Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
“Want to tell me why you’re not on this plane, Owens?”
There’s a roughness to Rio’s morning voice that reminds me of fingernails across a chalkboard. Dawson and Marcus have been calling nonstop since I didn’t show up at the terminal half an hour ago. It’s easy to dodge their calls, but Rio isn’t a man you can, or should, ignore.
Dropping onto the uncomfortable glass seat, I chuckle. “Well, good morning to you too, Rio.”
His growl is menacing. “Nope. I’m not in the mood to play around. We’re leaving for California in thirty minutes, and your lanky ass isn’t in a seat. Where are you, Cade?”
I start to respond, but the receptionist cuts me off. “Mr. McAllen will be with you soon.”
Smiling at the man, I turn back to my conversation. “I’m at Permian.”
There’s a pause. “Is Shay sick?”
“No.”
“Then what’s going on? You never miss travel. You’d play through a hurricane if they let you. Is it something with your hip? Isla can—”
“My hip is fine. I swear.” The dice in my pocket rattle as I readjust. “Shay quit. There was messed-up stuff happening with her boss.”
His tone softens. “Messed up how?”
Sexism. Gross misogyny. There’s a laundry list of disgusting things Shay was forced to deal with at work because of her terrible supervisor.
“Discrimination,” is all I can get out. I still can’t wrap my head around what Shay overheard. “A lot of it, Rio. So fucking much.”
It has been one week since Shay left Permian behind, and I’ve hardly been around because of baseball. It’s my job, and we’re both aware how busy the season is, but I need to be in North Carolina with her.
“Damn.” He exhales. “I’m sorry, Cade. I didn’t know.”
Nobody did. She doesn’t regret her decision to quit, which I’m happy about, but she misses her clients.
This morning, as I left her house to meet my team at the terminal, I watched her face crumple when she remembered she had nowhere to go.
Still in her pajamas, she donned a brave face to kiss me goodbye.
But I heard the way her breath caught the moment the door closed behind me.
It was then that I realized I had to do something.
“I’m not getting on the plane, and I’m not going to California. You can fine me, Rio. I don’t care—”
“Good. I’m glad you don’t care. If you ask me, not missing a series after something like this would’ve been more surprising. It’s nice seeing you make room for things in your life outside of baseball. Although, I was looking forward to showing Cali how much you’ve grown.”
My heart doesn’t ache like it should at the prospect of missing tonight’s game against my old franchise, the California Hornets.
Four months ago, playing against the team that traded me away would have been the most important thing in my life, but as I sit here in this waiting room, I know there’s nowhere I’d rather be right now.
“Send the team my love,” I say quietly.
Rio chuckles. “I will. Give them hell, and we will too.”
I’m blasted with sunshine as I hang up, warmed by Winston’s smile. It’s as welcoming as it was the day I signed my contract a few months ago.
“Cade! What a nice surprise. I thought you’d be on your way to California with the Pilots. It’s going to be a fun series.”
“Sitting out this series.” I extend my hand. “Thanks for meeting me on such short notice.”
To my astonishment, Winston’s office is on the first floor.
It’s not what I expected from a place that screams executive status from the tile to the fresh air in the vents.
The interior of his office is grounded too, with framed photos of his family on the bookshelves.
There’s no ego wall or oversized throne.
The view of the parking lot through normal-sized windows makes him feel so much more human.
“Your office is so close to the door.”
“Easier to greet everyone when I can pop my head out the doorway.” Offering me a room-temperature water bottle, he takes a seat. “I’m guessing this is about your recent contract switch to Andy. Is everything going smoothly?”
My nod is immediate. Andy’s as good as Shay promised. His charming demeanor hides a fire that I’m sure will be great when it comes to contract negotiations.
I may not understand salary arbitration, but he does.
“He’s great. I’m actually here to talk about Shay.”
Genuine sadness fills Winston’s eyes. “I was very sorry to hear about her leaving Permian. It was such a surprise. Trevor was pretty upset about the whole thing when he let me know.”
Just hearing his name pisses me off. “Did he tell you why she quit?
“Trevor mentioned she took the loss of Garrett Blane hard. I still remember my first big loss. To this day, it still haunts me.” He folds his hands on the desk. “How’s she doing?”
I force myself not to think about her puffy, red-rimmed eyes. Or the way she longingly looks at her phone that has been unusually quiet. “Not well, and I want to discuss the real reason she quit because it has nothing to do with Garrett.”
