21. Jaxon
“Be calm,Jaxon, I can see the steam coming out your ears, man.” Bill was sitting beside me in the stuffy boardroom where we waited for Balmer, his manager, Coach, and the team manager.
“They can mess with me. They can do whatever they want to me, but not her. Not Logan,” I told him, glaring at the door where I could hear Richard cracking a joke with his cousin.
“Do you want to be benched for the rest of the season, or do you want to be the Braves’ ace? How you handle this situation will determine your future with this team,” Bill whispered, looking between me and the papers he brought.
It was the article with Logan’s face printed on it, a picture of her and Richard, and then one of me and her that some paparazzi had taken.
I clenched and unclenched my fists. Just an hour ago, I had dropped her off at my apartment, helped her shower, and gotten her to bed. She’d promised to be at the game later this afternoon with the help of Scarlett and Matt.
She’d also begged me to be levelheaded during this meeting.
“Be the bigger person, Jax. Don’t threaten, don’t scream—just let him make an embarrassment of himself. You’re the better man. You’ve always been.” I let her words wash over me, willing them to calm my blind rage.
She was with me. Logan was all mine—she and that baby were my family. He couldn’t take that from me—nobody could.
“If it was your wife, Bill? If someone had gone and dragged her reputation for his personal gain, your tellin’ me you’d sit here and be calm?” My manager stiffened, looked towards the door, and then back at me.
“No, I wouldn’t, but you don’t have the luxury of losing your shit. Do you hear me? I want them to see that they can’t affect you. If anything, he’s the fool for losing Logan.”
My phone buzzed on the table. I reached for it just as the door started to open slowly.
Logan
I love you, cowboy.
Sitting upright my attention first slid to my coach, who eyed me warily, and then, I scanned the rest of the group behind him. Richard was grinning like a fucking coyote with his manager behind him, nose buried in his phone. The team manager, Kyle, was behind him, eyes flitting around the room nervously like he was looking for something.
I was surprised to see another older man follow Kyle in, also dressed in a suit, hair neatly slicked back. A quick glance at Bill confirmed he wasn’t expecting anyone else either.
Everyone took a seat, but Kyle remained standing, arms crossed. His short, usually neat hair, was ruffled, and purple bags beneath his eyes make them seem more sullen than the last time I saw him.
“Let’s skip past the pleasantries. That article is a problem for me and for this team.” He looked toward his cousin, who just shrugged.
“The problem is him. He shouldn’t have gone after my girl.” Richard shrugged. Grinding my teeth, I gripped the edge of the wooden table, counting my breaths so I didn’t jump across this damn table and strangle the son of a bitch.
“She wasn’t yours the moment you cheated on her,” I spat, barely holding myself back.
Kyle looked between me and Richard, and his brows raised. “And so, the story unfolds. Regardless of what happened that night, she is pregnant with your child, correct?” Kyle directed his attention to me, and for the first time, I notice that he wasn’t favoring his cousin.
“Yes, she is. I understand this has put the team in a negative light, and I do apologize for the chain of events that led to that. But it wasn’t her fault, and I didn’t steal her from him. If you need me to leave, then I can.”
Logan would be proud if she were here right now. She’d squeeze my hand or something, and damn if I didn’t need that right about now.
The older man stood, slamming his palms down on the table. “Listen, I know I said I wouldn’t say anything, but I can’t sit here and watch talent walk out the door because your cousin, who has been on a slow decline for the last year, decided to kick up a storm.”
He drew in a deep breath, straightened his suit jacket, and looked directly at me. “My name is Rick Stephen, and I am going to be the new team manager. I appreciate your dedication to not only this team but Ms. Shaw as well. You are exactly the kind of team member I want, and I will not let you leave this team.”
I sat back in my seat, stunned. That was unexpected.
“Rick, let’s discuss this privately,” Kyle started, but Rick raised his hand. Kyle fell silent.
“I’ve listened to you. I’ve heard every excuse. This team is suffering because of you and your personal interests.” Rick shot a glare at Richard, who hadn’t opened his goddamn mouth. “The first right decision you made this season was recruiting Dexter, and I won’t lose him. Balmer, this will be your last game with the Atlanta Braves. I will not have any animosity on my team.” He nodded at me and Bill and then exited the room.
* * *
“He did what?”Logan screeched in my ear. Pulling the phone from my ear, I focused on my locker, checking my gear. Practice started in ten minutes, and I wanted her to know everything was okay.
“Don’t wait for me today. Let Scarlett take you home. I’ll shower and be right there; I promise.”
“The doctor told you I was alright and so is our boy. I’m going to be there today, and you bet your damn ass I’ll be waiting for you with the rest of the women.” Grinning at the picture of her in my locker, my heart soared.
“I love you, sweetheart.”
“More, cowboy. Now, go kick some ass. I’ll be there later. Just look for the girl wearing your numbers. Wait—I bet there are a lot of girls wearing your shirt. Well, shit,” she started to ramble, and my grin widened.
