Hotbox (47 page)

“And you guys still talk? What about his wife? She doesn’t care? I think I’d be pretty worried if he had a friend that looked like you.”

“What would she have to
worry ab
out?
She’s a model—for real—and she’s drop dead gorgeous. Besides,” she added, changing her tone, “I don’t like that you think I would ever come between them—”

“I don’t
think that
,” I said, completely apologetic. “I’m really sorry. I guess the whole situation just kind of…surprised me. I think you underplayed how well you know him, so it just threw me off a little to see ho
w comfortable he was around you.”

She actually seemed guilty about it. “
I’m sorry, Ty. I do underplay it, I
’ll
admit
that
, b
ut it wasn’t to keep anything from
you
. I just…
keep indifferent about it because
I don’t even
want
people to know. I guess I was just in that
cautious mode—o
ut of habit. When
Nick
came to town a few
times to see me, it was already rumored that we were dating. Some of the people aroun
d here got
…a little carried away. Then of course everyone claimed that he dumped me for a supermodel,” she laughed. With
a shrug she added, “Oh, well.”

“So how is it that Shawn knows him so well, yet you were the one that had to get
Nick
here with his manager?”

“Oh, that’s kind of a long story,” she smiled. “Can we go, though? I’ll tell you about it, but we can’t be late.”

I agreed and she began telling me about it as we got in the car
.

I still had no clue where we were going. Even with all the prodding and prying I’d done, she still wouldn’t divulge anything. We had breakfast at her favorite diner, and then we ended up somewhere I was least expecting.

“The train station?” I glanced around while she continued to smile. “So we really are going out of town, huh?”

“Yep. But not too far,” she shrugged.

We left her car in the parking lot and boarded the Amtrak. She was always holding my hand, no matter where we were. I absolutely loved it.
As we were waiting in the aisle to find our seats, she stood very closely in front of me while she held both of my hands. The back of her head was at my chin, but I couldn’t resist finding the side of her face to kiss her cheek. It made her smile and she squeezed my hands tightly.

It didn’t take long to find out we were heading to Seattle.
I read it on the board out
side, but I wasn’t really sure until t
he destination and duration of the trip were announced soon after we sat down.

“We’re going to Seattle for the day?”

“Yes,” she smiled.

“Cool. That sounds fun. I like it.”

“Good.”

The ride was new to me. I admitted that I’d never been on a train before and she was shocked. She said that she and Cali do this at least once a year, usually to go shopping. But she assured me she wasn’t going to drag me around town on a shopping trip.

“I’d let you drag me anywhere,” I told her. “If you want to shop, shop away.”

“Nah, not this time. But I might take you up on that some other time.”

The time easily passed
,
and before I knew it, the train came to a stop for us to unload. I looked at my watch and it was almost eleven. When I glanced out the window I realized where we actually were. Jayden was watching me as we stepped off the train and I couldn’t help but smile.

“You’re taking me to a Mariner
s
game,
aren’t you
,” I stated, nodding my head. “Very cool.”

“Please tell me you’ve been to a Mariner
s
game before,” she smiled. “I don’t want to have to explain it to you.”

With a laugh I said, “Yes, I’ve been here a few times.”

“With your dad?” she tried
as we were walking toward Safeco Field.

“Oh, hell no. My dad never took me anywhere. I came with baseball teams a few different times, and with a few buddies here and there.”

She nodded as we
walked the distance from the train station to the ballpark
. She informed me that we were an hour early so we could take our time and walk around for a little bit. Thirty minutes before the game, we sat down. Our seats were above
first
base, three
rows up.

“Okay, I’ve never been
this
close to the field,” I had to admit.

“Oh? I’ve never even been here, so I
just got the best tickets I could find.”

I was a little surprised. “Never?”

She shook her head. “Nope. I’ve been to a few games in Portland with Matt to watch the Beavers,
and to Tacoma to watch the Rainiers,
but I’ve never actually been to a major league game. Matt was a little jealous when I told him where we were going. I figure if we go again, maybe we can invite him and Stacie.”

For the next
few
hours we watched the Mariners play the
Angels
.
Baseball had been my life as of two months ago. Since then I had watched a few games on TV, but now I was really missing it. I wondered if Jayden knew that. We had still been discussing the possibility of a career in baseball, but it had sort of been pushed to the back burner. I think I was too content with how my life currently was. If I could rid myself of
Olevsky
’s influence, marry Jayden and have a family, I knew I would be a very happy man. I didn’t feel like I
needed
baseball anymore
, but it was still hard to stop thinking about
.

Being at a game
that day
brought up the subject all over again. Jayden was never pushy, but she insisted that I try if it was something I really wanted. We discussed it again,
b
ut she could sense that my interest had dwindled. She left it alone and didn’t say anything further, but I
decided I
should share how I really felt.

