beautiful mistake - joe burrow

79

Joe stood up immediately as the door to the office was yanked open. Before he could even say anything, Elle shuffled into his arms and clung around his torso. Joe quickly recovered from the surprise attack and wrapped his arms around Elle.

He could feel her racing heart against his chest. Her whole body shook as her breath came fast and hot against his neck. She was overwhelmed, it was plain to see and feel, and Joe didn't let go of her before she slowly pulled away from him.

Wordlessly, she walked over to her desk and dug out her pillbox. she popped the pill into her mouth and swallowed it with her eyes squeezed shut without water before propping herself up on the desk and taking a deep breath.

"How was it?" Joe asked cautiously. Elle straightened up, coughed a few times before grabbing her water bottle and rinsing after all. The pill had a nasty aftertaste and made her throat all scratchy.

Joe just looked at her patiently as she cleared her throat. "I think I just started my first public beef" Elle felt like crying and laughing at the same time. What had she been thinking, sending two well-known TV hosts to their doom like that? But what had they both been thinking when they had talked about Elle like that?

Joe smirked. "I bet you were outstanding" "she was" PJ, who at that moment entered the office followed by Zac and Nick, agreed with Joe. "You were awesome, Elle. You gave them a piece of your mind and showed them that's no way to treat you and all women in the NFL like that. And at the same time, you owned up to a few things. The internet is already freaking out completely" he added.

"You did really good, kiddo. And don't worry about it. If Bobby or Dave come at you in any way, you've got a big crowd of supporters behind you now. They can't do anything without embarrassing themselves even more" Nick grinned from ear to ear. He couldn't express how proud he was of Elle.

"I don't want to kind of break it up, but, Joe, we've got to go. We've got some video analysis to do" Zac interjected. Joe nodded and turned to Elle. "I'll see you at my place tonight, ok?" Elle just nodded and smiled at Joe before leaving the room with Zac.

"I have to get back to work too. You get some more rest and then come see me in my office and I'll give you a task, okay?" Nick looked at Elle, who nodded. "I'll see you later, kiddo. Take all the time you need" he winked at her before leaving the room.

"that leaves you and me, Elle" PJ grinned. "if you don't mind, I'd like to use this time to maybe talk to you a little bit about what you're up to now and what ideas we have for marketing you as the face of the women's movement in the NFL, ok?"

Elle nodded. She knew herself that after the press conference just a moment ago, she had only drawn more people's attention to herself and ended up calling herself the voice of women. It would take a lot of effort and strength on her part, but she wanted to go for it. She wanted to use the opportunity and the reach to change something she stood for.

For over half an hour, they brainstormed ideas on how they could show the Internet that women were needed in the NFL. They decided that the Bengals YouTube channel camera crew would follow Elle at work for a day so they could show the public that Elle was skilled at her job and didn't give massages with happy endings.

They discussed whether they would accept an offer and let Elle be on a talk show, but Elle voiced her concerns that she might not be able to do that. They talked about how the social media team should now show Elle every now and then, but they should prevent anything possible that might make her relationship with Joe public.

That evening, when she had been at the gym after work, Elle went to see Joe. She was exhausted. The press conference had taken quite a bit of her energy and she was just looking forward to a relaxing evening with Joe.

They ate together before getting comfortable on the couch. Joe noticed that Elle didn't feel like talking at all. She wanted to be close, she needed strength and affection, but not words.

He turned on the TV before wrapping his arms around her. The sounds in the background would keep Elle in the here and now, her mind might not drift away so easily. She would be distracted without Joe having to break the silence between them.

It seemed to be working. Elle slid onto Joe's lap, her head resting on his shoulder, her arms wrapped around his torso. Sighing, she tried to get as close as she could while staring at the flickering screen.

Joe didn't care what was on the TV. The most beautiful thing he could see was in his arms. He eyed Elle. The Tv screen was reflected in her beautiful eyes. A few strands of hair had come loose from the chignon she always wore when she came straight to him with wet hair from the gym, and stuck to her forehead.

The dark circles under her eyes showed the strain of the past week. But Joe still thought she was beautiful. To him, she was the most beautiful girl in the world. And she was his girl.

"Hey, there is me" Elle snapped Joe out of his adoration and pointed at the TV. "Shit, sorry, I was trying to distract you, not remind you. I'll turn it off right now" Joe apologized and immediately reached for the remote.

"No, wait" Elle stopped him. "I want to watch this. Can you turn it up?" she asked. Joe gave her a scrutinized look before nodding and turning the TV up louder.

"...Today she finally did come out in a press conference. Everyone was eager to hear what the young woman had to say, but I don't think any of the reporters expected what happened next!" the presenter explained, before a clip of today's press conference was played, in which Elle made it clear that she would not be answering any questions.

It then switched back to the presenter. "And that's what Elle Simmons followed through on. She explained that she never wanted to come to this level of notoriety, but would now use her voice to give women in the NFL a chance. In doing so, she explicitly addressed The Saturday NFL Talk talk show. The show's hosts had been talking down to Simmons on Saturday, and she wasn't going to put up with it. Respectfully but clearly, she exposed Bobby Mann and Dave Howard, called them sexists and warned women not to apply to the talk show after the allegation arose on Saturday's show that Simmons had slept her way up to the job and that would say how to succeed on the Saturday NFL Talk Show."

The presenter paused briefly as images of Elle during the press conference continued to play.

"After further clarification of Mann and Howard's claims, Simmons went into what she now wants to fight for. More women in the NFL. After naming a few notable women who have made history in the NFL, she again addressed the talk show hosts directly..."

Again, a video faded in. Elle sat at the microphone, looking serious and expressionless at the camera as she spoke. "Watch out, Mister Mann and Mister Howard, there are more and more, maybe soon you will be replaced by women. The NFL is changing. The future is female. Get used to it."

It switched back to the presenter. "Elle Simmons speech is getting a lot of positive support on the internet. More and more women are sharing their experiences in a male-dominated industry under the hashtag "the future is female" and men are commenting their encouragement as well. We can remain curious how Elle Simmons will change the NFL and how Bobby Mann and Dave Howard will react to the accusations."

Hope youre all having a incredible weekend
WHO-DEY 🧡