9. Graciella #2
“Come in,” I called out, falling into work mode.
“Thank yo— Oh my gosh, Coach Monroe?” a woman’s voice chimed.
We both turned.
A tall, leggy blonde crossed the room, reaching her hand out for a shake. “It’s so nice to meet you. The email didn’t mention that you’d be at the interview,” she said, shooting him a warm smile.
“We’re glad you could join us.” He smiled back.
Okay, smiled was a bit of a stretch. It was more like a slight pull at the corners, but still, it was not the tight, forced thing he gave the other two. Or maybe it was?
Nausea clawed at my throat.
Love that. Totally fine. Exactly what he should be doing. They’re going to be dating…
“Hi,” I called out a little too brightly. “Graciella Barrera. I’m the one your agent has been communicating with.” I stuck my hand out.
Her grip was firm.
“I’m Lauren. It’s really nice to meet you both.” Her gaze flicked back to Monroe, smile a little brighter when directed at him.
A strange, unwelcome heat crept up my neck.
“Let’s get started.” My words were terse, but she didn’t seem to notice, still all smiles as she sat across from us. She swept her blonde hair over her shoulder, long enough for her ends to disappear below the table line.
“I can’t wait to pick your brain about this upcoming season,” she said, attention fully on Monroe. “You did so much in the short time you’ve been with the Stars. I can’t imagine what you’ll be able to do with the team with a full season.”
“Oh, thank you. You’re a sports analyst, right?”
“Yes.” She beamed. “I’d love to have you on my show sometime. I think I could help fans get to know you a little better.”
An ache in my finger had me loosening my grip on the pen.
“Can you act?” I blurted.
Two sets of eyes landed on me, and I ignored the one drilling into the side of my head.
“Excuse me?”
“Well, this whole thing is fake, so I need to make sure you can act,” I continued, tilting my head and forcing a neutral expression.
Her confused frown gave way to another blinding smile. “Oh, well, I don’t think it will be too hard to act like I like Josh here.”
She turned her smile back on him, and the corner of his mouth lifted. I knew the other two hadn’t gotten that.
Gag me.
My eyes twitched under the restraint to keep them from rolling. Of course little Miss Perfect didn’t think it’d be a problem. She probably would have dinner ready for him when he walked in the door, too.
I needed it to stop.
My mouth worked faster than my brain. “I need you to show me how you’d walk a dog.”
Monroe choked out something between a cough and a laugh.
She blinked. “Excuse me?”
“A dog,” I repeated, doubling down. “Show me how you’d walk one.”
“Why would I need to act out walking a dog?” She looked around the conference room as if one would pop out of nowhere.
“That’s a great question…” Monroe said, turning to face me. “Why would she need to do that, Graciella?”
Those blue eyes of his danced with a challenge. Jackass knew I was spouting out nonsense. None of the other women were asked to prove they could act.
I sucked my teeth, jotting down nonsense on the pad. “We needed to see if you can act under pressure, but appar—”
“But wouldn’t it be better to act out being his girlfriend?” Lauren’s eyes slid to him. “I’d be happy to do that.”
“Well, you won’t be his girlfriend.” For the second time, words poured out of my mouth before my brain could think through the implications.
Lauren’s smile dropped.
“No, no.” She popped out of her chair. “I…I can act out walking a dog. I was just—”
“Thank you so much for coming in, Lauren.” I forced a smile and stood. “But I’m afraid we’re going in a different direction.”
“That’s not fair.” Her voice rose two octaves, taking on a screeching quality.
“My agent said you told him this was the perfect pairing. And you’re going to go a different direction because I won’t walk a fucking fake dog?
” She turned to Monroe, face flushed as she pointed a finger my way.
“Josh, I am so sorry if I’m overstepping, but your PR manager is a joke. I’d be happy to share my—”
“You are.”
Her brows pulled together. “I’m sorry?”
“You are overstepping, and I don’t appreciate you talking about my people like that.”
Something lodged in my throat at his words, because truthfully, she was right. What the hell was I thinking with that whole little charade?
“It was nice meeting you.” Monroe stood, offering her a hand. “I hope everything works out well for you, Lauren.”
She stared, slack-jawed. “You are so not invited to my podcast,” she said, ignoring his hand and gathering her purse.
The slam was deafening, and my stomach dropped.
Seconds ticked by, and tension crackled between us.
“What the hell was that, Graciella? She checked all the boxes on this list you gave me.” He waved the paper in my face. “You even typed, ‘She’s the one,’ at the bottom.”
I blew out a breath, picking at my middle finger. Guess him having my back was all for show.
“Look, she seemed like a sweet girl, but she’s not right.”
His expression darkened. “And how exactly could you tell? Her dog walking technique wasn’t up to par?” The words dripped with frustration.
I swallowed past the lump in my throat. “Exactly. What would she do if she needed to improvise in the moment? She couldn’t even do it in an interview.”
He shook his head and made his way toward the same door our last candidate had just left through.
“And she liked you too much,” I called after his retreating back. Unease curled low in my stomach when he paused over the partial truth, glancing back at me.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
I followed the polished grain of the table with the tip of my finger, attention trained on the grooves.
The truth danced on the tip of my tongue.
“Graciella, look at me.”
My eyes popped up at the growled command. There was at least six feet between us, but he felt too close for what I was about to say. My throat worked once before the words tumbled out.
“I didn’t like the way she looked at you. Like you two really had a shot at being a couple…” I straightened my back, schooling my face. “And that goes against your rules, right?”
Monroe stilled, other than his grip tightening on the door handle, and a flicker of surprise lit his eyes. He’d probably expected a lie, but I’d given him the truth. Or at least part of it.
I wasn’t thinking about his rule when I’d turned down the best option over heart eyes.
And I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do about it.