Page 122 of Renegade Ruin

I hope he knows this isn’t me shutting him out. There is no way he can be here without outing our relationship, and I can’t add that to the clusterfuck right now.

Graham’s office door clicks shut, and I let out a weighted breath as I sink into the chair, praying for relief. It doesn’t come. We might be away from prying eyes and questions, but it does nothing to assuage the pressure from the elephant that has stomped on my chest. I close my eyes and cross my arms, my fingers drawing small circles over the skin of my biceps in an attempt to ground myself.

“Willow.” Graham's voice is soft, yet stern in a way I didn’t expect.

When I open my eyes, I see he’s standing with his hands on his desk, eyes narrowed on me. “I have to ask. You didn’t leak your plans, did you?”

My brows shoot up and I visibly shrink back. “No. Why the hell would I do that?”

He lets out a heavy sigh and softens. “I didn’t think so, but I know the board disagreed and releasing the plans so that they had to acknowledge them is exactly something your father would do.”

He would? It didn’t sound like the man I knew. Then again, maybe I truly didn’t know him at all. Is this one of the skeletons in the closet the board mentioned? Are there more?

Graham lifts a hand and runs it through his short salt and pepper hair. “Fuck, this is bad.”

“Which part?” I don’t recognize my own voice. It’s hollow. Defeated. An extension of my broken heart.

“All of it. They are framing you as reckless and irresponsible. At the same time, they are tarnishing your name through attacking your father.”

“You don’t think he?—”

“No. There’s no way in hell your father would fuck with the integrity of the game.”Graham has never been one to curse in front of me. To his team? Absolutely. But never in my presence. I’ve always known him to keep cool, calm, and collected no matter what has been thrown his way.

But at this moment? He’s just as shaken as I am.

“They have evidence,” I state, clinging to the minuscule facts we have.

“Allegedly,” Nikki pipes up from where she leaned against the wall by the door. She’s got her phone in her hand, still scrolling as she crosses the room and claims the seat beside me. “We haven’t seen the proof, and they haven’t released it yet.”

“But they have it,”Graham argues. “They wouldn’t have brought it up if they weren’t certain. No one would dare go after Richard York unless they had irrefutable proof.”

He’s right. Me? Absolutely, they’d go after me. But my father has been a beloved member of this league for years. And after the crash, they would have to be crazy to tarnish his legacy.

“It doesn’t matter,” I whisper, realization setting in. Both sets of eyes focus on me, waiting for me to continue. “The damage is done. Whoever released this information, regardless if it’s true or not, has gotten exactly what they wanted. Even if my father is proven innocent, there will always be the question of if it actually happened. We’ve seen how allegations of cheating have ruined teams in the past. Especially if action wasn’t taken within the organization to rectify the claims. I don’t know who leaked the information, but the damage has been done. And by leaking my plans, which I am sure will happen in the next hour, I’ll be the daughter who took over and attempted to run the team into the ground.”.

“Your plans were sound, Willow. Just because a bunch of bastards didn’t like them doesn’t mean?—”

“It doesn’t matter!” I yell, cutting Graham off. Leaping from my chair, I nearly knock it over. My body hums with the need to do something—anything—to stave off the soul-crushing weight of my life falling apart.

One foot in front of the other, I begin to pace the length of the office. My hands pump open and closed, searching for something tangible to grasp.

Graham and Nikki watch me with matching concern as I try to work out what I’m feeling.

Anger. Fear. Distraught. Helplessness.

All things I promised I wouldn’t give to the people who doubted me. But I’m running on fumes. I can’t fake it anymore. I’m done playing their game. I’ve done nothing but try to make this team not only my home, but a home for everyone—the team, my staff, the fans—and while so many have been appreciative, it’s not enough to sway those who protect the status quo.

There will always be something. Sleeping dogs will never lie. Because I’m not who they want.

Tears prick the corner of my eyes, and as much as I want to let them fall, once again I force them away. After all, there is no crying in baseball.

I swallow past the lump in my throat and stop mid pace to turn toward Graham and Nikki. Grabbing on to the tiny sliver of strength I have left, I relax my shoulders and exhale. “They—this is what they wanted. This is—I’m exhausted. So, if this is what they want, then they can have the team. I’m not going to watch my father’s legacy fold like a house of cards because of me. Even if the allegations are true, they will look past it because he’s dead. The blame will fall on me.”

“But you didn’t know.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

He’s right. I didn’t know, and I might not have any proof that this was a power move by the board, but my gut is telling me it is. I provoked them with my plans, and they retaliated.

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