Page 25 of Chips & Checks
Violet snatches the box and jerks it down from the shelf with more force than necessary, twisting away from Chad like she just touched a live wire. Her posture stiffens, shoulders tight, arms glued to her sides. She doesn’t say a word, but the look on her face is sharp and shuttered.
I’ve seen that look before. Not on her, but on other women. Women who know exactly how fast things can shift.
Chad doesn’t even blink. Doesn’t apologize. Just stands there with his hand still hovering in the air, and that smug little smirk like he didn’t just corner her.
And something in me turns cold.
“Whoa.” I take a step closer. “What the hell?”
Violet shoves the box into Chad’s hands. “There you go. Now, I’ve got to finish my appointment with Bowen. Excuse us.”
Chad smirks—not at Violet, but atme. He tosses the box of vitamins from one hand to the other like he’s tossing a gauntlet. “Oops. My bad.”
I take another step toward him. “Let me catch you doing anything like that again, and I’llmakeyou sorry.”
Chad shrugs. “I don’t know what you think you saw, new guy, but she’smyPT, you asshole.” He struts toward the door and leaves without another word, much less an apology.
I wait until he’s gone before turning back to Violet. Her hands hover over the keyboard, but she doesn’t type. She just stares. One second. Two. Then she blinks and pretends to work. Now that Chad’s gone, she’s relaxed somewhat.
“No love lost betweenyoutwo,” she observes without looking up.
My lips press together. “Vi… does he do shit like that a lot?”
“You can call me Violet or, better yet, Dr. Sawyer,” she says. “We’re being professional, remember?” At last, she raises her head to meet my gaze. Whatever she sees in the set of my jaw must tell her that I’m not going to let this go. “Chad is annoying, for sure. Which is one reason I don’tusuallysleep with the players. That would give them ideas. Having boundaries is important, and if he ever gets too forward, I’ll handle it.”
“Wait, you and Chad…?” I wave a hand toward the closed door.
Violet squints at me. “Excuse me?”
“You said you don’t usually sleep with the players.Usually.”
“I was referring toyou,” she hisses. “No, I did not sleep with Chad.”
I blink at her. “Vi—Violet. Are you worried that I’m going to pull something like that?”
“I’m worried about getting your evaluation done before I have to leave for the day. So if we could move this along…” She spins her hand to indicate that we’re wasting time.
I don’t agree, though. It would be one thing if she and Chadwerean item and they’d been flirting in front of me. Violet doesn’t owe me anything, and if she wants to cuddle up with someone else, that’s fine with me. But it’s so obvious to me that shedidn’twant to be around Chad that I can’t bring myself to move on just yet.
“Back in school, there were rumors that he harassed a girl in a sorority until she had a nervous breakdown and left school,” I blurt. I never met her, and I have no proof, but stories like that don’t have staying power unless there’s a kernel of truth to them.
Violet waves this away. “I’m a big girl. I can handle Chad.”
“No offense, Vi, but you’re tiny. Chad’s a huge defenseman. How exactly do you plan to ‘handle’ him?” I make air quotes around the word handle. “Are you going to kick his ankles?”
“You think I don’t know that?” she snaps. “You think I haven’t done the math? Calculated the risk? Lived with the risk?” She exhales hard. “Every time he steps in that room, I have to gauge what I can afford to lose. You’re just noticing it. I’ve been living it. Are you going to beat him up and teach him not to mess with me or else?” She rolls her eyes so hard, it’s a wonder they don’t get stuck like that.
“Tempting,” I admit. “But actually, I was thinking something more along the lines of reporting him to someone upstairs.”
“Oh.” Violet’s brow furrows. She lifts her thumbnail to her lips, then drops her hands again, like she’s still working to kick a nervous habit. “That’s, um. That’s not necessary?” The words lilt up into a question.
“How long has this been going on?” I press. “Today wasn’t the first time he’s done something like that, right?”
Violet picks at the thumbnail she just avoided biting. Her eyes are unfocused, but there are worry lines around her mouth and eyes that I’ve never noticed before. “No. But he’s never done anything with a witness before. I always felt like I was making a big deal out of nothing. And I didn’t want to jeopardize his career. Or mine. Ormy father’s.”
What a crock of shit.I reconsider her suggestion about beating Chad to a pulp, although I know that wouldn’t fix anything. What Violet needs is support, not some meathead to come in with swinging fists. “Don’t you get that he’s the one who’d be ruining his career?” I ask her instead.
She bobbles her head back and forth. “You don’t understand. I see this differently because of my dad.”
