8

Ryan

The Kind Of Propositions You Sign NDAs For

I leaned forward, ready to grab a pen. Even if Cleo wasn't happy with me leaving Marrs at the end of my junior year, she still had an obligation to make sure I had no spots on my record before going for the draft. I trusted her judgment.

"Okay…you lost me," Kassie admitted.

"Ryan Cross, Four-A-Cross." Cleo gestured towards me. "Quarterback for the Romans, one of the greatest in Marrs University's history, anything he signs is an instant bestseller, we can't keep his official jerseys in stock. And, he is noted in Southern Sports Insider as…stiff."

I shrugged.

" Texas Rangin' Podcast called him a methodical robot . Kenan Foley said Ryan Cross is curt, hard-headed and…difficult in interviews."

That was unreasonable. "They keep asking what my favorite music is—what does that have to do with football?"

"You didn't have to finish the interview at that."

"I have better things to do with my time," I grunted.

Cleo ignored me. "As much as I've been trying and pleading with him, Ryan will say he's ready for the draft. Except he's…well, he's not…approachable. I mean, at all. Pictures, events, interviews, you name it. There's a clear divide between him and players who embrace their media training. It's my job to fix this. And, with the rest of the publicity that Marrs is…experiencing, this will be the perfect opportunity to—"

"A relationship? " Kassie laughed but there was nothing funny about this. "We couldn't spend…two minutes together in a room without going at each other's throats. There's no way that—"

I didn't taste blood through my mouthguard to balk at a challenge.

"I can behave if you can," I told her.

The art girl stared at me. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"One, you can't snarl at reporters. Two, you can't fall in love with me."

Her mouth fell open and she snapped it shut. Kassie's eyes flashed. "This guy? Difficult? Shocking to me. Ryan, the day I fall head over heels for you, asteroids hit the Earth." She shook her head. "Does your demeanor actually work on other girls?"

"My fake girlfriend doesn't need to worry about other girls."

"I wish your fake girlfriend the best." Kassie beamed. "Hope she can swallow your personality."

I shifted forward. "It's a good thing I never have a problem with women and swallowing."

" Ryan, " Cleo chided me, shocked.

Holy shit. On a call with every important person on the roster too. I'd been so focused on the art girl, sharpening her knives, and that curved mouth of hers, lips parted, I completely forgot about the audience we had.

I lean back in my chair. "Sorry."

"Yeah…" Kassie drew in a slow breath. "You are not good at this."

Cleo hovered over the phone, still staring at me in surprise until she talked to everybody else. "Memo that to me, I've got to go. Everyone will receive a newsletter." She clicked three buttons with her thumb and forefinger. "We need to talk."

Kassie pushed up from her chair. "Talk, like you two talk, and I leave?"

"Not quite, Kassie." Cleo stopped her. "We need a serious discussion on public relationships. Fake dating." With a click, a new PowerPoint flashed on the screen. "It's easy to fall in love with someone in one of these things."

Kassie sighed.

"Psychologically, mentally, physically, it just makes sense," Cleo insisted. "Think about it, for months on end, you're with this person. Photoshoots, charity events, football games, everything you can think of. Pushed together at every corner. Of course it's easy to fall in love with them."

"That won't be a problem for us," I replied.

As far as I was concerned, our War Room conversation was a done deal.

"We need to discuss this," Cleo pressed. "Marrs University has enough light shining on it. We're not adding a fire, we're not adding torches, not a single flashlight. You two will be coworkers . Coworkers that do everything together, but coworkers . Have I made myself clear?"

Kassie rolled her eyes. "That's if I—"

"You're required to be near each other, act nice, play house for the cameras. Imagine one of your coworkers, a month into the job, admitting they've developed feelings for you. Nine out of ten times it's unrequited ." Cleo pushed back from the table. " Oedipus Rex was performed at the university last season and we arranged the two lead actors to—"

" What ?" Kassie's mouth fell open.

"—generate some social media publicity—"

"That can't be…Zariah made a whole social page about them…" Kassie looked at me in disbelief. "Did you know?"

I frowned. "Know what?"

"They were the leads for Oedipus Rex, it won all those awards!"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," I said, trying to get her back on track.

Kassie swiveled back to Cleo. "Do you just keep him locked in a basement? What's the deal with him?"

"The deal is, the two of those actors had a falling out because Oedipus couldn't relax until the end of the play's season. You think he would've learned a little more about the themes from the text. The second to last showing featured their alternates and the very last showing was a canceled mess. We are not the theater department," Cleo said, her voice curt. "Nothing like that will happen under my watch. Ryan here is worth quite a bit of money to the school. Even if he's abandoning us early—I won't have anything jeopardized while we still have him." She clicked through the presentation. "Whatever that takes, I want it clean , and I want it done right ."

Slowly, Kassie looked over at me again. She didn't look ready to crack a joke or like she'd just heard thinly veiled threats. Maybe the art girl was finally starting to understand. Good. Whatever Kassie wanted, the school would jump to meet it.

