12. Liv
12
LIV
I t’s barely nine o’clock in the morning and it’s already turning out to be a shitty day.
As soon as I stepped out of my building I got mobbed by a crowd of reporters. I deal with the media all the time so you’d think it couldn’t have been that bad.
It was that bad.
They say you learn something new every day. What I learned was that delivering information during a press conference is an entirely different beast than being the sole focus of their attention.
If it weren’t for my doorman coming out to rescue me, I wouldn’t have been able to make it to my car.
I’m going to have to send him a gift basket or petition the city to give him a monument or something, such was the extent of his heroism today. He even managed to keep them off me long enough so I could make a clean getaway.
It’s definitely going to have to be a monument.
I’m going to have to get ahead of all of this and fast. I’m an analyst who gives them facts to keep fans engaged with the team; I’m not supposed to be their hottest new scoop.
I just hope I can convince my boss not to give me the ax because of this mess. I know I can figure out a way to neutralize this but having the weight of my job behind me is essential to a lot of the ideas I have going right now.
One thing I know for certain is that sitting around panicking isn’t going to do anything other than stress me out. Action needs to be and will be taken as soon as possible, so that’s why as soon as I get in to work, I make a beeline for Scott’s office.
“Hey, Grace. Does he have a free minute?” I greet his secretary.
“He does. Just let me buzz him on the intercom.”
“Thank you.”
Scott doesn’t look to be in a firing type of mood and I decide that’s a good sign.
“Have a seat, Olivia, and tell me what’s on your mind.”
“Sir, I’m sure you’re aware of the articles floating around about my brother and me. Now, normally I don’t pay any mind to such nonsense, but one of the articles…”
I take a breath and try to collect myself. “There is one particular article that makes certain accusations about me. It is important to me that you know there’s absolutely no truth to it. I have not, nor would I ever alter statistics to further someone’s career. I would never compromise my integrity or the integrity of my employer that way. If you need to mount an investigation, I will give you my full cooperation, because I have nothing to hide.”
He takes a long sip from his coffee cup then sets it down with a clink. “I know.”
I’m so surprised at his frank response that I end up blurting out the first thought that pops in my head.
“You know?”
Very sophisticated, Liv. You should teach etiquette classes.
I fight the urge to cringe at my response.
Maybe if I hadn’t been mobbed by a pack of feral paparazzi, I would have been able to come up with something better .
I don’t try to overexplain, I just wait for him to say something.
“Yes, of course I know. I used to work with Caroline once upon a time, and I know she’d never tolerate that type of behavior at her office. She’s got a sixth sense of when someone isn’t being honest.” He laughs. “In hindsight, that’s probably why my ex-wife hated her. Aside from that, your reports and the raw data are triple-checked by a separate team. There are too many eyes on the information for you to get away with anything. Going off the quality of your work alone, you’re the absolute last person in this office I’d suspect dishonesty from.”
I’m not sure if I should take that to mean there are people he suspects are dishonest or if he’s just being reassuring.
Although if there is a list, I’d bet a week’s worth of groceries that Travis would be right at the top of it.
“Thank you, sir. I appreciate your vote of confidence.”
“You’ve earned it.” His face then shifts to an expression of concern. “How are you holding up with all of this?”
I sigh. “I’m used to dealing with the press, but it feels a lot safer when there’s a podium or a table between you being used as a buffer. If I’ve learned anything from watching Max’s career, it’s that this is all going to blow over once they get bored or find a new story—whichever comes first. I was toying with the idea of making a statement, but that’s just going to add fuel to the fire. I’ve decided my best option at this point is to wait them out and ignore all the nonsense they’re spewing.”
“I think that’s a solid plan, but it could get worse before it gets better. So, if you need to work from home for a day or two or need some help drafting a statement—if it comes to that—please feel free to reach out to Grace or myself.”
“Hopefully, I won’t need it, but I promise I’ll take you up on your offer if I do,” I say.
“Was there anything else you wanted to address today, Olivia? Or was it just the articles you came in to talk about?” Scott asks.
