Jenna’s eyes come to me. “She wants me to cancel the filming with Keller. Said to send the film crew up to the owner’s box.” She moves before me, rises on her tiptoes, and gives me a quick kiss. “Again… I’m sorry this happened.”
My hand goes to the back of her neck. “Not your fault. This is all on Keller, and then me.”
“It’s on Keller,” she corrects. She kisses me again and walks away, my eyes following her until she’s out of sight.
“So,” Stone drawls lazily, “you and Jenna… clearly together.”
“What gave you that impression?” I ask dryly.
Stone laughs, which is totally inappropriate. “Oh, the fact you attacked our coach over her. Also, the kissing part.” He claps his hand on my shoulder. “Would have done the same fucking thing if that had been Harlow.”
Our phones chime with texts, the simultaneous nature indicating they’re probably the same message for both of us.
We pull out our phones, and I see it’s a team text thread used to communicate important info. Team meeting now. Locker room ASAP.
Stone murmurs as he looks up at me. “It’s going down.”
“Jesus, this all happened so fast.” Like so fucking fast, my head is spinning.
?
Because players are scattered throughout the arena, it takes a few minutes for everyone to congregate. Callum walks in with the other coaches on his heels—Baden, assistant coach Bill Perry, and the two associate coaches, Maurice Dupont and Sam Thatcher. The coaches all stay by the door, but Callum walks to the edge of the half circle formed by the team cubbies. It’s where a coach would normally stand to deliver a pregame talk.
“Effective immediately, Matt Keller has been released from the organization. I’ve named Bill Perry as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season. I know this is a shock, and while I won’t share details, just know it had to be done as expeditiously as possible. Brienne wanted me to convey to you all her confidence that you’ll handle this as the professional and tenacious players she knows you to be, and asks that you treat this situation as a chance for the team to bond even closer. I know I speak on behalf of Brienne when I tell you that we both want you to go out there and hand Brooklyn their asses.”
The men collectively roar their approval, and I wonder how much of that excitement has to do with the fact that Keller—who has rubbed everyone the wrong way since day one—is gone.
“Good luck tonight,” Callum says and walks out.
All eyes move to Bill Perry, now our head coach. He nods in my direction. “Gage… as captain, anything you want to say?”
I’m surprised he’s throwing this my way. Bill is a respected coach who has always been the calm, rational counterbalance to Keller’s wild mood swings.
No one knows what went down other than me, Baden, Stone, and Jenna. Not one of us would dare recount what happened because it’s no one’s business. So I want to make it clear to the team we are done with this chapter of Titans’ history. “You heard Callum. We have a game to win. It’s do-or-die tonight to get that playoff spot. It’s been our goal all season, and we’re not going to let anything stand in our way. Am I right?”
“Yeah,” the men echo back.
“Are you ready for this?” I call out.
“Fucking right we are.”
“Then let’s go out and make this city proud,” I say before giving my regard back to Bill. He merely smiles, nods at me, and walks out.
He’ll be back before the game for the usual rundown of strategies and pep talk. The other coaches follow him.
Stone comes up to stand by me. “Brienne and Callum do not fuck around.”
“That’s an understatement,” I mutter. Because in less than twenty minutes, the true cancer was cut out of our team, and I, for one, feel the weight of it gone. I just hate it happened at Jenna’s expense.
CHAPTER 20
Jenna
I have to say, watching a game from the owner’s box is a treat. The view is unparalleled and the seats are sumptuous, plus they serve all the high-end liquor and gourmet food you could consume. But too nervous to eat, I’ve been sipping on water the entire game.
It’s the start of the third period, and I’m sitting alone in the front row corner of the box. Most of the guests are standing behind the five rows of private seats, mingling and talking while keeping an eye on the game via several large-screen TVs.
The documentary crew packed up after the first period. Brienne invited them up to minimize the damage from canceling Keller’s interview. The director, Teli Gibson, I’ve found to be an easygoing man, and he treated this change of plans as more of an intriguing adventure than an inconvenience.