Page 140 of Finding the Forward: Part One
“Hello?” I braced for my agent to say something about conducting.
“You need to dump the girl.” His voice went hard.
“Why?” I frowned. That wasn’t what I expected.
“She’s going to get you traded or tank your career. Dump her now. I'm fucking serious,” he told me, ending the call.
My heart thudded in my ears. He wanted me to do what?
Jonas put a hand on my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”
“Chet says I have to dump Verity. While I’m not considering this, I don’t understand. How’s she going to get me traded? Did I miss something in my contract? Is there something we don’t know about her?” I felt sick to my stomach. Dumping her would be like stomping on my own heart.
“Don’t dump her.Dump Chet.I’m serious. I know you’re loyal, but he’s not doing a good job for you anymore. Sometimes I wonder if you’re such an undervalued player because of him. It’s time.” Concern covered Jonas’ face, his scent going sour.
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “We’ve been together for so long.”
“Think about it,” Jonas said.
True. After all, I was still a little upset that he’d never told me that Professor Dublonski had called.
My heart weighed heavily as I put on my sneakers and went up to the administrative offices on the third floor. Kylee, head of PR, was waiting for me.
“Hey, it’s not that serious,” she told me, as she sat at her messy desk in her cluttered office. Kylee was a no-nonsense beta in her early thirties. She pulled up a picture of me conducting. “In the future, please let me know before you conduct an orchestra with a piece youwrote.My phone has been ringing non-stop this morning. I didn’t know you did either of those.”
“I fucked up. Sorry.” My head hung, feeling like I was in the principal’s office for fighting.
“Hey, it’s fine, Grif. You didn’t fuck up. Honestly, this was cute. Tell me about your work?” she asked.
I told her a little about composing, music, wanting to possibly conduct again, and even the idea I’d had last night about establishing a music scholarship.
“That sounds great. You’ve already gotten some requests. Should I send them to your agent? Though, between me and you, I’ve gotten some complaints about him not calling people back,” she confessed.
My belly twisted, thinking about what Jonas had said. “Um, for now maybe give their information to me? Music isn’t Chet’s thing.”
“Great. Honestly, it would be fun to see you conduct a major orchestra for a charity concert. People see you as a bit of a tank that only softens for Dean, so this other side of you could be great for your image. Which brings me to Verity.” She pulled up a picture on her tablet. “Is it okay if the Maimers acknowledge you on social media? This is what they want to post.”
It was a picture of me and Verity on the bleachers, her arm around me, as we watched Mercy practice. It was so cozy and wholesome. The caption saidTeam Mom finding love on the ice is our favorite IRL sports romance.
“That’s adorable. I don’t have a problem with it, and I don’t think the guys will either. Let me check?” I dropped it in the group chat, wanting to include AJ.
“While there’s been some pictures of you and Verity online for weeks now, a picture went viral overnight. I’m guessing it’s her brother. The caption is a little... silly.” She laughed.
The picture she brought up was of last night. I was skating backward, and Verity looked up at me with adoration in her eyes as the snow fell. It was framed perfectly, with a light-covered tree in the background and strings of lights overhead. She looked adorable with that pom-pom beanie.
The caption saidMy sister finally found a boyfriend taller than her.
I laughed. “It’s a nice picture.”
“I like this one best.” She brought up a picture of all five of us skating together. Verity was in the middle, with Dean and me on either side, and I was skating backwards. AJ, also skating backwards, had his arm around me. Jonas, skating forward, linked arms with Dean. Snow fell and with the lights and decor in the background, it looked like the poster for a wholesome holiday rom-com.
“That’s my favorite, too,” I told her. “Anything else?”
“I know you and Dean have your paperwork on file, but make sure Jonas has his. I know how this goes. Just don’t break anything like Pauley and Nakey.” She smirked.
“I won’t. Thanks.” With a chuckle, I left. I’d heard those stories, like when they’d ruined one of SportsBeat’s cameras. Relief washed over me that I wasn’t in any trouble.
Going down to the second floor, I hunted for Jonas.
