Page 21 of Fire in You

“Three weeks ago.” Instead of walking behind his desk, he leaned against the front of it, lazily crossing one ankle over the other as his hands clasped the edge of the desk. “But all of this isn’t officially mine until Andre leaves at the end of the week.”

My jaw was probably on the floor. “And when were you hired to become the GM?”

He eyed me curiously. “About a year ago, when Andre first announced his plans to return home.”

I would’ve fallen out of my seat if I weren’t sitting down. “And no one thought to tell me this?”

Brock inclined his head to the side. “Well, before you took the position, why would anyone tell you? Now, let me finish.” He held up his hand when I opened my mouth. “You and I might not have spoken in years, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been around. You know that. So you know I’ve been aware that up until Andrew convinced you to take this job, you’ve completely distanced yourself from the Academy.”

Okay. He had a point there. “But he could’ve mentioned the fact that you were the new GM formonthsnow. Or you could’ve said something Friday night.”

“I could’ve.” Brock gave me that grin, the one that used to make me blush and act like a fool. My eyes narrowed now. That grin increased. “Actually, I asked Andrew not to tell you.”

That was an unexpected answer. “Why would you do that?”

“Because I knew you’d never agree to coming on board if you knew,” he answered with some hesitation.

My hands opened in my lap as I tried to think of something to say, and I finally settled on, “I have no idea how to respond to that.”

Brock’s gaze flickered over my face and the line of his jaw softened. “It’s been a really long time since you and I have sat and talked to one another. I know you have every reason to hate me. I don’t blame you.”

“I don’t hate you.” That twisting motion in my chest picked up. What I had said was true. Maybe at one point I did. Okay. I’m sure I had, but I’d never been one to hate anyone. It just wasn’t in me. Well, I hated plenty of fictional characters, but some people would claim they didn’t count. I drew in a shallow breath and repeated, “I don’t hate you.”

Brock was still as he stared at me, a flicker of surprise and relief mingling across his chiseled features. “I’m . . . I’m glad to hear that.”

I pushed all that mess aside and focused. “Why are you even the GM? You’ve probably made enough money to live a very, very long time without having to worry about a paycheck.”

“I have. When I retired from professional fighting two years ago, I could’ve lived quite comfortably for the rest of my life.”

I wanted to ask why he’d retired so young. At his age, he still had a couple of more years left, but I resisted the urge. “So why take this job?”

A frown started to appear. “Do you really need to ask me that?” Before I could respond, he lifted a hand, thrusting his fingers through his hair as he said, “Your father saved my life. That’s not an exaggeration. You know that. If it hadn’t been for him, I would’ve died on those streets. The Academy became my life and it is a part of me. This company is important to me, and even if I’m not fighting, representing the Academy, I still need to be a part of it.”

Lowering my gaze, I squirmed in my chair. Of course I knew that. No matter what had happened, that would’ve never changed for him.

“I love scouting, looking for fresh talent,” he continued. “As the GM, I can still do that. I can give back to your father for everything he did for me. I need to do that. Especially considering how badly I let him down.”

“How in the world did you let my father down?” I asked, genuinely curious. “You’ve won championships for him. Brought so much attention to the—”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Tone serious, he held my gaze. “You never told him why you were at Mona’s that night.”

I stilled.

“If you had, he would’ve—”

My eyes snapped to his. “Brock.”

“And I would’ve deserved everything I had coming to me,” he continued, leaning forward. “And the only reason why I never told him you were there because of me was because you made me promise not to.”

Closing my eyes, I pressed my lips together. I had made him promise not to say a word. I’d begged him, because I knew what would happen if he’d been honest. Brock would’ve lost everything.

The knot was back, expanding in my throat. I couldn’t sit here and think and talk about these kinds of things if I was going to be able to make this job work. Curling my hands together, I opened my eyes. “What happened back then has nothing to do with now. It can’t.”

Brock leaned back and straightened.

“And I don’t want to talk about it,” I continued, struggling to keep my voice steady. “We don’t need to talk about any of that for us to work together.”

He was silent for a moment, his body deviously relaxed, but he was like a coiled cobra, and could strike at any moment. “I don’t agree with that, but I’ll let it go.”

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