“Oh yes, I saw about Chase Bennett’s arrest.”
“That’s actually not the situation I need your help on. Gabrielle Pierson is handling that, but Mark, my general counsel, is the issue.”
“What can I do?”
“He’s clearly been neglecting his duties, and Ricardo, the scout, made some disparaging remarks about Gabby in a meeting. I’d like to terminate them both, but I don’t know what their employment contracts look like.”
“Tennessee is an at-will state, but I’m happy to look over the contracts and make sure we aren’t putting the organization at risk for a wrongful termination suit. I anticipate you may like to relieve them of their duties immediately pending our findings?”
“If at all possible.”
“Let me consult with HR and I’ll get back to you by the end of the day.”
“That would be great. Thank you, Leah. I owe you.”
“You owe me nothing, Grant. I’m simply doing my job.”
“Be that as it may, this is outside your scope as it’s not a corporate issue.” Teresa will send Leah a gift certificate for her favorite restaurant. It’s a common occurrence and one of the reasons my employees stay longer than employees at any of our competitors. We take care of our people.
“I appreciate that. Let me run down these questions for you and I’ll let you know the best approach.”
“Thanks again.”
Knowing the situation with Mark and Ricardo will be handled expeditiously, I find myself smiling at the knowledge that Taylor will be pleased I checked off her first requirement to working together.Anything to make her happy, I think, and then my mind goes to what Teresa said about fighting for Taylor. The truth is I did stop fighting for her. At the time, I told myself it was to let her go and spread her wings. Taylor needed to proveherself. To her company, the world, the industry, herself—who knows. She never had to prove herself to me, but I knew I had to let her go if there was any hope she would come back someday. I never gave up hope. I never gave up on us, but I can see why others would think I did.
Very few people knew we were married. When our relationship and my career fell apart, it looked like any other breakup, but that was the furthest from the truth. I poured myself into building Stella Holdings as a way to numb the pain and move on. The company grew like wildfire and now we have properties all over the world. I’m extremely proud of the success I’ve created from nothing but it’s lonely.
Celibacy wasn’t the path I chose, but even in the few years I tried to move on before quickly realizing it wasn’t possible, I never allowed any of the casual flings to amount to anything more than a few romps in the bedroom—nevermybedroom and never my heart. Those belonged to someone else already and just in case she made the choice to come back, those would remain reserved for her.
“Knock, knock.” Walking into Gabby’s office, I flop down into the lounge chair by the window. Her view of Stella Stadium is almost as impressive as Grant’s.
“Oh, look, you’re back again and didn’t tell your friends you were coming. How original.” The jab stings a bit because the truth is, I never left last week. I’ve been staying in Nashville a lot lately without telling my friends. At first it started because I loved being here. I loved cookouts at Ivory’s and game days with the girls. Reconnecting with my best friends who were embarking on this new chapter of togetherness after Ivory sold her Santa Monica condo and moved two doors down from Gabby. I felt like an outsider in my own friend group because I was always in New York or Los Angeles working.
But then, I felt bad about overstaying my welcome in Gabby or Ivory’s guest room all the time, so I found a room at a hotel downtown. It was the perfect arrangement. I could be close, but I could also have my own space, especially during my period when the pain took me out. Unexpectedly, the Baker Hotel became my landing spot.
During one particularly rough month, I started searching for an endometriosis specialist. I’ve dealt with the disease since college, but the past year has been worse than normal since getting my IUD removed, and I couldn’t take it anymore. Luckily for me, I found a nationally renownedspecialist in Nashville, so I started seeing her. It also meant I was in town more often and didn’t always tell my friends about it. The current situation with Chase has been the perfect cover for staying in town, instead of admitting to the real reason—the follow-up appointment I had yesterday.
“Thought we could go over some notes for the press conference,” I say, ignoring her comment. As I recommended, we waited to hold the press conference until Chase’s suspension was over. The team is back in town and tonight is Chase’s first night back in the lineup, so the timing is perfect. All eyes will be on the Troubadours and the goodwill we’re extending to the police department and community.
“And some community service options,” I continue.
“He was at the community center yesterday,” she says, dropping her questions about my presence.
“Good, a head start will only help his image.” I make a note for later that he’s already started his community service.
“Did you put him in contact with them? Or someone on Mary’s team?”
“Not that I’m aware. Maybe his team arranged it.”
“Doubt it. They were throwing a fit in the conference room about him having to do community service in the first place.”
Surprised, I look back up at her. “How did you know he was there if you didn’t arrange it and no one told you?”
“He texted me.” She averts her gaze to the field where I see Chase is working out.
“What did he say?”
“That he met a girl.”
