Apple watch band not locking into place on new Series 6 Titanium

The longer holed portion of the gray sports watch band which shipped with my Apple Watch Series 6 Titanium will not lock into place. The problem, for me at least, is unique to this one part of one band, and all my other older bands lock into the new watch perfectly. I'm told by Apple Support that the only option is to return the entire watch? My local store says they can't help me because the band color is exclusive to the Titanium version of the Series 6. Is there no other option? My watch is set up and has otherwise been working well. My Series 3 has been given to my daughter as a gift. Returning an $800 watch for a silly $40 band seems like a tremendous waste of time and energy for me AND for Apple (as well as just the risk of shipping something so expensive 3 times). Honestly, I don't care what color the replacement is, I just want a working sports band without sending back the whole deal.