Page 47 of Their After Hours Playbook

“It’s nice to meet you as well.”

“Is Tom here?” Zach asked.

“He’s on his way down. He suggested we go into his office,” Angie answered.

“Sounds good,” Zach said.

Angie led the way, with Zach and Paige bringing up the rear. When they stepped inside, Paige was immediately drawn to the dozens and dozens of photos of Tom on the walls, all of them accompanied by legendary athletes. As if Tom Armstrong wasn’t intimidating enough, there were pictures of him with Michael Jordan, Phil Mickelson and Pete Sampras. Zach stayed by her side, pointing out one photo in particular. It was of a young Zach, Tom and Angie at the Super Bowl.

“How cute. How old were you?” Paige asked. She had to smile at Zach’s dorky haircut and the enormous grin on his face. She remembered him saying that day had helped to cement his love of sports, and the whole thing had been orchestrated by Tom.

“Zach was seven years old,” a man’s voice behind her said.

Paige turned, confronted by Tom Armstrong for the first time in probably two years. It had been that long because Paige had devoted a lot of effort to avoiding him. “Tom. Hello.”

“Hello, Paige. I’d say that it’s a surprise to see you, but I had a feeling this was coming.” To her great surprise, Tom reached for her hand.

“It’s nice to see you,” she said, out of habit.

“I’m sure you don’t mean that,” Tom said. “I’m sorry things worked out the way they did with Alexis.”

Paige nodded, taking a deep breath and reminding herself that Tom was just a man. She could stand up to him. She could stay strong. “You know, I am, too. But I spoke to her and I think we understand each other. We’ll always be friends. Some bonds are too tight to break.”

Tom eased behind his desk and sat in his chair. “Please. Make yourself comfortable.”

Angie perched herself on one of the wingback chairs near the fireplace, leaving Zach and Paige to occupy the tufted leather sofa.

“I take it you have something you want to tell us, Zach?” Tom asked.

Zach crossed his leg and bobbed his foot nervously. “I do. I’m quitting Armstrong Sports, effective immediately. I wrote a formal letter of resignation, but that seemed a little silly given that you’re my dad.”

Paige turned to Zach, silently asking how that could possibly be his plan. “Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Zach. You can’t be serious,” Angie blurted.

“Please. Zach. This seems pointless. Paige is here in our home. I’ve apologized to her. If you two are serious about each other, let’s just move on,” Tom said, with a voice that was plaintive and serious. “I’m sorry about what happened with Alexis, but in the end, it was just business.”

“You haven’t apologized to her about what happened with her husband, Andre,” Zach said.

Paige’s pulse started thundering in her ears. “Zach. It’s okay. We don’t need to talk about that right now. And I think Tom is right. There’s no need for you to quit your job.”

“Please, Zach. Listen to what Paige and Tom are saying,” Angie added.

Zach dropped his foot to the floor in a stomp. “No. Stop it.” He turned to Tom, then his mom and, finally, Paige. “I need everyone to listen to me. For real. No more talking until I’ve said what I need to say.”

Everyone in the room sat impossibly still. Paige was afraid to move, but she was also a little turned on. She’d never seen such a demonstrative side of Zach and she liked it. A lot.

“I’m leaving Armstrong Sports because of the very dynamic in this room. There are three things that mean more to me than anything in the world. They are sports, my family and Paige.”

Paige swallowed hard, having to choke back the emotion of Zach’s statement. How they’d gotten so close in such a short amount of time, she wasn’t sure. She only knew that they had.

“And what happened over the last week has only illustrated that those things are not compatible in the current arrangement. So, I’m going to leave Armstrong so that—Tom—you can go back to simply being my dad. And, Mom, you don’t have to be stressed by being stuck between your son and your husband. And most important, so that I don’t have to work at a company that stole my girlfriend’s biggest client.” He turned to Paige. “I love you, Paige, and I know for a fact that the only way you and I work as a couple is for us to be close and for you to be close to my family. This is the only way that happens.”

Paige reached for Zach’s hand. “Are you sure? What will you do?”

“I talked to Ryan Wilson. I’m going to be his manager. That will keep me more than busy enough. I might take on some other clients at some point, but this is a good start. I’m actually looking forward to it.”

“But who will run Armstrong Sports?” Angie asked.

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