“Gabrielle,” Chase growls.
“Prank or not, it’s how the law—,” I respond but Chase cuts me off.
“Her name is Gabrielle,” he says through a clenched jaw. I whip my head in his direction. “Not Gabriel. Not Gabe. Gabrielle.” My skin prickles at the anger and protectiveness in his tone.
“I beg your pardon, son.” Ricardo spins his outrage on Chase. Guess, he’s not “his boy” after all.
“No. You will show her the respect she deserves, or you don’t speak to her at all.” Chase glances at me, and I watch the realization click into place. He knows this is one of the men I was alluding to harassing me during breakfast a few days again. Oh shit. This isn’t good.
“It’s fine,” I say, trying to diffuse the situation. I’ve dealt with Ricardo’s bullshit longer than I should have, but Chase going in on him is going to make everything worse. He’s in enough trouble. If he doesn’t stop, not only will this be used against him, it’ll also start rumors about us.
“It’s not fine.” The finality in his voice has me flushing. It’s hot. Way hotter than it should be. All eyes are on us in this room, and I can’t bring myself to look away.
Images of our time together play in my mind.
Images of him claiming me here in front of all these people make me sweat.
I shouldn’t want him, but I do.
So much that I’m about to throw it all away and let him make this situation even messier.
I glare at Bree. How could she think this is okay? “I’ve heard you call Gabrielle by the wrong name several times. It took me far too long to put the pieces together that it’s her you’ve been talking about around the team. It ends now.” The disrespect he has for her inside this room and out on the field is concerning. I’ve heard him say terrible things about her to anyone who will listen.
How I didn’t realize he wasn’t talking about a man name Gabriel and instead was going off about Gabrielle—my Bree—has me kicking myself. This guy is a scumbag. He may have helped get me here, but any loyalty I might’ve felt toward him evaporated the moment he opened his mouth when she walked into this conference room.
“Chase is right,” Grant says, cutting through the tension. “Ricardo, you show Gabrielle the respect she deserves. The respect she has earned and the same respect due to every member of this staff, or you leave now.” Ricardo attempts to speak again but Grant silences him. “Sit there and keep your mouth shut until this meeting is over.”
“Gabrielle, please continue what you were saying. We’re interested to hear about your conversation with the district attorney,” George speaks up from beside me. Bree takes a drink of the water in front of her and clears her throat.
“Right, as I was saying. The officers had good things to sayabout your encounter with them. As Mark mentioned, Coach Crenshaw also has favorable things to say about your contributions to the team. We think this is an opportunity to rehabilitate your image and show your dedication to the team and community.”
“How would we do that?” Tom questions from my other side. The first time he’s spoken since this meeting started.
Taylor fields the question this time. “We start with Chase picking a charity. A local one. Preferably something with animals given the subject of your crime.” She contains her laughter, but I catch the twitch in her smile.
“The irony is clever. I’ll give you that,” Tom says, also concealing his laugh. If the charges weren’t so steep, I’m sure we’d all get a good laugh out of this. Maybe one day. I definitely didn’t think stealing a horse would be such a big deal. That’s what I get for drinking so much.
“Okay and in exchange for picking a charity, what else happens? They just drop the charges?” George speaks again. They’re like a ping-pong ball going back and forth.
“Not exactly,” Gabrielle responds with a slight chuckle. “There are more conditions.”
“Let’s hear them.” I lean back, focusing my full attention on her. I prop my elbow on the arm of the chair and rests my thumb beneath my chin, rubbing my index finger along my lips. Seeing her in command of the room is a fucking turn on. Her eyes fall to my mouth, and I smirk, knowing she feels it too.
Was it the fact I stood up for her and put Ricardo in his place? Or is it just the undeniable chemistry between us?
I saw the flush in her cheeks and the slight movement in her chair after my correction of Ricardo’s attitude. My girl likes my possessive streak.I have to stop thinking of her as mine, especially right now. We agreed to be just friends. She probably doesn’t even want to be my friend at all anymore.
“First, like Taylor said, we pick a local charity focused on animals. That will be the biggest undertaking, and it will need tohappen in the next month and a half. Before September and the playoff run.” I nod and she continues. “Second, the DA is willing to make a deal contingent on fulfillment of all these conditions. They will reduce the charges, taking the felony and jail time off the table. Under this plea arrangement, you’ll pay a fine, make a donation to the Metro Police Department Horse Mounted Patrol Unit, and we’ll host them at the ballpark for a game this season. You’ll take pictures with them and one of the officers will throw out the first pitch, which you will catch. Not Miller.”
“Your grand plan is to make this a spectacle?” Mark’s condescending tone is like a bucket of ice over Bree’s head. Her entire demeanor changes as she shuts down. I’m seconds away from putting my fist down his throat when Taylor addresses him.
“The point is to lean into the problem instead of running from it.” If looks could kill, that man would be dead. I like her. “Everyone understands this was a nonviolent offense that went viral lending toward comedic rather than serious. Instead of using Chase to make an example in a bad way, we use the stunt to raise awareness for the valuable service the horse unit brings to the police department. Instead of mocking them, we lean heavily on involvement and support of our local law enforcement. It looks good for him, and it looks good for the organization.”
Mark looks like he sucked on a lemon, but keeps his mouth shut.
“Brilliant,” Grant smiles at Taylor. “I like it. We strengthen our ties to the community while also endearing ourselves to the fanbase.”
“Exactly,” Taylor blushes and they exchange a look. Does Taylor have the hots for Grant? Interesting development.
