“Tina, you know that’s not how I work.”
“I do. But I also know that unfounded as they might be, such doubts and rumors must be cut from the root.”
“Even if it means you have to let go of an employee that achieved more than was in her job description?”
“Even so. Veronica also voiced the same concerns as the sponsors.”
I struggled to keep my voice polite. “You know she’s gunning for my job.”
“She has been with the Lords for a few years. I trust her input.”
My fingers were numb from gripping the edge of my chair so hard. My mind was racing so fast that I couldn’t focus on a single coherent thought.
“My decision is final,” she said.
“Does anyone know?”
“Not yet. You’re free to take this up with your dad, or Jace, or even Graham.”
Apparently, she’d mistaken my question as a threat.
“That’s not what I meant,” I began, but she interrupted me.
“When you started here, you assured me you didn’t want me to give you special consideration just because you had personal connections in the club.”
“I meant that.”
“Good. I will write you an excellent recommendation letter. You can remain here until the end of the day to wrap up any open issues, and you will also have access to your email for the rest of the week so you can inform all your
accounts that Veronica will take them over from you.”
I nodded, leaving her office with dignity, even though I was crumbling on the inside.
The day was absolutely excruciating. Because I was not the type to simply say goodbye via a mass email, I stopped by everyone’s desk to tell them I was leaving.
I couldn’t handle Veronica’s smug expression while I explained the intricacies of some accounts to her, but I only snapped at her once. At four o’clock, I left the LA Lords building one last time.
I drove aimlessly around town, not really wanting to go home. I was sure that the calamity of this day would hit me the second I stepped through my door.
Eventually, I got tired of driving around and headed home, stopping by a gas station to buy a few bags of popcorn and chips. I deserved some comfort food tonight. As I’d predicted, I nearly buckled under the weight of today’s events when I arrived home.
I was jobless. Tina had said she’d write me a stellar recommendation, but every employer would question why I was being let go if I did so well. This was supposed to be my fresh start, a new chance, and I’d screwed it up. Then I remembered I had one month to move out. Just what I needed. An expensive rent when I had no job.
I felt like I was back to square zero, in the exact same spot I’d been six months ago when I left Cami’s magazine. No job and being forced to leave my home.
I was so mad, I could barely think. Mad at the sponsors for jumping to the wrong conclusions, at Veronica for stabbing me in the back, at Tina for not sticking up for me, choosing instead the easier option of letting me go. Most of all, I was mad at myself for getting in this situation.
I wasn’t going to lie, I even was mad at Jace, because if we’d waited just a few more months, maybe things would have panned out differently. If he hadn’t gotten into that fight.... If, if, if....
I knew I had to call Jace. I wanted to be the one to tell him about the sponsors. I played with the phone in my hand, dialing and canceling before the connection was made about ten times before deciding it wasn’t the best idea to call him before a game. He’d call afterward. In truth, I was postponing the call because I was afraid he’d be disappointed he lost those sponsorships, and ultimately, disappointed with me.
Unfortunately, Noah and Cami had shown me how disappointment could seep into every aspect of a relationship and change it, mar it. I didn’t want Jace to think less of me.
When the game began, I moved to the living room, turning on the TV, watching the Lords jog out into the arena. It had been a good call not to tell him about the sponsors before the game. My heart grew a little heavy at the prospect of the post-game call. Maybe I’d leave out the fact that I was fired. I was getting madder about it by the second, and there was a real risk I’d take my anger out on Jace. Besides, he would get up in arms about it, and with the string of games coming up, he needed his mind clear.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Jace