Page 68 of The Slapshot and the Single Mom
“Seriously,” I say to Jack. “This is …” I have to blink away a fresh wave of tears.
He clicks his tongue. “Hey, now. No more of that. I’ll entertain Liam while you send off your resume. Molly’ll have you in for an interview, and you’ll have a new job before you know it.”
“God, I hope it’ll be that easy.”
“It will be,” he murmurs, reaching behind me to pull the door firmly closed, then wrapping me in his arms. “I promise. We’ll make sure everything works out for the best, one way or the other. Okay?”
“Okay,” I whisper, kissing him back when he dips his head to bring his lips to mine. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
We break apart when the door opens, and Liam appears, holding his basketball and looking back and forth between us. “You don’t have to pretend anymore, Mom,” Liam says. “I know Jack is your boyfriend.”
That has my eyebrows jumping, and I glance at Jack. He holds up his hands, palms out. “I wasn’t the one who told him.”
Liam sighs heavily. “I figured it out on my own, Mom,” he says, sounding every bit like the teenager he’ll be in just a few short years. “You were photographed together. Plus, I saw you kissing at the barbecue.” Jack clears his throat, and a slightly guilty look passes across Liam’s face. “And Dad told me,” he mumbles.
“Dad told you?” I repeat, my voice whispery quiet.
Liam nods. “Yeah. After the first baseball game you went to. He saw the pictures too.”
I clear my throat, not sure if I should ask anything else. “What exactly did he tell you?”
The way Liam presses his lips together lets me know that it wasn’t anything complimentary, and I shake my head, waving off my question. “Never mind. You don’t have to tell me.” I hug him around the basketball. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you myself,” I whisper to him. “I hadn’t intended to introduce the two of you as soon as I did, but …”
“I know, Mom. You were with Jack when Dad called to tell you he didn’t want to have me for the whole weekend like he promised.”
I squeeze him harder at the bleakness of those words. “It just means thatIget to spend more time with you,” I whisper fiercely. “And I’m always thrilled to get more time with the coolest kid in the world.”
“Thanks, Mom,” he whispers back, and it breaks my heart to know that no matter how much I hype him up and tell him how amazing I think he is and how much I love him, it’ll never undo the damage his father causes without thinking twice about it.
Straightening, I clear my throat and sniff, blinking away the fresh round of tears coming to my eyes. “Okay. You guys go play basketball. I’ll get this done quickly, and then we can get ice cream.”
“Yeah! Let’s go, Jack!” Liam cheers, waving at me as he jogs down the stairs.
“Thank you,” I say to Jack again just before he follows Liam.
“I’m happy to do it,” he says, jogging down the stairs after Liam. And the thing is, I know he means it. He is happy to do this, all of it, from holding me when I cry to helping me find a new job to playing basketball with Liam to taking us all out for ice cream after. I’m not sure how I managed to stumble into this kind of relationship, but I’m sure as hell not going to give it up now.
Shoulders squared, I step inside, pull out my laptop, open my resume, and polish it up to the best of my abilities. If Jack’s going to pull strings for me, I’m going to present myself the best I can to make those favors worth him calling in.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Jack
The next day,I come back to my locker after camp ends for the day and find a voicemail on my phone from Maggie. “Hey. The fucker did exactly what I expected. I gave him a letter informing him of my two weeks’ notice. He sent me a text after he read it telling me to leave if I wasn’t, quote, dedicated to the project. So, uh, I guess I have free time during the day now. Ireeeeeallyhope I get an interview soon with your PR department because I’m not sure what I’m gonna do now. I guess just start applying to anything and everything because not having a job is not an option.” She pauses and clears her throat. “Anyway. I just wanted to let you know. Call me back whenever.”
I’m torn between happiness that she no longer has to deal with her jackass of a boss and sadness on her behalf. The anxiety about not having a job is palpable. I shoot off a text to Molly, just to check in.
I had Maggie email you her resume last night
Molly
Got it. I’ve put in a request to the C-suite emphasizing that I have someone ready to start ASAP and referenced our increasing fan engagement and the need to have someone dedicated to cultivating that growth. More fans means more butts in seats means more advertising dollars, not to mention the revenue from ticket and merchandise sales.
You’re the best, Molly
And don’t you forget it!
