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"Yeah?" Because I hadn't thought about any of that. "This is why you're the best rep in the PBR, Max."
"Sure trying to be," he promised. "Also, Grace is somewhere in this hotel. She said she's going to meet with us, but you're a little early, and I have a feeling she's running a little late."
I nodded. "I like her. She seems fair."
"And Troy?"
I shrugged. "He seems like he doesn't take things too seriously, but that's about all I got from him so far."
"Then I'll make sure to run interference with him for the next couple of meetings," he said. "Also, I wanted to check up on you. How are you doing, Cody? What happened in Cheyenne..."
I waved him off. "Austin and Derek left some bruises, but bulls have done worse."
The man simply looked at me for a long moment. "Cody..."
"I'm fine," I promised. "J.D. got me high enough to not hurt. I slept enough to recover. I'm honestly ok. Promise!"
"Mentally?" he asked.
Which made me lean onto the table. "Mentally, Austin and Derek are nothing new. I've been a woman breaking into a man's sport since I was five years old, holding on to sheep. I've had my tires slashed. I've had my rope greased. I've had my clothes stolen out of the locker room, the door of my truck spray-painted, and more. I'm used to it." I laughed once. "What I'm not used to are the guys who are on my side."
"Speaking of guys..." His eyes searched my face. "How are you handling things with Ty?"
"I'm not."
"I meant the emotions," he clarified.
"Oh."
Sadly, I didn't really know how to answer that. I'd dumped Ty. He'd moved on. That was that, wasn't it? We'd had some fun, he'd turned into a dumbass, and I was better off without him. Wasn't that how breakups usually worked?
"It's ok to be upset about it," Max assured me. "Cody, I've had my heart broken a time or two, and I know it doesn't matter how long you were with him. Sometimes the new thing falling apart is just as devastating as an old one. All those hopes and dreams that never got a chance?"
"Yeah, but..." I groaned. "I kinda knew it was too good to be true."
"Doesn't make it stop hurting," he pointed out.
And he had a point. "I just try not to think about it," I admitted. "I mean, Ty was my idol. He was the man I studied for so long. He rides clean, and he knows what he's doing. But at the same time, when he started chasing me, I thought he was going to set me up somehow. Like, try to chase me off. So I guess I was just waiting for it to happen?"
"So you're in a good mental space to ride this weekend?"
I nodded. "I'm always in a good mental space to ride, or I just don't ride. That's one of those things my daddy taught me."
"Good," he said just as a quiet knock sounded on the door. "Come in!"
The door cracked open and Grace slipped in. "Hey, sorry I'm late," she said.
And like me, she was wearing jeans and a tee. Comfortable clothes, not the suit she'd had on when acting like an official rep for Under Armour. Something about that made me like her a little more.
"I was early," I said, hoping to make her feel better.
"Well, I wanted to make sure the contracts and patches were all squared away." She moved to take a chair down from me. "I told Max we need to be very clear about the language regarding your private life. Just to remove any potential loopholes corporate could use later."
"I told her," Max said.
"And I appreciate it," I added. "Reading contracts isn't exactly something I'm good at."
"Well," Grace said, "I have a feeling you're going to get better at it. Cody, I told them what happened in Cheyenne. About those men assaulting you."
