Spring Training

by KB Winters

  “No, no. Please, you’re getting the wrong idea. I—uh, was just really enjoying my work at New Leaf Design Studio,” I lied, waving off her concern and praying for my cheeks to fade from tomato red back to normal. “That’s it.”

  The woman still looked suspicious, but after a moment, her concern melted away. “I understand. A lot of students enjoy their time at New Leaf, it’s a very popular internship.”

  Gee, I wonder why? Maybe because there was hardly any work to do and unlimited access to unblocked Internet, I mused to myself. Well, at least, that’s how it had been for most of the students.

  “I’ll be fine at Timeless Timepieces,” I continued.

  “Excellent!” The woman brightened as though I’d just solved all her problems for the day. She handed me a print out with a schedule and dismissed me from her office with a smile and a small wave.

  * * * *

  I wandered around campus aimlessly for a while, every few feet my eyes would fall to glimpse at the sheet of paper in my hand, still in shock that starting the next morning—three days a week, in five hour chunks, I’d be forced to go to Timeless Timepieces and do whatever it was Grant asked me to do. The idea heated my entire body from head to toe. Partly due to the low simmering rage that was brewing in my belly and the other heat…well, that was located a little further south.

  What was he thinking? It had been two and a half weeks since I’d sent the resignation email. I hadn’t heard a peep from him, not even a simple reply to indicate he ever received the email. If I hadn’t checked my sent box ten hundred times, I would’ve wondered if any of it had happened at all. After a few days, I’d decided that he was angry with me, or possibly that he was relieved that he didn’t have to do the dumping after our crazy night together. In the brief span of time I’d known Grant, he’d never made mention of any long term relationships or plans to settle down. He just didn’t seem the type to want those things. So, really, our ending was only a matter of time in the making, and I’d done him a favor by walking away before things got too messy.

  “Megan!”

  I turned to look beyond my shoulder at the sound of my name, and saw Max running at me full speed. He was a tall, slender guy, and lacked any athletic coordination. The sight of him was more wobbly, baby giraffe than anything else and I smiled as he caught up to me, wheezing and puffing. “Hey! Where have you been?” he asked, bracing his arms against his knees as his breathing slowed.

  “Around,” I answered. I didn’t want to be a bitch, but I was still a little annoyed with Max for never getting back to me about Jeanine and Taylor after we’d run into each other in class a couple weeks before. It wasn’t that I had time to sit around pining for them, but they were my friends, and knowing they were all pissed at me hadn’t exactly given me the warm and fuzzies, especially with everything so tumultuous at home. Friends were supposed to be there, especially in times like this, and yet, for whatever reason, I’d been abandoned like a broken lamp.

  Max stood straight, head and shoulders above me, and stared down with a perplexed look. “Is everything all right?”

  I shrugged. “Sure.”

  He cocked a brow and it disappeared into the shaggy hair that fell across his slightly sweaty forehead. “What gives?”

  I sighed and crossed my arms, suddenly wanting a barrier—some space—between us. “Let’s just say, I’m not the one who disappeared, okay? The last time I saw you, you told me you were going to talk to Jeanine and Taylor and fix whatever it is that’s broken with all of us, and then poof, you’re gone.”

  He looked away, as if to hide his guilt. “I’m sorry Meg, you’re right. Listen, I’m going to go meet ‘em right now. They’re finishing up class on the far side of the campus. We’re gonna get lunch at that food truck that sells deep fried everything.”

  I wrinkled my nose. My stomach was still reeling from the roller-coaster of the morning and food was the last thing on my mind, but I needed something to help me get out of my own head. So, despite my subtle nausea, I found myself nodding. “Sure. As long as you promise it won’t be awkward.”

  Max wound an arm around my shoulders and started leading me down the walk. “Aren’t you supposed to be at New Leaf?” he asked as we neared the lot where the food truck normally parked.

  I was a little taken aback by his intimate knowledge of my schedule, but brushed it away. “I was let go. They changed my assignment.”

