No, he’s not. I can see it in his beady little eyes. He means every hateful word.
“It’ll be your word against mine,” I say, but even I can hear how weak the argument sounds.
“Exactly. And who do you think Jonathan will believe? Me, his longtime friend and trusted confidant, or you, the unqualified contract employee who’s screwing his star player?”
My blood heats to an instant boil. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Well, why don’t you explain it then?” a familiar voice suggests from behind me. “I, for one, am deeply curious.”
Adam.
I freeze, my heart falling out of my chest.
Turning slowly, I come face to face with my father. The shock and disappointment emanating from him hits so hard, I almost look away.
This is not how I pictured telling him about Knox and me. The timing, this place…it’s all wrong.
“If you’ll excuse me, I need to check on Frank.” Banks steps past me, calm as a June bug, and disappears into the waiting room.
Adam and I stare at each other for what feels like an eternity, and despite my training, I break first. “It’s not what you think.”
“So you haven’t been lying to me?” he asks, his voice dangerously low. “And you didn’t break your promise?”
My shoulders sag. “Knox wanted to tell you. We were going to tell you.”
I leave out the bit about waiting until the end of the season. Something tells me it would only make matters worse.
He shakes his head. “I only asked you for one thing, and you couldn’t even do that.”
“Adam…”
He holds up a hand. “I can’t deal with this right now. My team needs me.”
Every syllable lands like a blow.
My arms instinctively circle my waist, but it’s too late. The damage has been done.
The unspoken message hangs in the air between us.
You’re too much. Not worth the effort. Undeserving of my time and attention.
All because I broke his stupid rule. Because I wasn’t the perfect daughter. Because I wasn’t agoodgirl.
That’s not fair. The team is in crisis. They need him.
So do I. Can’t he see that? I waited almost thirty years to meet him, to have him in my life, and now, at the first sign of trouble, he’s going to turn his back on me?
The game has always come first. It probably always will.
The sooner I accept it, the better.
Hell, it may not even matter after today.
I’ve lost my job. I’ve lost my father’s trust. And Ollie is fighting for his life—and his career—because I didn’t do enough.
Adam turns and walks back to the waiting room without another word, leaving me alone in the hallway with the crushing weight of my failure.
I lean against the wall and slide down until I’m sitting on the cold linoleum floor.