Chapter 19
Beck
“So you’re telling me you’re not having an affair with that reporter.”
Abbott Young of Creative Sporting Enterprises was a no-nonsense kind of man. You didn’t bullshit him and get away with it. I liked his straightforward attitude and take no shit from anyone manner of handling business. What I didn’t like was his attitude.
He truly believed his shit didn’t stink. However, as my agent, even though I’d come along as a package deal with Ford, he thought he owned me. Right now, the last thing I needed was his attitude.
“Those pictures are fake as shit.” They were. I knew a thing or two about AI. I wasn’t an idiot. What tripped me up was the fact we were involved.
“That’s not what I asked you.”
“We’re friendly. She did an in-depth interview, which you already know about. That’s it.”
Abbott’s heavy sigh was screaming that he didn’t believe me.
Maybe because my tone wasn’t overly convincing.
“Yeah, okay. Not that it should be any big deal, but given the circumstances and accusations involving cheating and aggressive violence, including from that asshole you decided to take out your anger on, I have some fires to put out. Quite frankly, I’m surprised the Cruisers’ owner didn’t file assault charges. ”
“That’s bullshit. I tried to break up the fight.”
“Not according to a couple people involved.”
The picture of me supposedly beating Bronco to the point of him being unconscious was also horrific.
Someone was out to get me and sadly, my mind continued to shift to Sloane every time.
She’d been there standing near the fight.
She could have taken that picture. I wasn’t certain what the hell to think at this point.
“Then they are lying. Ask any of the other players. I had nothing to do with Bronco’s injuries if he has any.”
The silence was a telling statement. He didn’t necessarily believe me.
“I’m going to take your word for it and I’ll go to bat for you and for Ford. However, the shit you’ve seen in the news isn’t going to die down quickly just because the Hellions are out of the playoffs.”
Tell me something I didn’t know. “I get it.”
“Then sit tight. I’ll get back to you.” Abbott also wasn’t a man for ceremony, ending the call because he was finished.
And I was furious. I held the phone to my head, squeezing until I caught myself. Purchasing a new iPhone wasn’t going to make anything better.
Right now, I needed to calm down and get back to work.
Boom!
“Jesus Christ.”
I lifted my head, chuckling in hearing Samantha’s exclamation. She was fanning her face while staring out the window at the dark, swirling clouds.
“If you hate storms so much, why do you pay attention to them?” I moved to the next desk, dropping underneath to connect the wires.
New computers, new software. A lot of money spent that I was worried Pops didn’t have.
However, I was here to help, which would save the company money.
After this, I’d need to check on the upload with the new accounting software package.
It should be finished. Unless there were additional issues.
At least I’d been able to save my dad some heartache, time, and money. He was still recuperating from his heart attack and I’d found myself out of a job. Granted, I usually worked at the sawmill every summer, but this time, doing so felt bittersweet.
For a lot of reasons.
“Because it’s good to know if and when we’re going to die in a tornado.” The serious tone of her voice indicated she wasn’t kidding.
At least my sister was still capable of providing me with a laugh or two. No one else.
Another deeper rumble of thunder echoed in the office and she finally moved away from the window. “Are you almost finished? I have some payments to send out later today.”
“I just got here an hour ago. Give a guy a break.”
“I thought you were a super whiz with software. At least according to Daddy anyway.”
When I lifted my head, I smacked it into the bottom of the desk. “Fuck.”
“No cursing in the office. Mother’s rules.”
As I clawed my way to my feet, still rubbing my head, I offered my baby sister a hard glare. She’d earned it. She’d done nothing but give me a hard time since I’d returned. Only a few days and it felt like a lifetime.
But I adored her for it.
While everyone else was tiptoeing around me, she’d given me what for as soon as I’d walked into the door. I could still hear her words.
“Why did you allow two has-been sportscasters whose never played a single sport in their entire miserable lives to best you? Why didn’t you fight back?”
“Why in the world didn’t you tell those assholes the truth?”
“Why didn’t you answer some of those awful people on Instagram? Their accusations were ridiculous.”
Why. Why. Why.
The why was easy for me. My spirit was crushed. I’d never experienced such pain in my life.
All because I’d let my guard down with a woman.
At least she’d been kind enough to shove a beer into one hand, a shot of tequila in the other just before raking me over the coals.
