Chapter 9
Jessica stared at her phone as if to will him to text her, but nothing. The only time she’d heard from him had been at eight in the morning when he texted: We’ll talk later…I. What the hell? He’d put her off like a ten-year-old who’d just spilled blackberry juice all over a brand new white carpet. She tossed her phone on her desk and shoved her chair back, letting the rollers take her all the way to the wall, jerking her hard enough to crane her neck.
Asshole.
She stared at her closed office door. She’d been holed up in this room since nine in the morning, after being followed from her home to the stadium, where she’d been accosted by a handfull of reporters and photographers shouting at her. Her morning had been spent spinning the story about her being topless, which turned into an exercise of her poking fun at herself. But the image of her flashing Nolan? Putting a positive spin on that one had been difficult and without any guidance from Nolan on which direction he’d prefer her to take, she had to make an executive decision and that was to move forward with the idea they were dating.
One tweet on her personal account that seemed to be catching on was:
If ur new bf dared you to flash him when no one was looking…would u? #newlove
People were tweeting the crazy things they’d done to either impress someone, or get someone’s attention. She’d successfully pushed any attention on Nolan and who he should have around his daughter, and placed it right on herself, which was fine.
She also posted a few teasers from the interview with Nolan that would go live Monday morning, but she wanted to expand on the article, adding a few personal touches from Nolan. She knew he wouldn’t like it much, but considering the stories circulating, she thought it prudent.
Except Nolan hadn’t responded to a single text. She’d given up around two in the afternoon.
Now pushing six and she was still trying to get ahold of the Derek Boyd, the photographer who took the images and the reporter, Greg Dugan, who worked for the tabloid show, but so far, neither one had responded. Not even when she’d tagged them in social media.
A tap at the door startled her. “Who is it?” she yelled. If it were Nolan, at this point, she’d tell him to screw himself.
“It’s Lilliana.”
“Come in.”
Lilliana peeked her head in the door, before stepping all the way through and closing it behind her. “How are you holding up?”
“I’ve been better and Nolan is still ignoring me.”
“From what I hear, he’s having a tough time on the field. Lost his shit on one of the new, younger players who made some snide remark about you.”
“That isn’t helping.”
Lilliana tossed a bunch of chocolates on the desk before sitting down. “I heard Ian Dare called him into his office.”
“He called me in too. He said he’d fire Nolan before he’d fire me, but he’s concerned about why this one tabloid is going after us. He believes they have either a beef with me, or Nolan.”
“That’s crazy.”
“What’s really nuts is I think it’s me they are after. They really had to do some digging to get that picture of me at the rally. Only a hand full of us had access to that image.”
“Are your friends still pissed about their naked picture being plastered all over the news?”
Talk about the shit hitting the fan? That picture hadn’t seen the light of day, other than by her and her friends. It wasn’t meant to be a statement, but rather girls having fun at a march that had purpose. They’d promised never to share the picture with anyone. Had they been young and stupid, the snapshot wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it had been taken as adults, each with careers that might view it negatively.
Jessica really didn’t care that much about the image or the fact the world had seen it. But she did care about how it affected Nolan.
And his daughter.
“They have all taken it in stride since so far their names have not been reported, but they aren’t thrilled, that’s for damn sure.”
“I think the team spokesperson did a good job deflecting the situation and it would appear you’ve managed to handle it on all the social media outlets.” Lilliana leaned against the wall next to the door with a forced smile. “It’s going to blow over.”
Eventually, another scandal would catch the attention of the tabloid and her flashing would become a distant memory in the eyes of the public. But at what cost?
“Want to come over tonight?”
Jessica shook her head. All she wanted to do was climb in bed with Netflix and a glass of wine. Binge watch anything over the weekend, doing nothing but ignoring the outside world. Reboot and recharge. “Thanks, but I’m going to pass.”
“Call me if you need me.” Lilliana opened the door and gasped. “Oh, hello, Coach.”
“Lilliana,” Nolan’s deep voice bounced off the walls, landing on Jessica’s ears, causing a slight shudder.
“Finally decided to talk to me?” Slamming her laptop into her bag, she stood. “Well, right now, I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
“I sense your mad.”
“No shit.” She glared at him. “The moment the story broke, I texted you. I called you a few times, asking what you wanted me to do. How you wanted me to play this on social media, but noooooo, you couldn’t answer.”
His strong, wide body filled the doorframe. “I’m sorry, but I needed to focus on my job without this distraction. Besides, I did text you that we’d talk later, that I’d meet you here after practice and to handle this however you needed and I would support you.”
“On no you didn’t.” She held up her phone, pulling the text up, shoving it in his face.
His eyes went wide. “I didn’t finish the text.”
“Consider me no longer a distraction. Now if you don’t mind, I’ve got plans.” Moving around her desk, she expected him to move, but instead he held his ground, hands planted on his sexy hips. Her checks flushed as her mind danced with erotic images from the night before.
