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“Good, because sometimes Livie gets too trapped in her head when things need fixing. After my heart attack, it was impossible to reason with her. But I have full confidence you’ll find your way through. It’s worth it.”
If Dad were here, I was sure he’d give me the exact same advice.
As soon as we landed, I had half a plan. I didn’t know how to fix things with Brooke yet, but I was determined to fix things for her. I planned to make people see just how valuable she was. My girl wasn’t going to pay for something that wasn’t her fault.
It was still seven o’clock in LA, and I went for my morning run first, planning to wait until eight o’clock to call Tina. But after completing the run in the park surrounding the hotel, I didn’t even have the patience to walk back inside and shower. I sat on one of the wooden benches on an alley in the park and called at seven thirty.
“Well, this is a surprise,” she said.
“Is it?”
“Not really. I’m surprised you didn’t call earlier.”
“I didn’t know. Found out after you sent the report to Graham. Listen, Tina, this isn’t fair to Brooke. I got into that fight with Levi. And the bit about her being impartial is simply not true. She has this scoring system where she weighs everything from game stats to number of existing sponsorships, estimated social reach, and about a million other things.”
“Jace, I understand that, but I’m in a tough position. The sponsors were ready to walk away from the Lords. They were skeptical of Brooke’s recommendations.”
“Was it their request for you to let her go, or was that your decision?” I was tapping my foot against the pavement in a jittery move, struggling to keep my voice calm.
“I was doing my job the best I could. Covering all bases.”
No, you were just choosing the easiest way, I wanted to say, but I bit back the words. Lashing out at Tina wouldn’t help Brooke.
“I want to talk to the sponsors.”
“That’s not your job,” she said harshly.
“No, but in this case, it’s more than warranted.”
“Still not your job.”
“They changed their decision based on my actions.”
She ended up forwarding me their numbers, suggesting I wait until ten to call them. I decided to take her advice. My mind was spinning, and I had so much tension in my body that I wasn’t sure even another run would help me release it.
Over the next two days, I spoke to the sponsors in between trainings, wanting to fix this. Needing to fix this.
When we arrived at the hotel in Miami, where the first semifinal game was taking place the next day, the first thing I did was head out for a run. After, I encountered a surprise in the hotel lobby. Hailey was at the check-in counter.
“What are you doing here?” I asked.
“I wanted to surprise you. Took time off so I can watch the game and see the city. Why are you sweaty?” She took in my jogging attire. “You went for a run in the afternoon? What happened? You only run twice a day when you’re in deep shit.”
I c
huckled for the first time today. No one picked up my moods the way Hailey did.
I made to hug her, but she took a step back.
“Brother, I love you. But not enough to give you a sweaty hug. Go take a shower. Meet me at the restaurant afterward?”
“How about you come to my room and we order something in?”
She blinked, then furrowed her brow in concentration
“Don’t turn the lasers on me,” I warned.
“You leave me no choice. You give off unhappy vibes. I should have brought Lori and Val with me. You look like you need an intervention. Why didn’t you say anything?”
