Puck Me Harder

CHAPTER 18

ELLE

"No. No, no, no," I say, and I'm already standing up, already backing away from Sienna's desk. "I can't do that. Let it not be what I think you're thinking. Please, Sienna, tell me you're not about to suggest—"

"Elle, sit down," Sienna says gently.

"I won't sit down. I know what you're going to say and the answer is no. Absolutely not. Whatever strategic solution you're about to present, the answer is no."

"You don't even know what I'm going to suggest."

"It involves Blake," I say. "It involves using my relationship with him to solve the career problem I have because of the relationship with him. And the answer is no."

Sienna's phone buzzes. She glances at it and then looks back at me.

"Actually," she says quietly, "it's not just me making this suggestion anymore."

There's a knock on her office door.

Victoria Chen walks in like she owns the space.

She's followed by Blake, who looks like he's been dragged here against his will. His jaw is clenched. His expression is carefully neutral. But when he sees me, something flickers across his face guilt, desperation, something I can't quite name.

"Blake," I say, and it comes out like a question.

He doesn't say anything. Just looks at me like he's trying to communicate something without words.

Victoria pulls up a chair and sits across from both of us like we're a problem that needs solving—which, from her perspective, we absolutely are.

"Thank you for meeting with us," Victoria says, and she's all business. "Sienna and I have been working together to address the situation affecting both The Forge and the Riverside Chronicle. The rumors about your relationship are damaging both your reputations and affecting multiple sponsors and stakeholders."

"We're not in a relationship," I say immediately.

Blake doesn't contradict me, which somehow feels worse than if he did.

"According to public perception, you are," Victoria says flatly. "And public perception is what matters right now. So here's what we've determined is the cleanest solution: You announce that you're in a relationship."

"Absolutely not," I say.

"No," Blake says at the same time.

Victoria doesn't even pause. "You make a public statement together. You confirm the relationship. You control the narrative by being the ones who reveal it, instead of letting gossip columns do it for you. You frame it as a connection that developed naturally during the assignment. You're transparent. You're not hiding anything. You're just two people who reconnected and found something real."

"It's a lie," I say.

"It's strategic communications," Victoria corrects. "And it solves every problem at once. The sponsors stop questioning your objectivity because you've been transparent about the relationship. The public stops speculating because there's no mystery anymore. The Forge's reputation recovers because the narrative becomes about a positive human connection, not a scandal."

"No," Blake says again, and his voice is harder now.

"Yes," Victoria says. "It's not a question. It's the solution."

I look at Sienna. "You agreed to this?"

"Management insisted," Sienna says, and she looks genuinely sorry. "Elle, I fought against this. But the sponsors are threatening to pull out if we don't address the bias concerns. And the cleanest way to address those concerns is to confirm that yes, you have a relationship with Blake, but you're being transparent about it. That removes the scandal. That removes the mystery that's creating the rumor."

"So you're asking me to lie publicly so that I can keep my job," I say.

"I'm telling you what management has decided," Sienna says quietly. "I'm sorry."

Blake stands up.

"No," he says. "Absolutely not. We're not doing this."

Victoria doesn't even look at him. "Sponsors are pulling, Blake. Your team is getting pressure. Your reputation is being questioned. This is the solution that saves all of you."

"By lying," I say.

"By being strategic," Victoria says. "And frankly, it's not really a lie, is it? You do have history. You are reconnecting. You've clearly been in contact. The only lie is the framing—but the framing is what matters."

"The framing is everything," I say. "The framing is the difference between choice and coercion."

Sienna leans forward. "Elle, I need you to listen to me. Management is insisting on this. If you don't agree to the announcement, you're being pulled from the beat. Immediately. You'll go back to general assignment, and this stain on your credibility will follow you for the rest of your career."

"So I'm being forced to announce a fake relationship, or my career is over," I say flatly.

"Yes," Sienna says, and she sounds genuinely pained. "I'm sorry. But that's the ultimatum."

