AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I nodded. Gabby had forced Nathaniel to walk away, but his eyes were still pinned on Bradley.
Parker then turned to Bradley. He held his hand up to him to keep him in place. “I suggest you walk away, too.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Bradley frowned.
“Someone who is saving you from being knocked out cold again. So do me a favor, walk away, and never think about talking to Blake again.”
“You don’t get to tell me what to do,” Bradley hit his hand down. In front of me, I saw Parker’s back tense and his jaw clench. I moved between them as I heard the rubber band snapping behind me.
“Bradley, just go,” I stared him down.
“I suggest listening to her,” Parker said through clenched teeth.
Parker’s gaze must have been intimidating enough for Bradley because he actually walked away. Gabby managed to calm Nathaniel down, and they went back toward the field. Parker stood with me.
“Thank you,” I sighed.
“If we weren’t in public, I would’ve let him get in at least one punch. Heck, I probably would have joined him. But you’re okay, right?” his eyes were concerned, but he kept enough distance from me.
“I’m fine. I promise. All he did was grab my wrist.”
“Will you go back to where everyone else is sitting? I don’t want you alone until that guy leaves.”
I nodded again. “I was just a little hungry.”
“Can you wait until pizza? If not, there’s another protein bar in Nathaniel’s car.”
“I can wait.”
He nodded, and we walked away. I went back to be hounded by everyone about what happened. I told them all the backstory on Bradley, and soon enough, everyone understood Nathaniel’s anger.
The game resumed, and Amelia ran to the restroom, entrusting me with taking the pictures, which forced me to focus on Parker. The anger had fueled the team, and they were hitting more home runs than I thought was possible. By the time the game had ended, it was twelve to two.
As was tradition, the team went out for pizza after the game. I watched Parker kid around with some of the other guys from the team. Erik chatted with Stephen and made his daughter laugh. I tried to focus on Richard’s story about the one time he played baseball and avoided looking at Parker.
Parker’s eyes did find me repeatedly. They seemed different somehow. I heard the rubber band snapping against his skin, even from under the table.
Chapter Sixteen
Wednesday afternoon.
Fifty-two days left.
The office was eerily quiet most of the morning as everyone focused on their tasks. Only hushed conversation and keyboards clicking could be heard on the floor.
Desha and Stephen whispered at his desk and worked on a color scheme they had been stumped on. I wished I could give my opinion, but I was just glad to see that they had not killed each other yet. They actually seemed to be enjoying their time together.
Nathaniel was on local customer visits all day, so he was out of the office. Jamie and Melanie were glued to the computer, working on a demographic analysis of Michigan. Parker, Amelia, Amanda, and Nick were huddled in their conference room, reviewing our latest submission for an article we planned to release. Lainee and I had been in my office reviewing the projects she was monitoring.
She was doing an incredible job ensuring that nothing was dropped. I made a note on my computer to talk to Connor about promoting her once this project was over.
Once we were done, it was time to pile into the conference room for Richard to review a spend analysis he had worked on. Amelia brought in muffins from Gabby’s after lunch, which were her current obsession.
I sat down and instantly regretted not grabbing a muffin. I noticed Parker standing by them.
“Hey, Parker,” I called to him. “Will you bring me a –”
“Blueberry?” he said, holding the muffin in the air.
