Page 39 of The Tape Job
I run my hands over my face briefly before tugging the note from my cheek. “Thanks, Bella.”
‘Can we pushback by 15? Justin’
Thank fuck for that. I make a detour into the washroom, checking my face in the mirror. Thank the lord for makeup because the dark circles under my eyes are getting more difficult to hide. I give my hair a quick fluff and head to the GM’s office, knocking briefly on the open door.
“Vicky, come on in. Take a seat. Sorry to push you back.” The GM beckons me with his hand.
“Oh, that’s no problem, Sir,” I smile.
He drums his fingers on his desk. “I’ve been coordinating with Lisa, and we’ve scheduled another ‘Meet the Players’ night. Can you call her and arrange?”
Lisa helps us with big events. We worked with her to organise last year’s Ladies’ Night, but I think the last ‘Meet the Players’ night was before I joined the club.
I nod and Mr. Lopez smiles. We agree to meet up in a few days for me to update him.
“Oh, Vicky, the focus is on our new signing, remember? Preferrable Liam over Matthew, though. The fans are loving the ‘twin thing.’ I want you to do a social media drive. One of those Tok things, an interview on YouTube and a Facebook live, I think. Consider putting a mic on Liam or something while they practice.” I give him my best fake smile while he finishes briefing me. “Before I forget, get Bella to help you out.”
“Oh, sure,” I reply.
He chats further, then waves me off. I head back to my desk, disappointed that Bella needs to help. I drop Lisa an email before turning to Jen. She’s looking down at the ice, her earbuds still in, but I slide over to her and nudge her.
“The guys are coming in,” she says, and I lean over, my heart pulls in my chest when I spot Liam. I told him to stay away, but I watched daytime TV with him like it was nothing. Now I have to do a media drive with him? My stomach flips.
I fill Jen in on the ask from the GM. She doesn’t need me to explain: it means hours of one-on-one time together.
“Sounds like something you can easily manage,” she says.
“I don’t think I can,” I confess.
“What? Why not? I thought you were being civil.”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now, Jen.”
“Fine,” she says, putting the earbud back in, but the way I’m staring at her must give her the impression that I do want to talk about it. “Right …” She glances at Bella’s empty desk before sliding over to me. “What’s going on, Vic?”
I’ve been asking myself the same thing. Why did I tell Liam I wanted nothing to do with him? It’s the opposite of what I want, but I can’t bear the thought of only being his friend. We’ve never been just friends, really. We were always pining after one another, waiting for someone to break.
First, I don’t want to end up like my parents; second, I don’t want to end up like his parents; and third, there’s no such thing as a happy ending, is there? My parents left a massive black hole in my heart, and so did Liam’s parents. They were so in love, and then Mrs Preston had to get sick and leave Mr. Preston all alone forever, and I’ll never forgive her for that.
“Okay, we won’t talk about it.” Jen lets out a sigh. “This will cheer you up… remember when Ry and I did that 10K? Well, they e-mailed me some ‘finisher’ photos the other day, and you should see my face.” She pulls out her phone and taps a few times before handing it over. “Look at Ryan, though! He looks like he’s just stepped out of an episode of Baywatch. He’s not even sweating! He makes me sick!” she scoffs.
We cycle through the photos, and I congratulate her on her effort. I hand her back her phone, grateful for the few minutes of distraction she provided, but there really is no escaping the social media drive. How am I going to get through it? I need to think of something. Because I really can’t be doing one-on-one time with him, knowing he canpractically read my mind. Potentially knowing that I’ve been getting off to those old videos I have of him. I feel pathetic.
I browse the internet for a short while before an idea pops into my head, but I need to start the ball rolling now.
“I think I’m coming down with something, you know. It’s warm in here. Are you warm?” I say to Jen, overdramatically fanning myself.
“What’s wrong?”
“I just don’t feel right. Maybe I should head home.” I start grabbing my things, throwing them into my bag. “I’ll work from home. In my room. To keep the germs at bay.”
Jen’s about to say something, but I give her a wave and grab my coat before making tracks. On my way out, I narrowly avoid bumping into Kirsty from HR.
“Are you okay, Vicky?” she asks, taking a step backwards.
“Yeah, but—” I start.
“Great, I’ve just been down to the ice to see Johnny about some sponsorship, and the GM wanted me to run the media stuff by Liam. I’ve given him the heads up.”
