Page 7 of (La)Crosse My Heart

I nod and walk around the handrail to head down the last few stairs.

“Please tell me you’re not the one I’m supposed to be working with,” he says, wrinkling his nose. And there’s the attitude I’ve waited for.

Being this close to him is a trip. He’s been such a fixture of my teenage memories that seeing him grown up and filled out is doing things to my brain.

“It’s me. It could be worse though, right?”

He shakes his head. “No. You’re just going to make fun of me for my lack of media charm.”

There’s an edge behind the humor and I can see this will be a sensitive subject.

“We’re not teenagers, Clark,” I say, folding my arms over my chest. “Go shower up and then we’ll meet.”

His jaw tenses, his old sign that he’s not happy about this arrangement.

He nods and heads into the small tunnel. I turn to walk out of the stadium through another gate that leads to the offices. There’s got to be some kind of office I can borrow to get this thing started.

I ask a gal at the main desk, and she gives me instructions to an upstairs conference room.

The faster I help Clark, the faster I’ll be able to move onto the next client and continue to prove my worth. I’d rather not move again within the next couple of years, but that’s all based on my success here.

By the time I’m done, this company is going to have the most well-known players across the board.

4

Clark

Did I take the slowest shower ever? Absolutely.

By the time I’ve changed, no one’s in the locker room. I’m okay with that. My roommates probably headed out to get some food, which I would love to do about now, but I’ve got to suffer through whatever Jessa has to say.

When did she become an expert in helping people with their communication skills? The last time she used her own, it was to yell and scream because I stole her car.

Valid.

I probably shouldn’t be like this with Jessa. She’d always been a solid influence in my life, even if I enjoyed goading her into things.

I really don’t want her to pick apart my personality and all the things I’m doing wrong with media appearances.

So I drag myself out of the locker room. As soon as I open the door I see she’s standing there, tapping away at her phone.

It gives me a second to take her in, to realize the girl I’d known had grown into a woman. She’s got curves andconfidence that I don’t remember. I can’t believe she’s willingly wearing heels.

“Are you ready for this torture?” I ask.

Jessa glances up and nods. “I didn’t think you’d make it out of there so soon. Let’s head upstairs to the conference room and we can talk about some details.”

We wait next to the elevators, and she goes back to something on her phone. I’m not sure why I’m so irritated about it, but why isn’t she asking questions now? Save me some uncomfortable time in the conference room.

“How long have you been doing this?” I ask, gesturing my hand out in front of me and her.

“What? Working with people on their media presence?” When I nod, she hesitates, “For about a year.”

“How did you get into this?” I ask, suddenly curious.

The elevator doors open and we step inside. I lean against the side, and she presses the button for the third floor.

“I went to college for public relations and got a few internships. I noticed the support for guiding athletes through dealing with anything outside of their sport was lacking, and I wanted to help.”

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