“No, that was all. And if you don’t have anything for me, sir, I have some reports to attend to.”
He politely shoos me out of his office, but before I can get very far, Grace catches my arm.
“Are you okay?” she asks. “I wanted to check in with you as soon as you got in this morning, but you seemed so determined to see Mr. Booth that I didn’t want to slow you down.”
I sigh. “I’m as okay as you can be under the circumstances, I guess.”
“Why don’t you let me buy you a coffee from the cafe downstairs? Not to be rude, but you look like you could use a hit of caffeine.”
“I could use more than a hit. Do you think they serve it intravenously?”
“I’m going to take that as a yes,” she says.
“I owe you one.”
“I’ll text you tomorrow morning what I want so you don’t have to go up and down the stairs too many times,” she says with a wink.
“Are you always this shy?” I tease.
I didn’t want to jump right into work after meeting with my boss, and I think Grace knew it. Although the meeting went fine—better than I expected, actually— it still took a lot of emotional energy. Even the relief I felt when he said he believed me was exhausting.
A coffee and a cranberry-orange scone won’t fix everything, but it could just be the pick-me-up I need to restart the day.
“I take it the meeting with your brother went well, if the pictures are anything to go by.”
“It did, and I’m sure you saw the moving boxes so you can probably guess I’ve got my own place now.”
“I have mixed feelings about you finding a compromise.”
I raise a brow at her. “Really?”
“On the one hand, it’s great that you have a place that’s just for you.”
“But?”
“But now you no longer have an excuse to stay at your mystery man’s place.”
“I think that’s for the best. There’s a lot that’s up in the air with that situation, and trust me, it’s far more trouble than it’s worth.”
“Not from the stories you’ve told me.” She laughs. “I guess I won’t be able to live vicariously through you anymore.”
“I’m so sorry for the inconvenience,” I respond dryly.
“You know what I don’t get?”
“What’s that?”
“That so many people believe that you and Max are a couple,” she says as we head back upstairs to our office. “Any idiot can take one look at you guys and tell you’re related. You’re about as identical as it gets for fraternal twins.”
The smell of bad cologne is the only warning we get before Travis rounds the corner of the hallway.
Great, just what I need this morning.
“It seems like congratulations are in order, Red. How’d you manage to bag the team captain? You never struck me as the clubbing type.”
“Not just any idiot, apparently,” I whisper to Grace.
I can see her cheeks color, but she manages to hide the laugh with a moderately convincing cough.
“No need to get green with jealousy, Grace,” he continues. “I’m sure you’ll find someone eventually.”
He turns his attention back to me. “So, where did you two meet? Was it at a club, or did you hook up after one of our away games?”
You got me. It was at a very exclusive club called Mary Winter’s uterus.
“It was New York, wasn’t it? I thought you looked a little disheveled when you opened the door that morning. Was he there?”
Why does he remember what I looked like? That was more than two weeks ago.
Do you really want to think about why he committed your image to memory?
Hell no.
“Do you have any work-related questions, Travis? Because that’s the only thing I’m going to discuss with you.”
“Someone’s cranky this morning. Lighten up, Red.”
“My name is Olivia,” I say firmly.
He holds up his hands in surrender. “I’ll wait until you’ve had your coffee. Message received so there’s no need to bite my head off. Speaking of coffee, I'm going to go grab one for myself. You’re not going to trip me when I walk past, are you?”
“Go get your coffee, Travis.”
He makes a big show of cowering as he walks past us.
“What a jackass,” I mutter under my breath
“I’m just relieved he was heading out to get coffee instead of returning with it,” says Grace. “That’ll give us at least twenty minutes of peace.”
“I’m going to go back to my desk and try to get as much done as I can before he comes back and bothers me again.”
“Good luck.”
I raise my coffee cup in salute then disappear down the hall into my office.
The first thing I do when I shut my door is flip the sign so that the “busy, please knock” side is facing out through the glass.
