Chapter 5
FIVE
AUSTIN
“Hold on. Can you just repeat that? What, exactly, did you and Gus expect Jane to do?” Nick asked as he paused the recording of our final game from last season, which was playing on the massive TV on his living room wall.
I winced. Nick never paused games for anything. This didn’t bode well. “I asked if she would consider pretending to be my girlfriend, so I’d look more settled to team management.” I’d already explained all of this and the reasons why. He’d just wanted to make me say it again.
“And you don’t see anything wrong with that?” His tone was dubious, as if he thought I was the stupidest man alive and it really should be blatantly obvious where I’d gone wrong.
“Yes, at first I didn’t like the idea, but not much would really have to change, and—”
“When you found out who her family is, you forgot everything you know about who she is as a person and made assumptions,” Nick cut in, his pale gaze expressing disappointment in me.
“We already pretty much live together,” I said, as much to myself as to him.
She’d looked at me as if I were a terrible person, and I hated that.
I didn’t want her upset, but she didn’t give me a chance to explain how we could manage without making things complicated.
“She’s with me almost every day. It would be easy to pretend we were dating. ”
Honestly, once I’d gotten my head around the idea, I’d thought the hardest part would be reminding myself it couldn’t be real.
I’d been in a decently healthy place, mentally and emotionally.
The last thing I needed was to get feelings for her and be pulled back into the constant cycle of trying hard for someone and not being enough.
Nick arched an eyebrow. “You know how shy she is. Yes, she’s an excellent assistant.
She’s efficient, and she knows the game, but she likes to go unnoticed.
Even if we pretend that isn’t the case, you put her in a very precarious position in terms of her employment.
What if she thought she had to say yes or you’d fire her? ”
Irritation churned within me. I hated that I’d had those same thoughts earlier and gone ahead anyway.
“I made it clear to her that her job didn’t depend on it.”
At least, I thought I had… hadn’t I?
Yes, definitely.
I raised my chin. “Jane knows that she never needs to do anything she’s uncomfortable with as long as I’m her boss.”
The statement was intended to reassure me as much as him, but it didn’t have the desired effect.
“Does she?” Nick asked gently. “Because I’d say your suggestion probably took her well out of her comfort zone.”
“I… think so.” Uncertainty rolled through me.
I’d always considered myself a fair boss, even if I wasn’t winning any congeniality awards.
I asked for a lot, but I also paid well and spoke up on her behalf when I thought she needed me to.
Surely, she knew she was safe with me and that I wouldn’t penalize her for setting boundaries… right?
I clicked my pen, annoyed by this entire situation. As Jane had said, and as I’d thought previously, my position on the team should be based on merit, not anything else. Nevertheless, I understood that being the team’s top scorer didn’t necessarily mean I had the best credentials for the role.
“We work well together,” I pointed out. “We always have. All this would involve is being seen eating at a restaurant together or perhaps watching a movie somewhere public. It could essentially be a small addition to her usual duties. I wouldn’t… touch her or anything. I’m not a creep.”
Although I was starting to realize that all of this made me sound like one.
“You probably would’ve needed to.” Nick stretched one of his legs out and flexed his toes, presumably stretching out a tired calf. “In order to sell it. And even if you didn’t, this isn’t what she agreed to when she signed her contract.”
He had a point there.
“At least ask her what her reasons are for not wanting to do it,” he added. “Maybe she’s worried that it would stop her from dating, or perhaps she hates the idea of lying. You won’t know what you’re up against unless you ask. And apologize. Again.”
“I will.” I remembered her saying something about being used and the memory made me cringe. Perhaps, with a heartfelt apology and a little more knowledge of what was holding her back, we could work through her objections.
“Good.” Nick nodded toward the TV. “Let’s get our notes done, so we can eat dinner. Madison’s cooking and it smells great.”
He started the game, and we spent the next hour fast-forwarding through footage and pausing to offer each other advice whenever we watched a play that could have been done better. We’d watched the game before, but it was helpful to revisit it now that the season was underway.
When we finished, we walked down the short hall to the kitchen and dining area.
In summer, light spilled through the huge windows and glass sliding doors on the far wall, but now, the sun had already disappeared behind a wall of clouds and probably wouldn’t make another appearance until tomorrow.
