Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106774 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 534(@200wpm)___ 427(@250wpm)___ 356(@300wpm)
“I don’t know how things were done at the other teams you’ve played for,” I say. “But here you’re expected to be on time.”
“I’ll do my best.”
His cool aloofness—and complete disregard for the seriousness of the day—irritates me. I don’t know how anyone walks into their first day of work with the casualness of a beach day. And I really don’t know how I’m supposed to manage this. Sure, I expected a level of incorrigibility, but I expected it aimed at me. I didn’t think he’d fly a fuck-you flag to his team on day one.
May God help me.
“All right. Let’s get on with it since we only have forty-five minutes before you meet with the strength coaches,” I say, glancing at the time on my phone as I turn toward The Royal Café. It took me forever to organize his first day and fit as much as possible into his schedule. He won’t appreciate it, I’m sure, but it makes me feel accomplished … and it’s good for the team, which means it’s good for Renn. That’s what matters to me.
“There’s no rush.”
I stop so suddenly that my sneakers squeak against the floor. “There’s no rush?”
“Yeah, there’s no rush.” He shrugs, the corner of his lips lifting. “I moved the strength assessment to this afternoon.”
A flush stings my cheeks. I clutch my clipboard, trying to process his statement. “I’m sorry,” I say, trying to shake the apparent cobwebs clouding my head. “You did what?”
“I had a workout at four forty-five, anyway. I just moved the assessment in that slot.”
“You can’t just do that.”
“I can.” He leans forward, that ridiculous dimple dotting his cheek. “And I did.”
My heart pounds as I struggle to keep from losing my absolute shit.
“While we’re at it, I shot an email to the nutritionist who created my diet plan,” he says, grinning with an air of arrogance. “We’re modifying it. So if you’re going to send groceries my way again, you better make sure you check that out before you screw it up.”
He can’t be serious.
“You need to stop,” I say, the words a thinly veiled warning.
“I need to stop what, exactly?”
“You need to stop screwing with the plan. I spent a lot of time putting that together for you and—”
“Oh, like you care.” He scoffs. “You didn’t put that together for me. At best, you put it together to save your ass. At worst, you did it to piss me off.”
I start to fire back a retort but pause when a group of players leave the café and head toward the wellness center. Thankfully, they don’t notice us on the other side of the lobby. I’m not in the mood to deal with multiple athletes at once. I’m trying desperately not to kill this one.
“You’re right about one thing,” I say, leading him toward the café. “I don’t care whether you succeed or fail. But I care if I do, and that’s dependent on whether I wrangle you or not.”
He bristles at my side, but I ignore it.
“This is where you’ll get your food, drinks, and snacks,” I say as we enter the cafeteria, fitted as a café. “Obviously, it’s all free. This section is only for players, and the rest of the staff use another area.”
Gray takes it all in.
“There’s a buffet for breakfast and lunch,” I tell him. “You’ll have snacks with your name on them in that cooler midmorning and midafternoon. They customize them to meet your nutritional needs depending on the day’s activities. I also opted you into dinner service. So if you didn’t override that in your flagrant dismissal of my efforts, you can pick up a boxed dinner before you leave the facilities in the evening.” I sigh. “Any questions?”
“Nope. Renn will give you an A+.”
I nod at one of the chefs as we exit the room, biting back the fuck you that I want to lodge at Gray. “The elevators are over there,” I say as we move through the lobby again. “Or you can use the staircase to go up. You can read, so follow the signs. As you may recall from yesterday, the administration offices are located on the upper levels. We can go up there in a bit, but let’s start down here.”
He doesn’t respond, so I head down the corridor toward the player wing.
Silence looms between us like a gaping chasm that neither of us wants to, or can, cross. We might be shoulder to shoulder as we move through the building, but we couldn’t be farther apart. At least the silence gives me a moment to pull myself back together.
Screens are positioned along the walls, hosting muted videos of great plays and victorious moments in the Royals history. I can’t help but grin at the way the players jump on each other in celebration of a special moment. I’ve never experienced that.