The team is on a bye week, so I’ve got an ocean of statistics to wade through and several reports to compile. The last thing I need right now is a stream of people in and out of my office looking for more gossip.
To be fair, most of my coworkers respect my sign in general, but in light of the recent pictures and articles going around, I figured today could be the exception. To my delight and relief, I am left alone. It’s a nice reminder that not everyone I work with is a boundary-violating asshole.
Maybe the rest of today won’t be so bad after all.
I even find myself approaching a good mood. That is, until early afternoon when Travis barges in.
I pick up the phone. “Fire? Ambulance? IT Guy?”
“What are you talking about?”
“You just barged into my office even though the sign clearly says to knock first. The only reason for that would be if there’s an emergency. So, is it a fire, a medical emergency, or a technical emergency? Who am I calling for you?”
“Ha, ha, very funny.”
“The sign is there for a reason,” I say.
“You want to keep the office gossips away. I get it.”
Moreso, I want to keep you away.
“What do you need?”
“Hold on.” He turns and locks my door. “There. Now no one can interrupt us.”
I can feel the hair standing up on the back of my neck. “Unlock my door.”
Travis folds his arms across his chest then leans against the door, feigning a casual posture, completely blocking the lock. Anyone walking by would think we were having a casual chat and there’s no cause for concern based on the way he’s standing.
The glint in his eyes tells a completely different story, though. He knows exactly what he’s doing, and he’s thoroughly enjoying my discomfort.
“In a minute.” He waves off my concern. “Now that no one can eavesdrop, I have questions.”
“Unlock the door, Travis. Now.”
“You think I’m going to hurt you or something?” He sneers.
I know I shouldn’t react or let him know he’s bothering me. If I do, I'll be playing right into his hands and then he wins.
Rationally, I know my answer needs to be neutral and unaffected, but that’s not what ends up coming out of my mouth.
“Travis, if you don’t unlock my door right now, I’m going to call someone to break it, and you, down.”
“No need to be so sensitive about it.” He laughs.
He reaches behind his back and unlocks the door with a click. “Happy now?”
No, I’m not. I’m still trapped, and you know it.
I don’t think he’ll try anything. It’s during working hours, and there are plenty of people around, but the threat is still there.
No wonder Alice just walked out. This man is a monster.
“What do you want?”
“I want to know how you really got this job.”
“Scott poached me from Caroline. You already know that. There’s nothing more to tell.”
“You sure you didn’t trade any favors with the team captain? Because that would be extremely unethical. It could even cost you your job.”
“I’m not discussing this with you.”
“That’s not a no. Maybe I should go over your boss’s head and tell my cousin to investigate. You know who that is, right? Michael Garrett? He’s Scott’s boss. I’m sure if I brought my suspicions to him, he’d take them very seriously. Once he gets his hooks in you, it’ll be game over.”
No wonder Alice didn’t want to file an official complaint.
“I have work I need to do. Please leave.”
He licks his lips. “I don’t have to go to him if you’re willing to do me a favor or two.”
“If you want to run and tattle to your cousin, go right ahead. Nothing’s going to come of it.”
“And why not?” Travis gives me an indulgent smile.
“Because Max is my brother, asshole.”
“You’re hooking up with your brother?”
“You got me. I’m having an affair with my twin brother. Your talents are clearly wasted here as an analyst. With those sleuthing skills, you should’ve been a detective.”
There’s so much sarcasm oozing from my tone I’m surprised he doesn’t slip in it as he slinks wordlessly out of my office. With a sigh, I pick up my cell phone.
“Were you able to hear everything, Grace?”
“I wish I hadn’t, but yes.”
“Can I list you as a witness in my log?”
“I don’t know why you bother asking anymore. It’s always going to be a yes. He needs to be held accountable for his actions.”
“He will be.” I sigh. “I just wish I could handle the media the way I handled him. I'm barely a day into this mess and already I’m exhausted.”
"I wouldn't worry too much about the press. They have a short attention span. I'm sure it will all blow over by tomorrow night."