Kick (Completion Series) (23 page)

“Cami.”

“Yes, sir?” I barely glimpsed over my shoulder.

“Please return to the second floor and your previous work. I’ll look over what you’ve written—the article and you
r resignation letter. I’ll get back to you by the end of the day. Can you do that?”

I know he asked
if I was capable of working because my eyes were pooling with tears. “Yes, sir.”

“Simply Miller.”

I left without saying another word.

My heart thudded against my chest until I thought it would burst. Then I reminded myself
a broken heart couldn’t suffer additional damage. Ted was unlucky enough to be the first person I saw when I walked onto the second floor.

“Cami
.” He sounded surprised. His eyes slowly scrutinized my body from head to toe and returned to my chest. “We weren’t expecting you back for another week or so.” From his expression, he wanted to bury his face between my boobs.

“Are you speaking to me or my breasts?” You would think his head would snap up
, but he just continued looking at my chest for at least another minute.

His voice went hoarse
. “Cami, I missed you.”

“Since you had the balls to tell everyone we were sleeping together, I’m sure you did. Since I know that’s a lie, I can truthfully admit I didn’t miss you at all.” His face went red
, which only gave me additional courage. “Please refrain from retrieving my personal phone number from HR as you threatened in your email. I would hate to have someone in their department fired because of you. Now if you don’t mind, I have work to catch up on.”

During my quiet tirade he looked up into my eyes for the first time. Yes, my eyes
, which I refused to lower. He didn’t say another word before slithering away. I went straight to my desk and turned on my computer.

“You go girl,” Kathy, the woman who had the desk next to me
, whispered.

I let a slight grin
appear on my lips as I began looking through my email. I acted like what just happened was nothing out of the ordinary. A short message from Skylar waited.

Cami,

Don’t worry about
Ted the Turd. Save his email. If you have any additional problems with him, forward copies to HR. I’ll set the boss straight. I met my husband while working a story. I can attest to the physical attributes of athletes and how irresistible I find them.

Lonely momma to be,

S

I gave my first full smile in almost twenty-four hours. A moment later, I buried myself in boring work. I tried to keep my mind focused and not think about my meeting at the end of the day with Miller and how much I would miss this place. I refused to allow even a spark of hope. I didn’t deserve my job.

At lunch time,
Kathy stood at my desk.

“I’m not taking no for an answer.
You’re joining me and my friends for lunch today.” She had a clique of women friends from assorted departments at the paper. I’d never wanted to be part of her group. Though shyness was the key reason, my lack of funds was also a problem. I hadn’t brought a lunch with me today because I hadn’t expected to remain at the office I needed to eat.

“I’d love to,
” I answered with a smile and met her eyes. We walked past Ted, who was hiding in his office with his eyes glued to his computer screen. We didn’t speak in the crowded elevator, but as soon as we were out on the sidewalk Kathy started laughing.

“I’m so glad to hear you didn’t sleep with that weasel. I don’t think any of us believed it
, but you never know. He strutted around the office the entire time you were gone.”

I had no idea where we were going until she stepped into a small
bistro and I saw several of her friends waiting. Kathy introduced me and then told her group about my confrontation with Ted.

“I always thought
Ted the Turd was a nice guy,” I said after Kathy finished with the story.

This received a
quiet round of applause mixed with laughter. I told Kathy’s friends why I was back early and about my resignation. I didn’t go into detail or mention Joel’s name, just that I behaved inappropriately.

Paulette, a tall brunette with curly hair and a nice smile
, was the first to put me at ease. “Well… I’ve seen pictures of rugby players and I can’t blame you. The abs on those men are lickably sweet.” She was a secretary for one of the upper managers and she went on to tell me she was a no-holds-barred, eye-candy aficionado.

They peppered me with endless questions about the players and their bodies. It was exactly what I needed.
Skylar was usually part of their lunch group and she kept them up on the AAA—Abs and Ass Alert. They were having a girls get together at Skylar’s home on Friday night and invited me even if I no longer worked for the paper. My foray into the world of socializing was a success.

I spent my afternoon working and alternately staring at the bottom right
-hand corner of my computer screen where the clock changed at a snail’s pace. At four-ten Miller’s secretary called and told me to head up. Kathy gave me a brief hug before I left the floor. I was shown immediately into Miller’s office.

“Sit down and let’s talk,” he
said as he waved me into a chair. I was barely seated when he tossed my resignation envelope in front of me. “You need to keep this. I’m pretending I never saw it.” He picked up a stack of papers. “I emailed a copy of your articles to Bob Shirley. I rarely do that, but, quite frankly, you’ve taken a sport I know nothing about and made me curious. You captured the passion, love, and downright craziness of the game and added a personal flare.”

He s
et the papers down. “Editing has it in their hands now and there may be a change or two, but we’re running the entire series. There’s one catch.” He tapped his finger on my articles. “If this team makes it to the championship, you’re going back for the final game.” He held up his hand when I tried to speak. “There is a downside in all this. We don’t have a place for you in the sports department. We aren’t sure where to put you at the moment, but your talent is wasted in classifieds. Now you may say what’s on your mind.” He smiled. “If you dare.”

There were so many thoughts
spinning through my head. “The championship, I…”

“You’re not getting out of
this.” I could tell by his expression that it was a closed subject.

“Thank you
, Miller.”