Only later she had tried to hand me Guinness and a Sambuca, which I’d refused. Damn it. There I went again thinking about the traitor.
“I think I’ve won the right to curse, thank you very much. And our mother isn’t here.”
Samantha grinned. “She’s here in spirit. That’s enough and you know how excellent her hearing is.”
That was true. And she wasn’t even a shifter. “I’m headed to the back room to check on the server.”
“And I’m going to grab some lunch. Just remember I need my computer up and running to process the boys coming in with a load later.”
The flash of lightning was close enough to light up the bank of windows on the side of the office.
My sister’s screech was deafening.
“You should call off the timber cut. They don’t need to be out there in this shit.”
I could tell my suggestion hadn’t gone over well. While Cole had done a damn good job of keeping the crews running while playing for Seattle, Samantha had really stepped up to the plate in handling the day-to-day operations given our father’s condition.
At least I could ease the load for a while. Or maybe forever. I’d heard shit about me being released from the Hellions. It was too early to tell at this point and nothing I needed to worry about.
If I did, there’d be violence.
“Yeah, you’re right. I was just hoping to get everything to the suppliers by the end of the week.”
The software issue had been a problem.
The money issues were worse, which I’d hoped to help with given the dollars associated with my contract. A contract that was now in jeopardy.
“I’ll get back to work. You get lunch.”
“Do you want anything when I’m out? I’m going to Arby’s.” She winked as she asked the question.
“Nah, thanks. Not very hungry.”
“How about a leggy brunette?”
Samantha was also the one determined to force Sloane to remain in my mind. My glare was harsh. “Just stop.”
“I will not. At least not until I find a way of knocking some sense into you. What is it with every male in this family? You’re the most hardheaded people in the world. Get your head out of your ass. You can’t disguise true love or the fact that she’s your mate.”
“Bullshit.” How in the hell had she figured that out? Maybe women were much more intelligent and intuitive than men. Nothing I would admit in public.
She wagged her finger at me. “Every time Sloane is mentioned, you break into a sweat. That’s exactly what happened with Ford. You can either embrace your wolf or spend the rest of your life old and miserable.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence. I so needed that.”
“Anything for my stubborn as shit brother.” With a wrinkle of her entire face indicating her disgust with me, she grabbed her purse and keys and headed to the door.
“You cursed!” Another laugh erupted, only one with a deep ache.
The ground beneath me rumbled from the approaching storm and I suddenly had the desire to run wild and free. In my wolf form.
Maybe later. For now, I had work to do.
I headed into the back room where the server was, the desk I used already cluttered with everything I thought I’d need to ensure a smooth and easy transition over to the new software. Thankfully, Pops had listened to me; the old program was from twenty years before and had no support.
Laughing, I sat down at my desk, touching the spacebar on the keyboard. Forty percent to go. That’s what happened with abysmal internet speed from living out in the boonies.
I sat back in the chair, propping my feet on the edge of my desk.
With my arms behind my head, I closed my eyes.
Wouldn’t you know it? My thoughts drifted to her.
The charlatan. The femme fatale—at least according to multiple people on the internet.
I didn’t even know what that meant, but I liked the sound of it.
The hurt had been real, so raw and so agonizing that I’d barely been able to function two nights later. I’d been the reason for the game loss, but I was still highly content to blame her.
She’d been playing me all along. And I’d fallen for it. Gah, I was an idiot, but never again.
Footsteps drew my attention and by the sound of them, female. Which meant my sister hadn’t wanted to leave without chiding me one more time. She was famous for requiring the last word. The sad thing was that usually she was right.
But not this time.
As soon as she entered the room, I laughed and placed my hands across my face. When she didn’t say anything, I dropped my arms without looking at her. “What part of my life did you come back to chastise me about now?”
“Hello, Beck.”
The instant I heard the soft notes of her voice, the seductive tone that wrapped around her sultry voice created a powerful need. Very slowly I opened my eyes, turning my head as I pulled my feet off the desk.
Sloane. More beautiful than ever.
I’d been insistent on never wanting to see her again, so finding her standing only a few feet away from me was daunting as fuck.
“What are you doing here?” The words were harsh because she deserved them.
“Your sister said you were back here.”