Page 89 of The Coach

“It’s nice to meet you,” she says in a brisk tone. “I’m not thrilled about the circumstances that required this little meeting, but I’m happy to meet you all the same.”

“Pleasure is mine,” I reply, glancing at Lee again. “I’m sorry, you’re the new director?”

She tips her head in confirmation. “Unfortunately, this little matter with your relationship shouldn’t have been a problem at all, though we would have liked to have been in the loop, I’m sure. The real issue came to light when a disgruntled employee came to the dean here and told him the truth.”

I’m completely lost and have to look to Mr. Triller for an answer.

His face twitches, anger flashing on it for a brief second before he speaks. “It turns out that Mr. Brown was doing some unsavory things to help scouts get the inside scoop.” He clears his throat. “He was taking bribes to let them know which athletes were doing well, which had injuries and the like. Which, as you know, is intolerable.”

I raise my brows in surprise. “He was taking side money?”

“Yes,” Scarlett says. She taps her fingernail on the folder in front of her. “We have all the information here, which was being used by Kevin Johnson to blackmail him into firing you and hiring him as the head coach.”

I sit back in my chair, stunned at this new information that had come to light. I had trusted Ed, found a sort of friendship with him, and he was betraying everyone the entire time.

“So.” Mr. Triller clears his throat. “We hired Ms. Hynes here to come in and clean up this mess and become the Vapors’ new director.” He looks at me and gives me a nod. “Hopefully, with you as the head coach, we can finish this year strong, yes?”

I lift a brow in surprise, relief coursing through me, and give him a definitive nod. “Yes, sir.”

“And how did you know that?” I ask Devon, who sits across from me. We were at a local pub. He and Robin had come down for dinner to celebrate. I was still waiting for Mick to walk through that door.

“Because they would have been stupid to,” he retorts. How did he know they weren’t ever going to let me go?

“He’s not wrong. Your team is doing great,” Robin says, plucking a chip out of the basket and breaking it in two. “You’re probably going to beat Devon hands down.”

Devon gapes at his wife, pure shock written on his face, and I grin. “What the devil is wrong with you, woman?”

She glances at him with a smile and pats him on the face. “Aw, honey. I’m sorry.” She looks over at me and blocks her face from Devon, mouthing, “It’s true.”

I shake my head and laugh, taking a sip of my beer. I haven’t felt this light in a long time, and I was glad that I was able to finally take a breath.

“Hey, guys,” I hear her husky voice from behind me and turn to see Mick with a small smile on her face. I haven’t told her the news yet, and I can tell she’s still feeling guarded about the whole thing.

“Hey, hon.” I pull out the seat next to me, and she greets our friends while she sits, then she turns to me expectantly.

“Well?” Her eyes are swimming in uncertainty. I lean forward, wrapping my hand around her neck and pulling her lips to mine. I feel her relax into me, and I love that no matter what, she can still feel comfortable enough to let me take control.

When I pull back, she looks up at me, and I finally say, “I’m staying.”

Her eyes widen, hope and shock brimming in them. “You are?”

“I am.”

“We’re staying?” Her voice notches up a level, and I nod at her, surprised when her arms fly around my shoulders, and she’s practically in my lap. Her face is buried between my neck and shoulder, and I hold her to me tightly, so fucking grateful that this whole thing went our way. Because it really could have gone a million different ways, but sometimes the path is already written for you. You just have to have faith you’ll make it out on the other side.

“I love you, baby,” I say to her quietly, just for us.

She nods her head into my neck, and I feel wetness seeping into my shirt, her relief overwhelming her.

I just hold her tight, hoping that no matter what, no matter where, I can always be the one to hold her when she’s happy, sad, excited, and, well, you get the drift.

thirty-eight

MICK

The day had finally arrived. Graduation.

No more studying, no more buying textbooks, no more school headaches, no more classmates, professors, study groups.

---