A WEEK LATER
Jason felt a slight skip in his step as he headed through the building. Finally, a win and a convincing one. Even with Liam playing only part of the game, it was enough for the Wolves to win against a local rival team, and everyone on the team was jubilant. Even up in his office, Jason could hear the cheers and loud singing two floors below, and that made him smile.
It had taken a while, but they were starting to make progress. The team were beginning to come together, and the fans were delighted with the win. With any luck, there would be more wins and Jason would see everyone softening to him.
He didn’t want to make things difficult for everyone. He just wanted to help, and achieve his own dreams. It was fair enough for people to take a while to get used to something new. He could only hope there would be fewer letters spouting hate in his mailbox later.
Tonight was about a celebration. Something Jason wanted to do with Elena. He hadn’t seen her on the side with the rest of the support staff, but she had to have been watching. Jason wanted to find her and share some of his good mood with her.
If she was working away in the therapy room, he was going to drag her out. She shouldn’t be stuck inside all the time.
He arrived outside Elena’s room and almost bumped into Liam as he was coming out. The young player grinned at him.
“Hey, Mr. Munro! Sorry I can’t stop, I’m going to join the guys for drinks.”
“Don’t overdo it.” Jason smiled. “You don’t want to hurt yourself again.”
“I don’t plan to. Elena said I should be good to play a full game in a couple of weeks, so I’m celebrating the small wins.” Liam waved as he walked away. “Later!”
Jason watched him go and then entered the therapy room. Elena was at her desk, frowning at the laptop as she typed away. She barely looked up as Jason approached.
“Give me a second. I’m just finishing this off.”
“What are you doing?”
“Final report on Liam’s knee. Provided he behaves himself, he’ll be back to full strength in no time.”
Jason couldn’t help but laugh as he leaned on the desk. “You’re seriously doing work right now? I think you’re the only person in the building who isn’t celebrating.”
“Work first, then play. Otherwise I’m going to have to do this later, and I’m probably going to forget what I need to do.” She waved him away. “I’m nearly done. Then I can enjoy the bottle of champagne Liam just bought me.”
That was when Jason noticed the big bottle on the massage table, along with a glass.
“He knew you were going to be in here alone, didn’t he?”
“I was going to join everyone else once I was done. He must have thought I would be hiding away.” Elena shrugged. “It’s a sweet gesture. I might take it home and enjoy it there.”
“How about we enjoy it here?”
Elena looked up and blinked at him. “What?”
“We can have a drink here. We have a glass, after all.” Jason went over to the table and picked up the bottle. “We can share it, unless you’ve got a cup around here for me.”
“I…” Elena gulped, her eyes round. “I don’t know about that.”
“Why not?” Jason held up the bottle. “Come on, Elena. You deserve some of this as well. After all, you’ve been working hard in getting Liam back to strength.”
“He isn’t quite there yet,” she pointed out.
“But he’s close enough. You’ve done awesome with him, and Liam’s over the moon about it. That’s all that matters.” Jason pointed at the laptop. “Now shut that damn thing and come over here. That’s an order from the boss.”
He thought Elena was going to argue, but then she sighed and closed the laptop.
“Okay, fine.” She stood up and came over to him. “Just one drink. I have to get home, after all.”
“You walk home,” he pointed out.
“And one drink makes me go a bit giddy, so I have to be careful.” She leaned a hip on the massage table. “Just one glass, and then you can have the rest.”