“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?”