Winston’s brow arches. “Does she know you’re here?”
Averting my eyes, I shake my head. “She didn’t want me to come.”
After showing up on her doorstep with all the flowers I could carry, she fell asleep in my arms, worn out from crying.
I had half a mind to drive to Permian and speak to Trevor myself.
That desperation only slightly faded when she told me she’s at peace about her decision to quit.
It may have been impulsive, but she knows it was the right thing to do. Losing her clients is the hardest part.
But I promised not to speak to Trevor, so I’m talking to Winston.
I leap out of the leather seat when the door bursts open behind me and bangs against the wall. Standing in the doorway is Andy, looking frazzled in his wrinkled dress shirt.
“Sorry I’m late,” he says, straightening his tie. “I brought backup.”
Four familiar faces smile at me from behind him. Holly skips into the spacious office first, with Brett, Lionel, and Victoria behind her. They look like they’re ready to go to war as they stand behind me.
I’m not sure what made me call my agent as I sped to Permian to meet with Winston, but he dove into action and reached out to the people who spent the last year and a half with Shay. The people who love her.
Winston’s eyes shift nervously between the six of us. “Can someone please explain what’s going on?”
Taking a deep breath, I lean into the support of the people around me and dive in.
“We want to discuss the blatant discrimination Trevor Caldwell exhibited during his time working with Shaylene Turner. Starting with how he never submitted her letter of intent for the promotion.”
Sizzling bacon is my third favorite sound. The second is the crack of a bat making perfect contact with a baseball. But number one will forever be Shay’s laugh, soft and surprised, like it caught her off guard.
Which is exactly what fills my ears when she walks into the kitchen.
The only thing covering her body is the blue button-down I stripped out of when I got back from Permian. It looks way better on her. Partially buttoned, sleeves rolled to the elbow, and falling to the middle of her strong thighs.
“Not that I don’t enjoy a nice strip of crispy bacon, but I’m still confused about why you’re here when your team is in California for one of the most anticipated series of the season.”
Clicking the oven light on, I check on the bacon. “I thought you’d be happier to see me.”
Rolling her eyes, she sets her laptop on the counter. “Of course I am, but I know what you’re doing.”
I shrug. “Making my girlfriend breakfast for dinner before we watch Legally Blonde in bed until she falls asleep on my lap? You’re right. That’s exactly what I’m doing.”
The mention of one of her favorite movies slightly distracts her.
“As great as that sounds, you’re hovering, Cade.”
“I’m not hovering.”
“Then why did you miss this series? It’s not like you to miss games.”
It’s not like the golden boy, but the real Cade doesn’t care about anything else other than making sure the woman I love is okay.
The decision to head to Permian instead of the terminal started off as impulsive, but the longer I drove, the more certain I was about my decision to deal with Rio’s wrath and stay in North Carolina.
Stepping behind her, I prop my chin on her shoulder and breathe her in. “Shaylene Turner. You’re more important to me than any game. Maybe you don’t need me here, but I needed to be with you.”
As if I hit the correct button, her spine loosens against my chest. “I love you. I did need you here.”
“I love you even more,” I say, stealing a glance at her laptop. The brightness is high enough to burn her retinas, and there are way too many tabs open. “Doing some research?”
“Something like that.” She pushes the laptop aside, turns around, and hops onto the counter. “I’m job hunting.”
Ah. That explains the spreadsheets. “Any luck so far?”
With a dramatic sniffle-sigh combo, she bangs her head against the cabinet behind her.
“Nope. Can’t find a single opening in North Carolina.
It’s as if every agency found out I was jobless and closed their listings to avoid having to deal with Shaylene Turner.
The disgraced woman who dates her client—”
“Ex-client,” I correct her with a scowl.
“Same difference,” she grumbles, but she knows it’s not. “I don’t know what to do. There’s a lot of interest from agencies in Florida and Texas, but that would mean I have to leave Clear Lake. Everything and everyone I love is here. My best friends. You.”
The thought hurts, so I step back and head to the freezer because I know what will brighten the mood. “Even if you have to take a job in another state, leaving won’t change anything. I’m yours no matter how many miles are between us.”
“I do know that,” she promises. “If I did have to move, I know we would be totally fine. But we just got back together. Being without you, even temporarily, isn’t something I want to do.”