CHAPTER 13 #2
“How would I know that? How would anybody? That’s why people do these sorts of things. They go out on dates and talk and try to figure it out.”
“Well, what sort of thing would this be?”
“You’ve made it clear that you don’t want to do whatever this”—she flicked her finger back and forth, mocking his action from before—“is. So why should I come up with all the answers to a bunch of arbitrary questions? Hm?”
She stopped and spun to face him as he narrowly missed bumping into her. The scowl on his face was evidence that her words were hitting their marks, but then he leaned forward and spoke directly into her ear.
“We wouldn’t work out. Believe me.”
Unsettled by how much that hurt, she lifted her chin as he pulled away from her.
“Well then, next time, don’t ask to kiss me.”
Turning on her heel, she marched away. She wouldn’t let him walk away from her.
No, she would leave him, and that was exactly what she did.
Scarlett stormed up the steps, and continued until she reached her floor.
The more distance she put between herself and Theo, the angrier she became about the whole situation.
She hadn’t pursued him. She hadn’t even invited him to kiss her. Well, yes, technically she had, but he had been the one to bring it up in the first place. And what was all that foot-rubbing business? Did he go around offering that to everyone?
Had she misinterpreted it all?
From the moment she arrived in Manchester, Theo was anything but welcoming.
They had argued and disagreed and butted heads repeatedly.
But they had also managed to work together and even make each other laugh from time to time.
And he had been the one to kiss her, so yeah, he had thrown out a mixed signal, and it wasn’t her fault that he had backed out.
Well, she wouldn’t be doing that again, she told herself as she stalked into her office. She wasn’t going to be weird or become all stiff and awkward around him. Scarlett had a job to do, and if he couldn’t handle her being her usual perky, pleasing self, then he had the problem, not her.
Picking up her phone, she hoped to see at least a missed message from Mr. Wrong Number, but saw that she had not missed any texts. Of course. It was like every man she’d considered having even an inkling of affection for wanted to drop or ignore her.
Well, to hell with all of them. She had work to do.
Pocketing her phone, she picked up one of the boxes that she had hoped to unload last night and exited her office, only to find Marrero coming down the hallway, her face grim.
“There you are,” she said, taking the box out of Scarlett’s hands and placing it on the ground. “Are you all right? I heard you were trapped here overnight.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just a little hungry.”
“You don’t look fine.”
Scarlett frowned. “I didn’t get much sleep.” Marrero’s brow lifted. “The floor is not super comfortable to sleep on.”
“Ah, right. Listen, I’ve talked to Ross, and we both acknowledge that the pranking has to end. So both teams are going to be doing a stadium sweep today. After the women’s practice and before the men’s—together—so they can learn a little thing about teamwork.”
“What’s a stadium sweep?”
“They’re going to wipe down all the chairs with cloths and hot, soapy water, so as to not take away the custodial jobs, but yeah, they’re in for it.”
A hint of regret dropped in Scarlett’s stomach. “You don’t have to do that just because we were locked in a closet.”
“Yes, we do. And Ross is on a rampage about it. Said it was dangerous and started listing off a number of things that could have gone wrong. Blood sugar, fires, almost every possible worst-case scenario you could imagine.”
“Really? He wasn’t bothered at all last night.”
“Well, now he’s out for blood,” Marrero said, shaking her head. “Listen, practice is about to start, so I have to get down there, but I wanted to make sure you were okay.”
“Yeah, I’m fine. Really.”
“Good. Then go home and get some rest. Maybe take the day, considering.”
“I would, but the day after game days is too big a deal. I think I’m going to grab something to eat and get back to work.” Scarlett kicked the box with her bare foot. “The alternate kits came in.”
“Is that what this is?” Marreo asked. “Then come on. I’ll help you bring them down. Er, where are your shoes?”
“I left them in the gear closet.”
“Ah,” Marreo said, bobbing her head. “Well, come on.”
After grabbing another box, the two made their way back down to the women’s locker room, where they were met with several reactions.
Glee at having finally received their alternate jerseys, shock to hear about Scarlett’s overnight plight, horror at learning that she’d had to spend it with Theo, and dismay at learning that the teams were being forced to do a stadium sweep as punishment for the pranks.
