Page 8 of Champion

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Good luck with that.”

“Thanks, I think I'm going to need it. Speaking of, can you drop me off at the gym?”I ask. Rebel Autos isn’t that far from the gym, but I want to get this over sooner than I could if I had to walk over there.

“Sounds good, man. I’ll call when I have an update on your truck.”

Roman drops me off and I take a deep breath. This might not go well.

CHAPTER 5

Iclose the door to the office and turn off the computer screen.

“Why’d you do that, Opal?” Shelly asks.

“I need to talk. I think I've blown it with Champ.”

“Uh oh,” Shelly says. “We need to get Beth in on this conversation. Boot the computer back up.”

I pull up the video conference software and call Beth. All the while, I’m looking through the office window to keep an eye out if Champ shows up.

Beth says, “Hey, ladies! What’s up? How did it go Friday night?” Beth leans forward, clearly excited.

I wince at the memory. “Champ showed up.”

“Girl, so what’s the problem?” Shelly asks, turning to me.

“The problem is right after he showed up, so did my brother. They got into it, and Champ stormed off.”

“Uh oh,” Shelly repeats. “Have you talked to him since?”

“No, but I called the gym in Raytown for something, and he wasn't there. I'm scared he's on his way here, and he's going to fire me.”

Shelly shakes her head.”He needs you too much in this office. I set it up, but it can't run without somebody there, and I can't do both offices. Besides, you live here in Jefferson, so it makes sense for you to work here.”

“I know, but…” Tears prick my eyes. “I feel so terrible for letting him down. I can't describe the look of disappointment in his eyes. He looked so betrayed.”

“He probably does feel that way,” Beth says. “You know how much he hates your brother. Champ generally lets things go, but he’s still sore over the fight he lost to Doyle. He goes around telling everybody how Doyle cheated.”

“That's not how my brother tells it,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“Yeah, with these two, who knows what's true,” Beth says. “But the point is, the cat's out of the bag, and now you've got to deal with it.”

“Do you have any suggestions on what I should say?” I ask, feeling desperate.

“Just be honest. You didn't want to tell him because you knew how he would react, and you wanted him to give you a chance, not dismiss you because of who your brother is.”

“She's got a good point, Opal,” Shelly says, agreeing with Beth. “Don't try to hide anything.”

“I don't think there's anything left to hide.” I sigh.”Oh, God.” Tension ripples across my skin. “He's here. I'll talk to you guys later.”

“Good luck,” they say in unison.

I end the video conference and close the software. I don't want to give Champ any more reason to be mad at me.

“I’m going to take this as my cue to leave,” Shelly says, hugging me. “Hang in there, and don’t let him steamroll you. Call me later.”

“Thanks, Shelly. I will.”

“You’re leaving?” Champ asks, looking confused.

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