Chapter 39
Thirty Nine
Kaeli
The next morning, I’m fidgeting in the passenger seat as Ezra drives us to the arena for the meeting with the higher-ups.
His hand falls on mine, giving me a comforting squeeze. “It’ll be okay, Feather. I promise.”
I gaze at the city, blurring and mixing together, unable to match the speed of the moving car. Worrying my bottom lip, thinking what if this is what will become of me, a passing moment in time, insignificant among the number of people who strive to make a name for themselves.
My contribution lost in the sea of larger fishes with deep pockets and far-reaching connections to back them up. My heart plummets at the thought.
“Why do you call me Feather?” I ask to distract myself, before I induce a panic attack, before we even face the people who hold my future in the palm of their hands.
He grins and gives me a quick glance before looking back on the road. “You’re gonna have to wait to find that out.”
“Wait for what?” He shrugs, enjoying teasing me a little too much.
Before I can torture it out of him, Ezra pulls up in front of our destination.
I freak out and turn to him to tell him that I can’t go in. But he tilts my chin and crushes his lips to mine, silencing the thoughts running rampant in my brain. I lose myself in the kiss and forget about my surroundings.
By the time he pulls back, we’re both panting. I look into his glazed eyes, and I’m sure mine are no different.
“Now, you’re ready to show them who’s the boss,” he encourages me, the pad of his thumb brushing the apple of my cheeks in a soothing motion.
Hypnotized, I nod. Determined to stand up for myself, I turn to open the passenger side door. Like always, Ezra beats me to it as he climbs out and rounds the car, waiting for me in seconds.
I slide my hand in his. He doesn’t drop my hand even when we enter the arena, and every soul present abandons their work to gawk at us. He walks proudly beside me, bestowing a smile on me that assures me that no matter what, at least I’ll have Ezra by my side.
Paying no heed to the eyes on us, he knocks on the door to the conference room. I take a deep breath and, with determined steps, enter what today feels like a battlefield.
A kaleidoscope of emotions flickers on everyone’s face, ranging from surprise to annoyance. God! It’s gonna be a long day.
Ezra and I take our seats. He clasps our hands and places them on his thigh. Every pair of eyes zeroes in on the small but significant moment. It’s a declaration, claim, and offense all in one.
I spy Stacy biting back a smile, and her reaction eases a knot in my gut. Hers is the only opinion that matters to me. She has been guiding, supporting, and encouraging me since the day I stepped foot in these halls.
She has been a constant pillar and a reliable friend. So, I’m happy that she doesn’t seem to have any reservations about us. Though the same can’t be said for the others in the room.
Samuel Jensen, the General Manager of the Boston Bandits, the man who can end my career with the flick of his wrist, clears his throat. I wait for him to speak with bated breath, as Ezra squeezes my hand.
“How long has this been going on?” he asks, scratching his bearded jaw.
“A few months,” Ezra answers, unnerved, while my vein might pop at any second.
A few gasps ring out in the room. James McCoy, the coach, curses under his breath, pinching the bridge of his nose.
“You do know that a relationship is forbidden between a player and a staff member, don’t you?” Samuel arches an eyebrow, his gaze swinging between us.
“We do,” Ezra announces, leaning back in his chair. I nod timidly.
“That’s all I needed to know.” Samuel taps the table and nods at Zareen, the HR head.
My heart lurches wildly at the cryptic words, as I feel sweat dripping down my spine.
Picking up the file in front of her and sliding her glasses on her nose, Zareen begins, staring directly at me, “In compliance with your contract, which you signed when you started working for the Boston Bandits, you’re fired, effective immediately.”
Her indifferent tone won’t let you feel that she’s ending someone’s career with those words. But I feel it when I see my world collapsing like a house of cards crumbing down with the lightest blow of wind.
She continues to state the legalities, but I’m unable to listen to a word, let alone comprehend it.
My breath gets stuck in my throat, the world fading away as I feel myself going numb. What will I do? How will I face the world? How will I face my family? How will I tell them that I left them to do something on my own and couldn’t even do that?
Then the realization settles in, burying me alive under a ton of bricks with no escape route. It’s over. Everything is ruined.
But that’s when a fissure starts forming in my grave, a beam of sunlight defiantly making its way to me. I realize it’s Ezra, trying to reach me.
Erza roars.
He roars at the room full of people, making a deadly silence fall over the room like a heavy, fast-approaching storm. The kind of storm that promises destruction and retribution.
Every eye in the room snaps to him, mine included, as the veil of uncertainty clears from my mind.
“You fire her, you lose me!” he growls.
“That’s not how it works,” Samuel shakes his head.
“You fire her, you lose me,” he repeats, the angry veins popping in his neck and forehead, his body coiled tight as his hand holds mine in a punishing grip.
“Think carefully what you’re saying, Ezra. You’d do that for her?” Coach jerks his head at me as if I’m not sitting right here in this room.
I instantly wish that the ground would open and swallow me whole. James is right, though. What is Ezra even thinking, making such claims for me? Is he out of his mind? He can’t put everything on the line for a fuck, damnit!
And I’m about to remind him just that, when he laughs, a humorless chuckle echoing in the room as everyone looks at him, befuddled.
“Her?” He shakes his head before looking the coach right in the eyes. “There’s nothing, and I mean absolutely nothing, I won’t do for her. It’s better you accept that now,” he growls, swinging his gaze to everyone to make a point.
“You know what our team policy is. We can’t allow this relationship,” Samuel iterates.
“Then change the fucking policy.” He shrugs, spreading his leg as if he owns the place. Propping his chin on his hand, his elbow braces against the chair’s armrest. “It’s funny how you think I need your permission to date my woman,” he smirks.
This smirk is not playful. It’s challenging, daring them to refute and just give him a chance to annihilate everybody. This smirk is chilling, raising goosebumps on their skin.
My eyes nearly pop out of their socket at his claim. The fear coursing through me gives way to a sense of belonging I never had at his words. How he can manage to make me fall for him even in a situation like this is beyond me.
What the fuck!?
Did I just….Do I? Fucking hell!
Samuel realizes that he won’t change Ezra’s mind. With a resigned sigh, Samuel slumps in his seat. “Fine.” My ears perk up. “Do as you please. We can’t afford to lose you in the middle of the fucking season.”
Ezra’s chest ever so slightly puffs out. “It’s not just me you can’t lose. Kaeli is equally important to the team, if not more. All she has done is give to the team and has only ever wanted respect and acknowledgment for the work she does.” My heart soars at his words.
It’s not that I need him to fight my battles, but it feels nice to know that if I fall, I’ll have someone to pick me up.
“Yes, Kaeli has only ever done her best,” Stacy voices, winking at me. I give her a grateful smile.
The others squirm in their seats at being taught something, being reprimanded.
The general manager raises his finger. “The only way this works is if you both do not compromise your jobs even for a single second. I do not want to see you lagging because you can’t concentrate or because you’re having a lover’s quarrel.
And we’ll need to sign new contracts with you both, which the HR will soon revise and send over. Am I clear?”
“Glad that you understand,” Ezra says with a pointed look. He has to have the last word.
“Yes, sir,” I say for the first time, my voice gravely as if I haven’t spoken in years.
“Good,” the GM nods.
Ezra stands, tugging me with him as he addresses the room. “Now that that’s off the table, we’ll take our leave.” With that, he swivels on his feet and unapologetically saunters out of the room, pulling me with him.
God! He will get me fired one way or the other someday.
Still, a smile that had been blooming inside me doesn’t leave my face, even when we exit the arena.