Page 20 of Gridlocked on the Gridiron

He wasn’t sure if that was better or worse than he had been expecting. At least he wouldn’t have to fight for her to keep her job. He absolutely would have fought, though, just like he’d promised her. He did feel bad about the extra work she’d have to take on. He would try to be better during their sessions.

This was good. This was good for both of them. She would get Clark off her back while giving the press what they seemed to want. They would control the narrative the media was trying to spin. And he could focus on his game. His girlfriend would be the one to help him win the Super Bowl again.

The woman near Coach Turner stepped forward. “Hello, I’m Tessa. I’m a publicist for the Sabers, and I was asked to help curate media associated with this relationship. The team wasn’t prepared for a scandal of this magnitude between a player and a staff member, so we’ll have to do some damage control. I can handle most of that, but I have a few requests.”

Lucia was turning the ring around her middle finger, a semi-distressed expression on her face. Colton nodded at Tessa for the both of them.

“Great. As I said, I can handle most of the press, but I will ask that the relationship be kept above board from now on. That means you’ll need to post each other on social media, and I’ll send an email to you outlining what content is acceptable and what isn't. You’ll also need to be seen outside of work together—whether that be eating out, at each other’s houses, or what have you. And finally, Lucia, you will need to be in the end zone with the rest of the spouses and partners during home games for the pre-game kiss. We want to make it clear to the press and the public that we are aware of this relationship, and that it has been okayed by management. The last thing we want is for it to seem like something against protocol is going on under our noses. Make sense?”

Colton’s eyebrows raised at the requests. He’d had plenty of experience with PR teams and had even asked his agent to work with the Sabertooths’ publicists to ensure those pictures didn’t go public, which had clearly been a waste, but he’d never known how controlling they could be. He didn’t have an issue with the requests, but this was certainly a lot to ask of Lucia and him, especially during the season. Though, he supposed, not to people who believed they were seriously together.

Lucia cleared her throat before answering softly, “Yes, of course. We will be sure to do all of that.”

Tessa nodded, tapping a few times on her phone as the HR coordinator slid a sheet of paper across his desk toward them. “Sign this disclosure agreement, and Tessa will be in touch if she needs you two to do anything specific. And Lucia, look out for another email regarding your new supervisor, Tim.”

Colton looked over at her, but her face was devoid of emotion as she signed the sheet in front of her. He followed suit, and then they were dismissed. They didn’t speak until they got to her office and she closed the door behind him.

“We need guidelines.” She cleared her throat, sitting in her chair and folding her hands together.

Colton was still in shock that this was really happening. “Guidelines?”

“Well, we need an end date, at the very least.”

“An end date.”

“What are you, a parrot?”

“No, I’m just—what sort of guidelines do you mean?”

“Well, when do you see this mutually beneficial agreement ending? When will it stop being mutually beneficial? We’ll both have to put effort into this outside of work hours, so it’s important that we establish that.”

She was so analytical, even when she was taken by surprise. He didn’t know how she could be so logical all the time.

Regardless, he thought through the season, and his answer to her question landed squarely in January. “Before playoffs start. We have an amicable split before playoffs and focus on winning.” He wouldn’t even ponder the possibility of them not making it to playoffs. “That makes sense, right?”

“That’s over three months.”

“Okay, I’m open to suggestions,” he drawled.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. Before playoffs it is.”

Chapter nine

Lucia

Max’s incessant texts hadn’t let up for the first two days after the news had come out. They’d slowed after that when he’d realized she was still ignoring him. Isa, on the other hand, had been texting her about it every hour, even after the phone call when Lucia had given her all the details, including the fact that it was all fake.

Despite knowing she’d likely regret her impulsive decision to agree to Colton’s plan, Lucia knew it was better to be able to call the shots than take them as the media threw them. And she was also big enough to acknowledge that, no matter how immature it might be, there was some satisfaction in knowing what dating Max’s nemesis must be doing to him. All she had to do was look at the hundreds of texts he’d sent to know an extra report a day was absolutely worth it.

Lucia knew no matter what Colton said, his game was getting better. They’d won all three of their regular season games to that point, and Colton was leading the charge for all of those wins. She liked to believe it was, at least in part, because of her. He’d even lightened up during their sessions, as if their relationship was some kind of truce.

The more she was able to improve Colton’s game, the higher the chance that other teams would want to bring her on to do something similar for their quarterbacks. She wasn’t sure if the Sabers would extend her contract after her first season, but at least if she did this right, she would have her pick of the other teams.

She was startled from her distracted film perusal when the man in question opened her door, a grim expression on his face.

“Okay, don’t be mad.”

Her eye twitched. “What did you do?”

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