Loving The Game (Thirty-Something in the City - The Lunchtime Sorority Book 1)

by Bailie Hantam

  “You have your own office?” She walked across to the other side of the room, a clear sign she wanted to stay away from him.

  “It’s actually Callum’s,” he shrugged. “But we both use it when needed.”

  He rested his ass on the edge of the desk. Keeping his distance was going to be difficult. They never did well in confined spaces.

  “I’m listening. Talk.” Her legs crossed and her arms folded. She was completely closed off to anything he would say. “I don’t have a whole lot to say at this point.”

  Tyler doubted that. She always had a lot to say. If she was keeping quiet, she was probably giving him enough rope to hang himself.

  He blinked at her. He thought it was obvious. “We could start with the fact that this started out as two people wanting to screw each other’s brains out.”

  “Tyler, I’m—” she started.

  “Or we could talk about what it feels like to be an item on someone’s bucket list,” he knew it wasn’t that, but her posture niggled him. “Or was I just something you needed to do so you could move on?”

  “Bucket list?” Jill pushed herself away from the wall. “What are you talking about.”

  Tyler was well aware that she made no attempt to refute the second statement he made. He wanted her in a way he hadn’t wanted anyone. But he needed to know what he was to her. “What has the past few weeks been for you exactly. The other night you said you needed it.”

  “Because it was true,” she said. “It’s been a while since I’ve had really great sex. It was good to have a reminder that it still exists.”

  Not the answer he was expecting or wanted. His cock and self-esteem enjoyed the boost, though. He pushed himself away from the desk. “Really great, huh?”

  She swallowed as he walked across to her. “It wasn’t bad.” The corners of her mouth tilted up, revealing the tease in her words.

  Tyler stood in front of her, resting his palm on the wall. She was completely caged by him. “I’ll admit it was the most incredible sex I’ve had.” He moved his head closer to hers. He was close enough to kiss her. “You know what else.”

  He pushed away from the wall, putting some space between them.

  “What?” The disappointment in her eyes was clear. She was breathing a little heavier and her cheeks had turned to his beloved rosy shade.

  “I don’t want to be friends.” He leaned against the opposite wall, next to the door. “Yeah sure, if things do go south, you will be my friend. But that’s not all I want”

  She pushed away from the wall. She wasn’t going to let him be the only one teasing. She was so close, a sheet of paper could barely fit between them. Her feet shoulder width apart, her hands behind her back. With her tiny frame and stilettos, he could easily over-power her but boy that stance was sexy as hell. “Then what do you want, Tyler Beyers.”

  She turned on heel and walked slowly back to her wall.

  “I want to give us a try,” he said as she turned to lean against the opposite wall again. “I want to see if we have a shot at something real.”

  “Well,” she said, her eyes widened. Had she not expected him to be so direct? Or was she not interested in what he was offering. “That was not part of the original plan.”

  Tyler laughed. “No, you were never part of my plan.” He pushed away from the wall. “You’re the one who broke my heart, remember?”

  Tyler caged her in again. She licked her lips and the desire to kiss her was overwhelming.

  “Tyler, we were so young.” Her voice was breathy.

  He lowered his head just enough for his breath to catch the back of her ear. “I’m not arguing that it was a wise decision,” he whispered. The sound of her breath catching got him even harder than he already was. “But I still don’t know why. You can’t expect me to not worry about you running, when I don’t know what spooked you the first time around.”

  “I told you, we were young.” Her voice was even but he couldn’t mistake how a chest was heaving, brushing up against him. “And when you look at both of our history over the last decade, I was right. Monogamy wasn’t what we needed.”

  He stepped back a little, still caging her. He narrowed his eyes. “You were worried I would cheat?” He leaned in again, this resting his forehead against hers. “Jill, I’m not your father. When I’m with someone, I’m faithful.”

  She swallowed hard, her eyes never leaving his. “What about me?”

  Tyler shook his head. “What?”

  “The idea of someone cheating on me scares me, yes,” she finally said. “But the idea that I could be the kind of person to get restless in a relationship and cause hurt is too much to live with.”

  “Have you ever cheated?” He pulled away from her, wanting to see her face when she answered.

  She shook her head. “I’ve never been with anyone long enough to get bored. It’s by design.”

  “Then we’ll do this my way.” Tyler had never given a thought to how her parent’s marriage had affected her. “We’ll take it slow. We’ll start dating. Properly.”

  The look of confusion and disappointment on her face was both endearing and sexy.

  “As in going on dates?” She narrowed her eyes. “I’m not sure about that.”

  “Let’s start with one date,” he said, moving closer to her again. “Then another. And then another. Don’t girls have rules about those things? Three dates before they put out?”

  Jill raised an eyebrow. “Well, clearly I don’t,” she said.

  “I think that will be my new rule.” At last Tyler moved his hand from the wall on to her hips. “Three dates before I’ll have sex with you again.”

  His lips brushed hers and without giving it too much thought he went straight into the kiss. She didn’t hesitate to open her mouth as her hand ran up his back. He pushed his thigh between her legs, her small gasp telling him he’d hit the spot he was looking for. He ran his hands up her torso, rocking against her. This was what he wanted. Her. It wasn’t quite all of her. But it was the promise of it. And he was happy to have it.

