The wordbabysettles over me like a warm blanket. I’ll never get enough of Silas calling me pet names.
My phone buzzes with photos from throughout the day. Mollie caught a shot of Dad laughing at something Hunter said. Ivy snapped one of Silas and me working in tandem, not looking at each other but perfectly synchronized. Sableorchestrated a group shot with everyone crowded into frame, sweaty and tired and genuinely happy.
This is what belonging looks like. Not the desperate kind where you earn your place through service, but the real kind where people choose to show up because you matter to them.
"I love our life," I tell Silas, meaning it completely.
"Me too," he says, pressing a kiss to my temple.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Silas
The sound of my fingers drumming on the conference room table is too loud. Scout reaches over and stops my hand, shooting me a look.Behave, she tells me with her eyes.
I swallow and nod at her. This is the least comfortable I've ever been. I'm offering myself up to HR as a sacrifice. My career here is on the line. But it's worth it to protect Scout, if that's what needs to be done. I squeeze her hand and she smiles at me.
Those moss-green eyes and dark honey brown waves could get me to do anything. If she asked, which I doubt she would.
There's a reason I begged her to let me do all the talking in this meeting.
We sit across from the team's general manager Jared Duke, the head of HR, and the team's legal counsel. I try not to fidget with the water bottle they've placed in front of me. My suit feels too tight even though I had it tailored last month. I tug at the collar, feeling constricted in dress clothes. I'm used to hoodies and joggers, not this corporate armor. Mydirty blond hair is pulled back in a low bun, trying to look professional, but I can feel strands falling loose. This isn't a disciplinary meeting, but it feels like one anyway.
"We appreciate you coming to us directly," Jared says. He's got that politician smile that could mean anything. "Why don't you tell us what this is about?"
I straighten my shoulders. "Scout Nash and I are in a relationship. It's consensual, it's serious, and I want everything documented properly so there's no question about propriety or her position with the team."
The HR director, a woman named Patricia who always wears pearls, makes a note on her tablet. "How long has this been going on?"
Scout's eyes find mine. I squeeze her hand again.
"Officially? About two weeks. Unofficially? We've had feelings for each other longer than that."
"And Ms. Nash, you work as a gopher, correct?" the legal counsel asks. His name is Marcus and he looks like he bills eight hundred dollars an hour just to frown at people.
It's hard not to scowl at him. "Scout runs the Mobility Monday program now. She also assists with player wellness and recovery protocols."
"We're just gathering all the information." Patricia pulls something up on her screen. "It says here, Ms. Nash, you were assigned as Mr. Huxley's temporary caregiver after his surgery?"
"That ended before we got together romantically," I say quickly. It's mostly true. We were already involved through the app, but they don't need those details.
Jared leans back in his chair. "Silas, I'm going to be direct. This creates some complications. Not insurmountable ones, but complications nonetheless."
"I'm aware." I resist the urge to pull at my collar.
"Are you?" Marcus interjects. "The optics alone could be problematic. Professional athlete and team employee. There's an inherent power imbalance."
My jaw tightens. "She doesn't work for me. She doesn't report to me. Her job has nothing to do with my performance or position on the team."
"But you have influence," Patricia points out. "Your status with the team. Your relationship with management and other players. These things matter."
"That's why I'm here. I want everything above board. Whatever paperwork needs to be filed, whatever disclosures need to be made, I'll do it. If there are problems, I want to handle them properly."
Jared studies me for a long moment. "And you, Ms. Nash? You agree to disclosure?"
"Yes." She nods. "We discussed it together."
"And if we determine that one of you needs to change positions or departments?"
