“What’s going on?” Suddenly Austin was standing in the doorway to the main shop, his arms crossed over his chest. “You okay, Indy?”
I shook my head. There was no sugarcoating it. I was a mess.
Austin crossed the room to stand in front of me, blocking me from James and his cameraman. “Then we’re done here. No filming right now. Indy needs a minute.”
Despite all the angst and emotion, I smiled a little even as I clutched at the back of Austin’s leather jacket.
“Yeah, that’s not how this works,” James’ smug voice came from across the room.
“Check our contract because that’s exactly how this works,” Austin retorted. “I’ve gone over it recently with our attorney. You didn’t notify us that you intended to film today, so we won’t be filming. You guys can pack up your gear, and we’ll see you tomorrow when wearescheduled to film.”
“Wait, we’re not supposed to be working today, James?” Will, the cameraman, asked.
“What the fuck?” Liam, our sound operator, groaned. “I’m not getting paid today? Seriously?”
“Oh, we’re getting paid,” Will bit out. “Right, James?”
Then there was more shouting followed by slamming doors.
“Stupid fucker.” Austin laughed before turning around to face me. “Are you okay, kid?”
Tears burned my eyes for a second time that day but for a whole different reason as that feeling of love and family I’d come to know with the Burns family enveloped me. “I’m getting there.”
“Aren’t we all.” He gave me a gentle smile. “How about you knock off early? No point in giving James access to you right after I pissed him off. He can be a vengeful ass.”
I sucked in a breath. I really didn’t like the sound of that.
Austin tipped his head. “Don’t stress about it, okay? I’ll sort him and the network out. But, uh, actually now that I’ve got you there’s a few things I’d love to talk to you about.”
“Sure.”
“Let’s talk in my office.”
I collected my stuff from behind my desk then followed him down the hall to his tiny office. I’d never been in here before, since it would only hold like three people. We had all our client meetings in the conference room.
Austin sat behind his desk with a sigh while I perched on the end of the chair opposite his desk. My eyes took in the tiny room—the three filing cabinets next to his desk, the pictures of bikes they’d built and family members on the walls and standing on every flat surface. He had a picture of Wyatt and Rachel on his desk next to an ancient monitor. The sight made me smile.
“So my brothers and I have talked—”
My heart stalled in my chest.
This was it.
They were firing me since I wasn’t with Dylan anymore. I should’ve known that was what he meant by ‘take tomorrow off.’ I was getting fired.
I gulped. Shit.
“And we’ve decided,” Austin continued. “Once our current contract with the network expires, we won’t be renewing it.”
I sat back in my chair as relief swamped me.
“I know that’s probably disappointing to you since you’re essentially getting two paychecks for this job, but we’ve decided it’s what we need to do to control the narrative of our lives and work.”
“After that little scene, I totally understand.” I smiled slightly despite my tearstained face.
Austin grinned back at me and leaned forward over his desk. “Not glad it happened but thankful you understand.”
I nodded.