  “They what?” Max said a little too loudly, suddenly slamming to a stop. “Meg, it’s like a month to graduation. You know that, right?”

  I rolled my eyes and tugged on his arm to get him walking again. “I know. It’s fine. I’m finishing it somewhere else.” I wondered if I should tell him where, but then decided to keep that info to myself. “It’ll be fine.”

  That’s my story, and I’m sticking to it.

  He shot a long side glance my way, but then shrugged it off. I spotted Jeanine across the way and watched as she waved to Max, a huge grin on her face—a grin that promptly fell as soon as she saw me walking in step next to him.

  Great.

  I considered turning back, but Max gripped my upper arm, as though he sensed my urge to bolt, and propelled me forward with him. “Hey guys, look who I found,” he greeted when we reached Jeanine and Taylor.

  “Hey Megan,” Taylor said easily offering a smile. Jeanine shot him a look and he dropped his eyes to his feet.

  Pussy.

  I sighed. “You know what, this isn’t worth it. You guys have a good time,” I said, throwing my hands in the air.

  Without stopping for a reply, I pivoted on my heel and started to march in the other direction, but stopped when I heard Jeanine call out for me. “Megan, wait!”

  I turned back and saw the fire in her eyes was burning low again, and she almost looked like her normal self. “What?” I snapped.

  “Come on, get a bite with us.”

  “Why should I, Jeanine? It’s pretty fuckin’ obvious that you hate my guts for whatever reason, and I’m really too busy to put up with your shitty silent treatment.”

  All three of the faces staring back at me looked surprised, all blinking in unison as though clearing their eyes after a tidal wave crashed over them. Max was the one to regather himself and break the silence. “Megs, come on, stay.”

  “You’re right, you’re right. I’m sorry,” Jeanine offered, with the help from Taylor’s elbow. She pulled her ponytail to the side and messed with the ends, not meeting my eyes as she continued, “This is my fault, Megan. I was jealous of you.”

  Her candor shocked me and it was my turn to blink in disbelief.

  “When you said that you were offered a job at Timeless Timepieces, I don’t know, I kind of lost it. Saw red, or something. For months before the symposium, everyone only talked about meeting the CEO and there was all this talk and speculation. I guess I secretly hoped I’d be the one to get offered a spot, so when you said you did, and you’re not even in marketing, it pissed me off.”

  All I could do was nod along. What she said made sense—but it was still pretty shitty of her to ignore me for so long over something that had been entirely out of my control. It wasn’t like I’d swept it out from under her on purpose.

  “But anyway, all’s forgiven,” she said, her smile returning as she looked at me. “I mean, it’s silly, you didn’t even take the job!”

  The three of them laughed it off, but I couldn’t let go of the stupidity of it all. “I did actually.”

  Their laughter died a cold, hard death and all three snapped to look at me. “You what?” Jeanine asked, her voice icy again.

  “I took the job. I work at Timeless Timepieces, designing and pitching the marketing department with new ideas based off of customer feedback on social media. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, I was given a really kick ass car for a bonus.” I faltered slightly, instantly regretting bragging about the car. It had just popped out of my mouth. A big F-you to the people who should have been—but epically fai
led to be—the biggest supporters in my life. “So, whatever. You can take your fake friendship and I’ll take my Lexus.”

  That said, I spun on my heel again and stalked off, smiling to myself as I pictured their shocked expressions.

  Chapter Five — Grant

  Less than twenty-four hours into the second mass exodus from the marketing department, I had things basically glued back together. Everything was a temporary fix, but it would buy me time to find proper replacements and get things back on track. It was nearly time to call it a day, but I stopped to check my email one last time before closing down the computer and going home.

  “Do you need anything else, Mr. Christiansen?” Cara asked, appearing in my doorway, my own exhaustion reflected back to me as I looked at her. She’d spent most of the day chasing after me, taking notes, drafting frantic emails, and making dozens of phone calls to get a new marketing team patched together as quickly as possible.

