Page 74 of Play for Keeps

“I have the names, but I’d rather not write them down.” Kate wrinkled her nose in distaste. “We have tons of photographic evidence, thanks to her selfie addiction. Let’s give Ty’s lawyer a chance to reason with her like she’s a grown-up before we drag students into the mix. I think the fewer people who know what’s going on, the better.”

“I agree.”

Kate stopped when she reached the door. “But someone better clue the AD in before any of this caca goes kablooey.” She smirked. “We both know Mike isn’t a real big fan of surprises.”

“No, he’s not” came a deep voice from the hall. As if conjured, the athletic director stopped in the doorway just behind Kate.

“M-Mike. I didn’t… You were—” Kate stopped short, took a huffy breath, then concluded with a brisk, “Hi.”

Millie chuckled as she watched her friend’s cheeks flush bright red. Nothing better than seeing her kick-ass giantess reduced to a stammering kid caught in the hall without a pass. Their athletic director seemed to enjoy her discomfiture too. Millie couldn’t blame him, really. Kate and Danny’s power play last spring had wedged the man solidly between a rock and a hard place. Mike and Danny had been good friends since their college playing days. Their interwoven personal and professional lives meant Kate, not a socially adept woman to start, had to navigate a whole minefield of awkward each time she encountered her boss.

“Hi, Kate,” Director Samlin replied mildly. Poking his head around her guardian, he nodded to Millie. “Hey, Mil.”

She gave him a regal nod. “Mike.”

Smirking, he nudged Kate, demanding a more equal share of the narrow doorway. “I wanted to let you know Ty came by my office this morning.” Seemingly enjoying their uneasy interest, he let the announcement hang. “He gave me the lowdown on the situation with his ex-wife.” He paused, then heaved a long-suffering sigh. Mike clearly hadn’t forgotten the trouble Kate’s relationship with Danny had given him or the role Millie played in their escapades. “Also, he told me you two are…involved.”

Millie sat up straighter. “I’m—”

He held up a preemptory hand. “I really don’t want to know the details.” Kate snorted, and he manufactured another one of those forbidding stares. “It’s nice to be informed about what’s going on in my programs.”

Millie sighed and pushed back from her desk. “Listen, I don’t want—”

Tilting her head toward Mike, Kate spoke out of the side of her mouth but loud enough to be sure she was heard. “She’s totally in denial about the relationship thing.”

“I am not,” Millie retorted hotly.

Kate grinned, then elbowed their boss in the ribs. “Ha! She admitted it! They’re in a relationship,” she crowed.

Growling her frustration, Millie thrust out an arm, pointing in the direction of Kate’s office. “Go. Out. Bye!”

“So articulate,” Kate murmured with mock admiration. “No wonder you hired her. She’s a linguistic genius.”

“Get!”

Kate blew her a kiss, then ducked out of the doorway, the sound of her throaty laughter lingering after she was gone. Letting out a breath, Millie reclaimed her chair, then gestured for the AD to take the seat her friend had abandoned. “She’s a menace.”

“Danny’s influence. She was always so easygoing before.”

Millie cocked an eyebrow. “Then you have no one to blame but yourself. If you hadn’t hired him, he wouldn’t have had the chance to come in here and warp my friend with his love juju.”

“Love juju?”

“You’re the one who said she hasn’t been the same,” Millie replied with a zing. “And you’re right.” She let her smile spread slowly. “She’s better. But don’t tell her I said so. Her ego is healthy enough already.”

“Agreed.” He strolled oh-so-casually to the guest chair Kate had vacated and took a seat.

The moment he looked up at her, Millie blurted, “Ty and I aren’t in a relationship.”

“All reports to the contrary?”

“Well, I mean, not arelationship-relationship.”

“More of a relationship then,” he commented mildly, imbuing the word with a mysterious third meaning with a slight change in inflection.

“Shut up.”

He laughed then, crossing one ankle over his knee and relaxing into the seat. “I couldn’t care less, Millie.” She started to say something, but he winced and held up both hands in surrender. “I mean, I care. You know, as a friend.” Looking less relaxed by the second, he leaned forward slightly. “As your boss. And his. Whatever.” He threw his hands up. “Tell me we can move past this point in the discussion.”

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