  A knock at the door interrupted.

  “Who’s there,” Tyler called through unsteady breath.

  “Jonah, coach,” the kid said. “The telephone in the ballroom keeps ringing. We weren’t sure if we should answer it or not.”

  Tyler smiled at Jill, lifting his finger to his lips. “I’ll be right there. You don’t have to bother to answer it.”

  Once the kid was gone, Jill pulled her blouse right. “The suppliers are probably here. I should go.”

  Tyler’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out and saw that Tina had sent him a link. “Jill, wait.” Whatever it was, he didn’t want to exclude her. “Tina usually sends alerts when I hit the news.”

  He tapped the link sending him to video. Russel was being interviewed.

  The interviewer was recounting the altercation the two of them had at the game a few days earlier. She was fishing, and wanting to find something salacious.

  He wasn’t really expecting Russel to answer her. At least with nothing more than a vague, We got caught in the heat of the moment, response. That’s how they’d been taught to handle things. Even if on field fights were rarely in the heat of the moment.

  His answer was more than that, though. So much more

  He just didn’t want to hear the truth. It’s not like me to fight over a woman. Especially one so obviously only interested in our status as rugby players. I don’t know how long Tyler had been dating Jill, but I tried to warn him. I wasn’t the first rugby player she’d dated, and Tyler won’t be the last.

  The interview carried on in the same vein for another five minutes. Both the interviewer and Russel doing the damnedest to paint Jill in as bad a light as possible while making him look like some naive fool. Whatever else Russel was, he obviously understood that smearing Tyler’s name was not good for the sport.

  He switched off the video and tuned to Jill. “It’s declare time. Am I worth this? Is be
ing with me worth the impact this will have on your career? Your life?”

  She stared at him for a long moment, not answering. When she averted her gaze, his heart sunk. Her clenched his fists. “Silence is not really the answer I want here.”

  “Tyler I --” She never finished her thought. Instead she sighed deeply and walked to the door. “I need to go meet with the suppliers.”

  ***

  Jill

  “I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me?” Mary-Anne had been on a rant for nearly twenty minutes. She’d seen the video the day before like everyone else in the country, and pushed her meeting with Jill to first thing in the morning.

  “We’re old friends.” Jill tried to minimize the situation. “In the beginning I didn’t think there was anything to report. We were just two friends hanging out.”

  It wasn’t a complete lie. They were old friends, but Jill knew better than to believe that was all they were. Even right from the beginning.

  Her boss glared at her. Those piercing blue eyes looking over her tortoise shell rimmed glasses. “Jill, you’re not a good liar.” She paced to the other side of the room and Jill swiveled in her chair. “Tyler Beyers is the calmest most collected man on the field, if he threw a punch it was for more than mere friendship.”

  Jill couldn’t argue with that. Tyler had told her what Russel had to say. While Russel’s opinion of her carried no weight whatsoever, the public’s opinion could make life difficult for everyone involved.

  She was seen as some scrum bunny chasing after rugby players and the reason for Tyler being red carded. Because, as everyone knows, when two men get violent, it’s always the woman’s fault. Saying that to Mary-Anne didn’t help her cause.

  Mary-Anne didn’t say it, but it was obvious, coordinating sports events was not in her immediate future. Possibly even her distant future.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  At least she could try and salvage her career. When she’d finished her meeting with the suppliers the day before, Tyler had left the stadium. She assumed he’d slept at his own place since she didn’t get so much as a text from him.

  Maybe she didn’t handle things well the day before. She didn’t know the answer to his question. Was he worth it? In the moment, yes, obviously. But could she handle a failed career and a failed relationship with him if things turned bad. That was a big risk to take.

  Her boss looked at her. “Stay away from the stadium. Even in a personal capacity. He may be your friend but there is very little he can do to protect you from the shit storm about to follow you. And the backlash it will cause my business.”

  Jill bit lip and shook her head. “So, I need to run and hide.”

  She had never had cause to wither under Mary-Anne’s death glare. But in that moment Jill could almost feel herself dissolving into a pile of dust. “You broke the one rule I have, Jill. I will do whatever damage control, I can. But my priority is my business. Saving your reputation is good for my business. In the meantime, call your image consultant friend. She may have a way to get you out of this.”

  Jill winced. She had no doubt Tracey would try to help, but she had a brother to protect as well. “I don’t think she’d be able to help me.”

  Mary-Anne sighed. “In all the years you’ve worked for me, I don’t think you’ve messed up as much as a scheduling appointment. I want to give you another chance here, but you’re making it really difficult.”

  “I know.” Jill looked down at the carpet. “I am really sorry. I was planning to tell you this morning. Especially after what Russel had said on the field”

  Mary-Ann narrowed her eyes. “Was this when Tyler got red-carded? What did he say? I only heard what Russel said in the interview.”

  Jill retold the entire embarrassing tale. How Russel had implied that she was only after his status and all she was good for was sex. How she would never be the settle down type or the kind of woman he could take to events.

