Chapter 30

Chapter Thirty

Ivy

My heart is pounding as I approach the conference room.

“You sure you don’t want me to stay?” Knox asks quietly as I hesitate outside the closed door.

I inhale, hold it until I feel my nerves start to calm.

The call from the legal team about noon wasn’t unexpected, especially considering that the story of Hiller being fired was already circulating in the media and on social media.

There was no explanation given—at least on the team’s front—but that doesn’t mean that rumors aren’t already flying.

I have no doubt that some internet sleuth is going to figure it out and…

My temple throbs.

I hate it.

But I can’t control it and…dammit, I did nothing wrong, so?—

Fingers on my cheek. “I’ll stay.”

I exhale, clear my head. “I think I’d rather you distract Evie.”

His eyes soften. “Does she know something’s up?”

“I don’t think so, but she’s smart, and Haley is dropping her off in a few minutes, and if she sees me like this?—”

He nods. “She’ll suss something out.”

“Yeah,” I murmur.

“Then I’ll go wait out front with her and distract her with the promise of Game Night and puppy time.”

A new development, and one that seemed completely counterintuitive to everything that happened…and yet completely right.

Because if I’m going to stop hiding from my life, going to start going after what I want, what I need…

Then it’s getting to do things like Game Night.

And getting to bring Evie along with me.

And—

Getting this over with, figuring out how to deal with the shit that’s about to be heaped into my lap, or maybe processing the plan to move forward and knowing…

That I don’t have to do this alone.

I nod. “Thanks.”

He tugs at a strand of my hair. “No thanks needed, lioness.” His eyes flick to the door. “And I know you can handle yourself, but if you need backup, just send me a text.” Before I can tell him I’ll be fine, he brushes his lips over mine. “See you soon.”

And then he’s walking away from me.

And I’m in the hall with bruises on my neck, my arms…and somehow feeling more safe than I’ve ever felt in my life.

With that thought, I knock on the door.

It’s whipped open a moment later to reveal a full house—Coach Joey and Damon Connors and the legal team, including Tera, who helped me with my emails to the school district.

“Come on in, Ivy,” Damon says, gesturing at the only open chair around the huge wooden table. “Please take a seat.”

I want to pretend that I’m unaffected and assured as I move around the table, want to pretend that my heart’s not pounding and that Knox is right about Damon, about my job being safe. I want to pretend that I don’t care if he’s wrong and they do fire me.

But it’s all lies.

My knees shake as I walk.

My heart pounds.

My palms are sweaty.

Still, I know that I finally have people around me who’ll help me pick up the pieces, and that gives me the strength to make it around the table, to settle into that open seat.

It happens to be next to Tera, and I glance over at her. “Thanks for your help with the letter,” I say quietly.

“Any time,” she replies, just as quietly. “Did it do the trick?”

I smile. “Yup.”

She smiles back, mouth opening, but before she can speak again, Damon clears his throat.

And my heart starts pounding all over again.

“I’d like to first apologize on behalf of the team,” he says, and I don’t miss that his eyes are fixed on my throat, where the bruises are visible. “That never should have happened.”

“No,” I say. “It shouldn’t have.”

“You need to know that this will in no way affect your job,” he says, “and if you’d like to leave we will fully pay out your contract and write you a letter of reference?—”

I suck in a breath.

“And while we acknowledge that Travis Hiller was wrong in his actions, we don’t acknowledge any wrongdoing by the organization as a whole.”

Tera tenses next to me, and I see a flash of anger slide across Damon’s face before I look to the man who chose to speak in his place.

The head of the legal department, Don Blackwell.

I bite my tongue as he continues, “It was an unfortunate series of events, and we’ve taken steps to prevent any further bad behavior by firing Hiller. We’re also committed to a full investigation into his time here and will be hiring an outside firm to evaluate our working conditions and inclusivity, in order to make sure something like this doesn’t happen again…”

Yeah, that’s more like what I expected.

Dancing and prevaricating.

And, though I listen more about their plan to implement safety measures and the forthcoming investigation, I know it’s not about me.

It’s C.Y.A.

Cover your ass—or theirs, anyway.

“All right,” Damon mutters several minutes later. “You gave your spiel, Don. Ivy understands what actions the team will be taking—” A pause, his eyes flicking in my direction.

I nod in agreement.

He nods back, goes on, “So now you all can take off and enjoy the rest of your Saturday while Ivy and I talk.”

Don sputters. “I don’t think?—”

“Out,” is all Damon says in response. “Everyone except Ivy and Joey.”

