“Hello.”
“Don’t you answer your damn phone? Everyone here watched the press conference and is swooning their hearts out. That was like a movie.”
“I know.” I pressed my palm to my forehead. “I haven’t even talked to him since this morning. I’ve been on my couch since I was laid off.”
“Well, don’t be surprised if they take it back. If word gets out they fired you because you were with Silas, and he just went public to tell everyone he wants to spend the rest of his life with you, that’s bad PR for a PR agency.”
“I won’t get my hopes up. I just need to see him.”
“Your next book is going to be epic. You’re living in a fucking romance novel. This is the best resolution ever.”
I laughed, my chest so much lighter than a few hours ago. I couldn’t call it a resolution as I was still unemployed. In all the years I’d known Gayle, she’d double down before she’d admit she’d been wrong. If they did rescind my termination, they’d probably give me a smaller job just to save face.
I didn’t want to work anywhere that I couldn’t be with Silas out in the open, and it was on me for tolerating it far longer than I should have.
I had faith that it would work out because, for the first time in my entire life, I wasn’t alone.
That was what I’d gotten from Silas’s grand gesture or declaration or whatever he’d intended it to be. He’d told me that many times, but that was the moment it had finally sunk in enough for me to believe it.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
SILAS
“Managers aren’t supposedto play hooky,” Lee teased as he spotted me in the hotel lobby.
He’d come to find me after this afternoon’s press conference, and I’d pulled him aside and told him what happened, including how management had accidentally started a fiasco trying to keep me relevant enough to stay popular.
I wouldn’t tell Rachel about that part of this mess yet. Once the Bats made proper restitution, or at least an offer for it, I’d tell her why they needed to make it right. But right now, I just needed to see her in person and make sure she was okay.
“The assistant coach can handle it for two games. I asked the guys not to embarrass me while I was away.”
Lee snickered. “If there is anything else you want, I’d say now is a good time to ask.” He shook his head. “I still can’t believe they did that.”
“They pushed it along, but something like this would have happened anyway. Maybe not this bad. This does make me wonder how much of the traction on my social media accounts this year came from them behind the scenes, but I can’t worry about that now.”
“I’m happy for you,” he said, slapping my arm. “Glad you finally woke up.”
“Thank you. Maybe you should too,” I told him, hoisting the strap of my duffel bag onto my shoulder.
His smile faded as he shook his head.
“My situation is a little different, Si.”
“Maybe it’s more complicated, yes. But I think if you stop holding yourself back, things could change.”
“Look at you, all optimistic.” He squinted at me, a smirk lifting the side of his mouth. “What happened to you?”
“I fell in love with a romance novelist.” I shrugged. “It’s made me less of a brooding asshole, I guess.”
I flicked my wrist to check the time on my watch. “And if you’ll excuse me, I have a train to catch.” I slapped him on the back. “See you back in Brooklyn.”
When I’d texted Taylor before the conference, she’d told me that her sister was okay, just tired and sad after her boss let her go. I didn’t blame Rachel for shutting off her phone, and I hated thinking of her feeling exposed and unsafe after what had happened today.
I had no doubt that it would blow over, and I hoped I’d given them something else to talk about with a more positive spin.
I’d told Rachel I loved her many times, but I’d never admitted to wanting to spend the rest of my life with her. Everything was out in the open, the worst had already happened, and we were still standing. The risk was gone, so what was the point of holding back now?
I was all in. She was mine as much as I belonged to her, but I was terrified that upending her life, even though we were both equally at fault for being so brazen, would be a deal-breaker for her. She’d worked so hard not to be the parent her mother was, and I knew the public shame of how we were caught had todredge up some of those terrible memories she’d mentioned to me.
