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REESE
“Hey, man, don’t sweat it.”
“Yeah, Barrett’s old ass is probably just trying to scare you. He’ll have you on the starting lineup as soon as the season starts.”
“Seriously. Only thing that old fuck likes more than good press is lording his power over everyone.”
Dante and Marcus flank me, offering up condolences one after the next. We’re surrounded by bar haze and the smell of sweat and booze and cheap perfume that wafts around every time a new woman sashays past us.
I shouldn’t be here. It’d be hypocritical, after getting so mad at Olivia.
But what did Dante say? Fuck it?
Yeah. Fuck it.
They’d been as shaken up as I was when I told them I’d be benched next season. Dante suggested riding up to Barrett’s ostentatious Dallas mansion and giving him a good one-two punch to his overfed gut.
Marcus, the more level-headed one, suggested drinks to blow off some steam. We went with his idea.
I gulp down another mouthful of deep bourbon. It burns at the head and then smooths on its way down. It’s delicious—but it doesn’t do a damn thing to strip away the dissatisfaction chewing me up from the inside out.
“Sounded like Barrett is gonna be a real hard ass about it this time,” I sigh.
“Eh, don’t be so sure,” Marcus offers. “It’s four months until the season starts. Four months for things to blow over.”
“Unless Holly becomes a real problem.”
Marcus and Dante exchange a look. They can’t argue against that logic, can they? Hell, I can’t even argue against it, and it’s my career that depends on it.
I finish off my drink and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. “I’m gonna take a leak.”
I cut through the bar crowd and head to the bathroom. After I do my business and finish washing my hands, my phone starts to buzz in my pocket. When I see who it is, my brow quirks.
“Melanie?”
After letting Paula go, I’d taken painstaking measures to get a new assistant that wouldn’t fuck me over again. Olivia actually helped me with the process. Melanie was her pick. Young girl fresh out of college with an eye for marketing and organizational skills out the roof.
“Hey, Reese, sorry for the late call.” Her apology comes through, soft and sincere.
“No worries. What’s up? Please tell me I don’t have some meeting or press conference or some shit tomorrow I forgot about.”
“Oh, no, no, nothing like that. It’s actually, uhm… I got a call from a couple—Jeremy and Priscilla Rivers. They were looking for a letter of recommendation on Olivia?”
My brows furrow. “A what?”
“Apparently, she interviewed with them today and wanted to follow up with you on her performance.”
Confusion ripples through me. Anger is hot on its heels. “She’s trying to get another job?”
I can hear the apologetic shrug in Melanie’s voice. “All I know is that she had some kind of interview. That’s what they said. So I told them that I would forward their information to you so you could get in contact with?—”
Before Melanie can even finish, I’ve hung up on her and started for the door. If Dante and Marcus call for me on my way out, I don’t hear them.
Olivia is going to give me answers.
Now.
I try to keep my cool as I rip from the bar to the house. Olivia not speaking to me is one thing—but her completely neglecting to mention that she is looking for another job?
