Chapter Twenty-Two
~AUGUST~
The Blaze is out there on the practice field.
I know because I’ve spent at least twenty minutes staring out my window, watching her.
They’ve run drills as a team and for some of it, Jase had her off to the side, warming up to take shots on goal.
I want to keep on watching her, but that won’t get the mountain of work off my desk and allow me to head out with everyone tonight.
Tonight, I get to take her home with me.
In front of everyone.
It’s not that the girls don’t know that we’re hanging out but the only person that I’ve told is Dex.
And if there’s one thing I know about the girls that I hang out with, it’s that they talk.
I’m sure when Hendrix dropped the truth bomb on them that we were hanging out, they ran right home and told their boyfriends.
Well, Amelia already knew what was happening because of Dex, but it sounds like she kept a lid on that in front of the rest of them.
I turn in my chair slightly, getting ready to pull away from the desk and head back over to the window when a knock on the door stops me. I look up and Nancy is standing in my doorway, her eyes downcast.
“What’s wrong, Nancy?” I ask her. I’ve seen that look many times. Enough to know that she’s here to tell me something that I’m not going to like.
Nancy sighs. “Your father is here to see you in the conference room. He has Drew with him too.”
“Really?” I ask her. “I just saw Drew last night, and he didn’t mention anything about coming to the Blaze today. I wonder what that’s about?”
“I have no idea why they are here; it wasn’t on my schedule and your father’s secretary did not call over to let me know he would be coming,” she tells me.
“Also, I had Cindy check for any pictures from last night’s game.
She said that you and your date were photographed but it’s the back of the girl’s head.
There’s no face in the shot. In any of them, for that matter.
They weren’t looking at you, actually; it was more focused on Drew. ”
I nod. “Good, I was hoping that no one caught her face.”
“Are you going to tell Cindy who you are dating so that she can help you if something should come up where the girl’s face is seen?” She stares at me pointedly like she’s trying to tell me what to do without actually telling me.
“Cindy likes surprises.”
“She most certainly does not. And she would appreciate a heads-up on these kind of things, not a notification of it the day after it occurs,” Nancy says, her tone attempting to be scolding but the smile on her face makes it fall flat.
“Noted.” I rise and get ready to head into the conference room. “Any idea what this is about?”
She shakes her head as we make our way there. “No idea. Like I said, I was not aware he was even coming to see you today.”
“Great, I love surprises,” I say, sarcasm heavy in my tone.
“Be nice to your father, August.”
“Since when I am not nice to the man?” I turn to grin at her. “I’m nothing if not the most dutiful, loving son that he has.”
It’s Nancy’s turn to laugh. “More like the one who lives to give the man heartburn.”
“I’ve been good lately.”
“Define good?” she throws at me before stopping at the entrance of the conference room.
I just grin and wink at her as I make my way inside.
“Dad, Drew, it’s good to see both of you. What exactly brings you to the Blaze?” I ask.
“Thanks for coming,” my dad says like I’m a business associate and not his son.
“You’re welcome, Dad, but it’s my conference room,” I remind him.
Drew shakes his head at my comment, but I get no reaction out of Dad. I choose one of the chairs across the table from Drew and sit down, waiting to see what this is about.
My dad is already seated; of course he chose the head of the table for himself.
He sits there in his grey suit with a white collared shirt and blue tie, like he’s ready for a board meeting.
And not a meeting with this sons. Drew is more casual just like me, both of us in khakis and polos that represent our respective organizations.
He looks tired though; his grey eyes look a bit puffy, like he hasn’t been sleeping.
I want to ask him about it, but I know he’ll just brush it off and remind me that it takes hard work to run the Cromwell empire.
So, I don’t bother. I’ve spent too much time getting chastised by him before to make that mistake again.
I sigh, looking over at my father. He’s playing his usual game, waiting to spring the news on why he’s here until he’s ready. I think he enjoys keeping me on the edge of my seat.
“Sons, we’ve just completed a pretty lucrative business deal. We are adding another sports team to the Cromwell empire,” he announces, looking from Drew to me for dramatic effect.
“Well, Dad, don’t keep us in suspense. What team did we acquire?” I ask him. “Are we diving into hockey now? Or perhaps you’ve decided to buy a football team?”
I know that’s not the team that he would buy.
He made that perfectly clear when he bought the Blaze.
I told him that I thought I would be better suited for running a football team, but he said that wasn’t in the cards.
He had no desire to run an NFL team, since he didn’t even like the sport, a fact that cut deep since I had spent so many years playing it. Not that he had ever really watched.
“No, August, you know how I feel about that,” he reminds me.
“Oh, believe me, Dad, I do,” I say, a bit of hurt finding its way into my voice.
“August,” he warns me.
I just nod, rolling my eyes.
Drew shoots me a look, which I don’t acknowledge.
“What did you buy this time, Dad?” I ask him, hoping that he just gets to the point. I have a ton of work that I want to do, and this meeting was not planned but I am expected to drop everything when Maxwell Cromwell wants a meeting.
“I have decided that we need another women’s sports team.
The Blaze is doing really well. I think we should capitalize on the love that the country seems to have for women’s sports and create another team in the Tampa area,” he says, looking from Drew to me with authority.
“I have decided that there should be a WNBA team here. What do you boys think of that?” He claps his hands together to punctuate this sentence.
Or to just give himself some applause for his grand decision.
Drew speaks first. “That’s wonderful, Dad. I think it’s a great idea.” I can see Drew lighting up at the thought. “Wow, a brand-new team would be an incredible opportunity for someone.”
I nod. “Yeah, Dad, love the idea.”