His musky scent filled her nostrils and the way he looked at her, reminded her of how his hands felt as they glided across her skin.
Lust. Pure lust. Nothing more.
“I’m sorry I ignored you. Between the news crew camped out in front of my parent’s house, having to explain why they were there to a three-year-old, dealing with a few immature men on the field, and trying to get this offense ready for next weekend, I chose not to deal with it knowing you’d—”
“I don’t want to hear it.” She held up her hand. “You knew I’d need to do damage control for both of us, but you left me hanging. I had to make some decisions, and if you don’t like them, too bad for you.”
“I don’t have any problems with how you handled it.” He rubbed his jaw. “But I did tell you I didn’t have a lot of time and that sometimes I’d need to focus on other things. I was running late this morning, otherwise I would have stopped by earlier.”
“Right. Well we did decide no strings, but that doesn’t mean you get to ignore me about a story that involves both of us just because you’ve got your panties in a wad.” She narrowed her eyes, glowering at him. “Now please leave my office.”
“No. We need to discuss something.”
“And what would that be?” She should just shove him aside and storm out.
He pulled out his phone. “You mentioned in a text and voice mail about adding to my featured article or doing an entire series, making it more personal and letting people get to know me better and maybe that would help with the press hounding me.”
“Right now, they aren’t hounding you.” She tossed her bag over her shoulder. “They seem to have a hard-on for me.”
“Because you flashed me and—”
“Get out.” She closed the gap between them and poked him in the chest. She couldn’t blame him for her actions, but she didn’t have to take his sarcasm.
“You really need to stop interrupting me.” Holding her wrist, he stared at her with narrowed eyes. “It happened. We got caught. We move on. But, I’m not willing to take that risk again.”
She yanked her arm free. “Neither am I.”
“Then we understand each other.” The asshole had the nerve to crack a smile.
“Loud and clear,” she muttered.
“Or maybe not,” Nolan said as he rested his hand on her shoulder. “This isn’t going as planned.”
She cocked her head.
He dropped his hand.
“Okay, but you’re still the social media director and I want to, carefully, ease my family life into the Thunder organization, which means our fans as well. I want to do it in a way that will keep news crews off my front lawn, but also so I can take my kid to the grocery store without worrying my every move is being scrutinized.”
“You’re a celebrity, so to speak, so that’s never going to happen.” She stepped back from the powerful man, confused by how tender his touch had been moments ago, yet his words so hurtful. “We can easily change your image with a few pieces that candidly covers you and Heather and your journey to this place.”
“I’d like to do that.”
“I’ll get someone in PR to conduct the interview. If you read all the texts, then you know the approach I want to take, which I believe will soften your image.” Lowering her head, she took a step to the left, moving past him.
His fingers curled around her biceps. “No. I don’t trust anyone else but you. Besides, it gives us some time together.”
“Excuse me?” She blinked. “Why on earth would we want to spend time together?”
“I think you’re mistaking my frustration over the situation and how I feel about—”
“Don’t tell me what I think.”
“If you’d let me complete one damn sentence, you’d hear me tell you that what happened doesn’t change anything. I still want to get to know you better, it only changes how we go about it for now. Like no flashing in public. We date, but don’t give them any ammunition that could hurt either of us.”
The way he stared into her eyes made her want to believe him, but his silence all day spoke volumes. Not to mention the way he’d brush her under the rug out of convenience when a simple ‘Got it, good with what you are doing, need to focus on coaching, see you soon’ would have done the trick. “I can’t date you. It’s too complicated,” she said. “But I’ll do the interview. Lunch on Monday?” God that sounded like a date.
He shook his head. “The article you wrote for Monday is really good and a great place to start, but it’s standard. I’ve told that childhood story a dozen times over the years. I’ve mentioned wanting to be near my parents. But you didn’t ask a single question about me. When I read some of your other posts from players and staff, they talk about life experiences. Things that shaped them. I want to follow up with something deeper.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. We can start Monday.”
“Look, I’m not good at answering personal questions. I’m the master of generalities when it comes to interviews to keep me from flying off the handle, which is why I don’t like doing them. I was thinking you could come over, see how Heather and I are together.” He arched a brow as a slow smile drew across his lips. “People think I’m a hot-head, which is true, but now they think I’m a coward. I know we did a good job of killing the accusations about me, but, I’m still getting pinged as a man who is ashamed and that is something I can’t live with, nor have linger over the years, affecting my daughter. Heather’s life is hard enough as it is.”
“Can I see if Brad is available to take a few pictures of you and Heather?”
He closed his eyes for a few seconds before blinking them open. “Yes.”
“When.” She’d make this the best damn series the fans had ever seen, and show the world the true Nolan Greer, but she and Nolan could never be a couple.