I couldn’t care less about my reputation right now, but I am worried about his. If I could do anything in this moment, it’d be to protect Emmett.
“What do you want?” I finally ask.
“You know exactly what I want. Name me president and I won’t say a word.”
“You’re blackmailing me? Seriously?”
“That’s a strong word, Reese. All I’m suggesting is you name me president so those pictures won’t go anywhere. Monty keeps his job, but you’ll step back. You’ll still be the owner, of course. No one can take that from you.” Scott uses his hands to imitate that he was reading off a marquee sign. “The first female team owner in the league. Geez. What a bad look, Reese. Way to represent women in sports, or whatever the hell you thought you were doing.”
He pushes the envelope toward me. “Go ahead and keep those. I have more.”
I think I’m going to be sick.
“Don’t look so sad about this,” he continues. “We’ll have an advisory board meeting tomorrow. We’ll call for a vote. Make it look like an in-house decision for you to step down and for me to take over. Or...” He tilts his head from side to side, as if he were contemplating another option. “Those photos get leaked to the right people. We both know by now there’s plenty of media sources who aren’t your biggest fan. They’ll get the word out. Then it’s good luck to you in hopes of ever being taken seriously again.”
Scott takes a deep breath, a satisfied grin on his mouth as he says, “Do the right thing for the team, Reese. You’re a liability at this point.”
Then he exits my office, leaving me alone with an impossible decision to make.
40
Emmett
I have to tell her. I should’ve done it last night.
Shit, I should’ve done it weeks ago.
Reese should know that I’m in love with her.
Sure, there’s a good chance she already knows, but she should hear it from me. I’ve learned that life is too short not to tell people that you love them.
Reese had to leave the wedding venue early this morning to get to work, but I needed to stay back and make sure everything was cleaned up and paid for. As she sat at the end of the mattress we slept on last night, buckling the strap on her high heel, I almost told her then.
I swallowed the words down, though. It didn’t feel big enough. It didn’t feel special enough to tell her while she was getting ready for work, and I was lying naked in the bed we shared the night before.
I almost said fuck it and told her when I walked her to her car, but then a couple of my players passed by and ruined the moment.
But as soon as she drove away, I regretted not telling her. At this point, she just needs to know. And truthfully, I can’t think of a better place to tell her than at the field. So that’s where I am. On the team’s day off. I’m just going to pop in and let her know that I’m in love with her.
I take the elevator to the top floor where her office is. It’s a Tuesday, so even though the team is off today, everyone else from the front office is here to work.
A normal day for all of them.
I couldn’t tell you the last time one of my days felt normal or mundane. Life is exponentially brighter lately and today feels like another one of those vibrant days. Even more so after last night.
I turn into Reese’s office, passing the vacant reception desk, only to find her office empty too. Her bag is here, hanging on the hook on the wall. There’s a full mug of coffee sitting on her desk, but it looks cold at this point.
I give it a few minutes, waiting for her to come back from wherever she ran off to, but soon the silence becomes more than I can handle, and I decide to go in search of her instead.
There’s only one other place she could be, especially on a day the players aren’t here.
Taking the elevator to the clubhouse level, I walk down the tunnel that leads to the dugout. Glancing to the right, two red-bottom heels stick out past the partition, legs stretched over the bench, ankles crossed. Turning the corner, I find Reese sitting on the ledge where I’ve found her so many times before.
Her attention shoots to me immediately. “Emmett.” There’s an edge of panic in her voice. “What are you doing here?”
I step forward, shins to the bench, getting as close to her as I can, but she pulls her legs back as I do.
“I need to tell you something, Reese.”
