Page 67 of The Slapshot and the Single Mom
Tears prick at my eyes again, and I blink them away, not wanting to cry anymore. “When did you talk to Molly?”
Pulling out his phone, he glances at the time. “Uh, about four hours ago or so.”
A laugh bursts out of me, but it’s more relief than anything. This isn’t a plan he’s been sitting on for ages, just waiting for me to crack. He just hatched it today. Or at least very recently.Andhe apparently talked to her before he called me. “Is that why you called this afternoon? To tell me to send my resume to Molly?”
He nods, and I let my head drop to his chest, shaking it slowly. I could’ve saved myself all this heartache if I’d just let him tell me why he called first. But I was so sure it was just plans for our next date night, and I couldn’t let him get excited about that or pretend to be excited myself when I knew I needed to rip off the Band-Aid. That I needed to break up with him before I got fired after my last lead for a job in my field shriveled up and died.
Of course, if Brock was going to fire me for not feeding him intel on Jack and the Emeralds, he’d likely fire me for not being able to do that anymore too. My next plan was to start looking for any kind of office job that paid enough in the area while also expanding my search radius for other jobs outside of Seattle. But maybe I won’t have to do that after all …
“Okay,” I say into Jack’s chest.
“What?” His chest rumbles with the question, and I lift my head.
“Okay,” I repeat. “I’ll send my resume to Molly. And I’ll give Brock my two weeks’ notice. He might just fire me on the spot, of course, but maybe not. I can’t keep working for him, though.”
“Thank fucking god,” Jack breathes, wrapping me in a bone crushing hug. “I hate that guy so fucking much. I’ll get on the phone with my lawyer first thing and let him know to move forward with the defamation suit.” He takes a half step back,holding me at arms’ length. “And you’ll send Molly your resume tonight.”
Laughing, I nod. “I have to update it, but I’ll send it to her as soon as it’s done.”
“Good.” He pulls out his phone and taps a few buttons. “There. I sent you her email.” He points at me. “Tonight.”
Still giggling, I straighten my spine and bring my hand to my forehead in a salute. “Yes, sir.”
He narrows his eyes and opens his mouth to say something, but then his gaze shifts behind me, and I turn to see Liam standing in the door. He glances from Jack to me, his face a mix of curiosity and suspicion. “Is everything okay, Mom?”
Turning, I reach for him, and he lets me pull him into a hug, his slim arms wrapping around my waist. “Yeah, bud. Everything’s okay.”
“Did Jack apologize for hurting your feelings?”
I pull back, looking down at him curiously. “What makes you think Jack hurt my feelings?”
He shrugs. “You were crying a lot. I only cry like that when my feelings get hurt.” He screws up his face. “My friend Landon cried a lot when his dog died. If I had a dog, I might cry like that if my dog died too. But we don’t have a dog, so …” He ends with another shrug.
Laughing lightly, I hug him again and drop a kiss on his forehead. “Jack didn’t do anything that hurt my feelings, but he did come to fix the thing that was making me cry.”
I hold my breath, waiting for him to press about what was making me cry, but he just says, “Okay.” Then he steps out of my embrace, a sly look coming into his eyes as he glances between Jack and me again. “Can Jack take us to get ice cream then?”
Looking at Jack, I can’t help laughing. Jack’s grinning, too. “I think your mom needs to send an email real quick first. But after that? Absolutely.”
He shoots me a meaningful look that has me nodding and holding up my hands in surrender. “I told you that I need to update my resume first. It might take a few minutes.”
“Well, you better hurry then. Liam and I are waiting.”
I know he just means for ice cream, but the truth is, Liam needs me to have a better job. A more secure job. And if updating and sending my resume tonight is how to make that happen, then that’s what I’ll do.
I’ve been applying to jobs for weeks and hoping for a miracle—hoping the rumors Kyle spread about me would’ve died down enough for me to get hired back on at the network that produces his show or that I could find something at one of the local news stations. Even though social media has been my focus since I graduated, I do have a degree in broadcast journalism. I have the credentials to work on the sports desk for any local news channel. I don’t have the experience, though, and that’s a problem.
But now, here comes Jack to save the day once again. Or at least to give me the opening I need to be able to save myself. And in the process, to saveus.
“Thank you,” I mouth to him, and he grins, nodding.
“You’re welcome,” he mouths back. Then to Liam he says, “Is there a park around here? Why don’t you grab your basketball, and we can shoot some hoops until your mom’s ready to go?”
“Can I, Mom?” Liam asks.
“That sounds great. Run and grab your basketball. We’ll wait for you right here, and you can show Jack where the park is.”
“Okay!” He slams through the door, running into our apartment.
