Page 13 of Keeping the Single Dad
Claire smoothed a hand over her white blonde bob. Her pale blue eyes gleamed more glacial than ever “Get showers. Do what you need to do. I’ll see you back here this afternoon.”
I rose, but Claire signaled me and pointed to her office. “We need to talk.”
My shoulder blades tensed. Claire had been gunning for me for ages. I’d been in her bad books ever since starting a stupid bet a couple of years ago. I regretted it. It had meant to be fun to see who could shag the hot new doctor first. Nobody could have predicted that Skylar would fall head over heels in love with him. I hadn’t meant to hurt his feelings, either. I’d apologized profusely, and I’d done my time cleaning the stadium toilets after match days as punishment. Everybody had got over it, but Claire had never been the forgiving type.
Claire closed her office door behind us and gestured to a chair. She sat opposite me, behind her desk, and steepled her fingers across her lips. Her mouth took on an unpleasant twist. My heart pounded. Shit. The Ice Queen was not happy.
“We’re in the Women’s Super League. I shouldn’t need to tell you that at the end of this season, one team will go down.” A silken thread of warning wound through her calm voice. “Nobody gets to coast this season. Nobody is safe.”
Irritation made my jaw tense. “I was ten minutes late. I’m sorry.”
Claire pressed her lips. “Nobody gets to turn up late. We’re a team. We play together and we train together. Training doesn’t work unless everybody is here. You miss training, you mess it up for everyone.”
Shame ground in my gut. “I know. I apologize. It won’t happen again.”
“You’re benched for the next game, and you need to think about your conduct. We’re restructuring the team and that means making tough decisions. You need to do better if you want to keep your spot.”
My blood turned to ice. Benched? I couldn’t afford to miss a single game. You never knew which game would have scouts on the look-out for the next picks to play for England. If I had a chance of playing for my country, then I needed to be on the pitch for every game to get noticed. This was an overreaction.
“Are you kidding me? You made me captain when Skylar left and now you’re threatening to kick me off the team?”
“No one is kicking you off the team. I’m asking you to consider your behavior. I’ve been turning a blind eye for a while, but now I’m saying enough is enough.”
A sudden anger lashed my chest. “I got us here too, you know. Do you think we’d be in this league if it wasn’t for me?”
“Nobody is debating your talent. It’s your behavior off the pitch that’s the problem.”
“What behavior?”
Her clear blue eyes dropped to my neck, and she quirked a brow. “Women can’t afford to be anything less than perfect in the public eye or they get a reputation. You’re not just representing yourself, you’re representing your club. I don’t want to see your face in the papers. It’s embarrassing. Every week there’s a picture of you with a different man on your arm.”
Really, Claire? Slut shaming?
I snorted. There was no shame in my game. “What are you saying? It’s not the 1950s. Women can do whatever they want. I know what people say about me, anyway. I’m Logan Sinclair’s daughter. A chip off the old block, right? The media went after him, so they go after me. Sure, I like to party. The team is still my priority. I can do both.”
Claire folded her arms. “Keep out of the gossip columns. We’re in the Women’s Super League. This is world class football. Take this team seriously or I’ll transfer you and find somebody that does.”
Adrenaline coursed through my body, but I took a deep breath the way Reece had taught me. Arguing with Claire would get me nowhere. I folded my arms across my chest and dashed any hope of talking through the Karen Delaney situation with her. The last thing I needed was to give Claire more ammunition.
Still, I couldn’t help the frustration that made my heart pound. “This is unfair.”
“Who said life was fair? Prove that you deserve your place on the team, and you have nothing to worry about.” She waved a dismissive hand. “Now, get out there on the pitch. You’re doing ten laps.”
“Ten?” I couldn’t keep the outrage from my voice.
I’d been training all morning, and she wanted me to do a five kilometer run? Screw that.
Claire tilted her head. Her icy blue eyes locked with mine. “You’re right. I’m being too lenient. Make it fifteen.”
I kicked a clod of grass as I stormed out of the building and onto the training pitches. This was bullshit. Sure, I liked to party, and I was late sometimes, but I’d put everything into this team. I’d scored so many of the goals that got us into the Women’s Super League. Now, Claire expected me to prove I was worth keeping around? To think I’d considered going to Claire for help with Karen Delaney. It would just give her another excuse to kick me aside.
“Lana?”
Mel’s voice held me in my tracks. I swiveled to see my sister on the side-line. She looked immaculate in a fitted navy suit with gold buttons and the Louboutins I’d reluctantly handed back.
“What are you doing here?”
“The men’s team have a new signing. I’m here for a contract meeting.”