“That’s what I thought you would say. It might be a few days
, but you will be reassigned. I’m sure you have items to finish up in your current projects, so get that done. Good job, Cami. I look forward to future work from you.”

I walked out with my resignation letter clutched in my hand and went straight to the second floor where I shredded it.
Kathy gave me a large hug, and my fellow classified workers congratulated me.

My dream was
finally coming true and I was completely miserable.

My assignment came on Thursday. I reported directly to Miller
now and was one of three journalists working non-profit organization news. It was a huge step up, though not exactly my dream. On my own time, Miller said I could research stories that crumbled your heart and made you stand up and cheer. Through non-profit I had a greater chance of finding them. And I had a small office on the third floor.

The new Cami charged forward and made friends with my two co-workers immediately. Trett and
Julianne, who told me to call her JJ, were eager to get me into the fold. Saturday night I was attending a black tie dinner for the local hospital reporting on the guest speakers and fashion. Not exactly my cup of tea, but Trett was accompanying me to teach me the ropes. After work Friday, JJ accompanied me to an upscale secondhand shop for a dress.

The third
one I tried on was a charm. It displayed entirely too much boob, but JJ thought it was perfect.

“I would give anything to have your chest. Surgery for me someday and I will.”
I didn’t dare tell her I had a coin savings jar for future breast reduction.

The black gown hugged my figure
, leaving my shoulders and back bare. The halter neckline allowed for a bra in the same style. Looking into the mirror in the small dressing room made me feel like a mature woman, no longer a girl, or young woman. I pushed my shoulders back and promised myself the new Cami was here to stay.

I had just enough time to get back to my apartment, change clothes
, and drive to Skylar’s for our girl’s night in. Skylar barely had a baby bump. She looked really good and I told her so.

“It’s frustrating because I feel great now that the nausea has backed off. Bed rest is not for me
, but somehow I’ll survive. Miller forwarded your series. I’m surprised they didn’t give you my job.”

That had me smiling
. “I’m a liability when it comes to man muscle, so they cut their losses.”

Everyone laughed
, and Skylar shared her story about meeting her husband, a retired professional baseball player. “We actually had sex for the first time in the locker room where anyone could have walked in. I was quite naïve back then. Les scooped me up to protect me from the other big, bad ball players, or at least that’s what he said. He much prefers me working women’s sporting events. He has no idea how many good-looking men are involved in female sports and I’ll keep it that way.”

The women all started talking about the naughtiest places they had sex. Even with continually pink cheeks,
I had a blast. It wasn’t until I was home in bed that I thought about The Slam’s match the following day. How could I want them to win so badly when I needed them to lose? I missed Joel so badly, and it was hours before I fell asleep.

The match wasn’t broadcast on any cable stations
, but it was streamed live by a local television station in Ohio. If I enlarged the video on my laptop it was blurry, so I was stuck watching a small box where I could barely make out players’ faces. I stayed glued to my laptop throughout the entire match. The Slam won by seven and I was going to the championship.

I decided not to think about it and slowly
got ready for the charity dinner. I tried my hair in several styles, finally settling on an up-sweep that got it off my shoulders and exposed more skin. I was now the new Cami who didn’t hide her assets.

Trett whistled and told me he’
d do me if he wasn’t gay. I’d had no idea he was gay and heat rose to my cheeks, which only had him laughing.

“I’ve been in a serious relationship for two years. Lars has no problem with me escorting ladies to these events because he hates them.” He showed me his engagement ring.

I relaxed because Trett was gorgeous and had the build that usually made me lose my senses. Being able to enjoy his company with no fear of wild Cami coming out was a great feeling. “Is non-profit something you enjoy or do you have higher aspirations?” I asked during our ride to the venue.

“I
majored in meteorology and minored in journalism. I’ve been working on a weatherman gig for a few years now, but haven’t gotten a break. I won’t give up, and I know it could take years. So what’s your story?”

I told him about my
journalist dreams and we learned more about each other until we arrived. I had a recorder in my small clutch bag. Trett told me to turn it on voice activation before we joined the party. He led me through the evening as he spoke with the organizers and interviewed the guest speaker. We ate dinner while the man spoke at the podium.

“This is wh
en you can let you hair down a bit and enjoy the stodgy contributors doing the same thing. I’ve found if I let loose a little they’re more likely to do the same thing and I’ll get a better story.”

So we danced and laughed.
I drank too much champagne after Trett promised to protect me from unwelcome advances. He remained sober so he could drive, and he dropped me at my apartment at midnight.

“Write up a few things and email them to me. I’ll cover this story
, use our combined thoughts, and give you an idea of what we need. You’ll fly solo and bring your own date to the next one.”

I didn’t tell him I had no date. My heart was playing in the championship game next Saturday and he would never give me the time of day again. I had a great evening
, but when I lay in bed the tears fell. I didn’t think the ache in my chest would ever disappear, and the championship game was now six days away.

I cleaned my apartment on Sunday after picking up a latte. With my
new assignment at the paper, I received a pay raise that would now cover lattes three days a week. I emptied my change into the boob jar wondering if I could even go through with the surgery now. Money wise it was still years away, and Carmen, my Ford, would eventually need replacing. The boob jar would remain, but I would leave my options open. I turned the radio to a pop station and did my housework listening to today’s top music.

After my apartment was spotless, I settled down to write
about the previous evening. I emailed what I had to Trett and noticed over fifty emails in my inbox. The only name that stuck out was Stub’s.