Page 27 of The Worst Pucking Deal

There’s a moment of silence on the other end before Jo speaks again, her voice tinged with frustration. “We need to talk. Can you come to the arena and meet me at Tom’s office? It’s urgent.”

My mind races with possibilities. What could be so urgent that Jo needs me? “Sure, I can be there,” I agree, trying to keep the worry out of my voice.

As I end the call, I can’t shake the feeling of unease that settles in the pit of my stomach. What could this meeting be about? Since Tom’s already picked me, it’s not like I did anything wrong by spending the night at Sawyer’s.

I look down at myself and decide to quickly swap my jeans for a pair of black pants. After changing, I grab my coat and bag and head out the door.

The arena is quiet as I make my way to Tom’s office, my footsteps echoing in the empty corridors. When I enter, I find Jo and Tom waiting for me—she’s scowling, and he’s smiling. Jesus, what the hell is this about?

“Lucia, thank you for coming,” Tom says, gesturing for me to take a seat.

I nod, my head throbbing from the remnants of last night’s indulgence. “Of course. What’s going on?”

Tom exchanges a glance with Jo before speaking. “I wanted to talk to you yesterday, but since you had the day off I was going to wait until Monday. But then pictures started circling of you and Sawyer. You were seen together late last night and this morning.”

When I look at Jo, she shakes her head subtly. I have no idea if that means I’ve messed up, or that she doesn’t know where Tom’s going either.

“Okay,” I say slowly, like I’m tasting the word. “Umm, Sawyer told me that you had picked me, and—”

“Ah!” Tom exclaims, slapping his hands together. “So he finally embraced it and decided to step up. I’m happy to hear that, Lucia.”

That’s not exactly what I meant to say, but now that I see Tom’s reaction, I’m glad I let him interrupt me. This looks better with him thinking Sawyer’s the one who took charge and started the charade. Hell, it’s a much better spin than me sucking him off as my—how did he put it?—audition. Dick.

“We asked you to come in here so we can go over the contractual side of the arrangement,” Jo says, eyeing the mountain of papers in front of her. I gulp, not too proud to admit it’s intimidating. “Obviously, there’s going to be an NDA, and—”

Tom interrupts her with a wave of his hand. “And we’ll suspend your regular duties as well as give you a raise. Your sole focus for the remainder of the season will be to improve Sawyer’s image as his girlfriend. Anything else will be assigned to someone else.”

“Right,” I mumble. I should have expected that. “Okay, where do I sign?” I force a smile.

Jo pushes the first mountain of papers toward me, and I lean forward in the chair so I can read it through. It all looks very standard. I’m not allowed to mention or discuss the agreement with anyone. I half expect it to be the rules of Fight Club, but this contract is sadly not that simple.

“Wait,” I say. “It says here that Mickey and Soren are aware of the situation.”

Tom nods. “Yes. Sawyer made an excellent case that you might need the credibility of others pretending they already knew.”

I debate telling him that Gail knows, but then I decide against it. There’s no point. I bite down on my bottom lip and continue reading. So far there’s nothing alarming there. I’m allowed a clothing budget to buy clothes for events I’m required to attend as Sawyer’s girlfriend. Including, but not limited to; sponsor events, interviews, charity events, etc.

Picking up the pen Tom discreetly nudged in my direction, I sign my name with a flourish.

As I continue reading, I come across the addendum regarding the length of this. “There’s an issue,” I say, pointing at the end date, which is two days after the season ends.

“Oh?” Jo asks, looking at where I’m pointing. “We can’t make it the exact end date of the season, Lucia. That would look odd.”

I nod. “Sawyer is aware of that. He suggested thirteen months.”

“Sawyer did?” Tom asks. His eyebrows sit high on his forehead, making his surprised expression almost comical.

“Yes. He told me all about it last night.” The lie falls easily from my lips. “He worried that even a little after the season ending would look off. He also said that such a short commitment might make the investors think he can’t commit longer. So he suggested thirteen months.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Tom says, running his hand through his hair. “It seems he’s really all in. Of course. I’m happy to take his suggestion if you are.”

“I am,” I confirm.

“And you’re sure this was Sawyer’s idea?” Jo asks suspiciously.

Of course, it wasn’t his idea, but there’s no way I’ll tell them that. If I’m somehow going to make a marriage out of this, it’s important I make Sawyer seem like he’s on board, so taking the next step won’t seem so… random. “Absolutely.”

She narrows her eyes on me, showing me she doesn’t believe me for a second. Well, too fucking bad. It’s not her I need to fool. And considering the way she treated me when we had the meeting with the GM only days ago, I’m not too happy with her right now.

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