Page 53 of Bride Games
53
Paige
P aige barely saw Zach since he was again traveling nonstop to games. With Marie, naturally. When he was at the station, he avoided her as if she had leprosy. If she were walking down the hallway, he’d turn to go the other way. Marie seemed to know what had happened with Trent, gave her sideways glances, and made sure she giggled with Zach in front of Mr. Hales’ office where Paige was stationed until eternity it seemed—or at least until her boss returned from his long-ass cruise.
Shuffling paperwork around her desk, Paige attempted to concentrate but was constantly interrupted by employee matters. Instead of doing her management duties, she found herself checking the NFL schedule and wishing she had never gone to spy on Zach and Marie. I never should have gone. Everything backfired and now Zach hates me.
She took a call from their promotions office and had barely set the receiver down when the phone rang again. “Paige Daniels, ATV 10.”
“Hello, Paige Daniels. This is your fiancé. I thought we should go to dinner tonight at our favorite restaurant.”
Paige bristled when she heard Trent’s voice. “You’re no longer my fiancé, and we do not have a favorite restaurant.”
“Someone’s in a bad mood. I thought we smoothed everything over at the hotel. Your kiss certainly seemed to indicate we were back on.”
“Give it a rest, Trent. We’re not back on. I’m busy. Find another date.”
“Just like that? I thought we both felt something that night. You felt so good in my arms. Smelled so good. I’ve missed you. I want a do over, Paige. We can be a power couple again. Think about it.”
Paige watched as Zach and Marie talked to Stan the Man. All three chuckled as if they were in on a private joke. She almost wanted to say yes because she was mad at Zach for ignoring her. But it was all her fault. Well, Trent’s fault, but she was also to blame. “No, Trent. No need to ask me again. We are not going to have a”—she made air quotes even though he couldn’t see her—“do over, nor be a power couple. Don’t call me again.”
She hung up and stared at the threesome chatting as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Meanwhile, she was miserable. Zach had stopped bringing her coffee. Paige never realized how much his simple, thoughtful gesture of setting coffee by her door had endeared her to him from the start. He was an all-around good guy—a great guy—and she had somehow managed to ruin everything.
I’ve got to think of something to get my good name back. And get Zach back. Paige decided to scroll X, even though she had promised herself weeks ago she wouldn’t check social media for her own mental health. Maybe I’m no longer trending. Encouraged after noticing she was no longer in the top ten trends on X, she winced when she did a search for #Paigethefake #PaigeDanielssucks and #ihatePaige. She sucked in her breath. They still hate me. Everyone hates me. A lump filled her throat. Even sweet Zach hates me. She read a few of the nasty comments and winced. Damn trolls. They love you one day and turn on you the next. As she scrolled through several vitriolic comments, she wanted to respond to a couple of the more venomous remarks but didn’t engage. She knew that would egg them on. At least the players and coaches seemed to have lost interest in ruining my career, but the fans haven’t given up on destroying me.
Paige turned off her computer and asked Emma to meet for a cocktail. Even if Emma couldn’t meet for a cocktail, she had already decided she was going to have one.