Chapter Sixty-Three

Darcy snuck glances at Natalie in the mirror as they rode back to the office together. Natalie’s red-rimmed eyes were a dead giveaway that she’d been crying. Darcy wanted to say something, but nothing that came to mind would help. Because she was pissed.

She’d done nothing wrong in talking to the Team USA players. She’d been doing her job, both the job they had together and preparing for her first shot in the booth the next day. She’d been given an opportunity to make her dream come true and Natalie should be happy for her. She should be supportive, not sitting in the back of the van sulking.

They walked into Raquel’s office together, but not side by side. Natalie slumped in her chair, refusing to look at Darcy. Fine, if that’s who she wanted to be, Darcy would ignore her.

Raquel set her phone down after finishing a text. “I want to thank you both for all your hard work and your willingness to take risks on camera. Your segments have been a bright spot for the network and it’s because the two of you clearly were having so much fun out there and were so willing to do whatever we asked.” She leaned forward, resting her forearms on her desk.

“I know I asked a lot of you when I encouraged you to play up your natural chemistry. I hope you don’t regret it. Fan engagement was through the roof and all your flirty banter helped give them something to root for every day.”

Natalie sighed. “That’s it for me, then?”

Raquel nodded slowly, her eyes narrowing at Natalie before turning to look at Darcy. Darcy gave her a tiny shrug.

“Yes, your final segment is done so you are free to enjoy the remainder of the Games. If you want tickets to any events—”

“Great. Who do I talk to about changing my flight?”

Darcy stared. “There’s still a few more days,” she said in a low voice.

Natalie refused to look at her. “I can’t see a reason to stick around.”

Raquel nodded. “If that’s what you want, send my assistant an email letting him know when you want to leave and he’ll work on getting your flight switched.”

Natalie stood up and stuck out her hand. “Thanks for the opportunity.” She shook Raquel’s hand and left without looking at Darcy.

Darcy blinked at her lap. What the fuck was that? Anger rose in her chest, her face heated.

“Do you need to go after her?” Raquel asked quietly.

Darcy shook her head. “There’s no point. She’s mad you picked me to do the hockey broadcast. Nothing I say will change that.”

Raquel stared at her; her face relaxed. “Is that really what you think?”

Darcy frowned. “She’s jealous that I’ve been working my ass off for three years and got a job I earned, and she didn’t get to waltz in here and get the same.”

Raquel sighed. “Having the two of you let the internet rumors fly was risky. But I didn’t imagine it would blow up this badly.” Her eyes bored into Darcy’s. “I’m not as clueless as you think. I have eyes.”

“That’s not—” Darcy slumped. “Like you said, the Games are almost over. This was inevitable.”

“Was it?” Raquel shook her head. “If that’s what you have to tell yourself to get through the hockey broadcast, fine. But don’t lie to yourself forever.” She glanced at her computer. “You have a meeting with the broadcast team. Go on, don’t be late. I’ll be rooting for you.” She looked out the door. “If you hurry you might catch her before your meeting.”

Darcy hustled her ass down the hall, stopping at the desks they used sporadically, checking the conference room they regularly took over, and finally ran for the exit. She found Natalie staring at her phone at the curb.

“Nat!”

Natalie turned around. “I didn’t steal any of your shit out of the office. Promise.”

“Don’t leave like this,” Darcy said, panting slightly from her rush outside.

“It’s over, Darcy. The Games are ending, so I might as well go now.” She shoved her hands deep into her coat pockets.

Darcy wrapped her arms around herself. In her rush she hadn’t grabbed a coat. “What about us?”

“Us? Half an hour ago you couldn’t be bothered to tell Cox, the woman who took my spot on the team, that you had a girlfriend when she was asking you out! Now you want to talk about us? You jumped at the broadcasting job even though it meant we wouldn’t be able to travel together like we talked about, what, an hour before you got the offer? Did you even consider, for a second, asking me if I minded if you blew off the trip I planned?” Natalie blew out a long breath and blinked away her tears.

“Nat, we can still go away,” Darcy said, her voice breaking. She hated herself for not thinking of the trip. She was too focused on the job. She’d chosen work so quickly she didn’t think to talk to Natalie about changing their plans.

Natalie made a pathetic attempt at a smile. “Let’s admit this was just a fling. That’s all you’ve ever wanted from me. The Games are over, the hashtag fans will move on to some other couple, and you’ll go off and be a hockey broadcasting superstar without me weighing you down.” Natalie turned away but Darcy saw the tears falling down her cheeks.

A car pulled up to the curb.

Darcy wiped at her face, tears falling faster than she could wipe them away. “If you thought this was just something I did for the show—Jesus Christ, Nat—if you think that then... I guess you’re right. Have a safe flight.”

Natalie walked toward the car. Darcy waited for her to look back. If they could see each other maybe this would be okay, but Natalie kept her eyes on the car, never wavering until she shut the door and the car left Darcy standing in the freezing cold.

Darcy wiped her face, took three deep breaths of the icy air before marching back into the offices. She’d worked too hard for too long to ruin this chance. Not even for a shattered heart.