I need to run away in shame.
Using his whole hand, he waves me in. “Come sit down, Gracie. I won’t bite.”
I slide awkwardly around the arm of one of the chairs facing his desk and plop onto the seat. There’s no mistaking the sharpness in his gaze, and I force myself to look him in the eye and accept my fate.
He cracks a smile, but that could mean he’s going to take pleasure in sending me out on my ass.
After I blurted out my confession, I’ve been half expecting him to point me toward Human Resources without further discussion.
I’ve read the company handbook back to front, and I’m aware of the no-tolerance policy for sexual harassment.
I certainly haven’t harassed anyone, but if a player who was hoping for a better analytics report wants to claim favoritism, it’s a slippery slope to unemployment for me. Not to mention the optics. Ashley’s voice rang loudly in my head as I was planning what to say.
Don’t date a player. That never ends well.
Shifting in my seat, I know better than to keep talking. I’ll only make the situation worse if I make excuses or protest, and I’ve already told Gerald as much as he needs to know to send me packing.
“Does Reyes know you’re here falling on your sword?”
Oh. I guess I didn’t tell him everything.
“Um, no. But I promise you the relationship is consensual, if that’s the concern.”
“It isn’t.”
“Oh, so…” I should know what he’s getting at, and it annoys me that I don’t. I should also have a way to finish the sentence I began, but I don’t have that either.
“Gracie, relax.”
He looks unconcerned, sitting there behind his big glass desk in his big corner office. Of course, he’s not worried about his job, and he holds all the cards pertaining to mine. I shift in my chair, but it’s only a movement from one clenched ass cheek to the other.
Gerald laughs again. “Do you know how to do that?”
“Sorry?”
He reaches for a jar on the console behind him and brings it to the desk, then slides it across to me. I can see the Reese’s Peanut Butter cups through the glass, and my stomach does a little backflip.
Lifting the lid, Gerald nods at the container. “Help yourself.”
I take two of the foil-wrapped goodies and put them on the desk in front of me. He retrieves one from the jar and unwraps it. I do the same, and we both pop them into our mouths like we’re in agreement on the need for sugar.
The rush of sweet carbs hits the sensory receptors in my brain, and I relax a tiny bit. The sugar will do some of the work now.
Seemingly satisfied with the snack, Gerald covers the jar but leaves it on the desk. “Gracie, this is not a crime, dating a player on the team.”
“Sure, but it’s unprofessional.” I snap my lips shut. Why am I adding fuel to his case? I unwrap the other peanut butter cup. Better to keep my mouth busy. Otherwise, I might fire myself.
“Maybe. But it happens. You’re not going to lose your job because you fell for a player on the team. I’m going to tell you what I told Reyes when he came to see me earlier.”
“Wait, what?”
I lift my head, trying to see if I can spot the players on the field below our offices, but I can’t see anything from where I am. Hunter didn’t tell me he was cleared to come back to practice. And he definitely didn’t tell me he had a meeting here this morning.
For a second, I fear the worst, that he wanted to beat me to the punch, talk to Gerald before I have a chance to defend myself. He wouldn’t throw me under the bus. He wouldn’t. But a tiny voice in my head starts to protest otherwise.
Stop it. He asked you to trust him, and you gave him your word.
I nod and wait for Gerald to tell me the rest. “He offered to put himself on the trade list if it would save your job. I told him that you’re the best head of analytics we’ve had, which means we’re keeping him.
And you. Who you date in your personal time is your business.
But all the same, you two had better sit down with Ashley and get your ducks in a row.
There will need to be some kind of social media control, and that’s not my purview. ”
I’m so filled with unexpected relief that I can’t find words. Again.
Gerald solves that problem by pushing the jar of candy back toward me. “Take a few for the road, Gracie. And don’t sweat it so much around here. You have job security. And the fact that you showed me your ethical core only ups the ante.”
“Thank you. I’ll, um, get back to it, then.”
“I know you will.”