Page 77 of Beyond The Break

She nods. “Your focus right now needs to be on recovering completely, not winning competitions. Unless you plan to retire early and surf until you can’t anymore.” Her tone is clipped as she studies me with narrowed eyes.

“Do you think I can still surf in tomorrow’s competition at least?” I ask.

“You should be fine tomorrow, as long as you don’t push yourself. If you feel pain, then you need to paddle back in and call it a day.”

I nod as she walks toward her office door, resting her hand on the doorknob and looking back at me over her shoulder.

“But, Griffin, tomorrow needs to be your last competition until you’re healed. Come see me after and we’ll restart your therapy.”

She walks out, closing the door behind her without a second glance, leaving me to change back into my clothes. I stay seated on the exam table for a few more minutes, digesting everything she said while I stare at the white wall in front of me.

I’ve let my team down, again, and they don’t even know it yet.

Back from thephysiotherapist’s office, I sit at the kitchen island, tapping my leg impatiently and checking my watch. Eliana has been locked in the team meeting room with Gabriel for almost an hour and my mind has started to think the worst.

Is he firing her?

Is she quitting?

I tap my leg faster now.

“Are you okay?”

I look up to see Koa pouring himself a cup of coffee. I’d been so lost in my thoughts that I hadn’t noticed him walk downstairs and pass me.

“Do you know why Gabriel wanted to talk to Eliana?” I ask.

He shakes his head before taking a sip of his coffee. “It’s probably something to do with the campaign she’s working on.”

Right. The campaign.

In all my stress and panic, I’d forgotten today was the day she was presenting her pitch to Gabriel for approval.

“Fuck it,” I mumble, standing up and making my way to the meeting room.

I knock twice and walk in. Gabriel is sitting on top of the long table, hands in his pockets, while Eliana stands beside the smart TV presenting her PowerPoint. They both pause and look at me.

“Sorry to interrupt,” I say, closing the door behind me and walking toward Gabriel.

“No, no. Come on in. It’s good that you’re here. Eliana wasjust briefing me on the idea she came up with for the campaign,” Gabriel says, patting a spot on the desk beside him.

I lift myself up and take a seat next to him, my eyes skimming over Eliana. Her hair is tied up in a high ponytail and I start to fantasize all the ways I would take her with her hair wrapped in my hand. From the heated look she gives me, she knows where my mind is right now.

“If you two are done eye-fucking each other,” Gabriel says, clearing his throat, “I’d like to continue with this presentation, Eliana.”

She flushes tomato red as she looks back at her PowerPoint and skips to the next screen.

“I took a survey from our followers on the type of content they would like to see from us. The most requested content was more insight into the behind the scenes of the team,” she explains, pointing to a chart.

“What do they mean by behind the scenes?” Gabriel asks.

“They want to get to know each member of the team on a more personal level and see the work that goes into being a professional surfer on the Saltwater Shredders team,” she explains, “I was thinking a mini-documentary series on each member would be a good way to showcase that.”

Gabriel nods, pulling his hands out of his pockets and folding them across his chest as he sits up straighter, giving her his full attention.

“They also voted for more community events. They want the team to get out more and get to know their fanbase.” She points to another section of the chart.

“Like meet and greets?” I ask, my interest piqued.

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