Ryland #2
“I know that now. I didn’t then. You want to penalize me for caring.” She frowned, looking cute as hell. Somee being pissed wasn’t threatening. It made my dick hard with the need to deliver some act right. “Why are you smiling?”
“You’re cute as fuck.”
“We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about Rylee.” I saw her blushing but she was still pissed and I smiled harder.
“Which means we’re talking about you. You care about my sister more than her own mother does and that says a lot.
I’m not mad that you were on my case so heavily when it came to my sister.
I respect how much she means to you. Can we agree that you were mean as hell when you first met me? I forgive you and now we’re cool.”
She laughed then her hands were moving. “You forgive me when I didn’t do anything wrong?” She arched a brow and I flashed a smile.
“Yes, now let’s move on. You chillin’ with me tomorrow or what?”
“What are we doing?” she signed.
“I’m going to give you an official tour of my city.”
To try and convince you that you love it here and need to stay.
“I don’t think we have enough time for a tour. School is out at three.”
“Five, tomorrow. She has the music program after school. We have enough time to do a few things. You down? And don’t say no. You don’t have shit else to do.”
“Well, since the invitation was so lovely, how could I refuse?”
I chuckled. “Aight. It’s a date.”
She shook her head. “It’s a hang out.”
Nah, baby, it’s a date.
“Label it however you want but you’re all mine tomorrow. I need to call my agent so I’m going to let you get some rest. If you need anything, you know where to find me,” I signed, then stood, not really wanting to leave. I needed to holler at Sovoya to prepare for tomorrow.
“I’m good, thank you.”
I left Somee and headed downstairs to the basement to get Sovoya on the line with a video call.
She was big on things like face-to-face meetings, needing to see if we were on bullshit or not when handling business.
That also might just be me because I’d hit her up a time or two from the club or when I was in a situation where I was doing anything but business when I returned calls that she insisted were a priority.
She answered but immediately put me on hold. “Hang on, Ryland.”
I slouched down on the sofa, lifted the remote, and turned on the TV, muting the volume.
They were discussing next week’s game with the Tigers against the Leopards.
It pissed me off because the Tigers were a wild card team and now playing in the Super Bowl.
They had our spot and I was annoyed as hell.
Instead of turning the channel, I kept my eyes glued to the screen, watching highlights from both teams, discussing their predictions for next Sunday.
“Sorry, I was finishing a meeting with another client.”
I glanced at my watch. It was almost ten. “It’s late, you’re working?”
I placed my phone on my thigh so I could see it but focused on the TV. “You’re on my line, so what do you think?”
I grinned and decided not to play with her. “My exit interview is tomorrow.”
“I’m aware. You’re not meeting with the front office. Just your coaches and the team physician. They’re going to request an MRI for your shoulder and you better hope like hell it doesn’t require surgery. That’s the last thing we need on top of everything else.”
I would ask her how she knew all this but my agent was one of the best. Her job was to be knowledgeable about anything related to my career.
Without much thought, I lifted a hand and massaged my left shoulder.
I took a bad hit a week before we entered the playoffs and they’d managed it with cortisone so I could play through it.
Yet another fucking reason I was so pissed about how they were treating me. I couldn’t count the number of injuries I had that should have benched me for the season but I played through them. My dedication and loyalty was to the team when clearly theirs wasn’t with me.
“My shoulder’s fine,” I muttered.
“And your ankles? Two sprains this season, one with cartilage damage.”
“Damn, Sov, you on my side or not? You’re making me sound like an old man. Fuck getting traded, maybe I just need to consider retirement.”
I narrowed my eyes and dropped them to the phone, catching her smug ass grin. “I wouldn’t say old man but your field expiration date is approaching.”
“I hope you have better negotiating skills than that when you have to square up with the owners about my contract. I have one year left. By the end of next season, I want one last contract with at least four or five years. I’m retiring as a Shark.”
“Yes, you are retiring as a Shark, Ryland. That’s what you want, so that’s what I’m going to make happen. I just need you to let me do my job and don’t go in there tomorrow making matters worse. Stay away from front office staff. If they engage you, walk away… You know what, I’ll be there…”
“No the fuck you won’t. What do I look like showing up with my agent? People are already talking. They’ll eat that shit up and run with it, assuming the rumors are true. Nah, I’m good and you can’t be there anyway without approval from the GM. You do your part and I’ll do mine.”
