Page 228 of Make the Play

“No,” Rachel says immediately.

He grins. “Wow. Rude. You don’t even know what it is yet.”

“You never say anything helpful,” provides Coach.

“I wasgoingto say,” Chase continues, undeterred, “that I’m happy to renew the contract. In perpetuity, and with upgraded terms. Such as actual dating. Kissing her in front of Neil. Coordinated Halloween costumes. A shared streaming subscription, and more… forks. Because Zoereallylikes—”

“Oh my god,” I mutter, dragging a hand down my face. “Stop talking.”

John leans forward. “Are you saying… you’reactuallydating?”

“Well,” I begin, “it wasn’t real to begin with, but—”

“It wasalwaysreal,” Chase amends. “But now it’s realer than real. Reality squared. We do joint grocery runs, and I know what brand of tampons she uses.”

Neil chokes on his coffee, Beige Legal Guy drops his pen, then there’s silence.

I don’t look at Chase, but Ifeelhis grin.

Rachel pinches the bridge of her nose. “Itoldyou this would happen.”

“Technically, I said it first,” mutters John.

“I sent the email,” Coach adds. “I was the first.”

Chase throws up his hands. “Wow, okay. Sorry we accidentally created the greatest love story of all time. Next time I’ll try hardernotto fall for the only woman who’s ever insulted me and made me hard at the same time.”

“I did do that,” I concede with a sigh.

“Tattooed it on my soul,” Chase replies.

Rachel blinks. Opens her mouth. Closes it again.

“I—Did you just—did he just say—” She turns to me, eyes glassy with what looks like genuine despair. “Zoe. I beg you.”

I clear my throat and sit up straighter. “We—what we mean is, we’ve decided to continue the relationship outside of the contract. Personally. Not professionally.”

Neil, who has been quietly stewing, finally speaks. “You mean to tell me you want our blessing todate a player?”

“Define dating,” Chase says, thoughtfully. “Is it bringing her coffee every morning? Sitting through five nail design options without blinking? Watching her reorganize my spice rack alphabetically?”

“I did thatonce—”

“Twice. Coriander was removed from the C section again last night.”

“That’s—stop putting it in S!”

“Ittastes like soap, Zoe.”

Coach Benson lets out a strangled sound, somewhere between a cough and a snort.

“Look, I get it,” I say, redirecting. “But we’re not pretending anymore, and I wanted this meeting to be transparent. This isn’t a PR scandal. We’re just… continuing on. For real. Without the fine print this time.”

Rachel nods slowly and John sighs. Neil, however, is flustered.

“This was a business arrangement. A performance to generate positive media optics. If you’re implying it’s turned into arealrelationship, then we have a conflict of interest.”

“Incorrect,” Chase replies brightly. “We havenoconflict of interest because I had the contracts re-drafted before I agreed to this stunt. Page eleven, subsection B. Zoe’s job is untouchable. You can’t fire her or end Pulse’s contract. I made sure of it.”

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