Page 22 of Broken As Puck

“Could we speak in private?” I asked.

She looked up, obviously hesitant.

“Just for one minute.”

Her lips pressed into a firm line. “One minute.”

“Cross my heart.”

We shut ourselves in a meeting room and she fiddled with something on her phone.

“I’m timing you,” she warned.

My heart lurched. Damn, she was determined to let me know how much she didn’t want to be anywhere near me. I guessed I’d better get right to it, then.

“I want to make your job easier, not harder,” I said, tucking my hands into my pockets because otherwise I might reach for her. “I swear, I don’t want to mess anything up for you.”

Her nostrils flared and anger flashed in her eyes. “What would make things easiest for me is if you kept your distance.”

“I can’t do that.” Not just because we worked in the same building but because I suspected I was emotionally incapable of staying away from her. I wanted to admit that I missed her, but I doubted that would go down well. “Does Robertson know about our history?”

She paled. “No. You won’t… say anything, will you?”

I started to extend my hand toward her but then stopped myself. “They won’t hear about it from me.”

A rough exhale shuddered through her. “Thank you.”

It was clear that she didn’t want to be in the position of thanking me for anything, but she made herself do it, nonetheless.

I sighed and leaned against the wall. “Do you think you could ever hate me a little bit less?”

She frowned. “I don’t hate you.”

I almost snorted, but upon realizing that she was serious, I reined it in. “Okay, perhaps not, but if you don’t actually hate me, then you definitely want to hate me and that’s almost worse.”

At least if she just hated me, then I’d know it was a knee-jerk reaction. The fact that she claimed not to hate me but still wanted to stay well away from me and have as little to do with me as possible hurt. It meant that she’d thought about it and decided it was the best course of action.

Her teeth sank into her plush lower lip, and I did everything I could not to stare. “Look,” she said softly. “I know we’re stuck together to a certain extent because of this documentary, but I think it’s best if we just leave all of this in the past and stay away from each other unless we don’t have any other choice.”

My heart squeezed and I blinked rapidly so she wouldn’t see how emotional I was. “But…”

But what?

But… my wants were more important than hers?

Yeah, right.

Clenching my jaw, I moved on to the other thing I’d wanted to talk to her about. “I have an idea for a charity fundraiser. Have you heard of the Rainbow Sports Alliance?”

She shook her head.

“It’s a charity that funds athletic training for LGBTQ+ youth. It does really important work helping kids who aren’t always accepted in a team environment.”

She hummed thoughtfully. “And would you be willing to help organize a fundraiser for them?”

I nodded. “Absolutely. I think you should talk to Gadot first, though. He has personal experience with those issues, so his perspective will be more useful than mine. I’m here for whatever you need, though.”

“It’s a good thought. I’ll keep it in mind.”