Hard & Deep: A Football Romance

Oliver's vision turned red and the phone dropped out of his hand and onto his lap. Everything began to add up. The weird visit from Nikki the night before was no random occurrence, just as he had suspected. He recognized her tank top in the photo and it was the same one she had been wearing when he'd woken up to find her standing in the doorway of his bedroom. She hadn't been stopping by for just a visit, though. She'd come in to snap a picture of the two of them in bed. Nikki was trying to sabotage him.

He picked up his phone and quickly surfed the Internet for a bit, checking to see just how far this rumor had spread. Sean had been right. It was everywhere and already trending on social media sites. The public was eating up the story. It was juicy gossip and that's what people love. The juicier the better.

Oliver became deeply angry. His privacy had been invaded by Nikki. But then someone else entered his mind. Someone who would be just as affected by this gossip as he was.

“Shit,” he whispered. “Elsie. She's going to see this.”

Ollie started up his car and pointed it in the direction of her hotel. It was a twenty-minute drive and he feared he was already too late. Even so, he had to talk to her and explain things.

His heart raced as he pulled onto the highway. His hands were shaking with emotion.

That crazy bitch, Nikki, he thought. She's finally gone too far.

As Ollie made his way across town, he called up the woman who'd started this mess. She answered her phone after just one ring, with a chirpy “Hello!”

“Nikki, what in the hell have you done?” he shouted, cutting off a car on the highway.

“What do you mean?” Nikki replied. Innocence dripped off every word.

“The photo,” Ollie stated, abruptly. “The one you took last night when I was asleep. What's wrong with you? Are you insane?”

“Oh, no, honey,” she said. “I'm not insane.”

“I'm not your honey,” Oliver snapped back.

“I just thought I'd get a cute picture of us together,” she said. “I didn't see the harm.”

“Nikki, your cute picture is all over the Internet and it's telling a lie,” he growled. “I am not your boyfriend. I am your employer and that's all.”

She was silent for a moment, but then spoke up. “It's not that big of a deal, Ollie. Who cares if people think I'm your girlfriend?”

“I care.” Ollie was gripping the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles had become white.

“Well then I'm sorry,” she replied. “I wasn't trying to upset you.”

This has to end, he thought. I can't let this crap continue. She's ruining everything that's I care about in my life. I don't care how good of a manager she is. She's gone way too far this time.

“Nikki, it's done,” he said.

“What? What do you mean?” she asked. Fear trickled into her voice.

“You're done, Nikki,” Oliver repeated. “You're fired. You no longer work for me. As of today I am not your employer.”

“Are you joking, Ollie? Really? Come on, you aren't going to do that.”

“I just did,” he said. “You've pushed and you've pushed and you finally went over the line. You had no right coming into my home last night and doing what you did.”

“It was just a silly picture. Don't overreact. Besides, we have a contract, Oliver,” she said, her voice getting louder. “You can't fire me.”

Oliver chucked, shaking his head. “You posted a photo of us online telling everyone that we are a couple. That's a total sham. By doing that, you've broken our contract. I have every right to let you go. If you want to try to fight it, then fine. But I'd recommend reading the fine print first and getting a damn good lawyer.”

He knew the contract between Nikki and himself quite well. He'd spent the better part of an afternoon going over it with his lawyer before signing. He wanted to be quite sure that having Nikki work for him wouldn't end up biting him in the butt. It turned out that his concerns had not been in vain.

“You're really firing me?” she asked, sounding more angry than sad. “I thought we were friends, Ollie.”

“Anyone who would want to deliberately sabotage my love life is no friend of mine,” he said. “I'm going to hang up now, but not before I ask one question.”

“What?” she growled.