Break of Dawn

18 | big reputation

IF FIGHTING WITH her dad hadn't already ruined her day, Dexter Fayaz certainly would.

As it turned out, Dexter Fayaz' reputation proceeded him. He looked as good from up close as people gave him credit for. With a naturally tanned complexion, blue eyes and straight ken-doll dark hair, he was the type of guy who would probably make millions in publicity once he went pro. His chiseled features and sympathetic demeanor would look good in Nike ads and cereal boxes alike.

The six-feet quarterback knocked twice on the open glass door to Rory's office that Tuesday afternoon "Can I come in?"

"Sure" Rory watched as he walked inside, closing the door behind him.

Like every other guy on the team, his size was enough to make a presence, but Dexter Fayaz also had this aura of confidence that filled the whole room, like he had the power to shift the axis and suddenly everything was orbiting around him.

"Rory right?" He asked as he took the seat across from her, dropping his backpack on the floor as he did. She nodded "I believe you know who I am" There was no hint of smugness in his tone, he said it like he was just stating a fact; like the sky is blue and you know who I am were both irrefutable facts.

"Yeah, I do"

Considering where we are, it'd be hard not to.

"Well, I spoke to Naz earlier" He started "She told me a bit about your critical intakes on my playing" His head was slightly tipped to the right and his arms spread on the armrests.

Right in that moment, Rory understood that the conversation was going to take a turn for the worst. After the morning she had, all she needed was some peace and quiet - which was obviously not what Dexter Fayaz was willing to give her.

"Not a critical intake, it was an observation." Rory tried her best to sound calm.

"Sure, whatever you wanna call it" He shrugged nonchalantly "What makes you think you have the authority to chip in my playing stance?"

"Nothing" Rory remarked, she straightened her back and crossed her arms "I commented on it based on what I know about throwing."

"Oh, and you are such a specialist, right?" He sneered "Now tell me, how it is exactly that you know so much about it?" Fayaz taunted, blue eyes trained on hers the whole time. He was unnervingly calm and it was getting under her skin.

"I suppose by studying, you know, this thing people normally do when they want to learn things." She faked a shrug.

She noticed his jaw clenching before he said "I see you've got an attitude"

"I see you do too" She said, without a beat.

Dexter narrowed his eyes, looking at her with contempt. They did a stare-off contest, none of them blinking for a couple of seconds.

"Don't take this the wrong way" Rory broke the silence "which by the looks of it you probably will, but you're a public figure of sorts, you should take commentary more... Easily"

"You mean criticism" He corrected harshly "I have no problem with people saying things about me, you wanna talk about my hips problem or my arm extension? Go right ahead, but I don't like bullshiters"

"Your hip is not your only problem" Rory offered, nonplussed "If anything, your hip rotation is quite decent for someone who got injured recently."

For a second, he seemed taken aback by her sudden compliment, his shoulder sagging ever so slightly, but it was gone as fast as it came. He straightened his body and crossed his arms, Fayaz wasn't as burly as most of the guys on the team, but the way he was flexing his arms made his biceps look huge - it was a show of strength, not because he intended to use his muscles, but to show her that he could.

"You think you know better than a whole coaching staff, huh? That's how good you are" He was starting to sound smug, every word leaving his mouth dripping with condescension.

"I don't think anything" She stressed bitterly "It's my opinion on the matter, my read of the game, and I'm honestly trying to understand why you're so bothered about it."

"I'm not bothered."

"Well then, in that case, did you need anything else?" Rory was matching his smugness, sounding more confident than she actually felt.

"Yes, I did" He got up and leaned against the desk, his large body towering over her. It was another power move, Rory had been around enough men to know size was always used for dominance " I need you to keep your bullshit to yourself"

Rory had to strain her neck to look at him, keeping her lips in a tight line and eyes trained on him, she couldn't falter "Stick to whatever menial job you know how to do and let the rest of us do our thing."

"Or else?" She challenged him, holding her ground.

"I guarantee you, I'm the last person you would wanna cross" He stressed, voice menacing, and squinted his eyes at her one last time before turning his back. He picked up his backpack from the floor and walked out of the door.

The moment his body was out of sight, Rory sighed heavily, leaning further against the chair and pinching the bridge of her nose.

If there were any doubts about the type of guy Dexter Fayaz was, now they were all gone. Guys like him were used to praise, they dwelled on their privileged status, and whoever tried to question their abilities was seen as a threat - and right now, Rory was that threat.

She closed her eyes, breathing in and out slowly, using the little knowledge she had from that one yoga class Ivy had dragged her to a few weeks back.

Inhale.

Exhale.

Inhale.

Exhale.

"Is this a bad time?" Rory didn't have to open her eyes to know who was talking - for whatever reason it was, she already had Collin Whitaker's voice committed to memory.

*

Let's give Rory a break after this day from hell, am i right?
Any thoughts on what Collin wants?