Page 131 of The Wildest One

“At my house,” I replied.

“Your HR file provided your address, and within minutes, I had my answer. And three, I happened to be walking by the locker room when one of the guys made a comment about Jolene, and you gave that man a real earful.” He leaned back inhis chair, his arms crossing. “Let it be known, nothing happens within my organization that I don’t know about. Even if it involves my daughter.”

I gripped both armrests. “Except there’s a large piece of this that you don’t know.”

“And that is?” he questioned.

I gave her a quick peek. I could tell that all of this was eating her up inside.

“Jolie and I didn’t meet when she came to work for the Whales. We had met when she was a sophomore at BU. That’s how long she’s been in my life.”

“Is that true?” he asked his daughter.

“Yes.” She nodded.

His eyes narrowed, his head almost bopping while he appeared to put together what I’d just admitted. “That explains why you reacted the way you did when I told you I was purchasing the Whales. In my office that day, you were putting together that you were going to be your boyfriend’s new boss. And you didn’t know what the hell to do with yourself.”

“That’s right.” Her voice was soft. “But he wasn’t my boyfriend then.”

“Insignificant,” Mark barked.

“But the timeline of this is significant,” she countered, holding her stomach with both arms. “Even though I signed a code of conduct, things had already happened between Beck and me before my signature dried on that paper. And for what it’s worth, I took that code of conduct seriously. I told myself that once I was in this role, nothing would ever happen between us again. I couldn’t do both—I couldn’t be with him and work for the Whales at the same time.”

“Yet you broke that code of conduct, and you broke the promise you’d made to yourself!” Mark snapped.

“With all due respect, you need to back off of her.” I tried to keep my voice down, but the sharpness was clear in my tone. “Even if Jolie had been at the pool—or if I had been—I don’t think either of us could have stopped Kirk from doing what he did. Kirk and that woman consensually made that choice. But you’re making this Jolie’s fault and blaming her for his action when Kirk is a grown-ass man. Do you think you could have convinced a guy like him to keep things PG in the pool?” I waited and got nothing. “Come on, Mark. I know she’s your daughter, but you’ve got to ease up on her a bit.”

His brows furrowed while he glared at me, but not a word came out of his mouth.

Jolie broke the silence with a deep breath and, “There’s a reason I broke that code of conduct, Dad.”

“Are you going to tell me you’re the reason? That this is your fault?” Mark addressed those questions at me.

I rubbed my palms over my sweatpants and flipped my hat backward, so not even the brim was in the way when I said, “What I am going to tell you is that I’m in love with your daughter.”

Mark stared at me as that news set in.

“Dad …” She waited for him to glance at her, and that was when I looked at her, a flush moving across her cheeks, telling me she felt every word I’d said. “The reason I broke that promise is because I’m in love with him too.”

When she gave me her eyes, they were soft. So was her expression. And mine were gentle and as tender as I could possibly make them.

We couldn’t say anything to each other at this moment, but we were showing the effects of both statements and what they meant to us.

His arms unfolded, and his hand hit his desk. “Goddamn it.” That same hand gripped the side of his face. “This can’t work.There’s no way I can allow you to be employed with the Whales and date one of the players. It’s unethical. It disrupts the balance of power.” He shook his head. “The fucking press would have a field day with that news. Can you imagine? Owner’s daughter and star player of the league.” He pushed against his temples. “I won’t have it. I can’t.”

“And I’ll tell them we’ve been together for a long time, we’ve just kept things off the radar.” I held the edge of his desk and leaned in closer. “You worry it’s going to be a controversy. But it’s not, Mark. Everyone wants a love story, and we’re giving them one. But whatever you do, don’t take her away from the team. We need her.” When he said nothing, I continued, “How are ticket sales compared to last year?” I asked the question because I knew the answer. “How’s our social media following and engagement? How’s the hype surrounding this season as we move into our next stint of travel?” I smiled at my girl. “You know a lot of that has to do with Jolie.”

“I’m not underestimating my daughter and her abilities. She’s exceptional. That’s why she works for me. But I’m trying to consider the logistics of this relationship, and I don’t believe it can work in a professional setting.”

“But it’s already been working, Dad.”

“Working?” He chuckled. “How about working against me? Had you two not been holed up in that Vegas suite, Kirk wouldn’t have gotten himself in a pickle.”

A real fucking pickle all right.

“I can’t go back and fix the mistake I made. All I can tell you is that it won’t happen again.” There was so much emotion in her voice.

“You’re damn right it won’t!”