Chapter 43
forty-three
BLAIR
The next few weeks fly by in a blur. Between the holidays, celebrating Lexi and Ryder’s engagement, massive projects at work, Reed’s football stuff, and Logan’s game schedule, I barely have a moment to breathe.
It’s all fun chaos, but it’s chaos, nonetheless.
At least it means I don’t have much time to dwell on my worries about mine and Logan’s relationship.
That doesn’t mean others aren’t dwelling on it, unfortunately.
“Do you know there are photos of you and your boyfriend all over the internet?” Bryson asks as we dig into our salads at lunch. “Adrienne came across a couple, and we ended up going down a rabbit hole. There are a lot of people talking about you two.”
Groaning, I chew slowly, trying to gather my thoughts. “Hopefully, they’re not all saying horrible things.”
Bryse wiggles his head from side to side. “Eh, no, most of them aren’t. I mean, people on the internet suck, that’s not news, but I have to say, there are a few women out there who are not fans of yours. At least, I’m assuming they’re women. I suppose they don’t have to be.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not surprised. Logan’s a high-profile athlete, so he’s bound to have some superfans with boundary issues.”
“True. But a couple of those fans were a little unhinged. Just be careful, okay?”
“What does Blair need to be careful of?” Tess asks, her black bob bouncing as she pops her head in at just the wrong time.
My whole body locks up. I’ve known this moment was coming. Keeping our relationship a secret when Logan is such a popular athlete was only going to last so long. I just hoped I’d have a bit more time.
Bryson glances sideways at me, and when it’s clear I’m lost in thought and incapable of speech, he speaks for me. “Blair has been seeing someone new.”
Tess frowns. “You broke up with Logan?”
Time stops, the lettuce in my mouth turning to ash.
She knows?
“Wait, what?”
“You two were so cute together,” she says, frown deepening. “What happened?”
“We didn’t break up,” I splutter. “You knew?”
My boss rolls her eyes. “Was it supposed to be a secret?”
I look helplessly at Bryson. “Yes?”
“Of course I knew. It’s my job to keep track of what the players are doing and who they’re dating, so I know if they mess up.
Then I can plan an event or fundraiser or some other charitable appearance to help rehab their image before things get messy.
” Tess says it all so matter-of-factly, I wither in my seat.
“I…” My heart is hammering against my ribcage. “You’re not mad?”
“Mad? Why would I be mad?” Tess asks, genuinely confused. “Did you two do something stupid like have sex in public?”
A piece of lettuce gets lodged in my throat, and I cough violently. Bryse gags when it goes flying out of my mouth and lands by his plate.
“Gross. You okay?”
I nod, eyes watering. “Uh-huh. Yup.”
“Seriously, Blair, if you two got caught doing the nasty in public, I need to know. That will definitely require some damage control.” Tess pulls out her phone and starts tapping away.
“We did not have sex in public,” I choke out. “Oh my god.”
My boss looks up from her phone and the frown she was sporting morphs into a furrowed brow. “Then what’s the problem?”
“You’re not going to fire me?”
“What? Why would I do that?”
“Because you fired the girl who had this job before me?”
“Becky?” Tess asks, her confusion growing.
“We had to fire Becky. She was sexually harassing multiple players. Including your boyfriend. Actually, he’s the reason we finally let her go.
She kept showing up at their practices to ask him out and make sexually suggestive comments.
He was so uncomfortable that he went to his coach about it.
I know he felt bad about her losing her job, but no one should have to put up with sexual harassment in the workplace. ”
Oh my god. This whole time…
“So she wasn’t fired for dating a player?”
“No. She was fired for offering blow jobs to multiple players and cornering your boyfriend.” Tess cocks her head to the side. “Why would you think she was fired for dating a player? We don’t have fraternization rules here. What happens between two consenting adults isn’t our business.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I inhale slowly and deeply. “I guess I just assumed based on something Bryse said to me when I started.”
My coworker and friend winces. “That’s why you didn’t want to tell anyone about you and Logan?”
“Well, yeah. I care about Logan, but Reed depends on me, so I couldn’t risk my job, you know?”
“I’m sorry, Blair. I tried to tell you one time that dating isn’t against any rules. I thought you knew.” He reaches out and gives my forearm a quick squeeze, which helps calm me down some.
“It’s okay. It’s not your fault I didn’t just ask like an adult.” So many weeks and months of stress, and I could have avoided all of it by pulling up my big girl panties and asking about the policy.
I’m an idiot.
“I just assumed you were a private person,” Tess says with a shrug. “I’ve known ever since the time he showed up with coffees for the whole office.”
“Oh.”
Bryson chuckles at my expression and nudges me with his foot. “At least you know now?”
“Yeah. I guess.”
“Circling back,” Tess says, crossing her arms over her chest. “Why does Blair need to be careful?”
“Because of this.” Bryson pulls out his phone and starts tapping and swiping. Soon, he’s holding up a screen with photos of me and Logan. There are hundreds of comments on some of them. Thousands on a few. It’s overwhelming and intrusive.
It seems like every time Logan and I go out in public, someone snaps a photo, and it gets uploaded to the Rogues’ fan sites.
I hate being the object of social media speculation.
What I hate even more is that, occasionally, Reed has gotten dragged into it.
He’s shown up in a few of the photos that get posted, and the speculation has been ridiculous.
From people wondering if he’s mine and Logan’s love child from a teenage relationship, to people wondering if he’s in some kind of Big Brother program and Logan is his mentor.
Reed thinks all of it is hilarious, of course. Why wouldn’t he? It grosses him out to see people claim he must be my kid, but he loves telling me it means I must look really old, and I should look up Korean skin-care routines to help with my early signs of aging.
Little shit.
Mostly, it’s a nuisance, and I hate the way it has me looking over my shoulder any time we’re out. Every phone pointed in our general direction could belong to one of the weirdos discussing our relationship online.
Why do people even care?
Actually, I know the answer to that. People—well, mostly women—care about Logan’s relationship because he’s never had one before.
His one-night-only rule has been well documented since his very first season in the NHL as a baby-faced nineteen-year-old.
That he’s been seen out and about on multiple occasions with not only the same woman, but a teenage boy who is clearly connected to said woman?
That’s front-page news on the online gossip rags.
“Ah, yes. The internet can be a scary place.” Tess takes the phone from Bryson and scrolls through a handful of posts. “I hope you stay away from sites like these, Blair. It’s not worth your mental health.”
“I do,” I reassure her. “My friend, Lexi, keeps an eye on things for me.”
“Good. We’re lucky to have you on the team, Blair. And as long as you don’t leak a sex tape or something, your job is safe.”
I choke on my own saliva at that.
“You don’t have to worry, Tess. I have no interest in making a sex tape.”