25. Macy

Chapter 25

Macy

I blow out a long breath and I massage my temples. This whole thing with Stubbs is a disaster. He's trying his hardest to drag Owen's name and the Pit Bulls through the mud. Anything to make them look bad and him look slightly better.

"Knock, knock," a sweet voice says from the door to my new office.

I glance up to find a beautiful woman with long blonde hair and sparkling green eyes standing in front of me.

"Can I help you?"

"I'm Liliana. I'm here to speak with Macy Hayes."

"That's me. C'mon in and take a seat." I move around a few papers on my desk, trying to make me feel more professional.

Liliana is adorable in her dress pants, fitted top, and a little jacket. She looks every bit the sports reporter, mixed with a business woman .

"Please, don't clean up on my account. You should see my office." She waves her hand around in the air and shakes her head. "I swear, sometimes I don't know why anyone would hire me. Half the time I can't find anything in there."

"Well, this is worse because I just got this office and it's already a disaster." I chuckle, loving how easy it is to talk to her.

Liliana waits patiently for me to finish fidgeting with everything. She has a sweet smile and kind eyes. She's the type of woman Cord deserves.

"So, what can I do for you? You said you had a story you needed mysteriously leaked?"

"Yes. Stubbs is dragging everything Owen Powell has built through the mud and I don't like it one bit. There are multiple pieces of footage showing how detrimental Stubbs was to this team and our players and staff. I want them leaked with no connection to us. Do you think you can help me with that?"

"Of course! Is this an exclusive thing? I'd love to have something no one else has, at least for a day. I can make sure it gets shared with other reporters, but could I hold on to it for a short while? It would really earn me some brownie points at work."

"I don't care if you keep it forever, as long as people see it and stop believing Stubbs about Owen and the team."

"Oh, I could definitely do that. Give me all the dirty details. I'll write up a story to go with the videos and make sure this is perfect."

"Thank you so much for all of your help today, Liliana. I promise to keep you in mind for my future press needs."

"That would be great." She's smiling from ear to ear. She's such a sweetheart. I wonder how she and Smithy met, I can't imagine the two of them being friends.

Liliana stands and holds out her hand to shake mine. She's someone I could imagine hanging out with on the weekends. She's smart and driven, but there's a carefree and fun side of her too.

"You're really friends with Smithy?" I arch a brow.

"Yeah, we go way back. I don't know what I'd do without him in my life. He's always been a constant and someone I can lean on." Her smile turns wistful and I wonder if there's something more going on there.

I wouldn't blame her if she has hidden feelings for Smithy. He's hot, cocky, and a flirt. He makes everything fun, yet makes you feel like you matter.

"I'm glad to hear that. Sometimes I wonder if the guys are really as sweet as they act when they're here. I know some of them aren't and they're just trying to get my attention." I roll my eyes.

"Is it hard working here?"

"Nah, Owen's a fantastic boss. He always makes sure you're taken care of and have everything you need to do your job." I lean forward and glance down for a minute. I barely know Liliana and as much as I want to trust her, I'm not sure I can. A lot of reporters only care about what story they can spin from the information you give them.

"This is off the record, Macy. I get it. I'm the reporter and most of us are scum. I promise I'm not interested in ruining the Pit Bulls or anyone here. I met Stubbs a handful of times and he was such a piece of shit. I'm happy to help take him down, but only him. I wouldn't do anything to hurt Smithy. He means too much to me."

"Owen values his good employees. He'll go above and beyond to help if you treat him with respect. He's not just the bosshole everyone paints him as. Can he be a bosshole? Absolutely. But that's not entirely him. He's made this place feel like a family and I'm honored to have a place in it."

"Damn, I wish I could find a position here." Liliana chuckles and shakes her head. "My boss is a jerk and I swear he wants to make my life miserable. He found out I'm friends with Smithy and he keeps encouraging me to find out as much as I can about the team and write a big article on it."

"Are you going to?" My brows raise as my heart beats a little faster. I'm sure Smithy isn't careful with what he says around Liliana. She could destroy this franchise with things he says.

"No," she says softly. "I'd never do anything to hurt Smithy or jeopardize his life and future. I don't care if it would help my career. I don't want to be that person. I want to be a reporter people can actually trust."

"You care about him."

"Of course."

"As more than a friend," I say slowly. I can see it in the ways her eyes sparkle when she talks about him. At the sweet smile that keeps playing on her lips every time his name is mentioned. This woman is head over heels for Smithy.