  “No, thank you, though. I’m gonna get out of here soon. Go on home, and take tomorrow morning off, if you want.”

  She nodded but I knew her well enough to know that I’d see her face bright and early the next morning, just like always. She wasn’t the type to take a half day for no reason. It was one of the biggest reasons that she’d risen so quickly in the admin ranks to end up being my executive assistant. “Goodnight.”

  I watched her go, and then turned my attention back to my email, which somehow, had filled up again over the past few hours. Most of it looked like resumes and cover letters. The immediacy of the response surprised me, but it also filled me with relief—it wouldn’t take long to rebuild. I had big ideas and plans for the follow-up campaign to the Shock Watches line and there simply wasn’t time to be idle for long.

  I plowed through the list when a sound outside the office caught my attention. It sounded like two women arguing. I got up from the desk, and walked out of my office to find Cara and Megan battling it out over the top of Cara’s desk.

  “You!” Megan shouted, her eyes flicking past Cara and locking on me like a missile. “How dare you!”

  Cara snapped back to look at me, and then cast her frantic eyes back at Megan. “I’m sorry, sir. I don’t know how she got past security!”

  Unable to stop myself, I laughed out loud, startling both women. The image of Megan darting past the security team that started their evening patrol this time of night to make sure the building was locked down and vacant of anyone who didn’t have clearance, was too much for my tired brain. My laughter faded quickly as I pulled myself back together. I held up a hand to stop Cara, “It’s all right, Cara, go on home. I’ll take care of this.”

  “This?” Megan looked ready to lunge at me. “Listen, Grant, I’m in no mood—”

  “That much is obvious. But, if you want to talk to me, you’re going to need to calm down,” I said smoothly, the laughter completely gone from my tone.

  Megan’s face didn’t change, she still looked angry enough to choke me, but she followed me past Cara’s desk and into my office. Cara shot me one last look, as though trying to read my mind for a silent call for help, but I nodded reassuringly and waited as she gathered her purse and started towards the double doors that led out of the Timeless Timepieces suite. Once the frosted glass logo had matched up again, I turned and went inside my office where Megan had thrown herself into one of the chairs across from my empty one.

  As soon as I took three steps into the room, she launched up, apparently unable to remain seated. “I know you think you’re some big shot who runs this town, but I’m here to tell you that it’s not okay to fuck with my life. What you did is so—so—reprehensible!”

  I calmly took my seat and she whipped around, keeping her blazing eyes on me the entire time. “Megan, please, sit.”

  Her eyes jerked towards the chair she’d just been sitting in like it suddenly was made of hot coals. “I’ll stand, thank you,” she snarled.

  Her lips pursed and from across the desk I could feel the heat of her anger radiating off of her. She had her eyes locked on me, keeping me in her sights. I let my gaze casually drift over her body, not bothering to mask my hungry stare. It’d been two weeks since I’d last seen her, and if possible, she was more desirable than ever before. She was dressed in a form fitting black dress that clung to her curves in all the right places. The dress had a lace overlay that added to my enticement as she moved and shifted to stand with her arms folded, covering her chest but pushing her breasts up to form an impressive—and wildly distracting—amount of cleavage.

  “Sit,” I repeated my voice low and commanding. She tried to hide it, but I saw her shudder slightly, and I wondered if she was thinking of the other occasion when I had used such a low tone with her—her hands bound, her eyes hidden behind black silk, and her naked body on display only for my pleasure.

  And hers…

  “Grant, just tell me why,” she said, dropping the hysteria from her own voice as she finally sank into the chair. “Why did you do this?”

  “I need you.”

  Her eyes jolted to mine, wide and searching.

  “Here,” I added quickly. “I need you here. This morning, Robert, Marcy, Linda, and Cary all quit.”

  “What?” Her mouth dropped open and she moved to cover it with her hand. “But that’s—”

  “The entire department,” I finished for her. “I realize.”

  “What happened?”

  I sighed and explained the bonuses and hesitated briefly before adding the detail about how they had referenced her receiving the car.

