Shit. How’d they already figure out who I am?
I snapped the paper closed and looked at the people sitting around me. I prayed they hadn’t seen the picture or noticed I was the one in it.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
That stupid picture showed up online last night and now it was printed in the newspaper for everyone to see. I reminded myself that no one actually read printed papers anymore before I realized that the online version would probably include the same articles. Shaking the embarrassment off, I fidgeted in my seat until my stop.
Walking into the office, I tossed my things down on top of my cluttered desk before heading into the small corporate kitchen. The magazine’s senior editor, Nora, flipped through the pages of a newspaper before glancing up at me.
“Morning, Cassie. I see you had quite the night last night.” Her gray eyes softened as she held the paper up for me to see.
I released a tense breath. “Yeah. It’s not what it looks like.” I attempted to defend myself, dunking a bag of chai tea into my cup of hot water.
She smiled, her short brown hair perfectly curled. “It never is.” Her voice soothed my fraying nerves.
“It looks bad though, right? Like I’m crazy angry?”
She glanced back down at the photo. “You look pretty pissed off.” Her gaze returned to me as I winced. “Don’t worry about it. It’s just one photo and no one will think anything of it.” She waved a hand in the air, and I wanted to believe her.
“Thanks, Nora.” I smiled, appreciative for her kind words. I turned to walk out when she called my name.
“Sit with me for a minute.” She pointed at the chair across from her.
Uh-oh.
My legs started to tremble as anxiety consumed me. That picture could be bad for the magazine, and I doubted they wanted to be associated with any negative publicity. What if she fired me over this?
“Stop looking at me like I stole your cab and sit down. You’re not in trouble.” I relaxed into the cold chair, still clutching the hot teacup in my hand. “I just wanted to hear about your first Mets game as a player’s girlfriend.”
A small breath escaped from my lips as I relaxed even further. Nora had been kind to me since the day I started in the office. She complimented my work, encouraged me to learn, and challenged me to grow on a daily basis. I respected her, and I wanted to earn her respect in return.
“So, how was it?” She cocked her head to the side, her eyes locked on to mine.
“It was,” I hesitated, “different than I expected.”
“Different how?” she asked, before sipping her coffee.
I glanced up at the white ceiling tiles, attempting to formulate my words into cohesive thoughts before answering. “It was amazing watching Jack play again. Nothing in the world compares to how that feels.” My heart squeezed inside my chest. “But the wives on the team are really mean. Like, none of them would even speak to me, mean.”
She let out a loud guffaw, her head tilting back. “You’re joking.”
I shook my head. “I wish I were.”
“So they wouldn’t talk to you?”
“No. They just stared at me at first and then they refused to acknowledge me at all. It’s like I wasn’t even there.” I rolled my eyes, annoyed at the fact that I’d be seeing these women again later.
“That’s awful. And so unnecessary. Why do we women treat one another with such disrespect?” she asked as my coworkers milled in and out of the small kitchen, casting curious glances in our direction.
“I don’t know.” I suddenly remembered the one bright spot in the evening. “Oh, yeah! One woman did talk to me. She was really nice. Her name was Trina. She’s a model. Freaking gorgeous.” I bit at my bottom lip.
“Trina Delacoy? Beautiful brown hair, bright hazel eyes?”
“Yeah. How do you know her?” I asked in surprise.
“She’s worked with us before, very nice girl. Who is she dating on the team?” she asked, bringing the ceramic mug back to her lips.
“The second baseman, Kyle Peters.”
“Make sure you tell her I said hello.” The lines around her eyes deepened with her grin.
“I will.”
“So, Cassie, now that your gorgeous super jock is back in your life, you’re not going to quit the magazine, are you?” She smirked at me knowingly as I pinched my eyebrows together.
“No. Why on earth would I quit?” The last thing I wanted to do was leave this job. While the very idea of Jack being back in my life caused my soul to beam with love, I still had career goals I wanted to achieve. I moved across the country to work for this magazine, and Jack didn’t affect my feelings about that.