There’s a momentary pause, Don seeming to weigh arguing, but it’s alleviated by Tera standing up and beginning to gather her things.

“You’ll be okay,” she murmurs as the rest of the table follows her actions, packing up and beginning to slip out of the room. “And if not”—she presses a card into my hand—“I’ll make certain of it.”

I swallow hard but nod again. “Thanks.”

A squeeze of my shoulder and then she’s snagging the folder from the table in front of her and following the others out.

Don is the last to go, as though he’s fighting his every lawyerly instinct in leaving this room.

But he eventually does go, though he leaves the door open.

Damon sighs, crosses the room, and closes it.

“What else?”

My brows fly up. “What do you mean?”

“What else has happened between you and Hiller?”

Cold creeps into my veins, and my stomach begins to twist itself into knots. “I didn’t— I never?—”

His expression softens even as his hands clench into fists. “Forgive me,” he whispers. “I didn’t mean to insinuate that you did something.”

“I—” I close my eyes, throat suddenly tight. Then open them again.

Joey pushes up from her chair, moves around the table and sits in Tera’s chair. “What Damon means is that we both know it couldn’t have been the first time he bothered you.” Her voice is even, steady, and I’m thankful for that calm.

It means that I’m able to take several deep breaths, able to ease the ache in my throat, able to nod.

“It wasn’t the first time,” I say. “He’s been harassing me from almost the moment I began working here.”

Damon curses quietly.

“I told HR and that backfired?—”

Another curse.

“How?” Joey asks.

“He was furious and threatened my job and…” I sigh. “I didn’t have a fallback plan.”

Damon jerks, rage on his face, but he stays silent and I turn back to Joey. “I should have told someone else—I know that I should have. But I have Evie to worry about, and…” I exhale. “He never went that far before.”

Encroaching into my bubble and angry words and wandering hands became…

More.

“Will you tell Tera everything that happened?” Joey says.

My first instinct is to say no—nothing good comes from trying to make people like Hiller pay. It didn’t do any good with my parents, with my boyfriends, with Evie’s dad, how could it possibly make a difference now?

But…

This is different.

I have Knox—and Ella and Nova, Lake and Riggs and Leo and Storm. I have Damon and Tera and Joey.

I’m not alone.

And I have to show Evie that there’s another way.

“I’ll tell the detective who took my statement last night,” I say quietly. “But Tera can be there to listen.”

Respect in Joey’s eyes, and she nods. “Okay.”

“And your job?”

I glance over at Damon. “I’m not leaving.”

Minus Hiller, I’ve loved working with the team—it’s challenging and exciting and it pays well…and it means I get to spend time with Knox.

It’s a no brainer.

“You don’t have to decide today,” he says. “The offer can stay on the table until you’re ready to make a decision.”

How had I thought this man cold?

Probably all the scowling.

But this conversation has told me enough—he’s a teddy bear beneath the grumpy exterior.

“I’m staying.”

He nods. “Okay, but if you change your mind…”

“Thanks.”

He shrugs, turns back to his papers, as if he can’t stand my gratitude.

Closed off.

Grumpy.

Hurt.

Yeah, I know something about that.

But I have a life to get to, a kid to parent, a man to appreciate.

The surly GM can’t be my problem—not right now, anyway.

I push up to my feet. “If that’s all”—I tilt my head to the door—“Evie will be here soon, and I want to get on with enjoying our Saturday.”

In answer, he just inclines his head again, snatches the papers up, and walks out of the room.

Joey snorts. “Man’s always got to make an exit.”

My lips twitch as I turn to her. “Thanks for what you said.”

“It’s what needed to be said.” Her hand covers mine for a moment. “But I want you to know that Damon and I both mean it—we have plans for the team, and none of them involve allowing this kind of bullshit to continue to run rampant. The organization has lost far too many good people because of the toxicity in the back office, and we intend to make sure it doesn’t keep happening.” She stands. “And, in case it’s not clear, we know that you’re good people, and we want you around, and you’re doing excellent work for the team.”

My eyes are stinging for a whole other reason.

Something she sees, I know, because the fierceness in her tone gentles. “I’ll leave it alone,” she says quietly. “But I won’t leave you alone.”

I blink up at her.

“Be prepared to be annoyed with my presence in the weight room.”

My mouth quirks, and I start moving to the door.

“Well, then, I guess I’d better make you a workout plan too.”

And as I walk into the hall, the boulder that had been sitting on my chest for far too long finally gone, I hear something wonderful.

Her laughter.

I’m smiling.

I’m moving forward.

And…I’m not alone.

Yeah, something wonderful is right.