Page 92 of Cross the Line
Jayden’s sitting in one of the two chairs at his desk, while Gerry Bielinski, the General Manager and President of Hockey Operations for the Los Angeles Comets, sits in Coach’s seat with Coach and Connie standing to the side, out of his peripheral vision. When she winks at me, some of the tension around my chest eases.
“Have a seat,” Gerry says, shuffling random papers on the desk.
They’re obviously not his, from the glare Coach is giving him. He’s as bad as Jayden for liking everything in its place.
I sit back in the chair beside the one Jayden is occupying. He looks ready to go to war with the pinched expression on his face. Every cell of my being wants to reach out and touch him, to smooth over the stressed lines of his face.
When he looks at me, I give him a nod to let him know we’re in this together. Whatever happens now, nothing will change between us.
I love hockey. It saved my life and brought me all the best people. But Jayden is notall the best people. He’s my people. There is nothing that I love more than him, Finley, and us.
“I’m going to cut to the chase. It’s been a long few weeks, and I’m sure we’re all ready to go home and get some R’n’R,” Gerry says, blowing out a long breath. “We’re in a pivotal position right now, one that this organization would not be in without either of you. Saying that, I have given much thought to the situation we are in.”
The instant Jayden opens his mouth to speak, I tap his foot with mine. One thing Taylor always taught me is to listen to every detail before I talk—it avoids pissing people off. Something that neither of us wants right now.
“The rumor is that the two of you are…” Gerry gestures between us, knitting his hands together to finish his sentence and meaning.
I glance at Jayden. He gives me a fuck-me eye roll, and when I move my stare to Coach and Connie, they’re both shaking their heads at each other.
“Together,” I offer, keeping my tone neutral.
“In a relationship,” Jayden adds, mirroring my tone.
Gerry narrows his stare on me. “And you have a girlfriend…”
“We do.” At this point, I’m not going to hide any of the truth. It’ll only come back to bite us in the ass, and I’m not going to act ashamed or afraid when we are not doing anything wrong.
Gerry clears his throat; his face is glowing a bright red now. “Well, uhhh… how very Hollywood… Rock’n’Roll, or whatever you kids say nowadays.”
I’m not sure what to say to that, and neither is Jayden, because our very conservative and ordinarily composed boss is flustered. It’s beginning to get awkward when he gulps down half of his water and pats his tie back into place, even though it’s still clipped in.
“Well, I supposeto each their ownapplies here. There isn’t a rule about relationships within the team. Uhm, between players… As such, what you choose to do in your personal life is not my concern so long as it stays outside the arena. Remain professional, and there won’t be any issues.” He looks behind his shoulder at Coach and Connie. “I’m sure the two of you can offer some pointers on that front.”
Well, this is definitely the craziest meeting we’ve had in this office. I don’t think I’ll ever look at Gerry the same way again after he’s blathered his way through this conversation.
Talk about out of his comfort zone.
“I guess I’ll see everyone at the Christmas party tomorrow,” he says, shuffling the papers again before he places them back down on the desk and leaves—face still bright red and hands gripping his tie so tight it looks like he’s about to strangle himself.
“I think the two of you broke the man.” Coach bursts out laughing, pulling his chair out for Connie and guiding her by the hand into it.
“I hope he took some aspirin,” Connie chuckles in that calm, well-spoken tone of hers that’s become settling to me. “His blood pressure looks like it’s through the roof.”
“You good, Morrow?” Coach perches on the side of the desk, waiting for Jayden to say something.
The overwhelmed pout says he’s processing what just happened, and now that we’re officially official, I don’t hold back. Taking his hand, I give it a light, coaxing squeeze for him to look at me.
“What a fucking day,” he tells me, eyes wide on mine.
“Tell me about it,” I say, blowing out the long breath I’ve been holding since I walked into the room. “Pretty certain I just came out. Likeoutout.”
Jayden drops his head back, slouching into the chair with a deep sigh as he levels me with a grin. “Told you, Sweetheart. They’ll catch up.”
I wonder what Lex is going to make of this turn of events. I know he’s been keeping a close eye on the press and dealing with all the noise. He wasn’t wrong about the fallout. To be honest, there isn’t a sponsorship I care much for over us.
“Want to get out of here… go home?” I ask.
Jayden glances at Coach. “Are we done?”
