“Anything else?” I ask.
“Yes. You will also need to do community service,” Gabrielle answers me directly.
“More than setting up and sponsoring a charity?” George looks at her in disbelief.
“When is he going to do this? He has to focus on his conditioning and the game,” Tom reminds her like we all forgot I was here to play ball.
“I’m aware. But this is the price he must pay. You’ll need to keep his schedule tight with all the competing priorities. He’s to perform community service both here in Nashville and occasionally on the road. And he’ll continue to support his teammates at their charitable events as well.” Gabrielle doesn’t back down.
“He’ll only miss the games mandated by a league suspension. I expect you to be on time and show up for all training, practices, and workouts.” Ben throws his authority behind her, reiterating my position and responsibility to the team. “And I imagine your captains will also hand down their own punishments.”
“Oh, they sure will,” Taylor laughs, “Preston said you’re running laps and on clean-up duty for at least a month.”
“Coach Crenshaw is also thinking of his punishment. Though hopefully the conditions we’ve already outlined today will be enough for him.” What Bree says next is like a punch to the gut. “You’ve disappointed a lot of people with your choices last night. Coach, Fields, Miller, the people in this room. They won’t forgive this easily, so I hope you’re up for the challenge of making this right.”
My arm falls to my lap. I dig my fingers into my thighs to keep myself in control. The blow is painful, especially coming from her. She may as well have reached into my chest and ripped my heart out.
“I will. I’ll do every single thing you just said and more if I have to. This was a one-time lapse in judgment. I regret it, like I said, and I’ll do everything I can to prove that to you. To all of you. I understand you don’t have to give me this chance. You could turn me over to the cops and wash your hands of me. Coach warned me to keep my head clean and to stay out of trouble. I broke his trust—all your trust. It won’t happen again.”
“That’s what we like to hear.” Grant stands and walks over to me. I push up from my chair and shake his hand.
“Thank you, sir. I won’t let you down.”
“I’m counting on it.” He turns, nods at Bree and Ben, then exits the conference room with Mark and Ricardo right behind him.
“Mary, let’s go over the statement and talk logistics.” Taylor pushes her chair back, then gets to her feet before addressing me. “Chase, we’ll be in touch. Think of what charity you’d like to start and animals you like. Horses included,” she winks at me, squeezes Bree’s forearm, and leaves the room. Mary from PR follows closely behind her. Bree avoids eye contact, talking quietly with Ben as they exit the room, leaving me alone with George and Tom.
“I can’t believe they expect you to do community service, keep up with your training, and not miss any games,” Tom chuffs. He’s a prick, but I’ve never had to deal with him much.
“I’ll do whatever they tell me to. I fucked up,” I remind him. The worst part of all this is disappointing Coach and my captains. Bree knew that, which is why she said it.
George and Tom shake my hand and leave the conference room, going over next steps as they walk out. They’ll let me know what I need to do or where I need to show up. Leaving the conference room, I slowly walk down the hallway when I notice Bree’s door is open. She’s inside talking to someone, but I only hear pieces of the conversation.
I lean my shoulder against the open doorway, taking in her profile. She’s looking out the window over the field with her phone pressed to one ear. Her golden-brown hair is pulled back into one of those claw clips, tendrils fall loose around her face. Her dress forms to her body, cutting off just above the knees and showing off her toned calves. The stilettos on her feet have me wondering how they would feel wrapped around my hips and digging into my ass as I thrust into her sweet pussy.
I cross my legs to hide the hard-on that vision conjures. I need to stop that train of thought immediately. I’m here to make amends, not fuck her. Even if I’m desperate to do so. Against thewindows. The desk. The floor. Her riding me in the chair. Against the door. So many available surfaces in this office.
“Thank you. I really appreciate your willingness to work with us.” She catches sight of me in her peripheral vision. Turning to me fully, she wraps up her call. “I’ll wait for the agreement from you after you confirm with his counsel. Yes, we’ll have your office out in a suite for a game. Thanks again.” She hangs up the phone, turning to walk behind her desk. A physical barrier of sorts.
“You’re beautiful when you work, Princess,” I say, pushing off the wall.
“Is there something I can help you with?” Maybe I shouldn’t have called her princess. After witnessing what happened with Mark and Ricardo, I better understand why it’s so important to her to keep our distance. She’s clearly battling a lot in this office.
“I just wanted to see if we were okay. And to check on you.” I walk deeper into her office, taking in the way the sunlight hits her face. Her makeup is light, but she doesn’t need it. Her natural beauty is more potent than any product she could put on her face. Her blue eyes sparkle in the light, stealing my breath the same way they did all those months ago. The draw between us is impossible to ignore.
“I’m fine. No need to check on me.” She’s strong. Stubborn. But I saw the way her hands shook and her skin flushed at the way those men spoke to her. I saw the uncertainty when Mark tried to shut her down.
“You don’t always have to be so put together, Princess. It’s okay to let someone in.”
“Oh, like I did with you the other day? And how did that go? Let’s see, the overgrown man child got drunk downtown on his one teeny tiny break from big boy responsibility and stole a goddamn police horse, got arrested, and made me come back from my trip to save his ass? That guy?”
Yikes. She’s big mad. She rounds her desk and slams the door shut. When she turns back to me, the fire has turned to ice. Shedoesn’t give me a chance to respond before she tears into me again.
“I don’t even know you.” I try to interrupt, but she raises her hand to shut me up. “The man I met in St. John was charming and fun. He appeared older than you actually are. Let’s be real, there wasn’t a lot of talking. He rocked my world, and I ran away in the morning. I don’t do one-night stands. I don’t do spontaneous rendezvous with anyone, especially not a younger man. Not a cocksure baseball player that could cost me my job.” She glares at me pointedly. “So no, I won’t be letting you in. I don’t trust you. You made it clear Ican’ttrust you. I appreciate you standing up for me in there, but you really shouldn’t have. You’re in enough trouble right now, and putting the spotlight on any potential connection between us could make it even worse.”
“I won’t apologize for putting that prick in his place. Someone else should have spoken up instead of me. I wasn’t going to sit there and let him disrespect you any longer. And there may not have been a lot of talking during our time together, but don’t cheapen it. You saw the real me. That was who I am. Outside of the game. Outside of the public eye. Last night was a mistake. One made infinitely worse because it’s making you look at me differently. It kills me to have disappointed you and to make your life more difficult. Seeing you look at me like I’ve let you down was a knife to the heart. I’ll work nonstop to never see that again.” She doesn’t realize it, but her body has gravitated toward me during my speech. She’s close enough to touch, so I do. I can’t help myself when it comes to her.
Reaching out, I grasp her hand and pull her closer, toe to toe. “Please just give me another chance to be your friend, Bree.”
