Play Me

“Will do.”

We shook hands, and they left. I returned to my office, satisfied that meeting had gone well. Then came time for the call with the board. It was brutal. They had run assessments on what the team was worth if they sold off the assets. At this point, they might break even. My chances were gone, and they had recommended to my dad to dismantle the team. I wanted to cry.

Dad had stepped in and said we would not be selling the team, which further drove a wedge between me and the board. I was accomplishing the exact opposite of what I had intended to do.

If I hadn’t disappeared for the weekend, I could have been able to get ahead of this. But I couldn’t doubt my feelings for Hunter or ever wish the weekend had gone differently.

Amber’s voice came over the intercom. “Mr. Owens has requested an appointment at noon. I had you blocked out for lunch.”

I needed to see him. “You can accept it.”

“Will do. I’m about to head out for lunch. Do you need anything?”

“No, I’m good. Thank you, Amber.” I heard the tiredness in my voice. It had only been a few hours and I already felt my world crumbling around me. About an hour later there was a knock.

Amber peeked in. “I’m back from lunch. Mr. Owens is here. I mentioned I was giving him your lunch spot, and it looks like he brought lunch for you.”

“Oh, that was nice. Thank you, Amber.”

Hunter came in, and the sight of him about took my breath away. I was able to stop and fully appreciate him for the first time since I left him that morning at his ranch. I loved his tattoos. They gave him such an edge.

He stopped and watched me. “You look exhausted.”

“I am.” I stood and walked around my desk. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about what happened while I was away. And there just wasn’t time this morning. I literally got the email right before the meeting.”

He set lunch down and came over to me. “How are you doing?”

I leaned my head on his chest and just tried to be in the moment. His masculine scent was like a soothing balm. I felt like Hunter really cared about me and not all this other stuff. He was concerned about me. “I don’t know. I feel like I’m failing and don’t deserve this company.”

It felt good to voice one of my deep-rooted fears.

“Kendall—” He put a little bit of distance between us and lifted my chin to meet his eyes. His dark eyes were calm and full of love. “Breathe, baby. Just breathe.”

“I might need your voice on a recording reminding me of that. I’m trying. The board can’t know I’m in a relationship until things calm down. They’ll think my focus is split.”

His eyes tightened ever so slightly. “They don’t own you.”

“No, they don’t. I know it is ultimately my father’s choice, but it will make it much easier if they have faith in their future leader. Their approval is important to me for when I take over at corporate headquarters.”

Hunter was quiet for a second. When my stint ended here in Bowling Green, I wondered how that would affect our relationship. Maybe he was thinking the same thing, too. I wasn’t sure. But I refused to voice my concern, afraid it might end things prematurely.

His lips touched mine. “Don’t ever doubt yourself.”

I smiled at him. “Thank you.”

Part of me wanted to tell him to not doubt himself, either, but after our picnic in the pasture, I didn’t think it was a good time.

He gave me the sweetest of kisses again. “This is harder than I thought it was going to be.”

“Which part?” I asked.

“Hiding us.”

I swallowed hard. “I know.”

“At some point, we won’t have to, baby.” It sounded almost like a question, and Hunter waited for my response.

I kissed him. “Thank you for being patient.”

But for how long is Hunter willing to keep us concealed? That wasn’t a question I wanted to discuss right now. Hopefully, we could wait until his contract was done.

That seemed like forever away.

25

Kendall

It was almost midnight when I pulled up to the apartment complex. Dad and I had had a long talk that day, just the two of us. He let me know the board wanted to take a vote on selling the team, and I’d agreed to present a case and hear the board out. Somehow, I had managed to smooth-talk my way with the board, explaining that the event had happened before I was able to get back in the office and get a handle on things from being in Atlanta at Wales Enterprises.

They blamed Hunter and Mac and their inability to manage the team.

That irritated me, but I had to remain neutral in order to be effective. I explained the three of us were out of town, and additional measures to keep the team in line were being taken as of today. My father had remained neutral on the matter at my request, and I explained as much. That seemed to help earn me some respect.

Sometimes I wondered why I punished myself with the board. Was it worth it?

Of course, Kendall. This is what you’ve always wanted.

But was it?

My head was spinning as these thoughts were becoming more prevalent. Hunter had had to run back to the ranch early that afternoon but would be back by morning. The well pump had busted. Though the new foreman had assured Hunter he could handle it, I knew Hunter felt better making sure everything was okay.

Without the well pump, things could get critical at the ranch.

I closed my car door, exhausted from the day. When I turned, Josh McEvans was standing there next to my car. I yelped and took a step back. His presence in my parking lot so late at night was odd, to put it lightly. I kept my keys, which had a small container of Mace, in my hand.

He gave me a cocky smile that had me squaring my shoulders when he spoke. “You can’t bench me during the scrimmage game.”

Wait, he was here about being benched? Who the hell does he think he is? Enough was enough. I’d had my fill of shit for the day. “First off, this is not an appropriate venue to speak with me. Second, you will have to take that up with Coach White and Mr. Owens. It’s their call.”

He took a step forward, and I readied my Mace. My heartbeat quickened; I did not like this situation in the slightest. Josh had never struck me as a dangerous individual, but I wasn’t going to discredit my gut reaction at the moment, either.

“No, I’m going to take that up with you. And you’re going to fix it.”

There was something aggressive about his demeanor that I didn’t appreciate. Before either of us said anything else, headlights shone in the parking lot, and I sagg

ed with relief at the sound of Hunter’s truck.

The truck pulled up haphazardly in front of us, and Hunter got out of the truck and slammed his door, clearly agitated. He looked at me first, silently asking if I was okay. I gave a quick nod. His whole demeanor grew rigid when he turned to face Josh.

“What the fuck are you doing here, McEvans? It’s a little late to be out taking a stroll.”

“I was here talking to Kendall.” He gave another one of his cocky smiles and folded his arms over his chest in challenge.

Hunter seemed to grow in height and breadth as he mimicked Josh in a much more intimidating way.

“You mean Ms. Wales.”

“Whatever. It’s between me and her.”

I took a step forward, completely done with the situation. “Mr. Owens, Mr. McEvans would like to talk to you about playing in the scrimmage game. He’s not pleased with the decision to pull him from the game and found it appropriate to approach me late at night in front of my residence. I would like that noted in his file. And if this happens again, Mr. McEvans, I will ask Coach White to dismiss you immediately from your contract. Goodnight to you both.”

I turned to walk away, but then stopped and faced them again. “And for your information, Mr. McEvans, I support the choices of your coaches. You are a disgrace to the game the way you’re throwing away your talent. I hope you get your head out of your ass. At this point, you are more of a liability than you’re worth. It’s because of your coaches’ belief in your talent that you still have a job. If it was up to me, you’d be fired and unemployable. Your previous teammates haven’t been able to sign with a team. If you don’t want the same fate, I would advise you to not approach me again. Coach White and Mr. Owens coach the team; I run the day-to-day operations. If you have a complaint that your rights have been violated, please contact human resources.”

Josh swore as I turned on my heel and stalked to my apartment. The guy had so much talent, but he insisted on acting like a child and throwing it away. His parents had to be disappointed, considering he was an all-star player and had won a championship.