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“Yes.”
“Smart girl.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I guess that if there will ever be personnel cuts, they won’t let go the MVP’s girlfriend and Coach’s daughter. The opposite is true for promotions.”
I felt my throat tighten. I set my sandwich down, looking straight at Veronica.
“I’d never use my personal connections to get any kind of advantage.”
“Maybe, but they’ll help anyway. That’s just the way the world works. When I applied for your job, Tina said I wasn’t a good fit, yet you being Coach’s daughter seemed to do the trick.”
“My work experience qualified me.” I hadn’t known Veronica had applied for my job. “Jace is a player. My dad is the coach. Neither of them has a say in management decisions.”
“Except that Jace is Graham’s brother-in-law. As I said, smart girl. I mean... until Jace gets bored, at least. We all know he’s not relationship material.”
I also hadn’t realized Veronica had a bitchy side until now.
I hadn’t expected her to question my work ethic or warn me off Jace. The surprise over the latter turned into a simmering anger. She didn’t know Jace. Not the way I did. Sure, she’d been at the club far longer, but I knew enough about Veronica to conclude that she didn’t know any of the players on a personal level.
She hadn’t seen Jace at the foundation with those kids, or heard him talk about Milo or even his siblings. She didn’t know how strong Jace’s love could be, or his devotion. She was judging him based on the image the media had built about him, and it wasn’t fair.
For the rest of the day, I buckled down to work, trying not to take it personally when Veronica and Sheila went on their afternoon coffee break without inviting me. Frankly, I’d imagined Veronica and Sheila joking with me about Jace, maybe peppering me with questions as they’d done when I’d gotten the flowers. I’d begun to think of the girls as my friends, but clearly I’d been wrong. For the first time since I started at the Lords, I couldn’t wait for five o’clock to roll around.
My temples were already pounding. The only light at the end of the tunnel was that I’d made plans with Jace for tonight. I couldn’t wait to see him.
At four fifty-nine, I skidded down to the parking lot. Jace was waiting for me already, leaning against his car, his legs crossed at his ankles, and giving me a big grin.
That grin right there was worth all of it. He held out his arms, and I walked into them without hesitation but only gave him a quick peck on the lips.
“How did it go?” he asked. “If it makes you feel better, I got an ass chewing from Coach, but I was fully expecting him to give me the talk.”
“Sorry about that. He kind of gave me the talk too, but that was the easiest part of the day. My boss was disappointed, and my colleagues think I’m gonna use this to advance my career or that you’ll break my heart.”
Jace jerked his head back. “Babe, I’m sorry. I’ll talk to Tina.”
“No, she’ll come around. I think she was just blindsided.”
At least, I hoped so.
“I can vouch for the other thing. I’m not going to break your heart. Not now or ever. It’s my job to take care of it. Of you.”
I blinked, everything inside me going soft.
“You know what I think?” he continued.
“What?”
“That we need to hurry to Friday dinner. Listen to Hailey and possibly Landon. They’ll sing my praises. I’m not sure where everyone else will stand.”
“Think your own family will warn me off you, Connor? That’s rock bottom, isn’t it?”
“No,” he said seriously. “It’s just that no one’s ever seen me in love until now.”
“You’re in love with me?” I whispered.
“I’m head over heels.”
