Page 19 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

When she’d calmed down a bit, he squeezed her hands softly. “They’ll say anything to sell whatever they can. Believe me. They’ve dragged me through so many variations of ‘Shouldn’t he be a doctor or engineer?’ and ‘Does this look like a Colton Beaumont to you?’ that I’ve lost count.”

He still remembered the first time he’d seen a news site talk about his race, as if being half-Indian made him so different from the rest of the NFL that it warranted putting him in the headlines. As if the color of his skin changed his abilities on the field. Big deal. Most people didn’t think twice about his race, but leave it to the media to sensationalize something that had no bearing on the sport.

This information seemed to stun her. She blinked at him slowly, then sniffled. “They said that about you?”

He nodded once, not wanting to dwell on it. “I’m telling you, the press will say anything. I’m sorry you got sucked into it because of me.”

She scoffed, “It’s not exactly the first time this has happened to me. Not even this season.”

“No, they haven’t been too nice to you, have they?”

She sniffled, shaking her head.

He realized how close they were, how both his hands were on her. She seemed to come to the same realization because she released his hand. He removed his other hand from her cheek and moved a few feet away.

“What do I even do? This is going to affect my job again, I can just see it.” Another sniffle and then a groan as she planted her face in her hands. “I’m so screwed.”

He didn’t know what possessed him to say what he did next, but he knew he would regret it. Dearly. “What if we went along with it?”

Her eyes were as wide as saucers when she looked back up at him. “What?”

He thought about trying to find a way out of it but remembered Cooper’s words. She was alone in a new place. She had nobody she could rely on in Charleston, and this was the last thing she should be dealing with on her own. Plus, it was nice knowing it would get under Clark’s skin.

So, he shrugged nonchalantly. “We could pretend. You know, until everything blows over. Everyone will already think something’s going on either way. This way, you can take control of the narrative. Plus, it’ll get that fucking dick off your back.” He had to rein in the anger that threatened to take hold when he thought about that message.

She waved her hand between the two of them. “Aren’t you forgetting the part where we can’t stand to be in the same room as each other? Or the part where we’ve hated each other since college?” She smoothed her skirt. “This conversation notwithstanding, because I’m vulnerable, and you’re going to pretend you never saw any of this later.” She looked at him pointedly and he nodded.

“We’ve been doing a fine job of it for a month. And I think we can put our college rivalry behind us.”

She gave him an incredulous look, wiping at her face. At the very least, this conversation had taken her mind off of the news for long enough that she’d stopped crying. Colton was thankful for that.

“What about my job? There’s no way they’d let us work together if we’re in a relationship, right?”

“I can handle Coach. Don’t worry about that.”

Her eyebrows came together as she thought.

He continued, “I’m going to go and get to pretending that this never happened—if that’s what you really want. But think it over, you don’t need to decide right now.”

Practice was hell the next day, and his teammates giving him a hard time didn’t help. Cooper eyed him suspiciously the whole three hours, but Colton had to keep his mouth closed until Lucia decided for them.

He still wasn’t positive about what had made him volunteer for a fake relationship. What had he been thinking? He hadn’t been in a relationship in years. He barely had enough time to sleep, let alone have a girlfriend. No matter how fake it might be. It had been so dumb, but the rationale he’d given her seemed to have made even her pause. As if she had truly been thinking about it. And he had to admit that controlling the narrative was likely their best option in this situation.

At the end of practice, Coach Turner asked Colton to follow him, ominous as ever. Colton was bummed to miss out on an ice bath, but obeyed, wondering what he could’ve done to get Coach so twisted up.

He realized what it was the moment he walked into the HR Coordinator’s office, a wide-eyed Lucia looking back at him. Shit. This was happening a lot faster than he had expected. He’d thought she would have had at least a couple of days to think through his offer.

Coach Turner pointed at the seat beside Lucia’s, walking around the desk so that he stood behind the coordinator whose name Colton couldn’t remember. A few steps away was a woman about his and Lucia’s age with black hair tied back in a ponytail, dressed in a black pantsuit, and glaring down at her phone. When Colton sat beside Lucia, the woman looked up, a glare still fixed on her face.

“I’m sure you’re both aware of our policy on disclosure of relationships.” The HR coordinator paused, waiting for their responses. Colton looked to Lucia, wanting to take her lead since he’d given her the reins. She refused to meet his eyes.

The man continued when neither of them spoke. “Is the headline true or not? We need to be aware if you’re together, as it will affect your working relationship going forward.”

Colton was still watching Lucia. She closed her eyes, sighed deeply, and then nodded once, resignation in her tone. “Yes, it’s true. We wanted to disclose our relationship when we realized that we wanted to be together, but the press beat us to it.”

And there was her decision. He didn’t realize his heart had been pounding until he heard it in his ears, a rush of blood at her words. Coach’s narrowed eyes never left his face, and Colton was sure he was trying to figure out whether this would be a good or bad thing for his game.

“In that case, we do have to put some protocols in place to ensure that your working relationship remains what it’s meant to be. Lucia will be given a superior. She will have to write a report after each session to make sure she’s remaining objective and that all your work together is being logged.”

---