I look at Blake. He's staring at Victoria like he's trying to burn a hole through her.

"What happens if I refuse?" he asks.

Victoria pulls up her phone. "Sponsors pull. Team pressure mounts. The Forge's ownership gets involved and starts questioning your ability to lead. Your reputation takes a hit that could affect your playing days. You become the guy who couldn't manage his personal life. And suddenly, instead of being a captain in his prime, you're a liability."

"You're threatening me," Blake says.

"I'm being honest about consequences," Victoria says. "The difference is important."

I stand up. "And if I refuse? If I walk away from this assignment?"

Sienna takes a breath. "Then your career at this outlet is over. You're known as the girl who couldn't handle covering her ex. You become unhirable. Nobody's going to touch you because the first question they'll ask is whether you can maintain professional distance."

"So I'm being blackmailed by my own publication," I say.

"You're being given an ultimatum to save your career," Sienna says, and she's not wrong, but it doesn't make it hurt less.

Blake and I look at each other across the room.

He looks trapped. I feel trapped. And I understand that we've both just lost any choice in the matter.

"How long?" Blake asks Victoria.

"What?"

"How long do we have to do this? The fake dating announcement. How long does it need to last?"

"Through the season," Victoria says. "You announce the relationship. You're transparent and supportive of each other. You frame it as a real connection. And after the season ends, you have a mutual, amicable breakup. No drama. Just two people who realized they wanted different things."

"And everyone just believes that," Blake says, and there's something dangerous in his voice now. "Everyone just accepts that we dated for a season and then decided to move on."

"Yes," Victoria says. "Because by then, the narrative will have moved on. Nobody will care. You'll both be free to move on with your lives."

"Except we'll have publicly lied," I say. "We'll have announced a relationship that wasn't real. We'll have used a lie to solve a problem created by truth."

"The truth created a PR disaster," Victoria says flatly. "The lie will solve it. That's how this works."

I sit back down because my legs have stopped supporting me.

Blake sits down next to me, and we're not touching, but I can feel the weight of his presence. I can feel his anger and his desperation and his understanding that we've been cornered.

"I need time to think," I say.

"You have until tomorrow," Victoria says. "Announce tomorrow, or the consequences take effect immediately."

She stands up and leaves.

Sienna follows her, but not before squeezing my shoulder and whispering, "I'm sorry. I really am."

And then it's just me and Blake in this office, and we're both trapped, and there's no way out that doesn't destroy one of us.

"We could refuse," I say quietly.

"And your career is over," Blake says. "My reputation is damaged, sponsors pull, and we're still destroyed. Just in public instead of privately."

"So we announce a fake relationship instead. We let everyone believe something that isn't true. We use a lie to save ourselves."

"Yes," Blake says, and he sounds hollowed out. "That's exactly what we do."

"And after the season?"

"We break up. Quietly. Amicably. And we move on with our lives."

"Except we won't have moved on," I say. "We'll still be bound together by this lie. Everyone will still know that we dated. And when we break up, people will speculate about what went wrong. And the speculation will follow us forever."

Blake stands up and walks to the window. He stares out at the city like it holds answers.

"I didn't want this," he says quietly.

"I know."

"I didn't want to hurt you. I didn't want to destroy your career. I didn't want any of this."

"I know," I repeat.

"But here we are," he says. "And the only way for either of us to survive is to lie."

I understand then that this is the real destruction. Not the rumor. Not the public exposure. But the moment when we both realize that our choices have been taken away. That we're no longer in control of our own narrative.

We're just pieces being moved around a board by people who see us as problems to solve.

"So what do we do?" I ask.

Blake turns to look at me, and his expression is completely broken.

"We announce the relationship," he says. "We smile for the cameras. We pretend that what happened between us was intentional and real. We give the world the story they want. And then, when the season ends, we disappear from each other's lives forever."

"And what about what we actually feel?" I ask.

"That doesn't matter anymore," Blake says. "That stopped mattering the moment we became useful to other people's agendas."