SWNOVELS The Red Zone: Chapter 27
“I’M sure the two of you are aware of the reason I called you into my office…” Lea paced the small space behind her glass desk with her arms crossed tightly in front of her. She had yet to make eye contact with either of us which was concerning to say the least.
Abel and I twisted our heads to look at each other, both of us sporting squished brows and subtle frowns. I shrugged my shoulders in response to our seemingly mutual confusion whereas Abel shook his head slightly before staring down at the ground like a sad puppy.
“Seriously,” Lea barked, raising her voice like my mother did when I was a teenager. “Neither of you have any idea why you’ve been called to my office?”
A painfully long moment of silence passed between the three of us.
“You’re surprising us with raises?” I offered hopefully.
At long last, Lea paused her steps and whirled around to face us and her piercing green eyes darted over to me. The tense smile she gave us as she clasped the edge of her desk so tightly her knuckles went white was more terrifying than I expected it to be.
The only thing I knew for certain at this moment was that whatever we were in here for wasn’t positive.
I’d heard about Lea’s wrath before by some of the teammates who frequented her office because of the dumb shit they publicly got themselves into. Most of them were rookies who thought they were invincible after getting their sign on bonus or that first game check. Don’t let that fool you though, there were still a few seasoned vets who acted like dumbasses to stay relevant.
“Raises? You think that the two of you are first in line for raises after the stunts you’ve pulled recently?” She flailed her arms at her sides before returning them to their crossed stance. “You… punching a world rebounded fashion icon at a charity event for a pediatric oncology facility… really?”
“In my defense…”
“Save it.” She closed her eyes firmly and held up a hand to stop Abel. “This is not a courtroom. You’re not getting time for a rebuttal. But I am curious to know how you were planning to talk your way out of punching someone at a freaking charity event.”
Shit, me too.
Sure, he was coming to the aid of someone who was practically his sister-in-law, but somehow, I don’t think that would’ve sufficed as a reasonable answer from Lea’s standpoint. Granted, I saw an article about that Gordon guy getting arrested for child exploitation a couple of days after the event. I could confidently say that I didn’t feel an ounce of sympathy for the fucker for what he did to Mae, but the news of his arrest really solidified it.
My muscles went rigid and jaw tightened as I let out a heavy sigh at the reminder of how his presence had turned Mae into this… shell of her usual self. She did nothing—nothing—to deserve that. She was a fucking kid while she was working for him for Christ’s sake. He thought he could just take thousands of dollars from her pockets and use that dirty money to fund his nasty porn addiction.
Fucking disgusting.
Abel shot me a confused look and I shook my head in response, trying to will down the rage that was simmering beneath my skin. Now was not the time to get riled up, especially with whatever bullshit Lea was about to lay into me for.
“And you… breaking a man’s hand? What were you thinking?”
There it was. Almost like she read my mind.
“I told him not to touch Mae and he kept trying to get handsy with her… can you blame me?”
“No, I don’t blame you, but did you really have to take it that far?”
“If it helps, I told him I was going to do it beforehand.”
Lea pinned me with a stare so intense it made my stomach drop. “So, with that logic, robbing a bank is okay as long as you tell the clerks you’re going to do it first?”
I—
The silence on my end was more telling than I’d like to admit.
See, Lea had this way of making you think that you got the upper hand for a few seconds—just long enough to build up your confidence—before coming in with an opposing viewpoint that sucker punched you in the gut. Mae might’ve picked up on a few of Lea’s tricks and tactics in the recent years since they’d become friends, but she’d never quite mastered this technique, and for that I was grateful. Otherwise, she’d be too damn smart for my own good.
“Exactly what I thought.” A pleased smirk played on her lips for a brief moment before she schooled her expression. “The two of you are going to go on a public apology tour.” Her voice was stern as she continued. “Abel, I’ve set up an interview for you with Jameson on Monday morning. I’ll email you the questions he’ll be asking and the answers that you need to respond with. And for the love of God, try not to use the word ‘fuck’ in every other sentence.”
