Page 50 of (La)Crosse My Heart

I walk forward, breathing in and out slowly to calm my nerves.

Knocking on the door, I enter when I hear Daphne tell me to come in.

“Ah, Jessa. Thank you for coming. I just need you to sign a few papers and then we can move on.”

I can only nod, because I’ll probably cry if I say anything right now.

I sit down at the table and read through the documents.

“You can just sign down at the bottom. I’ve got a lot to do today.”

“You’re firing me. The least I can do is read through and make sure I’m not in default of anything else.”

Daphne’s glare is icy, but I go back to reading the document. It’s both petty and for my protection, so I’m going to continue this for as long as possible.

There’s a knock on the door and I turn, curious who it is.

I didn’t expect the guy from the elevator to be there.

“Come in, sir.”

“Actually, can I have you come to my office for a moment? Jessa, if you’ll just stay here, we’ll be with you in a moment.”

I’m confused by this sudden interruption, but I guess I’ll continue to read the papers, so I’m not anxious with Daphne breathing down my neck.

At least fifteen minutes tick by and I’ve finished reading everything there. I lift the pen and get ready to sign at the bottom. At least there’s no non-compete clause.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Jessa.” I turn to see the guy from the elevator again. “I apologize for the inconvenience you’ve had. You’re good to go.”

I point to the papers. “I came here to sign my exit papers.”

He nods and walks over to sit on the edge of the desk, facing me. “There was a mix-up with that. It seems Daphne fired you under the wrong circumstances. She’s no longer with the company.”

I blink a few times, trying to figure out what he means. Her stuff is all here.

As if on cue, she walks in with a cardboard box that says copy paper on the outside and starts putting stuff from her desk into it.

I stand, walking out into the hallway. “So, you’re not firing me?”

“Absolutely not. I got a call letting me know everything that has happened in the last couple of days and you’re good to go. It sounds like you’ve done amazing work with our star lacrosse player, so I’ll have someone reach out with your next project.”

I frown. “Clark wasn’t exactly a project. And I don’t know if he’s all the way done.”

“What are you saying?” he asks.

“I’m saying that I don’t know if I want to work with anyone else in that capacity while in this organization.”

He folds his arms over his chest and says, “Okay, is there something you’d rather do? We have an opening for Daphne’s spot.” He gives me a small smile.

Shaking my head, I say, “I don’t have the experience or stress capacity that would work for a job like that.”

“If you don’t want to onboard new hires, and you’d rather not continue work with Athlete Image, is there something you’d like to do?”

“Why are you trying to keep me on so bad?”

“From everything I’ve learned about your help with the lacrosse club, we need more people like you. I may be the owner of this company, but I care about making sure we have quality people at every level, which is why Daphne got the boot today.”

I freeze, putting together all the pieces in my brain. He’d said his name is Ollie, but I hadn’t focused on the last name. Ollie Stockton. Owner of Stockton Media Group.

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