"It doesn't really matter how much I care about him," she whispers. "We'll always be friends and nothing more."

"Is that his doing or yours?" I push a little harder. Liliana narrows her eyes on me, making me hold up my hands and chuckle. "Nothing you say is leaving this office. I'm just nosey and I love Smithy. He seems… broken though."

"He is, but I'm working on putting him back together."

"I hope he knows how lucky he is to have you."

Liliana opens her mouth to respond, but a knock on my door interrupts her. I glance up to find Smithy's face pressed against the small window.

I roll my eyes and motion for him to come in. He's never going to leave until he says whatever he came here to say.

"You didn't tell me you were going to be here." He completely ignores me as he focuses entirely on Liliana. "Lils, I haven't seen you in forever." He gathers her into his arms and hugs her like she's the only person in the world. He squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath of her. He looks more like a man in love and less like a friend .

"I saw you two days ago," she squeals as he lifts her into the air and spins her in a circle.

"That's like a lifetime. I told you, I need my daily fix of Liliana."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she says sarcastically. She rolls her eyes, but she can't hide the massive smile she has aimed at him. They're adorable together.

"You should be. My performance on the field was affected today because of it."

"I'm sure you're fine." She pats him on the chest and grins up at him.

"Oh, I'm fine . All the ladies know that." Smithy's smile widens, showing off his dimples.

"Does anyone actually like this side of you?"

"The sexy one? The flirty one? Which one, Lils? I have a lot of sides and some are nicer than others. Some are really impressive too." He wiggles his brows, tugging her closer against his body.

"Stop it," she says softly as her cheeks flush with embarrassment. She places her hands on his chest and gentle pushes away from him.

Hurt flares in Smithy's eyes before he plasters on a fake smile and slips back into the player role he hides behind so easily. His gaze meets mine and his eyes flicker with understanding. He knows I saw what he tries to hide from the world. I recognize hiding your hurt so no one can see it. I've done it my entire life.

"You definitely have the most impressive abs on the team." I wink at him, making a genuine smile spread across his face.

He appreciates me changing the subject and taking away some of the embarrassment he was dealing with from Liliana's rejection.

She might not realize it, but Smithy would claim her as his own in a second if she'd let him.

"What about my chest?"

"Nah, sorry, bud. Cord has you beat in the chest game." He opens his mouth to say something and I hold up my hand. "Wyatt has everyone beat for his thighs and ass. Leo holds the title for the most defined arms. Covey has the most amazing dimples. Wheeler has the most captivating eyes. Schmidt has the nicest hands. And Holden has the most defined back muscles I've ever seen."

"You're only giving Schmidt the nicest hands?" Smithy asks with amusement dancing in his eyes. "Really, Macy?"

"Well, he pissed me off. He's lucky he got the nicest anything." I wave a hand through the air, dismissing him.

"Who has the nicest hair?" Liliana pipes up.

"Covey," Smithy and I say at the same time, causing all of us to laugh.

"Cord has the best Adonis belt." I grin, making Smithy let out a loud groan.

"It's like that man was carved out of stone. I swear he has the best of everything. I don't know if I can even compete with his abs." Smithy lifts the hem of his t-shirt to reveal a perfect set of abs. He might feel threatened by Cord's body, but he's not lacking in any way .

"Sorry, handsome." I lift my shoulder in a shrug, not really caring either way. If Smithy wants his ego stroked, he can easily find a cleat chaser to do it for him.

"I'm going to get out of here," Liliana whispers as she grabs her bag and slings it over her shoulder.

"Hey, wait. I wanted to talk to you. Let me walk you out to your car." Smithy grabs her wrist to stop her, then lets his hand slide down until he's threading his fingers through hers.

"Don't you have to work?"

"I do, but I told the coach I had something to take care of and he flipped me off, then told me to go." Smithy grins. "I didn't want to miss you."

"Thank you for meeting with me, Liliana. I look forward to reading your article and seeing what happens. I'm sure I'll be in contact with you in the future over other jobs as well." I stand and hold out my hand to shake hers.

"You're welcome." She gives me a firm shake. "I appreciate you giving me the exclusive interview. This should help me at work a lot."

"You two can use my office to talk. I need to go find Owen to go over something for the start of the season." I smile as I gather my notebook and my favorite pen.

I'm not sure what's going on between the two of them, but it seems like they have some things to talk through and privacy is probably needed for it.