003

Marion POV

I sat across Coach Williams with a pen in my hand. Before me on the table sat the employment contract between me and Chase Hudson.

My fingers hovered on the last page where my signature would be sitting. I lifted my face and looked at coach Williams. He still had that smile on his face.

" I read your resume and I know you are perfect for this job." That's what he replied when I asked me why he chose me and patiently gave me time to think about his offer to care for Chase Hudson.

I was good in my job but to coach Williams, I was someone who could handle Chase Hudson's inflated ego. Although he didn't tell me, I heard that Chase had already dismissed three nurses appointed to take care of him.

I sighed, closed my eyes momentarily, my mind reminding me why I was doing this. This money was the only ticket to mine and my sister's safety.

With that, I penned down my signature and passed the thing to Coach Williams who took it grinning from ear to ear.

" You won't regret this Miss Hartley." He declared and if it was allowed, I could have scoffed at that. I didn't believe a word of that comment. This was the beginning of a difficult era in my life.

" Your official work will begin tomorrow but we need to meet someone now." He said and stood up.

I could only trail behind him. I could already tell whoever this someone was.

After leaving the office, we soon found ourselves in front of a private room.

Coach Williams knocked on the door.

“ Come in.” The deep lazy baritone that answered was so familiar and it sent a shiver down my spine.

That was unmistakably Chase Hudson’s voice.

Coach Williams opened the door and held it open for me. I thanked him and stepped inside.

I was met with a wide and spacious room that looked more like a penthouse than a hospital room.

The room was decorated with a minimalist aesthetic but the person occupying the bed drew all the attention.

Chase Hudson lay propped against a pile of pillows, a tablet resting on his lap. His dark hair was tousled in that messy way models strive for...It was giving typical bad boy vibe.

He had a sharp jawline and cheekbones that could cut glass.

Even lying down injured, he radiated an intimidating energy. The hospital gown did little to hide the powerful build of a professional athlete. He was, as Mabel had so crudely put it, fucking handsome.

His eyes lifted from the tablet and settled on me. They narrowed at me before what I perceived as a smirk painted his lips.

" Coach, you really are the best. How did you know I was bored and got someone to play with me?" He asked, gaze still on me and his smile not dropping.

" Stop fooling around. Miss Hartley will be your personal nurse." Coach Williams announced. The tone of his voice resembled that of a person fighting frustration. I could tell why.

" Oh yeah? I thought she will be my playmate." Chase said and I glared at him. Which part of me screamed playmate? He was clearly trying to tease me.

Coach Williams ignored him and turned to me.

" The client would be discharged tomorrow morning. Be here on time to avoid inconveniencing anyone." He instructed.

With one last warning glare directed at Chase, the coach walked away.

The moment the door clicked shut, the smirk on Chase's face vanished, replaced by an unreadable expression.

" So, you're the new babysitter," he said, his tone flat. " Tell me, nurse, did Coach Williams promise you a bonus if you manage to last a week? No, what I am actually more curious is how your dumbass boyfriend allowed you to take care of someone like me." He said and that comment felt like he was rubbing salt to my wounds.

" Since you know you are awful to deal with, try not to give me a hard time." I replied, choosing to deflect from the boyfriend talk. Chase seemed to catch that little detail. He smirked.

" Don't tell me the perfect college couple actually broke up!" He said, looking half smug and half...angry? But why would Chase Hudson be angry that Finn and I broke up? If anything, he must be gloating inside.

I refused to give him the satisfaction of confirming or denying it. I kept my face blank and busied myself with checking the chart at the foot of his bed.

“ You have an ACL tear," I read aloud. "The recovery timeline is six to nine months, assuming you follow the protocol." I observed.

Chase didn't seem to buy my little act. He watched me like a predator assessing its prey. The lazy act he was wearing was gone and replaced with the Chase Hudson I'd heard stories about and seen in our college days...the one who could dismantle an opponent's strategy on the ice with a single glance.

" Protocol you say?" he scoffed. " I don't need a nurse holding my hand through some stretches. I need to get back on the ice because the Wolves need me." He declared.

His arrogance was staggering or was that desperation masked as arrogance I heard in his voice?

" Your ACL needs you to follow the protocol," I countered, my tone professional and cool.

" It's either you listen to me or you can kiss your career goodbye."

The best way to deal with a stubborn soul is turning more stubborn. I was entrusted this job, a job that was going to save mine and my sister's ass. I wasn't going to be talked down into chickening from earning some good money.

My words caught his attention. He leaned forward slightly and then wincing at the movement. For a split second, I saw a flicker of vulnerability in his eyes which was quickly masked by defiance.

" You have guts, I'll give you that. The last three were either too intimidated or too busy trying to get into my pants to actually do their job." He admitted or should I say, he revealed. Was he praising me for being good at my job or praising himself for being someone every other woman wanted to fuck?

Too bad, I was done with hockey players.

" I am not interested in your pants, Mr. Hudson. I'm interested in your recovery because that's my job." I stated clearly.

Chase leaned back against the pillows, a slow and dangerous smile spreading across his face. " We'll see about that, Marion." He said, and the sound of my name on his lips sent an unwanted shiver down my spine.

It sounded different and I hated that I noticed that small detail.

It was not like how Finn said it or like how Mabel did. There was a certain edge to it... something that almost sounded like...intimacy? Like we were not enemies but people playing love hate?

I couldn't tell if Chase was challenging me or flirting with me.

Either way, I had a sinking feeling that the coming months were going to be far more complicated than I had bargained for. I had signed up for a job, a lucrative one at that. But I had a feeling I had just walked into something much more.

" You can leave now. Your section starts tomorrow." He said, sounding bored and looking away. I spared one last glance at him, sighed then turned to walk away.

" Pass my congratulations to your boyfriend. I hear he is one of us now."