“Fine, just do your part without making my job any harder.”
I nodded. “I got you, even though you don’t have any damn faith in me.”
“Should I?” She arched a brow and I grinned.
“I might push the limits with my personal shit but never when it comes to how I show up for the team. So yes, you should.”
“Jury’s still out on that. Check in tomorrow to let me know how everything goes.”
“Why do you need me to do that? You’ll probably have all the details before I do.”
“You’re right but I still want your version of events. Call me when you’re done, Ryland. I mean it.”
I chuckled at her little warning glare and tone. I saw now why Sovoya and Van were such good friends. They were damn near the same person with certain things.
“I said I got you,” I promised.
We ended the call and I dropped my head back, feeling annoyed. The last thing I wanted to do tomorrow was see anyone from the team, but not showing up would only make matters worse. I had to make the most of all this by manning the fuck up.
The next morning was beautifully chaotic. Rylee was the first one up and I was her first stop. She came barreling into my room, unaware that she loudly introduced herself by shoving through the door and her bare feet slapping the hardwood floors as she shuffled toward the bed.
I grinned when she tugged on my arm until she had my attention. The minute my eyes were on her, a giddy smile blossomed on her face when her hands started moving, telling me it was time for school.
She bypassed Somee and came straight to my room, which had me in an emotionally weird space.
I was aware Rylee seeking me out was thanks to the woman who had my thoughts locked down since I met her.
Somee had been subtly pushing Rylee to lean on me so that her leaving wouldn’t further disrupt Rylee’s life.
I loved that my sister and I were forging a bond, but in the process Rylee’s world was expanding beyond the one she was leaving behind.
Somee was a trooper. Although I could see the sadness in her eyes from watching Rylee find her footing here with me, there was also a sense of pride.
Like a proud mama bear watching her cub enter a new phase in her life.
The problem was, thinking about Somee leaving, not being a part of this, disrupted what I wanted for the new phase of my life.
In one morning, we created a rhythm with the three of us finding a routine.
After Rylee left my room, she went back to her own to wash her face and brush her teeth.
Well, the best she could for a six-year-old.
When she headed to Somee’s room to ask for help with her uniform, a second face washing took place.
Once she was dressed in a red and navy plaid skirt, navy long-sleeved polo, navy socks, and her new sneakers, she was back in my room holding up the cardigan and blazer, both bearing the Chandler Academy logo, wanting my approval for which would match my fly.
That shit had me emotional as hell because something so simple had become our thing.
We decided on the blazer while Somee watched the exchange from the doorway.
I winked at her as I helped Rylee into the last piece of her uniform, then she was off with Somee to get her hair done.
Damn I was glad Somee was tackling that.
Yeah, she was going to have to stay with all that hair Rylee had.
After a quick breakfast we almost had to tie Rylee to a chair to eat, we were out the house and in my Range heading to Chandler Academy.
Even now, standing here watching Rylee walk away with her student rep who would be responsible for shadowing her today to make sure she was acclimated to the school, it only felt right because of the woman standing next to me.
Somee turned to me with a cute little pout before her hands were moving. “I don’t know what to do. I’m proud of her but I’m sad that she’s leaving me.”
A smile eased onto my face when I responded, “I thought the child was supposed to be sad and have separation anxiety, not the parent.”
“She did an Olympic sprint to leave us. I’m allowed to be sad.”
I chuckled as we started toward my Range. “You know that’s all you, right?”
“What do you mean?”
“Her confidence is on point because you make sure she knows to hold her head high and be comfortable in her skin. You did that.”
Somee grinned. “She was only with me for a couple weeks. I can’t take credit.”
“Living with you, yeah, but she’s been at the school for almost a year. From what my mother told me, the changes in Rylee are like night and day. F-E-L-I-C-I-A didn’t have a damn thing to do with how confident and smart Rylee is. That’s all you.”
“Thank you.” We reached my truck and I paused to open the door, closing her in before I made my way to the driver’s side and settled behind the steering wheel.