“Ew. I don’t want to know.” I guffaw, holding a hand up, stopping him mid-sentence. It is a well-documented fact that Happy Slater has a history with women, and I accept that, but the last thing I want are details, or to be able to put a face to a name. Gross.
“I love you,” Happy says with a boyish grin.
I deadpan.
“Anyway, when Lena quit, it was really sudden,” he continues. “But I never thought much of it.”
I nod.
“But these last few days, it got me thinking. So, I reached out to her.”
My eyes widen.
“And I met up with her today, before I came to your office.”
My mouth falls open on a gasp.
“She quit because she was having an affair with Chris.” He steadies me with a soft look, reaching out and touching my hand. “He did the exact same thing to her that he did to you, only Chris’s wife found out.”
“Oh my God.” I cover my mouth with my hand. “Poor Lena.”
“But that’s not it, Baby Draper,” Happy continues, suddenly incredulous. “There were others. Like alotof others. There were even two HR complaints filed that that motherfucking creep buried. Foryears. It is a whole-ass situation, which is why Bob and George and the lawyers are getting involved.”
I shake my head, trying to take it all in.
“The only good thing to come out of all this is that those women who were taken advantage of might finally get to say their piece.”
I lift my gaze to meet Happy’s, searching his eyes. “What about you? And the trade?”
Happy scoffs. “That asshole was bluffing the whole damn time. There’s no Utah trade. And your dad, my agent, Linc, even Bob and George said I have nothing to fucking worry about, especially not with the way I’ve been playing.”
My shoulders sag on a trembling exhale, and I take a few moments to decompress. When Happy reaches over, trailing the backs of his fingers over the curve of my cheek, I lean into his touch, closing my eyes and basking in the feel of him.
“The lawyers said that Chris is bound by an airtight NDA, and he risks serious legal action if he so much as utters a word about this to anyone,” Happy says after a beat. “No one outside of the people in that office up there and whoever else you’ve told will ever know what happened between you and him. Unlessyou choose to speak about it, of course. And that’s exactly what it is.Yourchoice.”
“What about the other women?” I ask. “And Lena?”
“That’s their story to tell.” Happy shrugs.
“Is my dad okay?” I quirk a brow. “Was he… disappointed?”
“Disappointed?” Happy gapes at me. “Baby Draper, I have never seen Coach as fucking angry as I saw him the moment he found out. He was ready to rip Garret’s fucking throat out. I had to hold him back. Me!” He points at himself, incredulously.
I can’t help but laugh because that sounds like my dad.
“He wasn’t disappointed at all, baby,” Happy says, tracing my bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. “He was angry at Chris, and he was pissed at himself knowing that you had to go through that.” A sad smile tugs at Happy’s lips. “And I get it. I felt like that when I found out about Lucky being in that car wreck with her mama. It’s that crippling feeling that no matter how hard you try, no matter the lengths you’re willing to go to, you can’t always protect the ones you love the most.”
Momentarily stilted by the weight of Happy’s words, I look at him for a long pause. And then, when it feels like my heart might burst or combust if I don’t do something, I find myself climbing over the center console, bumping my knee in the process.
I straddle Happy’s legs, wedged between him and the steering wheel, desperate to get as close as I possibly can to this man who has captured my mind, body, and most of all my heart and soul. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I stare deep into those chocolate eyes.
The moment between us is beautiful and full of so much sentiment. That is until a sly grin curls Happy’s lips before he speaks. “Baby Draper, are you gonna fuck me in the parking garage of the practice facility?” He waggles his eyebrows, hands moving down to cup my ass.
I deadpan. “No.”
He pops his bottom lip with a dramatic pout that looks so much like his daughter, it’s startling.
“I love you so much, Happy,” I say, meaning every word more than ever before.
