Miriam
Miriam knew she was in trouble when Greg called her into his office the next day to talk—especially since it was the second time in less than a month.
The first time Miriam had been called in to ‘talk’ had been after the first meet and greet at The Sports Emporium. Word of the tension between Silas and Miriam had somehow made it back to Greg, who shockingly wasn’t happy to hear that two of his employees were arguing at an event that was supposed to draw new fans in.
Greg had reminded her that she needed to be cheery when representing the team and asked if Miriam would be able to keep working. She’d promised that she would be professional from there on out.
Then she’d almost kissed Silas at an elementary school. What had she been thinking?
The scene they’d caused the day before at the school didn’t scream, “I am capable of not letting my personal life interfere with my career.”
Miriam stood with her hands behind her back as she waited for the general manager to rip her a new one, but as Greg started speaking, he was calm and collected—a much worse reaction in so many ways. “I got a call from the elementary school this morning.”
Miriam bit her bottom lip.
Greg waved at the seat in front of him, and Miriam took a seat. “I thought I was clear about what I expected from you and I’m dying to hear why you thought it was okay to make out with Silas Jenkins in front of students.”
She wiped her hands on her jeans. “First of all, we were in the hallway and there weren’t any students.”
Greg raised his brow.
Miriam’s face burned. “And, we weren’t kissing. It was just a big misunderstanding.”
Greg let out a long sigh as he leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “When you and Silas started dating—”
“We’re not dating.”
Greg stopped and waited for Miriam to stop talking before he patiently continued. “When you were dating, I gave you very clear guidelines. No public displays of affection. Not at events. Not at games.”
Miriam nodded.
She still remembered when Greg had sat down with her and Silas to explain what he would and would not allow from them. He couldn’t tell them to stop dating, of course, but he did expect every member of the Storm to maintain a good reputation. Airing all the details of your romantic relationships wasn’t part of that image in his eyes.
“I don’t care if you were kissing, almost kissing, or even just giving each other bedroom eyes. If someone that we’re partnering with feels like it’s too much, then it can’t happen—especially at a school.”
Miriam bit her bottom lip. “I understand.”
“I hope you do.” Greg was silent for another moment. “You’re an amazing community outreach manager, but this is a big year for us. I need to know you’re not going to give us bad publicity while we’re working so hard for The Comeback.”
The unspoken words were clear, and her mouth went dry as she realized the severity of the situation. This wasn’t just an issue of being cautious about letting Silas back into her life—which was already confusing enough on its own—but it could potentially cost Miriam her job.
Then what would she do? Go back to some type of office job that drained all the excitement from life? Working for the Storm was more than a job. Being the community outreach manager taught her that it was possible to make a living doing what you loved.
Miriam wasn’t willing to give it up so easily.
She managed to keep the tears from falling long enough to assure Greg that she understood the gravity of the situation and that she wouldn’t let arguments or anything that was even remotely similar to kissing happen again. From here on out, she was not going to let her feelings for Silas—no matter how confusing—get in the way.
The next day, Miriam resolved to get her work done without thinking about Silas and what had happened at the school. Greg had made it abundantly clear that her job was on the line and kissing the guy who broke her heart wasn’t worth losing her position with the Storm.
Not only had she gone in early that day, she brought donuts in for the rest of the office staff. Nothing put people in a good mood like the sugary goodness that came in circular form. It didn’t hurt that Greg had a soft spot for apple fritters either. Miriam made sure to put two aside just for him in an attempt to get back into his good graces before she settled into that day’s work.
Though she was the community outreach manager, Miriam was able to do almost any of the other jobs. She also happened to know that Harris was in the middle of a big promotion. One of their corporate sponsors was giving away free tickets, and he was struggling to keep up with the demand from fans.
Miriam thought it might be nice, and distracting, to help him catch up. So, as soon as her computer finished booting up, she went through the list of ticket requests. The work was easy but required just enough brain power that she wasn’t able to let her mind wander.
Given the current circumstances, that was a very good thing.
She finished sending ticket vouchers to the last person on Harris’ list and swiveled in her chair only to see the person in question standing in front of her.
Harris had a maple glazed donut in his hand. “Did you bring these in?”
“Yep.” She stood up and stretched her arms over her head trying to undo the tightness in her back from sitting in front of her computer.
“Thanks.” He took a bite and looked at the clock on the wall. “How long have you been here?”
Well...She’d gone to the donut shop right at six when they opened and had come straight to the office after that. That meant she’d been there for almost