I watch Drew for a beat. He’s practically on the edge of his seat, his eyes dancing with excitement.
He’s more like my father than I am. He’s driven and wants nothing more than to make my father proud.
Salivating on every bit of business knowledge that Maxwell can give him.
Putting our father on a pedestal no matter how he treats me because at the end of the day, I think he wants to be just like him.
One of us had to want that.
“Good, I’m glad you are both on board with it.” He pauses again for dramatic effect. “I have no idea who is going to run it, though, so we’ll need to figure that part out. August, you’ve done great things here at the Blaze, so maybe you could head over and take care of the new team too,” he muses.
He hasn’t decided on this yet, but I’m going to squash this before it comes something that I have to legally get out of.
“Well, Dad, I think the Blaze is still too new. We haven’t even made it through one season yet. And this is where my heart lives,” I tell him, hoping to appeal to his sense of loyalty.
“Oh, August, please I did most of the setup for this, so it’s like you would be leaving anything that you’ve actually built,” he chastises me.
“Sure, Dad,” I say, shaking my head and taking the insult on the chin.
Drew grins eagerly, his eyes becoming alive at the opportunity that’s being laid out.
“Dad, I would love to have the opportunity to create something like this from the ground up. I mean, the Marlins were already built and running well when I came into the picture. I think this could be a good opportunity for me. What do you think?” Drew lobbies for the team, which makes me happy because there’s no way I want to leave the Blaze.
Or Hendrix for that matter.
From what I know, basketball season overlaps with soccer, and I wouldn’t be able to see her as often. And I like being able to be at every single one of her games. Even when I was sure that she hated me, I loved cheering her on. I felt a sense of pride seeing her in the net.
“Yes, Drew, I think it could be a good opportunity for you. I was just thinking that it might be good to move August around a bit.” He manages to give Drew a pat on the back for being the dutiful son and showing his ambition and kicking him at the same time. Classic Dad.
“Sure, Dad, whatever you think is best,” Drew replies, the excitement that was once there now completely gutted by his remarks.
“I agree with Drew, give him a challenge. Let me stay here and keep working with the Blaze. He’s earned that right,” I say, hoping that Dad will listen to me.
“I’ll decide who’s ready for what!” he snaps at me.
I nod. “Of course, you will because no one here is a grown adult.”
“August,” Drew warns.
“Why bother helping your brother, Drew, when he has no respect for anyone. Let alone me,” my dad says, looking at me and shaking his head. “I mean honestly, August, when are you going to grow up.”
“I did a long time ago. You just haven’t noticed yet, Dad,” I throw out.
“Then act like an adult in these situations,” he scolds me, causing me to openly roll my eyes at him. “See that right there. You don’t do that in a business meeting.”
“Well, in most cases, everyone is treated like an adult, like they have a real say in a business meeting,” I fire back.
He opens his mouth, another insult coming, I’m sure. But he never gets to deliver it. Cindy from the PR team has entered the conference room.
“The media is gathered out in the stadium and ready for your press conference,” she says proudly.
“The announcement isn’t happening in the media room?” I ask her.
“No, Mr. Cromwell felt that it was better to have the announcement somewhere that didn’t scream Blaze,” Cindy proudly replies.
“Of course he did,” I say mostly to myself, but my father hears me.
“Please don’t act like this out there,” he scolds me.
I nod, knowing that I’ll be the dutiful solider, same way that I was when we announced the Blaze. Before I knew that it meant a job for me.
“Let’s go, boys,” he says, standing and leading the way out of the conference room.
I feel like I’m somehow five years old again and I’m following my father into school. But this time it’s him winding through the halls of the Blaze as we head out to announce his latest business venture. Drew and I follow him like the dutiful sons that we are, neither one of us saying a word.
Before we breach the front doors of the Blaze, Cindy turns to the three of us.
“You’ll all walk out there. Boys, make sure to stand on either side of your father.
Maxwell, I’ll introduce you and let the folks know why they are here, and then we can get your announcement.
Would you like me to choose the reporters that get to ask you the questions? ”
He nods. “I think that would be perfect. Thank you, Cindy, for organizing this for me. You truly are a treasure,” he says, grinning at her. I fight the urge to remind him that she’s the Blaze PR manager and not his own personal one, but I choose to remain quiet.
“Of course. Let’s get this show on the road.
” Without a word to Drew and me, she opens the doors, and the sounds of cameras flashing and reporters calling out to my father begin.
I do just as Cindy asks and stand next to my father, although I take one step backward because I know how he feels about sharing the spotlight.
“Good afternoon, everyone. I am thrilled that you came out here to hear about the newest endeavor of the Cromwell family. It’s truly exciting.
We’ve had some great success here, between moving the Marlins to Tampa with my son Drew and starting the NWSL team you know and love as the Tampa Bay Blaze under the watchful eye of my son August. And now we decided that we need to keep the dynasty rolling and start a WNBA team here in Tampa as well.
” He pauses for dramatic effect, and I hear the applause from the press and the Tampa Bay Blaze players who have gathered in the back.
I can’t see Hendrix, but I can feel her eyes on me. I stand there dutifully and keep my eyes forward. Not really focusing on any of them. Making sure that I look proud to be a Cromwell.
“My son August will be taking on the WNBA team that we have decided to call the Tampa Lightning!” he announces, raising his hands above his head as he takes in the applause.
I do my best to breathe in and out upon hearing him announce my name as the owner. That hasn’t been decided yet, I say to myself. I can feel her staring hard at me.
Fuck. This is going to cause some problems for me. The Cromwell dynasty always does.