“The men started it,” one tall blonde woman called out.
“Yeah. It’s not our fault.”
“We gave it right back to them, didn’t we?” Dawson interjected before the rest of the team could call out. As the captain, she held a significant amount of sway with the others. “We let it get out of hand, and because of it, the keypad broke—”
“That’s Miles Wilkens’s doing!”
“Regardless, we’re ending it.” She faced Scarlett. “I’m sorry you had to spend the night locked in a closet. With Theo Ross on top of it.”
“He wasn’t on top of me,” Scarlett said quickly.
Dawson’s forehead creased. “What?”
“What?”
“I said, on top of it, as in, you had to spend a night with him as well.”
“Oh, yeah,” Scarlett said, her cheeks heating up. “Right, yes. Never mind. I thought I heard you say… Well, nothing. I misheard you, so that’s my bad.”
Dawson and Marreo were staring at her.
“Okay, well, I’m going to go get something to eat, so if you’ll excuse me…?”
Hurrying out of the room, Scarlett felt the buzz of a text message vibrate against her ass. Pulling it out, she saw Mr. Wrong Number.
Have service for a minute, and I wanted to ask you something.
What’s that?
she replied.
What’s your favorite breakfast food?
A perfect question, considering how hungry she was.
On a regular day, I usually have coffee and a banana. But today I could eat a pile of French toast. What about you?
Tea and toast for my regular—black currant pancakes are my favorite, though. The tartness of the berry, mixed with the sweetness of syrup, really gets me.
Scarlett’s mouth began to water.
I’ve never had black currant anything.
It’s delicious.
Her stomach growled. She needed to run out for some breakfast, but the idea of finding her heels and putting them back on her feet was less than exciting.
Instead, she grabbed a pair of practice cleats from the women’s gear closet, making sure to prop the door open with a chair, now weary of all keypad rooms. After slipping the shoes on, she’d started to head out when she heard Chard’s voice from outside the closet.
“I heard about your night with Simmons,” he said, causing her to halt in her tracks. “I hope it wasn’t too much of a bother, although I’m sure it wasn’t.”
Scarlett frowned. What did that mean?
“It was fine,” Theo said. “Listen, I’ll be back in an hour, tops. We can discuss it more later.”
“How do you think she’s doing, by the way? I mean, job-wise,” Chard asked, ignoring Theo’s attempt to leave. “We were trending yesterday, you know. First time in Bees history.”
“Why are you asking me?”
“Well, because of your prejudices, you know, regarding American hires.”
Scarlett tilted her head, straining to hear them.
“It’s fine.”
“Is it? Because when I first mentioned that we were hiring her, you made it clear that you didn’t want anything to do with her, and now she’s making some pretty significant changes around here. What with the women’s practices in the morning now—”
“They only have two morning practices, and it isn’t a big deal. They should have had it when they first got here.”
“Ah. So, you think she’s doing a good job?”
He hesitated. “Sure. I suppose.”
“Well, then I guess your opinion has changed.”
What opinion was that? she wondered.
“Actually, no,” Theo said, his voice becoming hardened.
“I still think Americans don’t appreciate the game, not significantly, at least. I think she’s opinionated and bossy and too damn chummy with everyone, and if it were up to me, I’d send her packing.
But she does her job, doesn’t she, which is why you hired her, so I’m not entirely sure why you want my opinion on the matter. ”
Scarlett’s mouth fell open. She was stunned at his verbal takedown. What the hell was his problem? If she weren’t so shocked, she’d march right out there and ask him, but something kept her frozen to the spot.
Chard chuckled. “I do appreciate your candor, Ross. Wouldn’t want a repeat of last season, would we?” A patting sound echoed. “Go on home, and don’t worry, I’ll have the locks changed by the end of the day.”
Scarlett waited a moment before peeking out of the closet, dazed by what she had overheard. Why was Theo so bothered by her? And what had Chard meant about a repeat of last season? Did he mean the losing streak?
Insecure and hurt by the betrayal of Theo’s words, she left the stadium dejected, crossing the parking lot to get something to eat at the café. She replayed his words in her head. What had she ever done to him to earn such a blistering attitude?
It was a question that plagued her the rest of the morning.