Relief filled him, and he saluted Harvey as he headed toward the door. “I’ll wait out in the lobby.”
“We won’t be too long,” Harvey called after him as Flynn closed the door.
…
“I think Flynn Foley is in love with you,” Harvey stated flatly.
In love? Had the man lost his marbles? Yeah, she liked Flynn, was attracted to him, was irritated with him, too, if she was being honest. Was it wrong that seeing him look so miserable when she’d first walked into Harvey’s office had filled her with a teeny-tiny sense of satisfaction?
Probably. But she couldn’t help it. She needed to know he was just as torn up over this entire fiasco as she was. A fiasco he’d originally created, because if he’d just come around and talked to her, hell, just sent her a “hey, what’s up?” text, she wouldn’t be harboring all of these negative feelings toward him.
That wouldn’t have stopped the paparazzi from taking that photo, though. They’d had no control over that.
Well. They could’ve never gotten together. That would’ve nipped all of their problems in the bud. But too late for what-ifs.
“He’s not in love with me,” Aubrey said, because no way did she believe that.
“Fine. He likes you. And you need to keep up the pretense that you like him, if you know what I mean,” Harvey said cryptically.
She shook her head, panic rising within her. “No. No, no, no, Harvey. You can’t try to pull off another fake relationship within the Hawks franchise. You already did it once with Jared and Sheridan Quinn, and you lucked out when it became successful. The general public is going to start thinking something weird is going on here if you try again.”
“No way will we chance anyone finding out that this is a fake relationship. Right? You two haven’t talked to anyone about this, I’m sure.”
“Um, no,” she lied. The pointed look Harvey was sending her way struck terror in her heart.
She’d told Willow everything. And she wanted to trust Willow, really she did, but a secret was no longer secret when more than one person knew about it. And if Willow knew, then most likely—eventually—Nick would know. And then Jared would know. Then Sheridan. Then…
“Perfect. Everyone knows you and Flynn have been dancing around each other since you started working here, Aubrey. It’ll make perfect sense that you end up together.” Harvey clasped his hands together, looking inordinately pleased with himself. “It’ll be brief. Flynn’s going to be traveling so much the next few weeks for the play-offs, it’s not like you’ll see each other much. If this thing looks real between you two, then terrific. A serious commitment, the powers-that-be won’t necessarily frown upon. So you can nurture your relationship and have fun with it, all the while, playing it up to the press.”
That sounded like a nightmare. She didn’t want to lie to Flynn and do this because her boss had told her to. And who knew if Flynn wanted to play pretend, either? He had better things to do. Such as play football, his life’s work. “This is insane,” Aubrey murmured.
“You can make this work. I have faith in you.” Harvey smiled. “This is what you’ve been training for. The opportunity of your career has just landed in your lap.”
“Yeah, at the expense of my personal life going to crap,” she mumbled, sipping on her now cold coffee. Ugh.
She glanced down at her lap, letting her hair fall in front of her face. If she could be anywhere else, she’d be there. Right now. The dentist for a root canal. Her yearly pap-smear appointment. Getting waxed down there. Yes, she’d rather go to any of those appointments than have to listen to Harvey convince her that pretending to be with Flynn was the right thing to do.
“Aubrey, look at me.”
Slowly she lifted her head, trying her best to keep her expression impassive. Harvey smiled, and it reminded her of the devil. Satan wasn’t a red dude with horns and a pitchfork. He was a slick publicist, in an expensive suit, who also happened to be her boss. “What?” she mumbled.
“You’ve been an excellent asset to my team since you’ve come here. You know this, right?”
She nodded, deciding it best not to say a word.
“I appreciate your hard work. You’ve done wonders with Nick Hamilton. You’ve worked great with Foley. Whatever I ask you to do, you do. That means a lot to me.” He paused, and she waited with dread in her stomach for his next words. “So I need you to do this. Pretend to be with Foley. The less distractions we have, the better. It’s the play-offs, for the love of God. So if you can pretend for a little while that you’re madly in love with Flynn, give a press conference, and then lay low, we’ll be good.”
“I don’t want to pretend I’m in a relationship with him,” she said. More than anything, she didn’t want to lie to him. Yes, she liked him, but she didn’t want to have a “boyfriend” all for the sake of the media. “I don’t want to fake it. Haven’t we had enough of that around here?”
“This is different than the Quinns. Small. Temporary.” Harvey waved a hand. “One press conference is all I’m asking for. An appearance at a game, with you wearing Foley’s jersey. No biggie.”
“‘No biggie.’” She blew out a harsh breath. “Right. No biggie for you. My life, on the other hand, will be turned completely upside down.” It already felt like that.
“You do it and you get a promotion,” he said, dropping the words casually. They went off like little bombs in her head, one after the other, making it hard for her to breathe.
A promotion. Which would mean a raise, and she desperately needed one. Living expenses were crazy in the Bay Area. And a promotion was something she’d strived for since she’d hit the ground running at the Hawks franchise. She hadn’t been there long, but she’d worked so hard trying to prove herself. But she didn’t want a promotion like this. It felt…wrong.
“Or don’t do it, and I’ll be forced to make…departmental cutbacks at the end of the season. Jobs might be lost. Including yours.” Harvey smiled, but the smile was ice cold. He had her by the throat, and he knew it.