Page 12 of Hot Route
“The other two interns are guys. They’re constantly cutting me off when I speak. They’ll try to mansplain things to me like I couldn’t do the job in my sleep. When I try to speak louder, they look at me like I’m some wannabe ‘cool girl’ who doesn’t really deserve to be there. I knew it would be like this, but it’s just exhausting.”
I make a mental note to be more aware of the female journalists I work with. I’d never purposely treat them differently, but I also don’t want to be unaware of it. It’s not the 1950’s. Women are out here killing it in a male dominated world, and they can’t even do their jobs without getting shit for it. I might only be one athlete, but I’ll do what I can to make a change in this industry. Even if it’s a small one.
“Listen to me, Mads,” I say, using my thumb and forefinger to lift her chin so her eyes meet mine. A jolt of electricity shoots down my arm when my skin meets hers, but I ignore it. “You’re smart, badass, and you deserve that job more than any of those fuck heads. If Jacob Shane can’t see that, he’s dumber than he looks.”
She swipes at a tear that escaped her eye before a confident mask covers her face. “You’re right.” Her bright smile warms my entire body.
“That’s my girl,” I say. “Now, let’s go eat. All that hard work checking out my naked ass must have you famished.”
ELEVEN
BLAZE
“Tellme again whywe’redoing this?” Dalton says, heaving a large box into the bed of my truck. “Last I checked, you have enough money to pay someone else to do shit like this. Look!” he says, shoving his hand in my face. “That’s a blister starting. I can’t have blisters. Next to this face, my hands are my biggest moneymakers.”
I sigh. I swear, being his best friend means living in a constant state of annoyance. “I already told you. Mads offered to do it, but her car is too small, and I don’t want her lifting these boxes. They’re heavy.”
We had our first pop-up shop for my clothing line during the preseason and it went so great that we scheduled another one for this weekend. We play on Thursday night this week, so we have the weekend off. We rented out an empty boutique in the city for Sunday, where we’ll set everything up for people to come shop in person. I’ll be there signing autographs and spending time with the fans. It’ll be my last chance to really interact with them before the harder part of our schedule picks up.
Mads has been such a huge help. I thought she’d need some time to learn the ropes and find her way around my busy life, butshe fits in like she belongs here. Not only has she been getting my social media engagement up, but her knowledge of football has come in pretty clutch for me, too. Last week, she asked to watch game tape with me and pointed out that I was taking a false step, making me slower off the line. I worked on it with my wide receivers coach and I’m seeing a huge increase in my speed.
She had the idea to bring some of my inventory to the house so she could make sure we have everything we need before we have it delivered to the boutique on Friday. Last time, open space to set up was more limited than we expected, making it difficult to sort through everything before hanging it on the racks. I don’t have a team that’s dedicated specifically to these tasks because the pop-up shop was only supposed to be a one-time thing. This line was initially only supposed to be offered on my website, which it will go back to after this weekend.
To be honest, it’s been amazing working so closely with Mads on this. We always have fun together and we make a hell of a team. Right now, she’s clearing space in our office to empty these boxes and take inventory of the items we’ll be selling this weekend. I tricked Dalton into helping me bring everything from my brand headquarters, which is really just the one-room office space my website is run out of, to my house by telling him I was going for ice cream while I was out. Since he’s basically a toddler in the body of a grown man, he came along, no questions asked.
Pulling up the driveway, I shift into park so we can transfer everything into the office. We make quick work of unloading the truck while Mads goes through each box, one by one. By the time we’re done and Dalton makes his exit, she’s on the office floor, up to her eyeballs in hoodies, hats, and water bottles.
Stepping over the piles, I make my way over to her, but I notice immediately that something is off. She’s been less talkative, which I chalked up to her being busy, but now that I’m looking at her, I can see something is weighing on her.
“Hey,” I say softly, taking a seat next to her on the floor. “Everything okay?”
She sighs. “Yeah. Just some stuff going on.”
I have an overwhelming urge to fix whatever it is. I know I won’t be able to focus on anything when my favorite girl is upset. Maybe it’s her internship. I have done plenty of interviews with Tailgate Media. I know Jacob Shane well enough to talk to him if someone is giving Mads a hard time there.
I wait for her to elaborate. I don’t want her to feel pressured into telling me, but I also need to know so I can help her. Thankfully, she takes my silence as an opening.
“My cousin, Sarah is getting married,” she says, flatly.
“You don’t like the guy?” I’m a little confused because I could’ve sworn she’s spoken highly of him in the past.
She looks up at me, her pretty green eyes full of sadness. “No, I love Tyler. They’re so perfect for each other.”
Now I’m even more confused.
Thankfully, she continues. “The lease on our apartment is up next week and she’s going to move in with him. I can’t afford the rent on my own and the place is too big for me anyway. I’ve been looking for a one-bedroom for the last week, but everything I’ve found is way out of my budget. If I don’t come up with something quick, I’m going to be homeless. I’ll have to quit my internship and leave Boston.” As she finishes the last sentence, her voice breaks and tears start streaming down her cheeks.
“Come here,” I say, grabbing the hem of her shirt and pulling her into a hug. She buries her face into my neck, her body shaking as she quietly sobs. I inhale the scent of her shampoo and if I never smelled another thing as long as I lived, I’d be perfectly fine with that. “Shhhh. It’s going to be okay.”
She looks up at me and I decide right there that there’s no way I’m letting her leave. I push a strand of tear-soaked hair behind her ear, which earns me a small, watery smile. I mightbe crazy for what I’m about to do, but if losing Madison Rodgers before I even get a chance to really know her is the only other option, I don’t care.
“Move in with me.”
She stills in my arms for a moment, her teary eyes becoming wider as my offer hangs in the air between us. I don’t want to beg her to say yes, but I will if it comes down to it. All I know is that I can’t let her go. Aside from making my life easier, I’ve found myself counting down the minutes until she walks in my door every day. I know working for me is just a means to an end for her and that her internship is why she came to Boston in the first place, but I wish I could be the reason she stays.
“Blaze, if I can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment in Eastie, what makes you think I could even cover a fraction of what it costs to live here?” she says, her feisty little attitude still showing itself from underneath her sadness.
I chuckle, pulling her back into me because for some reason, holding her close just feels right. “Maybe you forgot the part where I’m a wildly successful and extremely wealthy pro athlete,” I say, trying to lighten the mood. She huffs a breath and I continue before she can argue. “It’s just me here in this big house. Pretty sure there’s like, five vacant bedrooms. Plus, it’ll take some stress off me knowing someone is here taking care of the place while I’m on the road.” That last part is a complete lie. I have a housekeeper that comes to check on the place if I’m away for more than a night, but I need to make it look like Mads is doing me a favor. Otherwise, I know she won’t feel comfortable staying here rent-free. I decide to hammer that point home, just in case. “It would really help me out, having you here.”
