“As okay as it can get. Are you ready to go?”
“Absolutely,” he says and tucks his phone into his back pocket.
I turn to Corey, who’s scowling at me and Hayes, eyes zeroing in on Hayes’s intimate hand placement. “In the future, please don’t invite yourself to my business meetings,” I say, my voice hard. “I don’t care if you and Cal are friends. Getting involved inmycareer is unprofessional. You have no right to put your nose into anything regarding me or my work. We are not together anymore, Corey, and we’re never going to be again.”
Thankfully,Hayes can tell I need a few minutes before talking about what went down at the studio. Once home, I head back to my bedroom and do a few of my grounding exercises. I sit on my floor cross-legged, and close my eyes, breathing in through my nose and out through my mouth as I count down from fifty for three repetitions.
When I feel more centered, I join him back in the living room, right as the food delivery arrives. We plate the Thai food and settle into our seats at the table. Then, Hayes breaks the ice.
“What happened back there?”
I exhale loudly and poke a noodle around on my plate. “Your guess is as good as mine. IthoughtI was going to be doing retakes at the studio, which is why I went up to check with Callum in the first place.”
“What the hell was Corey doing there?”
“I wish I knew,” I grumble. “As soon as I walked into his office, Corey was there and then Cal conveniently had to ‘take a call.’”
“You think he set you up?”
“I don’t know.” I shake my head. “Possibly. I wouldn’t put it past him. I told you he and Corey were buddies. Corey said they had business to discuss over lunch, but I’m guessing Cal must’ve also had the livestream on, or had someone else watching the livestream for him, and got a little heated at the fact that I outright announced we were in a relationship, so he felt the need to bring Corey into the mess again.”
“That’s really shitty of him.”
I press my lips into a thin line and nod. “Yeah. Nothing terribly out of character for him, though. He can’t stand not being the one in control.”
“That’s awful,” Hayes says, his voice low. “I think you need a new manager.”
“I wish it were that easy. When I signed on, I was assigned to Cal, and both times my deal was up for extension, the higher-ups refused to rework my contract to assign me to someone else, even though I asked multiple times. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that I’m stuck with Cal until this extension ends and I can leave the label,” I grumble. Hayes frowns and runs his tongue over his lower lip. “I’ve had about enough of this, though.”
“I think you need a vacation,” he says gently. “Get some distance from LA and your label.”
I nod in agreement, but having no clue where to even start. Then an idea hits me. “Wait... what if I come to your place?” I ask.
Whatever Hayes was thinking morphs into surprise. He sets his fork down and then wipes his mouth with the napkin. “You want to come to Milwaukee?”
“I mean... only if that’s okay,” I say, backtracking a bit. “I know you’ll be busy with practice, but we could hang out in the evenings and I could have a chance to decompress.”
“Nothing would make me happier,” he says, his face splitting into a smile. “Do you really think you’ll be able to get them to approve it?”
I pull out my phone, opening a text thread with Bethany and typing out a message. “I’ll have Bethany work her magic. I’ve never asked for time off before, so hopefully that will play in my favor.”
“Well, count me in. The idea of you in Milwaukee is the best thing I’ve heard all day.”
I grin. If Cal thinks he can pull a fast one on me by bringing Corey back into my life, I’ll spring a fast one on him right back and skip town. It’s time I stop letting him disrespect me and my feelings.
My phone chimes and I glance down.
Bethany
Consider it done. Have a nice time
EIGHTEEN
hayes
MONDAY, NOVEMBER 11
Returning hometo Milwaukee after spending a few days with Jersey takes more willpower than I want to admit. When I left Tuesday evening, Jersey still hasn’t heard for sure if she’ll be able to make it out to Milwaukee the following week or not. I do my best to return to my regular routine once I’m home, though I miss her terribly. I let the focus of the game help drown out the ache that leaving her left deep inside me, giving my all at workouts and team practices leading up to our next game.
