Page 22 of (La)Crosse My Heart (Sweet Sports Kisses #7)

Jessa

I think I only got twenty minutes of decent sleep last night.

The panic of moving into my rental and now having to figure out how to pay for that or break the lease and head back home had me reeling.

But I don’t want to move. I’ve learned so much from taking the leap, it would feel worthless if I didn’t try to figure out something else.

I got up early and started the job search.

Clark was so kind the night before and while it had been nice kissing him again, I’m not sure hanging out with him will be a good idea. What if I have to move? The heartbreak will only be worse.

And my ultimate fear is that I’ll do to Clark what Dan did to me. If I can’t take care of myself, I’d be a crappy girlfriend. Not that he asked me. Before Daphne’s phone call, I wondered if we’d take our relationship further. Now I’m in pure survival mode.

We get up and head to the airport. I try to be kind to Clark but also shut down any major conversation. I don’t need to add to the stress I’m already under.

“Do you want to come over for dinner?” Clark asks as we’re in the rideshare we’re splitting to get home.

I give him a small smile and shake my head. “I’m good. I think I’ve got a few things I need to eat before they go bad. Thank you, though.”

As much as I’d love to hang out with the guys, I’d probably be a downer right now.

Once in the house, I change out of my clothes and settle into my bed. Not the best place to work, but I need comfort as I scour every job listing within thirty miles of here.

With what SMG will give me as a final check and the savings I had before this, I’ll be able to hold out for all of two months before I’ll have to go back home. Unless I can find a job.

My phone notifies me I need to head into the Stockton Group main offices. I change into a business suit, not wanting to give Daphne the satisfaction of seeing me this way. With some makeup and a quick twist of my hair, it’s time to head out.

When I walk out to my car in the driveway, I glance across the street at the guys’ house and then over to Nora’s. She’s sitting on the porch, so I wave before getting into my car.

I make the drive in silence. Am I moping? Absolutely.

This job had been the first to give me a chance to figure out what I want to do with my life. No, I haven’t applied for any jobs that help image, but I’ve sent in my information for anything to do with marketing and photography.

I walk up to the desk in the reception area. This is my first time in the offices since I’d done everything else through online video chats.

“May I help you?” the woman behind the desk asks with a smile.

“Yes, I have an appointment with Daphne. My name is Jessa Stratton.”

“Let me call up to her.” It takes another minute before I’m given a visitor badge and sent up the elevator to the third floor.

Another man walks into the elevator and smiles at me. There’s gray around his temples, but I can tell by the expensive suit he’s wearing that he’s probably upper management.

“Who are you here to visit?”

“Daphne.”

He smiles and nods. “Are you a new hire?”

I swallow, wishing I could say something different. “Kind of. I’m heading up to pick up my last check.”

He frowns. “That’s not good. Can I ask what happened?”

“It might be better to ask Daphne what happened.”

The doors to the elevator open and I walk out, trying to remember the instructions from the gal downstairs.

“Her office is just over here,” the man says, pointing to a door about three down from where we’re standing right now. “I didn’t catch your name.”

“Jessa Stratton.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Jessa. I’m Ollie Stockton. I hope you’ll give us another chance soon.”

I try to smile, but it probably looks like a grimace at this point. Maybe if I hadn’t been fired so quickly, I would try again.

I walk forward, breathing in and out slowly to calm my nerves.

Knocking on the door, I enter when I hear Daphne tell me to come in.

“Ah, Jessa. Thank you for coming. I just need you to sign a few papers and then we can move on.”

I can only nod, because I’ll probably cry if I say anything right now.

I sit down at the table and read through the documents.

“You can just sign down at the bottom. I’ve got a lot to do today.”

“You’re firing me. The least I can do is read through and make sure I’m not in default of anything else.”

Daphne’s glare is icy, but I go back to reading the document. It’s both petty and for my protection, so I’m going to continue this for as long as possible.

There’s a knock on the door and I turn, curious who it is.

I didn’t expect the guy from the elevator to be there.

“Come in, sir.”

“Actually, can I have you come to my office for a moment? Jessa, if you’ll just stay here, we’ll be with you in a moment.”

I’m confused by this sudden interruption, but I guess I’ll continue to read the papers, so I’m not anxious with Daphne breathing down my neck.

At least fifteen minutes tick by and I’ve finished reading everything there. I lift the pen and get ready to sign at the bottom. At least there’s no non-compete clause.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Jessa.” I turn to see the guy from the elevator again. “I apologize for the inconvenience you’ve had. You’re good to go.”

I point to the papers. “I came here to sign my exit papers.”

He nods and walks over to sit on the edge of the desk, facing me. “There was a mix-up with that. It seems Daphne fired you under the wrong circumstances. She’s no longer with the company.”

I blink a few times, trying to figure out what he means. Her stuff is all here.

As if on cue, she walks in with a cardboard box that says copy paper on the outside and starts putting stuff from her desk into it.

I stand, walking out into the hallway. “So, you’re not firing me?”

“Absolutely not. I got a call letting me know everything that has happened in the last couple of days and you’re good to go. It sounds like you’ve done amazing work with our star lacrosse player, so I’ll have someone reach out with your next project.”

I frown. “Clark wasn’t exactly a project. And I don’t know if he’s all the way done.”

“What are you saying?” he asks.

“I’m saying that I don’t know if I want to work with anyone else in that capacity while in this organization.”

He folds his arms over his chest and says, “Okay, is there something you’d rather do? We have an opening for Daphne’s spot.” He gives me a small smile.

Shaking my head, I say, “I don’t have the experience or stress capacity that would work for a job like that.”

“If you don’t want to onboard new hires, and you’d rather not continue work with Athlete Image, is there something you’d like to do?”

“Why are you trying to keep me on so bad?”

“From everything I’ve learned about your help with the lacrosse club, we need more people like you. I may be the owner of this company, but I care about making sure we have quality people at every level, which is why Daphne got the boot today.”

I freeze, putting together all the pieces in my brain. He’d said his name is Ollie, but I hadn’t focused on the last name. Ollie Stockton. Owner of Stockton Media Group.

It’s only then that I think about what I want. “It might be a downgrade, but I would love to help the marketing of your teams. I can take pictures and create videos to increase fan engagement. That’s something severely lacking for your current teams.”

He nods and gives me a slow smile. “My friend Milo mentioned there were some incredible posters at the Play It Forward event. Was that your work?”

“You know Milo?” I ask, surprised by that. The main guy from the charity had been quirky, to say the least.

“We’ve worked with them before, and I’ve met him several times.

What a great guy. He’s been able to grow that program exponentially in the last few years alone.

I also heard the guys did a phenomenal job with the kids.

One of my good friends brought his son to it.

I think I heard something about you interviewing him? ”

“Yeah, I interviewed a few kids that day.”

“Well, you have your wish. You’ll handle all of our social media for the Salt Lake Lancers.”

I grin, surprised at how relieved I am to still have a job. “Will you send me the pay information and a document to sign for it? I need to talk to someone now.”

It probably wasn’t the best idea to leave Clark without talking much or saying a whole lot of anything, but I’m ready to remedy that mistake now.

“Sounds good. Thank you, Jessa. I look forward to meeting with you again.”

Hopefully it’s not for a long time.