“What if I—”
“What part of no rebuttals did you misunderstand? I thought you were smarter than that,” she barked. Abel slumped back into his chair with his chin tucked against his chest mumbling the curse he was just forbidden from saying under his breath.
I will say one thing about Lea, though, it was damn fun to watch the woman have so much power she could bring a man double her size to his knees in a few sentences. The girl was a menace and she wasn’t afraid to use it to her advantage when necessary.
“And you, October… you’ll be paying any medical bills for that guys injury.”
Seemed easy enough.
“And you’ll be issuing a personal apology to him, along with season tickets that will be paid for out of your next game check.”
Ouch.
Looks like I spoke too soon.
“Any questions?”
“Why—’
She cut Abel off. “Good. So, I’ll see you both tomorrow at Friday night dinner, yeah?” Her tone reverted back to its usual calm, feminine sound.
Her entire demeanor changed and the typical happy-go-lucky Lea who walked around the practice facility and came over to the house to hang out with Mae on occasion came out of nowhere.
“You just scared us within an inch of our life and now you’re asking us about Friday night dinner?” My brows knitted together.
“Yeah, pretty much.” She shrugged nonchalantly while giving me a pinched expression like I was the one who was asking the irrational question.
“Red and I are looking forward to it,” Abel said as he got up from his seat.
“Want me to bring anything?”
Abel shook her head, because we all knew Scarlett would undoubtedly make some crazy five-course meal, plus appetizers for everyone to graze on beforehand.
Saying his goodbyes, Abel headed out the door and down the hall, meanwhile Lea was shuffling me out of my chair and through the doorway like a drill sergeant. Without looking to see who was behind us, she called out my teammates name. “Fortune! My office, please.”
I twisted over my shoulder to see him and a few other teammates walking past Coach’s office down the hall. I bared my teeth at him in warning and his eyes widened before he slowed his pace, briefly pausing to talk to another player who was passing by.
“I saw that,” she grumbled in a snarky tone.
“You ever going to ask him out, or what?”
The guy was an attractive looking dude—six-foot-four, jet black hair and a chiseled jawline. My opinion didn’t matter much, but the two of them would make a good-looking couple.
“You ever going to admit to yourself that you’re in love with Mae?” She glanced up at me with a popped brow, but I tried to keep my face as impassive as possible.
Touché, Miss Sterling.
There wasn’t a chance in the world I was going to confess my feelings for Mae to another person before she heard them from my mouth herself. Now that we were officially together, I’d been contemplating how to go about it for days. Was I supposed to ask her out on a date, or would that be too formal? Telling her mid-sex probably wasn’t the brightest idea either. The more I thought about it, the more I got in my head, trying to talk myself out of doing anything.
Maybe if I stopped stressing over it the right time would come naturally. Exactly how it was supposed to.
“Back to your original question… even if I wanted to go on a date with him—which I don’t.” Lea looked up, pinning me with a stern look. “You know I couldn’t.”
“Oh yeah, how could I forget that Daddy’s little princess is forbidden from dating the players.” An amused laugh spilled past my lips at the reminder. “The real question though, is whether or not Coach is trying to keep you away from the players or the players away from you?”
Lea in her own right was terrifying—in a demented, yet maternal way—but Coach Sterling? Sure, the guy could be stern when he needed to be, but everyone knew he was secretly a softie. Somehow the man was the only person on earth who unnerved her.
His intentions made sense—hell, I wouldn’t trust half these players with my daughter if I was their coach either. And maybe I was overreaching here, but I had a feeling she wasn’t willing to risk ruining the “picture perfect daughter” persona that her father clearly had of her.
Maybe I was right. Maybe I was wrong.
Either way, I had a feeling if she and Fortune got locked in a room together for more than five minutes they’d come out with disheveled hair and swollen lips.
“Unless you want to find out the hard way by being on the tail end of a rumor that you tried asking me out, I suggest you run along to the showers like a good boy.” She pinched my cheeks with a wicked smile that made my stomach drop. “See you tomorrow.” She perked up with an ornery smile before calling Fortune’s name again and urging him into her office.
The girl was some kind of shape shifter, I swear.