7. Ava
Love drunk.
I never understood the word, but as I got to work, my legs were still shaky. All I could do was stare at my computer with a dopey smile.
I barely even registered the knock on my door until it started creaking open.
Someone really needed to put some oil on that thing or something.
“Hey, oh, it”s good you’re here, Ava,” Anna, one of the HR reps, said.
Anna was my opposite in every way. Not just look with her tall, statuesque build and dark, short-cropped hair that made her blue eyes stand out.
But she was also the opposite in everything she did.
While my office was cheery with rugs and soft lighting, hers was more of a sterile doctor’s office that I tried never to go in and sit on the plastic orange chairs that my thighs always stuck to.
“Hey, Anna, wow, is it already time to talk about my retirement plan renewal?” I asked, looking up from my computer and trying to keep my face neutral.
While I liked my button-downs and skirts, Anna liked to cover up every part of her thin body in a gray turtleneck, dark jacket, and charcoal dress pants that made her never-ending legs look impossibly long.
She pursed her thin lips together. “No, that’ll be October.”
“Oh, cool,” I said, nodding as I pushed a strand of my dark red hair behind my ear.
It must have fallen out of my bun at some point, and I was sure that Anna noticed wrinkling her nose.
Sorry, we all couldn’t have our hair perfect. Or our clothes are nice and ironed.
Some of us were too busy getting ravished by our roommates to think about getting ready.
“While I was getting coffee this morning, I overheard some of the players talking about Michael moving out of Liam’s place and into yours.”
Her words were casual, but her face, like she just sucked on a lemon, said that it was killing her just to say the words.
Was this jealousy?
No, definitely not with her.
I sat a little straighter, clearing my throat. “Yes, Ella, one of the physical therapists had just moved out, and with Liam getting married, Michael decided it was better to leave Liam’s flat.”
I haven’t added in the whole ‘married and knocked up his sister’ part yet, but I’m sure HR will become aware of that soon enough.
She smirked, wrinkling her tiny button nose.
“Well, I’m glad you were there to offer him a place, but you do know it’s part of our employment policy not to have co-workers of the opposite sex living together.”
I frowned. “That seems like an archaic rule and a lawsuit waiting to happen.”
That at least wiped the smirk off her face as she stood straighter, buttoning and unbuttoning her jacket. “Normally, I would say that, but since you’re in a superior position to Michael and have control over decisions in the company that directly affect him.”
I opened my mouth and closed it again, not fully believing what she was saying. “What? I just work in public relations; I’m not his manager or anything.”
“But, Ava, you do have direct control of his public image. How would it look to the other players? Would they think you’re playing favorites because he’s your roommate?”
I was about to protest that it wasn’t like we were dating or anything, but I zipped my mouth shut.
What were we exactly?
There was nothing official, but after last night and this morning, we were definitely something more than just co-workers.
Would that hinder my job?
My thoughts swirled as Anna wrapped her fingers around the desk. “I won’t bring this to the higher-ups, but hopefully, you two will figure something out.”
With that, she left, still with that stupid smirk on her face and leaving me from love drunk to stone cold, pissed off sober.
Sitting in the break room, I combed through the HR binder—the one I’d signed all one million pages of but never actually read through.
I didn’t think I’d ever need to.
“That looks like some light reading material,” a honeyed voice said, plopping a cheetah print lunch box on the table across from me.
I looked up to see my former roommate, Ella, in her usual team polo and brown curly ponytail swishing along her shoulders.
The woman always had a bright smile, and I couldn’t understand why someone would have beef with her, even if Patrick were one of the more grouchy players on the team.
“Just looking through the Human Resources manual for some answers,” I muttered, flipping to the next page.
“Oh, breaking the law now? I may have heard a rumor about you and a certain rookie,” she sang, plopping down in the seat across from me.
My head popped up from the book, and I stared at my former roommate. “What did you hear? Who was it from? It’s probably not true, you know.”
Ella giggled, shaking her head. “Man, you must have it bad for this guy.”
“I don’t,” I protested, but my flaming hot cheeks must have given me away because Ella laughed harder.
“So it is true. He moved in? And there’s more?” she asked, leaning closer and lowering her voice.
“He just moved in because he needed a place and the other thing…”
Ella squealed, and I had to shush her, glancing around to make sure no one heard us, even though the break room was utterly empty.
“Finally, you got laid,” Ella whisper-screeched.
“When you say it like that, it sounds dirty.”
She raised her eyebrows. “You really like him, don’t you?”
I sighed, picturing Michael’s smile and the way the corner of his eyes crinkled when he laughed.
And not just his looks but the way he talked to me, called me beautiful.
“Yeah, I do,” I admitted.
Then I cleared my throat as some of the other staff walked in, paying us no mind as the men in their starched polos poured themselves cups of coffee, laughing at their own jokes.
It wasn’t until they left that I finally let out the breath I was holding in.
“What about you? Anyone new in your life?”
She sucked in a breath, her eyes widening, and I knew there was definitely something she wasn’t telling me.
“It wouldn’t happen to be Patrick, would it?” I asked, keeping my voice low in case we had any other visitors.
She blinked hard. “Why…why would you ask that?”
I chewed on my bottom lip, wondering how to answer that question without revealing why he was in my office.
“Just wondering. He is one of the still single guys on the team.”
She snorted. “Yeah, and one of the biggest pain in the asses. You’re lucky you got the sweet single one. Or I guess maybe he isn’t single anymore.”
I sighed, leaning back in the chair. “I don’t know what we are. There isn’t a label on it except roommates. Which I guess is against HR policies because I’m considered in a higher position, which can affect his career.”
She frowned. “I don’t think that’s right at all.”
I shrugged. “It makes sense, I guess. The other guys could see it as, since he’s my roommate, I’d be giving him preferential treatment.”
“Let me see that binder,” Ella said, grabbing the plastic piece and scooting it toward her.
Her dark eyes scanned the pages before she placed a chipped nail on a highlighted paragraph. “Ah ha, there’s your answer.”
“What?” I asked, my ears perking as I leaned over to look at the passage.
“If you two are married, you would just need to sign forms saying it won’t affect your positions.”
I snorted, shaking my head as my shoulders deflated in defeat. “Ella, we aren’t even dating, and now you’re talking about marriage?”
She shrugged. “Why not?”
“Because you can’t just marry someone you’ve only been with a few days.”
“Says who?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. “You two like each other, and you’ve known him forever, so why not at least bring the idea up? It’s that, or you both find a new place to live; your choice.”
I let out a deep breath, shaking my head.
“This is crazy.”
“Yeah, but it also could work.”
I nodded slowly and took the binder back.
A call buzzed on her phone, and she had to leave me with my thoughts.
Could I really ask Michael if he wanted to get married so we could stay roommates and whatever else we were?
No.
That was ridiculous.
But what else could we do?
Sitting in the break room wasn’t helping me, and I couldn’t talk to Michael until I found out what was going on.
So I grabbed my things and headed back to my office, hoping maybe something there could distract me from the mess I’d brought on myself.