Page 40 of Date with a Devil
“Fuck.”
“Not saying that I wanted to fuck you, FYI.”
“Was a little tipsy and got carried away, is all.”
“Nevermind. Forget I ever texted you. Bye.”
His brain cramped when he tried to make sense of all the mixed messages she was sending. The only one that made sense was that she wanted him to forget about her. And if that was the case, fine. There wasn’t exactly a shortage of beautiful women for a single pro athlete, and they were never this puzzling or this much work. He pocketed his phone.
“Well?” Reavo asked. “How’d that go over?”
“Like a lead balloon.”
“It’s for the best,” Reavo said. “Last thing this team needs is The Big D getting all cozy with the media.”
He laughed. “Like that would ever happen.”
Chapter 17
Austen
The work week was a drag. Austen’s fears about being relegated to glorified intern were coming more true with each passing day. Thayer’s office blinds remained drawn, and whatever he needed Heather’s help with, he apparently needed all week long.
She couldn’t believe she was losing her show, her job. The idea filled her with both an immense sadness and an incredible rage.Date with a Devilwas something she’d workedsohard on for the past year, and to have it ripped out from under her that easily? And all for what? Letting DeHardt take her off-camera for a few measly minutes?
Slowly, day by day, she felt herself becoming more of an outsider in the office. Workplace whispers were growing louder:
Have you heard?
Heather is replacing Austen on the DeHardt interview!
Oh, really? So now Austen gets paid to do our job, while we do her job for free?
I know, right?
But no one in the office had the courage to talk to her about it or to ease her fears—not Johnny, Frederick, Heather, and especially not Thayer. They avoided her like she had the plague.
Day in and day out, she put her head down and dutifully did her job. But for the first time, she’d begun to dread coming in to work—maybe even despise it.
When Thayer finally called her into his office Friday morning, she was sure she was going to get the axe.
***
Austen slunk into Thayer’s office like a starved and skittish alley cat.
“You wanted to see me?” she muttered, certain she was going to be let go.
“Yes. Please, sit.”
She took the seat opposite Thayer’s and fiddled with her hands. “Thayer, I—”
“I know it was difficult for you to be removed from the DeHardt project.”
She nodded, her eyes nervously shifting from side to side.
“Austen, you’re not in trouble. I want to get that out of the way first and foremost. Okay?”
“Thank God.” She breathed a deep sigh of relief. “But why was I taken off the interview?”
