Page 53 of Always My Comfort

CHAPTER21

Jaxon

“Be calm,Jaxon, I can see the steam coming out your ears, man.” Bill was sitting beside me in the stuffy boardroom where we waited for Balmer, his manager, Coach, and the team manager.

“They can mess with me. They can do whatever they want to me, but not her. Not Logan,” I told him, glaring at the door where I could hear Richard cracking a joke with his cousin.

“Do you want to be benched for the rest of the season, or do you want to be the Braves’ ace? How you handle this situation will determine your future with this team,” Bill whispered, looking between me and the papers he brought.

It was the article with Logan’s face printed on it, a picture of her and Richard, and then one of me and her that some paparazzi had taken.

I clenched and unclenched my fists. Just an hour ago, I had dropped her off at my apartment, helped her shower, and gotten her to bed. She’d promised to be at the game later this afternoon with the help of Scarlett and Matt.

She’d also begged me to be levelheaded during this meeting.

“Be the bigger person, Jax. Don’t threaten, don’t scream—just let him make an embarrassment of himself. You’re the better man. You’ve always been.” I let her words wash over me, willing them to calm my blind rage.

She was with me. Logan was all mine—she and that baby were my family. He couldn’t take that from me—nobody could.

“If it was your wife, Bill? If someone had gone and dragged her reputation for his personal gain, your tellin’ me you’d sit here and be calm?” My manager stiffened, looked towards the door, and then back at me.

“No, I wouldn’t, but you don’t have the luxury of losing your shit. Do you hear me? I want them to see that they can’t affect you. If anything, he’s the fool for losing Logan.”

My phone buzzed on the table. I reached for it just as the door started to open slowly.

Logan

I love you, cowboy.

Sitting upright my attention first slid to my coach, who eyed me warily, and then, I scanned the rest of the group behind him. Richard was grinning like a fucking coyote with his manager behind him, nose buried in his phone. The team manager, Kyle, was behind him, eyes flitting around the room nervously like he was looking for something.

I was surprised to see another older man follow Kyle in, also dressed in a suit, hair neatly slicked back. A quick glance at Bill confirmed he wasn’t expecting anyone else either.

Everyone took a seat, but Kyle remained standing, arms crossed. His short, usually neat hair, was ruffled, and purple bags beneath his eyes make them seem more sullen than the last time I saw him.

“Let’s skip past the pleasantries. That article is a problem for me and for this team.” He looked toward his cousin, who just shrugged.

“The problem is him. He shouldn’t have gone after my girl.” Richard shrugged. Grinding my teeth, I gripped the edge of the wooden table, counting my breaths so I didn’t jump across this damn table and strangle the son of a bitch.

“She wasn’t yours the moment you cheated on her,” I spat, barely holding myself back.

Kyle looked between me and Richard, and his brows raised. “And so, the story unfolds. Regardless of what happened that night, she is pregnant with your child, correct?” Kyle directed his attention to me, and for the first time, I notice that he wasn’t favoring his cousin.

“Yes, she is. I understand this has put the team in a negative light, and I do apologize for the chain of events that led to that. But it wasn’t her fault, and I didn’t steal her from him. If you need me to leave, then I can.”

Logan would be proud if she were here right now. She’d squeeze my hand or something, and damn if I didn’t need that right about now.

The older man stood, slamming his palms down on the table. “Listen, I know I said I wouldn’t say anything, but I can’t sit here and watch talent walk out the door because your cousin, who has been on a slow decline for the last year, decided to kick up a storm.”

He drew in a deep breath, straightened his suit jacket, and looked directly at me. “My name is Rick Stephen, and I am going to be the new team manager. I appreciate your dedication to not only this team but Ms. Shaw as well. You are exactly the kind of team member I want, and I will not let you leave this team.”

I sat back in my seat, stunned.That was unexpected.

“Rick, let’s discuss this privately,” Kyle started, but Rick raised his hand. Kyle fell silent.

“I’ve listened to you. I’ve heard every excuse. This team is suffering because of you and your personal interests.” Rick shot a glare at Richard, who hadn’t opened his goddamn mouth. “The firstrightdecision you made this season was recruiting Dexter, and I won’t lose him. Balmer, this will be your last game with the Atlanta Braves. I will not have any animosity on my team.” He nodded at me and Bill and then exited the room.

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