Page 25 of The Fine Line
Courtney should be here by now.
I glance up, scanning the hallway. No sign of her.
I open my messages and start a new one to her.
Me: Hi, Courtney. I’m just outside the locker room. Still good to meet her?
I switch to my notes app, tapping my foot as I wait. A couple minutes pass.
Me: Just checking I’m in the right place. You’re on camera at 6:45, right?
That’s in thirteen minutes. I’m usually calm under pressure, but a flicker of panic creeps into my chest.
Me: Courtney?
“What are you doing down here?” a voice asks suddenly—way too close behind me.
I jump, spinning around. “Jesus Christ.”
“Nope. Your other savior,” Rhett grins. “Feel free to worship me.”
“Yeah,” I scoff, blowing a strand of hair out of my face. “Try that line on your VIP fan club. Where’d they go, anyway?”
“Who?”
“The women you were just talking to.”
“Oh.” He glances back. “I don’t know.”
“They just disappeared into thin air?”
He shrugs. “I saw you.”
My brows pull together. “What?”
“So I came over here.”
I clear my throat. “Shouldn’t you be in the locker room…captain-ing? Instead of bothering women?”
“Probably,” he nods. “Shouldn’t you be up at the TV analyst desk?”
“Yes,” I say instantly.
Because it’s the truth. I should be up there.
“So you got it?” Rhett asks, brows raised. “You got the job?”
I hum, smiling tightly.
Not a lie. Not really an answer.
“That’s amazing, Care Bear!” His grin widens. “I was a little worried yesterday. I saw you leaving the office. Thought you looked upset.”
I say nothing. You usually don’t have to for Rhett to carry a conversation.
“But I guess that was tears of joy,” he adds, bumping my shoulder. “And now here we are—both shirking responsibility.”
A humorless laugh escapes me, and suddenly—my blood is boiling.