“I’m really happy with how things are right now,” I told her.
“I guess my priorities have changed, and although you’ve always been number one, now you’ve become one, two,
and
three.”

With that she laughed. “Well, I support you in anything you do—”

“I know,
and
that’s what makes it hard.”

“
S
o you just need to do what feels right for
you
.”

What was right for me was to marry her.
I felt very strongly about that.
I wished I could know if that was going to happen. Right now it was the only
thing I knew I
wanted
to happen
.

When the game was over we walked a mile-and-a-half to Pike Place Market. We had four hours before we needed to
catch the train going back home
. It was routine for Jayden to buy a few things from
the market each time she came, so w
e strolled along slowly and she shared different experiences that she’d had in the city before. She told me some
funny stories about her friends, one being
how they’d all taken Shawn to the Children’s Museum
for the day
.

“He loved it,” she laughed. “It was right up his alley.”

I’d grown up living
closer to Seattle than she
had
, but she had definitely experienced the city
way more than I had. She also seemed to know all the music spots, including the one we were now passing. She’d been there several times for different concerts.

We spent some time at Waterfront Park
and Pioneer Square, and i
t was turning dusk when we boarded the train. Jayden laid her head against me and actually fell asleep for the last forty minutes of the ride. She woke up as the train was slowing into the station, feeling guilty that she had neglected me.

“Nah, when everyone told me how cute you looked sleeping, I proudly told them you were my wife and we were expecting twins.”

She laughed as I took her keys to drive us home.

Monday I got the call I had been waiting for. I was surprised it came so soon, but I was very grateful.
Kristof
wanted to meet with me when I got off of work, so I left
before
five that day because I was anxious to hear whatever it was he had to say. I was hoping for the best, but if he told me that my request was going to be denied, I had no idea how I was going to take it.

I met him at
Perdita’s
again while he was eating dinner. He asked how my weekend was, so I explained the music festival at the lake and our trip to Seattle. He smiled the entire time, seeming to enjoy my report. I wasn’t sure how long I was going to have to wait for his decision, but I decided to indulge him in whatever he wanted to know.

“Jayden seems to take v
ery good care of you,” he noted.

“She does,” I
agreed
.

He took a bite of food and silently chewed. After he swallowed he said,
“She’s a very talented musician
as well.”

I studied him for a moment. “Did you see part of
the
show?”

He nodded. “Actually I saw the entire performance. Both of them.” With a smile he added, “I very much enjoyed it
.” He took another bite of food, wiped his mouth, and pushed the plate away. “If she wants a career in music, it would be very easy to do.”

“She doesn’t,” I informed him. When he raised his eye
brow
s I added, “She gets stage fright.”

“Yes, I saw the two of you before she went on. She likes having you to calm her nerves.”

It made me uncomfortable to know he had been watching us, but if it helped him to determine the answer I wanted, I didn’t care.

“You’re being very patient with my rambling,” he smiled. “I assume that whatever I say is of no interest to you.”

I
pondered that
for a second before
replying
, “That’s not exactly true.”

He seemed surprised, but didn’t say anything for a moment. Finally he said, “Well, let’s move on to what you’re here for.”

My pulse quickened.

“You’ve asked to be cut loose from the organization because you feel it’s the only way you can marry Jayden, which is what you want more than anything. Is that correct?”

He waited for my response so I answered, “Yes.”

With a nod, he continued. “There are some very important business decisions I’ve had to make in order for th
is to be possible
.
It’s been very difficult.
I’ll spar
e you the details
since you are now no longer a part of my company.”

My heart was thumping in my chest and I was about to thank him profusely.

“However,” he added, and my stomach sank. “There are a few stipulations.”

I tried to remain calm, deciding I would wait to see what he said before I got angry.

“You have been officially cut loose
from
any
further association to my company, but you do know things that
need
to stay confidential. Y
ou know your code of silence still must remain. My name will never be mentioned to anyone, including your wife-to-be.
Names of any other employees that you have come in contact with will never be mentioned as well. I don’t think I need to warn you
of
what might happen if you break my number one rule,” he said sternly. “The same is followed on our end. No one will ever divulge your involvement, nor even utter your name. Is that all clear?”

I nodded.

“Very well
then. I guess what’s done is done.
Enjoy your new life
, Tyler.”

I was so overjoyed all I could offer was a barely audible, “Thank you.”

He nodded. “So? Go home and propose to your girlfriend.”

I thanked him again and left.

When I got outdoors
I sighed a huge sigh of relief. It really happened. I was really cut loose. Of course my mind was throwing in doubts at the same time. How could I really trust him? What if he put me through all of this, only to pull me back in later on?

I didn’t want to think about it
,
though. I was busy planning my future with Jayden.
M
aybe Friday night wou
ld be the right time to ask her.
Once we were engaged, I wondered when Jayden would want to get married. It was already approaching the middle of August
…