Page 213 of Force Play
“Ah,” Dr. Coltrain says. “I see.”
“I wanted to make sure to give you the entire story. I understand it may prevent me from being considered, but I have to take that risk.”
“Lucia,” he says, voice even and not giving anything away. “This will have no bearing on your consideration for the position.”
“It… won’t?”
“Absolutely not. I’m selecting based on merit, not nepotism. If anyone were to make a complaint of that nature, I’d give them the facts. And to be perfectly transparent, the fact is that you’re my top choice.”
“What?” I say in disbelief, hardly able to absorb what he’s saying.
“I don’t want this to get around,” Dr. Coltrain states, “but I’ve certainly noticed the way you’re stepping up to help Nathan and Greg. I’ve also noticed the way Loganisn’tdoing that. The Head Trainer needs to be a leader, and you’ve already been showing those qualities.”
“I—… I mean…” I stammer before gathering myself. “Thank you, Dr. Coltrain. That means a lot.”
“I hope that can ease your mind.”
“Yeah, it definitely helps,” I chuckle.
Dr. Coltrain smiles. “Was there anything else you needed to discuss?”
“That was honestly everything. Thank you for meeting with me. I’m much more relaxed now.”
“Happy to hear that. I’ll see you in a bit, then, when the players come in.”
I thank him again and walk out of the room in disbelief with the brightest smile on my face.
Ari was right—everything worked out.
“That looks like good news to me.”
I look down the hall and see my boyfriend leaning with his back against the wall. I practically skip over to him in excitement.
“Everything is great,” I exclaim, flinging my arms around him. “Even if I hadn’t come in to address it, everything would still be okay.”
“What does that mean?”
“Ari, I’m already the top choice for Head Trainer. We can’t let anyone know that, but Logan is going to have a tough time earning it over me at this point.”
“That’s fucking amazing!” Ari picks me up and spins me around.
“I’m so relieved,” I smile. “What are you doing here, by the way? You don’t need to report for another forty-five minutes.”
“My girl had a meeting she was nervous about,” he grins. “I snuck out right after you did and waited for you to finish.”
“Wait, when I was talking to you before the meeting…”
“I was in my car in the parking lot,” Ari laughs.
“You’re ridiculous,” I chuckle. “Dr. Coltrain wasn’t surprised when I told him we were together.”
“Really?”
“Really. I guess you turning up to Brooklyn College with a bouquet of flowers kinda gave it away.”
“Ah, back when I was still pretending I wasn’t in love with you.”
We wear matching grins as he rests my back against the wall, my legs wrapped around his waist.
