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Rory’s face showed her confusion at his attitude, and she glanced up at me before looking back at him and replying, “Sure. I’ll be right there.”
Percy shot a glare in my direction, then stalked through the door to the press box.
“Is he always like that?” I asked, my voice laced with concern.
“No. He’s always been professional but friendly.” She paused and bit her lip before adding, “Although…in my interview, I gotthe impression that he doesn’t like when the office staff dates players.”
“What?”
Rory sighed. “Maybe I misunderstood. I’d better get in there. I’ll see you after the game, okay?” She went up on her tiptoes and pecked my lips before grabbing her backpack and waltzing into the press box.
As I made my way down to the locker room, I pondered our interaction with Percy.Could dating me threaten her internship?
“Save that murderous expression for out on the field, Ledger.”
Cole’s voice broke through my thoughts, and I looked to my left to see him leaning against the wall outside the locker room door. He was scanning the papers on his clipboard, but he dropped it to his side when I moved to stand next to him.
“What’s on your mind, Gage?”
“The girl you introduced me to a couple of weeks ago. Rory Abernathy?”
“What about her? Other than that I’m pretty sure you’re dating her.”
I glanced at him, expecting to see the same disapproval in his eyes that I’d seen in Percy’s. Instead, he was smiling smugly and seemed amused.
“How did you…?”
“When will you boys learn?” He tapped his temple. “I know everything.”
I laughed, but honestly, it really seemed like he did sometimes.
“Is it a problem?” I asked. “Rory and I being together?”
Cole frowned and pushed away from the wall to fully face me. “Why the hell would that be an issue?”
“Percy seemed unhappy with the situation. I’m worried. I don’t want to get Rory fired, but I can’t give her up.”
Cole’s frown intensified. “Don’t worry about that asshat. I’ll make sure Rory’s job is safe and that he doesn’t make things uncomfortable for her.”
Relief flooded my body, and I felt my muscles unclench a little. “Thanks.”
“As long as you crush it out there, no thanks is necessary.”
I nodded, and we entered the locker room together. He made a beeline for one of our offensive linemen while I went to get dressed for the game.
9
RORY
My thoughts kept drifting to Gage’s suggestion that I move in with him during the game, which made it difficult to focus on my job. Percy kept giving me odd looks, which made me self-conscious and distracted me even more.
When the clock wound down on another Nighthawks victory, I heaved a deep sigh of relief. For the first time since I had started my internship, I was thrilled for the game to be over. Unfortunately, Percy still didn’t seem happy with me when I got ready to leave.
“Classes start this week, but I should still be able to update my models with the statistics from today’s game if you’d like me to do that,” I offered.
He gave me a stiff nod. “If you manage to find the time, that would be helpful.”
Cole shot him a look as he headed toward the door. “I’d appreciate getting a copy of Rory’s work. It’ll help me prepare for our first regular season game.”
