Page 54 of Hot Route
MADS
I pullinto the Tailgate Media headquarters parking lot and park my car. Blaze offered to drive me, but I wanted to do this alone. I wanted to go in there with my head held high and claim the job I rightfully earned. I don’t know if the other interns will be here, but I’m glad I’m going straight to the top floor to meet with Jacob. I still don’t know which one of them was involved with Brady, and to what extent, but it would be pretty awkward to have to be around them, wondering which one had a possible hand in me being let go.
I ride the elevator to the executive suites floor and walk toward the desk. Unlike our normal interactions, this time when Dani sees me, she gets up and rounds the desk before flinging her arms around me. “Oh my God, I’m so glad you’re here!” she says. I can’t say I’m not thoroughly confused, but this is better than the not-so-warm exit I made last time I left here.
She steps back, smoothing her skirt down on her thighs. “You can go right in. Jacob is waiting for you.”
Here we go. I don’t know why I’m so nervous about this meeting. He’s the one who fucked up when he fired me last week.But unlike him, I plan on hearing him out completely before I decide whether or not I’ll be taking his job offer.
Who am I kidding? Of course I’ll accept it. But I’ll make him sweat a little first. He deserves that much.
He greets me when I enter his office and motions for me to sit down. I wipe my clammy hands on my pants and wait for him to launch into his spiel. His demeanor is different than the other times I’ve been in here. Before, he exuded confidence. But today, he looks embarrassed and unsure.
“Before we get into things,” he says, “I owe you an apology. You tried to tell me Brady was lying and I dismissed you. You never gave me a reason to not trust you and I let you down. I’m sorry, Madison.”
“Okay,” I say quietly. Mainly because I need to hear the whole story before I decide if I actually do accept his apology. Thankfully, he continues.
“I was unaware of this, but there’s an office on the eleventh floor that employees have been sneaking into whenever they need a break. The whole floor is being remodeled, but that particular office is the only one that still has the old locking door.” I definitely know about that office. Rachel and Ian from accounting used to go in there to have sex on their break at least three times a week. Or so I’ve heard. “Dani’s boyfriend brought her lunch on Friday afternoon, shortly after I met with you and Brady, and they wanted to eat in private.”
Eat? Yeah. Ok.Seems like everyone here is using the eleventh-floor office as their own sex room.
He continues. “They heard footsteps coming down the hall, so they hid behind the desk, afraid of getting in trouble for being in there. Turns out, Brady and Chance were working together to get you fired and they were discussing it privately right here in our building.”
Fucking Chance. I hated him from the first day with his interrupting and mansplaining. Jason wasn’t much better, but he only seemed to disrespect me after Chance had taken a shot first. He was more of a follower.
“But how did they even know each other?” I ask.
He fiddles with the pen cup on his desk. “They were in the same fantasy football league. Chance went to school with Connor Paul’s brother, so when he moved to Boston for the internship, Connor asked him to join. I guess Brady was in the league, too.”
That makes sense. Brady did seem very comfortable with Connor and his friends that day. I didn’t even think that they could’ve known each other beyond recording a podcast together.
“Anyway,” he goes on, “they came up with a plan to get you out of Boston. Chance knew he couldn’t beat you out for the permanent position here, and Brady wanted to hurt you after you rejected him. He started with me, telling his story about how you propositioned him, knowing I wouldn’t want to have another workplace scandal on my hands. He planned on telling all the other media outlets in the city so they wouldn’t hire you. Then, you’d be forced to leave.”
I fucking knew it.
I blow out a breath. “Wow.” That’s all I can say right now. I know Brady is an asshole, but he was completely ready to ruin the life I was building here just because he couldn’t have me. And he almost succeeded. I had a feeling that he was going to run my name through the mud. That’s why I left the way I did. I did exactly what he wanted me to do. Thank God Dani and her boyfriend couldn’t wait until after work to have sex that day. I should send them a fruit basket or something.
“So,” he continues, “I would like to offer you a permanent position here, if you’ll take it. You have been a great asset to this company and I’m not dumb enough to let you go twice.” Bloodrushes to my ears. I can’t believe this is happening. All the years I put into getting here. Beating every single odd as a woman in sports journalism. Keeping my eye on the prize even when I wanted to give up. I fucking did it. “If you accept my offer, we’ll start with you doing interviews for social media Then, when you’re ready, we’ll get you on the sidelines. Maybe you can talk your boyfriend out of telling his teammates to boycott us,” he jokes.
I suck my teeth, leaning back a little in my chair. “I don’t know, Mr. Shane. He was pretty mad at you.” I wink. “I’ll see what I can do.”
We end the meeting with me signing on the dotted line to become the newest member of the Tailgate Media team. I walk back to the reception desk, hoping to catch Dani so I can thank her, but she isn’t there. Then again, it’s lunchtime, so she may be on the eleventh floor.Good for her.
I leave the office for the day, rushing home to tell Blaze the good news. I’m staying in Boston for good.
FORTY-ONE
BLAZE
Super Bowl Sunday
“Alright, boys,”Tanner says, standing in front of the group. “This is it. The day you’ve been dreaming of since the first time you laced up your little cleats. That day, you began a journey. And it’s led you here today. To this moment. To thisgame. This is a culmination of all the years of hard work you’ve put in to becoming the best. There are kids at home right now, wearing their little Blizzard pajamas, hoping that one day they’ll be playing in this game. They’re watching you. There are men and women in the stands who would give anything to be where you are, playing the sport they love at the highest level. They’re watching you. Your families and friends who supported you through bad games, good games, injuries, and all the milestones you’ve reached along the way. They’re watching you. Let’s go out there and make them proud. What do you say, boys?”
The whole locker room erupts into cheers as we gather together with our outstretched hands placed over Tanner’s. “On three!” he yells. “One! Two! Three! Blizzard!” we shout in unison before storming out toward the tunnel. The excitement in the airis palpable, like I could reach out and touch it as we make our way to the field.
The last couple of months have been a whirlwind. After bringing Mads back home to Boston, she immersed herself in work as I did the same. We fought our way through playoffs, almost losing again in the Conference Championship Game. Thankfully, Ramirez came in clutch with the winning field goal that sent us to the Super Bowl. My first of many, I hope.
The lights in the stadium dim as the announcer introduces the team. It’s a warm night in Los Angeles, but I’m shivering from adrenaline. I just want to get out there and win this thing. Then I want to take my girl back to the hotel and celebrate by sliding inside her and not leaving the room for the next three days. Jacob has her on assignment here, but she finished interviews before we did warm-ups, so right now she’s sitting right where I want her. At the fifty-yard line behind the Blizzard benches.
