I gave her a hug and then bent down and wrapped my arms around Cutler. “Love you, Beefcake.”
“I love you, Eloise Gable. You’re my girl. Don’t you forget that,” he said, tossing me a wink.
This kid had more charm in his pinky finger than most grown men had in their whole bodies.
I chuckled and waved goodbye as Clark walked them to their car.
I headed back to my office to finish up a few things before I made my way home for the day. I spent the next hour checking emails and getting caught up on some admin tasks.
Just as I was shutting down my computer, my desk phone rang.
“Hello,” I said.
“Eloise, this is Sebastian. I need to see you in my office right now, please. It’s urgent.”
He wasn’t his normal, friendly self, which immediately put me on edge.
“Um, sure. I’ll be right there.”
He ended the call abruptly, and I reached for my purse and made my way to the admin offices one floor above mine.
I’d never gone to his office before, but I knew it was two doors down from my father’s. When I opened the door, a woman sitting behind a large cherry wood desk looked up at me.
“Hi, Eloise, they’re expecting you.” She pushed to her feet and led me to a closed door before knocking and pushing it open.
They’re expecting you. As in more than one person.
My stomach tightened immediately when I saw Sebastian, my father, Randall, and Scarlett, the head of Human Resources all sitting there.
The door closed behind me, and I stood there awkwardly, my father’s gaze locked with mine.
I saw the hurt in his eyes.
The disappointment.
He knew. They knew.
A pit settled deep in my stomach, and I clasped my hands together to try to stop them from trembling.
Sebastian motioned for me to take the only open seat, between my father and Randall.
“Eloise, we’ve had something brought to our attention, something that is against team policy and cause for immediate termination if so proven. We’d like to hear from you if this is true, and Scarlett is here as the human resource representative. Your father was called in as he is the coach of this team, and he’ll have to be involved in how this affects his player. The fact that you’re his daughter involves him in a unique way.” Sebastian’s words were not delivered with any anger, and I saw no judgment in his eyes.
I couldn’t say the same for everyone else.
There was a lot of mixed emotions in this room.
Excitement radiated from Randall. The man had never shown any sort of joy, yet in this moment, he exuded it.
Scarlett appeared uncomfortable, but I couldn’t tell if it was with me or just the fact that she’d been dragged in here.
And my father—he was impossible to read. He looked almost wounded, and I felt a crack in my heart before he even spoke a word. I tried to swallow over the thick lump in my throat, but it was difficult.
“Which is why nepotism is always a bad idea in the workplace,” Randall said, as he glared at me, making my stomach wrench even more.
“Well, you knowing my father your entire life didn’t hurt when you applied for this position all those years ago.” Sebastian arched a brow as I fidgeted with my hands and stared at my father, who wouldn’t look back at me.
“I was more than qualified for the position as team trainer,” Randall hissed.
