Page 85 of Zero Pucks Given
“And the photo of you two snuggling at the bar?” he asked without looking up. “Did I make you do that, too?”
I held my head up high. “None of this is my fault. I didn’t even want to go to Edmonton. How do I fix this?”
“How should I know?”
“You’re the head of marketing. Can’t you do some, I don’t know, damage control?”
Bob sighed, then leaned back in his chair and faced me. “I know this sucks for you. I’m sorry. But the best thing you can do is nothing.”
“Nothing? I’m getting fuckingdeath threatsonline, and you want me to just ignore them?”
“Yes,” he said bluntly. “Ignore them. Lay low for a few days. Outrage culture has a famously-short memory. The internet’s attention will move on if you let it.”
Everything he said made perfect sense, but it wasn’t satisfying. “Grayson has been ignoring my texts.”
Bob snorted. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but we’re in the middle of a playoff series. Grayson Steele is a busy man. Don’t read into it too much. Unless there’s more to that photo of you two cuddling than you’re letting on.”
His eyes bore into mine, daring me to deny it.
“Lay low,” he repeated. “Do your job, turn off your phone notifications, and wait for all of this to blow over. I promise you, it will. Then you’ll be able to go back to your regular life.”
He bent back over his laptop, forgetting all about me.
I thought about his advice while walking downstairs to my beer station.Back to my regular life. A month ago, that’s all I wanted. To put all of this bullshit behind me. But now, the thought filled me with profound sadness.
My old life was boring. I was a fucking beer girl with a TikTok side hustle, who was lucky if I got a hundred views on a video. Even though I had resisted it at first, winning that contest was one of the best things to ever happen to me. The past couple of months had been exciting, giving me a taste of something better.
I couldn’t go back. Not now.
Sharon gave me another hug when I returned. “I’m sorry. I know this sucks. I promise it will blow over in a few days. Just put your head down and try to ignore all the negative attention you’re getting.”
“That’s more or less what Bob just told me.”
“It’s good advice.” She sighed. “This reminds me of when my entire high school found out I kissed Lacy Johnson’s boyfriend.”
“Except I didn’t do anything wrong!”
“Hey, neither did I!” Sharon replied. “I was single. I didn’t cheat on anybody. Besides, he was the star quarterback, and super hot. What was I supposed to do?Notmake out with him at Ariel’s Halloween party?”
In spite of everything, I laughed.
There was a rush of customers right before the game started, and then it slowed to a trickle. For the first two quarters of the basketball game, I got into a groove serving beer to fans. I even managed to stop feeling sorry for myself about everything.
But during halftime, the TV mounted on the wall near our station switched to coverage of a press conference. There was a podium set up with a bouquet of microphones, with the Surge logo on the wall in thebackground. It must have been the training facility where the team worked out when the Frost Bank Center was in use.
My heart skipped a beat when Grayson approached the podium. He was wearing a suit.
“Hey, it’s your boyfriend!” Sharon said. “See? I told you not to worry. He’s probably going to defend you and set the record straight.”
For a few seconds, I believed her.
But that’s not what happened when Grayson began to speak.
41
Grayson
Professional sports was a bipolar industry.
