Header (Bardley FC Soccer Romance #1)

Chapter 20

Twenty

C hance was waiting impatiently to be called into Sam’s office again. Ms. Allie hadn’t said much to him as usual, but he wasn’t up for small talk anyway.

This wasn’t the first time he’d been called up here for a chat, but it was the first time he was this nervous. Long gone was his cocky attitude where he could do no wrong. This time combined with Sam’s in-person visit to invite him here today, had him on edge.

This could be it. That’s all he could think all weekend. He almost wished they’d just rip off the bandaid already and get to it. The other part of him wanted to delay what felt like the inevitable for as long as possible.

“You can go on in,” Ms. Allie said.

Chance nodded and rose. “Thank you,” he told her.

“Chance,” she whispered, stopping him. “The whole team has been here at some point in the last few days to talk to Sam. Everyone is in your corner on this,” she confided.

“Thanks,” he muttered. More confused than ever, Chance went in the office and closed the door.

Sam and Derek were waiting for him. It wasn’t a surprise to also see Derek here but the weight of disappointment in himself grew heavier with him here.

“Take a seat, Chance,” Sam said.

He took the only empty chair, next to Derek and across from Sam. There was still Sam’s pristine desk between them but everyone was sitting this time. Much different than last time or any other time.

It could mean that they were preparing to let him go. He knew he was overthinking everything but he couldn’t stop it.

“We’ve had a lot of time to think about your situation,” Sam began.

“A lot of feedback has been brought to our attention as well,” Derek added.

“Every member of this team wants you to stay. They want you back on the pitch as soon as possible. I have to make the decision to decide if you’re worth it.”

“We can get another striker in here or even a damn good forward to take your position. The team would adjust,” Derek said.

Chance nodded. It was true. He was good, but he posed a big risk on the field.

“I also had a few of visitors over the weekend to plead your case and a few phone calls this morning. It seems that everyone from the clinic also thinks that you should stay with Bardley. Before I get into what they said, do you have anything to say for yourself?” Sam asked.

He had a whole thing planned to say but of course he lost his words now. He was surprised that everyone had reached to support him and wondered if one of those people was Tori.

Chance took a deep breath and just said what came to mind. “I don’t know that I can defend my actions. I told you already why I did it, I can’t say I fully regret the action, only the outcome. I’m sure you both heard what he was saying about Tori in front of their son. It was wrong, but I could have handled it differently.” Still, it felt good to knock him on his ass.

“We both heard and saw the videos,” Sam confirmed.

“What I can tell you is there is very little you can do to me to make me feel much worse than I already do. I am working on things. I have been seeing a therapist to work on some coping skills on the field, and now off the field. The clinic was meant to show you both, the team, and the fans, that I could be better, but I know that this didn’t help things.”

“Anything else?” Sam asked.

Chance shook his head. There was no defending it. “Only that I want to stay and keep playing at Bardley.”

Sam nodded. “I’m glad to hear that because after we talked last I wasn’t sure. You seemed to have given up on the team and yourself.”

“I wasn’t in a good place,” Chance admitted.

“And about her?” Sam pressed.

“Tori? I don’t know. Eventually, I want to talk to her, to know if we can give it another try, but I don’t know. I can promise whatever the outcome of that, I want to be here. I won’t let it affect my playing on the pitch.”

“I’d be surprised if you managed that,” Derek said. “No woman worth going through all of this for wouldn’t affect you on the pitch. When my wife left me once, I was a complete wreck.”

Chance was shocked. He didn’t know that Derek and his wife had ever split.

“When I went through my divorce, you were here, Chance. I was a complete asshole to everyone.” Sam stood. “It was a hard time in my life.” He wandered over to the floor to ceiling windows and looked out.”

“We weren’t even dating that long,” Chance said. It didn’t really help his case, but it was true.

“When you know, you know,” Derek told him.

Sam took a deep breath. “I think the insight from your teammates speaks volumes here. None of them want you to leave. Most of the guys made a request to bring you back for the last game.”

“To be fair, I think they all want you back this weekend. The ones that didn’t say it probably didn’t think to,” Derek added.

“More telling was Ellis Ward from parks and rec. He said that he had no problems with you and added that he would have hit the man himself if he thought he could have done as good of a job,” Sam chuckled. “I don’t think he was lying about that.”

“After watching the video, I can’t say I wouldn’t have hit him either,” Derek agreed.

“And then we had parents calling all weekend and this morning. It seems you made a real impression doing that clinic. The kids all love you and I had a few parents that admitted to not being sure about you in the beginning but want you back out there now.” Sam nodded to Derek. “Go ahead.”

“I met with a few of the guys who feel guilty about not being there to help you both on and off the pitch. Your two biggest supporters right now with the most guilt are the reason that your girl doubted you. When you have a chance, you need to talk to them,” Derek told him.

Sam nodded and went back to his seat. “Maddox brought Tori here to talk to me. Emmett, too.”

Chance blinked as he struggled to process that news.

“I don’t think she was aware of how bad things really were with you and the team until he did. She pleaded your case, you know?”

“Wh—What did she say?” Chance asked.

“She said that we shouldn’t punish you over this. Basically that you had your issues, but this one wasn’t your fault. Said her ex baited you and that she was trying to get her custody changed based on what happened. She really didn’t want me to punish you for this. Emmett said you were his friend and that he missed you,” Sam told him.

His heart squeezed. He missed them both, too.

“I want you to hear this from me and not her, as a friend and not as a boss. Isaac touted on the phone on the way home about how you were going to be fired now.” He leveled a glare at Chance. “Do not do anything about it. She seems to have things well in hand.”

Chance nodded, still processing all of this.

“Tori seems like a sensible woman. She also said similar things to me about y’all’s relationship. Not so much about fixing it but that she had screwed up and that she didn’t want it to impact your game. I thought you should know before we go any further,” Sam told him.

Chance was out of his seat. “I have to go,” he said and ran out of the office.

What was going to happen here mattered less than going to Tori right now. He had been to hard on himself and her over what happened. Sam was right the other day that he needed to earn her trust and this wasn’t how.

He heard Sam and Derek yell after him but he ignored them. Skipping the elevator, he took the stairs two at a time, finally reached the bottom and then headed for the front door.

A few guys were in the parking lot and tried to stop him. He would apologize later. He needed to go to her now. Nothing was stopping him.

She had come to defend him and that told him more than anything else. She was his and he needed her or the outcome of this meeting didn’t matter. He didn’t want to go into the next phase of his life without her on or off the pitch.