  At that, she buried her face in her hands. “Oh my God. How humiliating.”

  “It’s office gossip, Megan. It’s a part of the job.”

  The anger sparked in her eyes again as she snapped back to attention, her shoulders down and pressed back against the chair. “Exactly! A job that I didn’t ask for or want!”

  “As I recall, your email resignation—which, as a PS, I’d recommend a hard copy next time you bail on a job—”

  Megan sputtered, her face reddening at my harsh comment. I continued before she could interject, “…you said nothing of not wanting the job. You said you didn’t have time for it. Well, problem solved. With your internship out of the way, now you do.”

  She banged her fist on my desk. “Grant, you think you know me, but you don’t have a clue! You can’t tell me what I want or don’t want. I appreciated the opportunity and yes, at times, it was even fun, but it’s not what I want. I told you the first time we spoke, that I don’t want to be in marketing. I’m an artist. I don’t belong here, chained to some desk—” her words faltered at the suggestive choice of words and we both stilled—staring at each other with hungry eyes. And then, just as quickly as it came—it was gone.

  “What I mean, is that this isn’t my future, so while I’m sorry to hear about the rest of the team, I don’t think it’s the best for you or the company for me to be here. You need to find people who want to be here and want to make this their home.”

  My mind couldn’t tear away from the image of her chained to my desk. In my instant fantasy, she’d be wearing nothing but a pair of killer black heels. Her deep maroon lips would be parted as she waited, breathless and panting for me to take her. I’d have her positioned so that her legs were spread wide, allowing me unlimited access to that beautiful pink pussy that she was hiding. She’d squirm and wither and I’d make her beg for me. Her eyes wide and pleading as I teased her with my fingers, my lips, the tip of my cock. She’d be soaking wet and dripping her juices down her legs. She’d shiver and tremble with every touch and with each shudder—my excitement would only heighten and grow.

  “—so, that’s why it’s best for this to just stop here. Call the school. Tell them it was a mistake. I don’t know how you even got the school to agree to this in the first place.” Megan had been speaking the entire time I’d been letting my mind run wild, preoccupied with naughty thoughts of her.

  When I tuned back in, I was lost.
But, from the bits I heard, I knew I wasn’t going to agree to it. “It doesn’t matter how I did this, the bottom line is that this is happening. You’re staying here until your internship is completed.”

  She crossed her arms. “Fine, I’ll come and sit and do nothing all day. You know, actually, I should be thanking you. All my hours that would have been spent printing business cards and flyers can now be devoted to finals prepping.”

  She was testing me. It both infuriated and aroused me. The firm set of her jaw pressed her lips into a perfect pout, and I wanted nothing more that lean across the desk and capture her with my lips and hands. The idea of her, the memory of her had been distracting, but the reality of her, sitting across from me, was intoxicating. I hadn’t anticipated how much I’d want her once she was close again. As a man of discipline and self control it was a strange sensation to have my mind and body acting so autonomously.

  “It’ll be like study hall, from high school,” Megan added. Her lips tweaked into a smile. She thought she’d won.

  I mirrored her smug smile. “You seem to be forgetting that I’ll still be giving the school your final grade.”

  Her mouth dropped open. “Now you’re blackmailing me? Oh my God, Grant, how low are you willing to go here? First you go behind my back to get me here, and now, if I don’t play by your rules you’ll ruin my life?”

  I would never actually do it, but she didn’t need to know that yet. I spread my hands in a gesture of innocence. “We’re both adults here, Megan. You come in and do your job, and I’ll make sure your school gets my glowing recommendation.”

  “Wow.” She stood and paced the same trail I’d walked after the meeting with the marketing team. She pivoted and stood before me, her feet planted, and her fists resting on her hips. “You know that I could’ve turned you in for being some kind of creeper. A stalker or some shit like that. The counselor actually asked me if you were harassing me, and I vouched for you and said you were harmless, but now, I guess I should have told her what’s really going on here.”