“Trust me, Logan, I’ll find you. I’ll always find you in a crowd. Plus, none of the other girls are carryin’ my son.”
* * *
After the game,I showered quickly and rushed out to get to my girl. Outside the locker room, I saw her, her black hair pulled back into a ponytail, my jersey pulled tight over her rounding belly. Scarlett was standing beside her, her arm linked with Logan, with Matt standing behind them.
Even though she was surrounded, it didn’t stop Richard, who was a few feet in front of me, from charging at her. I pushed past fans and other players to get them.
“You fucking bitch! You told him everything! You weren’t supposed to tell anyone about Kyle, yet you couldn’t keep your mouth shut. You and I were together to clean up my image, yet you’ve ruined it!” He was screaming. Heads were turning in their direction. And my girl wasn’t cowering back from him.
Her green eyes were slitted in a glare, and her cheeks were flushed, betraying her embarrassment of him for making a scene.
I dropped my bag to run faster and slid between him and her just as he raised his hand to push her. I absorbed it, standing my ground. Her small hands were at my back, gripping the fabric of my shirt.
“Get away from her,” I gritted, but his anger only intensified.
“Oh, look here—the star of the game, Jaxon Dexter. Fucking bane of my existence. Stealing my position, my team, my girl—what next?” The rest of the team was slowly coming to stand at my side, but it did nothing to stop Richard’s anger. “At least I had her first. When you fuck her next, just think—I’ve already been there!” I saw red just as Logan’s hand slid around my torso, trying to hold me back.
“Don’t do it. Don’t—don’t. Please don’t!” she cried, her touch grounding me. I fought every cell in my body that wanted to knock this chump on his ass. She didn’t deserve this.
She was so much better than his cruel words.
“You need to leave, Balmer,” I told him, my hands clenched into fists at my sides. We were chest to chest, the scent of stale sweat wafting off him.
“Didn’t know you let a bitch control your dick,” he kept pushing, but Logan was wrapped around me, and if moved, I would only hurt her, our baby, and my future.
He wasn’t worth it.
“Balmer, get your shit and get out of my stadium now!” Rick yelled from the entrance to the tunnel, where a few paparazzi were holding up cameras, and fans were recording with their phones.
We had made a big scene, but Balmer was the fool. I was just a man protecting his girl.
Two security guards stepped up behind Balmer and pulled him away as he spit at me, seething and still screaming his threats. I turned in Logan’s arms, and she snaked her arms around my neck, her fingers sinking into my hair.
I cradled her face, taking in her perfect pink lips, flushed cheeks, and frantic eyes. “It’s over. He’s gone. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, sweetheart.” I pressed a kiss to her temple just as the first sob escaped her chest.
I pressed her face into my chest as she began to cry. Her words were muffled, but her fingers tightened around me. So, I held her closer to my body, hiding her from the view of any cameras.
“Got your bag, man,” Matt mumbled. I saw him standing behind Logan with Scarlett under his arm. She was crying, too, but her eyes were solely focused on her best friend.
I nodded at him in thanks before returning my focus to Logan.
“He won’t hurt you again. He’s gone, Logan. He’s gone, baby.” She craned her neck to look at me, and I saw the fear in her eyes slowly drain away to anger.
“I’m not scared of him; I was scared for you, Jaxon! I thought he was going to hurt you!” This beautiful woman. I didn’t deserve her.
“I can handle a crazy like him.” She shook her head.
“Your career—he was going to ruin it if you fought him. I didn’t want to be the reason you lost your purpose.” Sliding my fingers through her silky thick hair, I inhaled her sweet scent.
I then brushed my lips with hers. God, I needed her.
“You are my purpose, sweetheart. Not the game, not the sport. None of that matters if I don’t have you. I would have gladly walked away today with my contract terminated if it meant protectin’ you from him. Logan, you are everythin’ I want and didn’t know I needed. When are you goin’ to understand that?”
I brushed away the warm tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I guess you’ll have to keep reminding me, cowboy.”
“How about every day?” Her brows drew together in confusion.
“Move in with me, sweetheart. Let’s turn one of those empty bedrooms into a nursery for our son and move all your shit into my bedroom. Let’s go to bed together every night and wake up together every mornin’, where I’ll remind you that you are my everythin’.”
Scarlett squealed behind her and started clapping her hands. “I wish I had this on camera!”
Logan smiled and rolled her eyes. “You do know she’ll be visiting all the time,” she whispered, standing on her toes to press her lips to mine in a soft kiss.
“We can lock the door. I’ll buy a deadbolt,” I whispered, my lips brushing hers.
“As if that would ever keep me out,” Scarlett scoffed.
“I’d love to move in with you, cowboy.” I closed the small gap between our lips again just as the fans and my teammates burst into cheer around us.
I tuned them out and focused on the most beautiful woman in my arms. The one I was going to marry. The one I was going to buy a big house for. The one I was going to love for the rest of my life.