  The older woman walked around her desk. “Jill, for the moment, you can oversee the details of Holly’s wedding. I’m in charge of it, because apparently, no one wants to deal with a bridezilla in the office, but you can take point on that. I have a few calls to make.”

  The look on Mary-Anne’s face was not unfamiliar to Jill. It was the one she used when someone was about to pay dearly. Jill just hoped it wasn’t her.

  ***

  Jill left Mary-Anne’s office and headed straight to Holly’s. It wouldn’t do to sit and wallow. The best thing for her was to throw herself into another project. Besides, she needed to brief Holly on the status of the gala event. She knocked on the door and Holly called for her to come in immediately.

  Opposite Holly was Alyssa, Tyler and Derrick’s friend since pre-school. She was also Callum Cooper’s ex-wife. Jill counted her as friend, too. Holly’s desk was nearly clear, making space for the large pizza the two women were sharing.

  “Jill, sweetie.” Alyssa’s voice was sugary sweet. She was never sweet. “Come in eat.”

  She rolled her eyes. “You heard.”

  Holly leaned back in her chair and winced. “I think the whole country heard.”

  Jill wasn’t particularly interested in discussing the video again. “Mary-Anne wants me to take point on your wedding arrangements.”

  “Come sit down.” Holly’s tone didn’t leave much room for arguing. “My wedding is not important. How are you doing?”

  She sighed and pulled up the second visitors chair. Grabbing a slice of pizza from the box, she let out one long sigh. “I’m not in the mood to discuss this. I screwed up, Russel made sure everyone knew. And I’m not fired. Yet”

  Holly smiled. “She won’t fire you. She may demote you. More because she’s been fumbling without you as her assistant. But I think you’re safe.”

  She wished she had Holly’s confidence. But Jill had been with Mary-Anne a lot longer. The woman hated scandal.

  Jill’s phone beeped loud at the same time as Alyssa’s buzzed. She checked and saw a link had come in from Tina. It was a headline to a video labeled Tyler Beyers responds to sexist remarks.

  She stared at it for a few moments before she heard the video playing from Alyssa’s phone.

  Alyssa looked at both of them. “Let’s see if Tyler did some damage control or made things worse.”

  Both Jill and Holly hovered over Alyssa to watch it.

  Tyler and Tina were on screen. “How long have you known Jill?” Tina asked.

  His smile was warm, as if recalling a favorite memory. “I’ve known her since I was seven. We’ve been friends all through school and even my first year at Rugby Academy. We drifted apart when she went to university in Cape Town. We’ve always been friends. And we wanted to explore if there was something more between us. But neither Jill nor I want her to be the object of public scrutiny.”

  “And what do you have to say about Russel’s comments regarding Jill and her history and her motives.” Tina rarely asked a question she didn’t know the answer to.

  “Jill’s history is none of my business, or anyone else’s for that matter. We all know what my reputation with women is like. Is it different because I’m a man? And as for Russel’s comments, what he said about her yesterday and on the field to me was essentially slut shaming. It’s not the kind of behavior that should ever be condoned.”

  “What about your future with Jill?”

  Jill leaned a little closer. “We wanted to see if there was anything there. We wanted to explore a relationship. But understandably she doesn’t want to get caught up in this kind of attention. If she is willing to be with me after this little circus, I would be a very happy man.”

  Tina wrapped up with a few more questions. Jill checked the time stamp. It hadn’t been uploaded even thirty minutes and had already received thousands of views.

  Alyssa pocketed her phone. “What are you going to do?”

  “It’s not like a simple video can fix everything.” Jill knew that was his way of sav
ing face for both of them. She knew better than to believe everything would be okay because Tyler told the country to leave him alone.

  She needed to talk to him. But that would have to wait. Mary-Anne told her not to go anywhere near the stadium.

  Holly interrupted her thoughts. “What do you want to do? Do you love him?”

  She exhaled. That was an easy one. “With everything I have.”

  That was the truth. She’d loved him back then, too. Or already. Holly looked like she was about to say something when Alyssa’s pager went off. She checked it and frowned. She looked at Jill. There was a slight concerned look but before Jill could register it, her face had masked up. “Derrick needs me.”

  Alyssa was a sports doctor. She was up for a position as one of the assistant physicians for the Thunder a while back, when her ex-husband had inadvertently messed things up for her. She was good at her job; it wasn’t unusual for her to be called in to consult on a patient. Still, something wasn’t right.

  Jill frowned. “Derrick’s not working today. He’s at the field training.”

  “Correct.” Alyssa took a moment, she was choosing her words. “I cannot say anything because, doctor patient confidentiality. But we both know, there’s only one player on the team not currently covered by the Thunder’s in-house physician.”

  Tyler. He had a three-match ban. No matches meant no pay, and no medical cover. Alyssa grabbed her bag and headed for the door. “You coming?”

  Jill swallowed. He was right. It was declared time. If she left with Alyssa, she was guaranteed to lose her job. But if she didn’t? She couldn’t imagine not leaving. Not being there with him. She didn’t know how serious his injuries were, but it didn’t matter. He was hers and she would care for him.

  Holly nodded. “Go. I’ll cover for you if I can. Try not to be seen.”

  Chapter 15

  Tyler