A heat pump worked quietly in the corner, warming the space despite the chill of the outside air.
Nick’s younger sister, Madison, stood in the kitchen, stirring a wok that was full to the brim.
“You’re finally done in the cave?” she asked, transferring the wok to a chopping block.
“Sure are.” Nick ruffled her hair affectionately and she swatted his hand. “What have you made for us?”
“Chicken fried rice.” She stuck a serving spoon in the wok. “Help yourselves, but be careful, it’s hot.”
“Thanks, Madi.” I smiled at her, and she flashed a quick grin in return. While she had the same eye color as Nick, her hair had manifested the full force of their Irish genes and was flaming red.
“No problem.”
Nick handed me a plate, and I waited for him to fill his before doing the same. The three of us sat at the dining table in front of the darkening backyard. We took our time eating because, as Madison had said, the meal was fresh off the stovetop.
By the time we’d scraped our plates clean, my belly was full, and I wanted nothing more than to go home and roll into bed.
Unfortunately, I was also nervous about what I might walk into when I returned.
Jane had taken off earlier, and I couldn’t be sure where she’d gone.
I’d gone straight from Gus’s office to Nick’s place, so I didn’t know whether she’d been home.
For all I knew, she’d decided to take my car on a cross country road trip.
Okay, so that was unlikely. Jane wasn’t that sort of person. Or at least, I didn’t think she was. What did I know about her, really?
I walked the short distance home and stood outside the house, looking in. It was dark, except for the kitchen and living room. Jane’s silhouette was nowhere to be seen.
I unlocked the door and let myself in, relieved as I began to warm up. It wasn’t winter yet, but the temperatures outside at night weren’t tropical either.
I ventured into the kitchen first. There was a plate of Jane’s homemade protein cookies—the only type of cookie I was willing to eat—on the counter.
I snagged one and bit into it, savoring the peanutty taste, then I went to the fridge and opened it out of habit.
A covered plate of food took up most of the middle shelf, and I grimaced as yet another dose of guilt flickered through me.
Caught up in everything that had happened, I hadn’t thought to let Jane know I’d be eating out.
At least she’d obviously been back. The cookie was warm enough that it must have been baked within the last couple of hours. I backtracked to the garage, and sure enough, the Range Rover was parked inside.
Perhaps she’d cooled down enough for us to talk.
I headed to the entrance to her studio, putting most of my weight on my good foot as I climbed the stairs, though the pain had mostly faded by now, and knocked.
I waited, but there was no response. A frown knitted my eyebrows together.
She might have already gone to bed, but it wasn’t that late yet.
I paused, listening carefully. Beyond the door, I could hear the muffled bumps and rustles of someone moving around. She was definitely awake.
My heart sank. Perhaps her anger toward me hadn’t eased but grown.
I backed away from the door. If she didn’t want to see me, I wasn’t going to force my presence on her. It was bad enough that she probably felt she couldn’t escape me because she depended on me for a place to live.
Fuck, I had screwed up massively.
I considered going to bed. The day had been a nightmare. But instead, I went to my living room, sat on the sofa, and watched more game tape. I tried to pay attention, but my focus was split. Thoughts of Jane, and of Gus’s suggestion, kept swirling through my mind. They wouldn’t give me any peace.
Was Gus right that I needed to appear more settled to ensure my future captaincy? I really hoped so, because otherwise, I might have blown up my working relationship with the best assistant I’d ever had for no reason.
I shouldn’t have just asked her right then and there. I hadn’t liked the idea at first, and I should have stuck with that rather than talking myself around because of so-called logic and a desire for the captaincy—and because I’d been confused and hurt upon learning the truth about Jane.
I couldn’t help but feel that I didn’t know my loyal assistant at all.
Closing my eyes, I rested my head against the back of the sofa. How could I have been so caught off guard? We’d practically lived in each other’s pocket for months. Surely, at least one member of her family must have visited during that time.
But when I racked my mind, I came up blank. I had a vague memory of her bringing around a friend her age whose ears practically tinkled from the earrings weighing them down, but I couldn’t think of any other person that Jane had introduced me to.