She hesitated. "You people take this…seriously."

"It's football," Cleo reminded her. "We're not the hockey team."

Low blow, but she had a point.

Football meant everything to Marrs University and it meant everything to me.

Kassie Ragar was a distraction. A beautiful distraction. Gorgeous, even, with a nice ass and a curved mouth. But just a distraction. Nothing more.

Because if there was anything I understood, it was keeping to the rules.

I tapped the green file on the desk, the detailed information gathered on Kassie. "It's a trade."

"Ryan is correct." Cleo turned back to Kassie. "Sculpting major, right?"

"Animation," I corrected before Kassie could. "The Bird Pants kind."

"Thanks, Ryan," Kassie muttered.

"Animation," Cleo repeated to herself and pulled out her personal laptop. She scrolled across the touchpad. "I'm thinking, an internship with our athletics graphic design department."

Kassie stiffened. " What? "

"Opening internship is for college graduates, but I'm positive they'll—hm—make an exception." Cleo swung over her laptop and showed a number of figures on the screen. "Starting salary. And if everything goes well with our side project here, high recommendation letters for post-grad."

"Holy shit," Kassie whispered.

"Let me make this clear, you won't actually be working for the department. We expect you to clock in, but think of it as free time to study. All your energy should go to your true work." Cleo pointed toward me. " Him ."

I narrowed my eyes. That wasn't the number we'd originally thrown around. Cleo's boss must've caught her before she finalized everything.

Unacceptable.

Looking over though, Kassie stared at the screen. No retort whatsoever.

It's not good enough.

"I…I couldn't…" In the most unexpected development, Kassie stumbled through her words, a bright blush painted across her cheeks. "I…I couldn't…um…"

"I want both of you to understand the stakes here." Cleo turned back to her earpiece. "One moment, Kassie. We'll need your hiring paperwork today. Hm…that'll have to be approved before three…."

Cleo took a brisk walk back to her desk to fetch something.

I couldn't let the moment slip by. "Kassie."

"I….?" She didn't blink. "Is this a dream?"

"Kassie," I repeated.

Once she caught my eye again, I grunted, and looked up, careful to keep my eyes flickering towards the ceiling. But she still sat in shock.

" Kassie ."

With Cleo just paces away, I couldn't tell her to demand more money. Marrs University was one of the few schools where I could make royalties off my own name in college football. With every shoe signing push, I made a nice bundle. Our public relations assistant didn't have a small part in that.

I needed another way to tell her. Muttering under my breath, I typed out a message on my phone.

"But, see…" Kassie struggled to give her answer while Cleo flipped through papers. "I have two…jobs right now…."

"Quit them. Immediately." Cleo waved the question away. "Ryan's your job now."

I bumped Kassie with my phone.

Her eyes snapped to mine. "No, Ryan, I—I can't—"

I didn't care.

"It's already a lot…" Kassie shot Cleo a panicked look in the corner and lowered her voice to a whisper. "And—"

"You're telling me you chew me out over nothing, but you're scared about this?"

"I'm not scared."

"You're a deer in headlights." I shook my head. "You live at Roman Forest and you don't want more money?"

"I—what?"

"Ask. Now ."

"How'd you know I live at Roman Forest?"

In two seconds, I gazed back at her, mind whirling away with the question. How did I know that she stayed in the shittiest dorm that counted as Marrs University student housing? I'd scrolled all the way through her secret art account, down to the very bottom when she'd posted a picture with her roommates, posing in front of their door together, freshman year.

Fuck. Think of something.

I grunted. "It's on your paperwork. In the folder."

"Oh."

"Kassie," I tried again. "Ask."

No part of me believed it. The same woman who didn't hesitate to give me a lashing, fumbled with her words when asking for a raise. Well, my team wasn't going to be responsible for underpaying her.

"Cleo? Kassie has a question."

"Yes?" Cleo glanced up

"Bastard," Kassie swallowed her whisper. "No, I…ah…."

"Just imagine you're yelling at me," I suggested.

"Shut up. No, um, Cleo…I was wondering, see…school's so…expensive, and sometimes the bar tips…." Her words faltered and she crossed her legs, running a hand up her thigh in a nervous twitch I couldn't help but stare at. "See…."

"Another seven thousand added to the salary," Cleo amended with a knowing glance sent my way. "That's my final offer - on one condition. All of the paperwork is signed today."

Kassie blanched. "Paperwork?"

I slid her the folder. "These are the kind of propositions we have non-disclosure agreements for."

"We don't want anything leaked or it's a visit from the Marrs' lawyers." Cleo wasted no time walking over and pushed more stapled packets to us. "Full name, full signature. Nothing more, nothing less."

Side by side, Kassie and I took our time before the mountains of papers. I picked up two pens and passed one to her.

"Now, Kassie," I cleared my throat, "I hate to say I told you so but—"

"Shut up, ball dribbler."