Page 2 of Play Along

“I’m not expecting you to come on board at all.”

“Dr. Fredrick, I just moved to Chicago for this job. You’ve seen my references. You’ve seen the externships I’ve done. It’s why you hired me in the first place.”

“I had a different idea of who I was hiring at the time.”

“Because you thought I was a man.”

“I’m not going to discuss this with you any further. If you want to work for the Windy City Warriors, you may do so as an entry-level athletic trainer. That’s the position I’m hiring for.”

She hesitates and I can almost picture her shoulders straightening with the way she confidently asks, “When do you need my answer?”

“By the end of the day.”

“Fine. I’ll let you know my decision soon.”

There’s a moment of silence, leading me to believe that the conversation is over, but then I hear Dr. Fredrick cut in and say, “Ms. Kay, if you do decide to come on board, this will be the one and only warning I give you. If there’s even a hint of some kind of nonsense between you and one of the players, your position will be terminated. There’s a reason I don’t hire women to work for me. You’ll be in locker rooms, on airplanes, and in hotels with them. I expect you’ll make sure you’re not a distraction.”

There’s a reason I don’t hire women. Fucking asshole.

“With all due respect, Dr. Fredrick, I just spent the last two years as one of only three doctors for the entirety of the University of Connecticut’s athletic program. There’s nothing in my history that would have you questioning my professionalism.”

“Those were children. These are men,” he says in response. “I think you know exactly what I’m getting at here.”

She clears her throat, and there’s something to be said about her professionalism he’s questioning, because if this were me, I’d probably be delivering a right hook to his jaw.

I’m a little impulsive that way.

“You’ll have my answer by noon,” she says to finish.

Footsteps putter in the distance, and they grow louder with each step, heading in my direction. There’s no route for me to leave without getting caught eavesdropping, and though I have every intention to bring this information to Monty, our field manager, I don’t plan on clueing in Dr. Fredrick beforehand.

So, to be safe, I duck back into the women’s restroom until I know the coast is clear of him.

I already wasn’t a fan of our lead doctor. He’s a bit of a kiss-ass if you ask me, always wanting to be buddy-buddy with the guys on the team, but the way he just spoke to this woman, as if he were better than her, has me eager to tell every person in the Warriors’ organization what a sexist piece of shit he is.

“Sexist piece of shit.”

I hear my own internal dialogue spoken back to me in a terrifying tone just on the other side of the bathroom door.

The woman from the hallway pushes into the never-used restroom just as I hide myself behind a stall. I don’t sit. I stand like an absolute creep because I have no idea how I got myself into this situation.

Watching through the crack in the stall door, I find her reflection in the mirror. Hands bracketed on the sink counter, and head hung low, still hiding her face I’ve yet to see.

She laughs to herself. “What the actual fuck just happened?”

Then, she takes a deep breath and finally stands up straight, looking right at herself in the mirror and giving me the same view... only for any gut-wrenching grief I was feeling about this day to be put on hold, because now I’m thoroughly distracted.

This tiny woman, with hair color I can’t categorize and a tone in her voice that would make any man’s balls shrivel up in fear, is fucking stunning.

Freckles dot every inch of flushed, creamy skin. Eyes that I could make an educated guess and call them brown, seeing as they look a lot like mine. And lips... lips tucked under teeth to keep herself from crying because she’s clearly willing herself to be angry instead of sad.

Call it instincts, but I’d imagine her smile could light me up if it wasn’t currently turned down in a frown.

Those eyes begin to gloss over as she watches herself.

“No,” she pleads. “Not here. Get your shit together, Kennedy.”

Kennedy.

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