Race For Love Read Free Page A

eyes mischievous. "You really should have listened to me when I said I had a plan for you. But you didn't, so here we are."
    He knew he was missing something. She was either totally crazy town or he'd overlooked something major. "Cut the shit, Kal."
    "Okay fine." She spread her arms. "If you'd just given me a chance, I would have told you that my full name is Kallie Wintor Endelstein . Roger Endelstein is my father."
    Oh shit. She was that Kallie? But Kallie and her father were estranged. Had been since Roger and her mother split. For years, she’d stayed away from anything Jaguars. His head spun, and sweat popped onto his brow. He'd been fucking Roger Endelstein's daughter? As in the fucking owner of the Jaguars basketball team. Fuck . Even though his breathing shallowed, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at her. "I still don't know what you're doing here, Kallie."
    "I didn't take you for being so slow, but I guess I was wrong about that. Dad's been after me for years to take a position with the team. Wants me to learn the ropes. To work and shit. So I took the AGM job last week. The guy in line for the job wasn’t thrilled, but whatever. Training staff is under my department...imagine that."
    Right now, she owned him and they both knew it. And from the looks of it, she was intent on payback. His stomach pitched. No matter what she had to say, it wouldn't be good for him. He could feel it, her glee. She practically vibrated with it. He crossed his arms over his chest. "Just do what you're going to do, Kallie." His voice was low, gravelly, as he worked to control the fury coursing through his veins.
    "First, you might want to address me as Miss Endelstein, second, watch your tone."
    The hell he would. "Listen, if you think—" But she didn't let him finish.
    "I'd advise you to stop there. Whatever you want to say, take that and weigh it against how badly you want a starters training job with any team in the NBA."
    Fuck . She knew what he wanted and she wasn't above dangling it in front of his face. "You wouldn't."
    She grinned. "Derek, it really pains me to say this because, well, I like you, but it's time for the Jaguars to let you go. You've done great work but it's time to part ways."
    He saw her lips moving, but he couldn't hear a thing after she said, "...let you go." He was fired? Everything moved in slow motion as his brain stuttered. He repeatedly looped the last few minutes, trying to make sense of what was happening.
    She's firing you . "I've given nothing but blood, sweat, and tears to this organization. I've worked with some of your biggest up-and-comers. This is a mistake."
    "You signed an at will employment contract, Derek. I don't have to give you a reason. But let's go ahead and say we were looking to take the training staff in a different direction. Maybe you can even go with differing philosophies. Or we can talk about the Deyshawn Wallace situation."
    His fury bubbled to the surface. "This is bullshit, Kallie. Deyshawn kept his injuries to himself and chose to self medicate. I caught it and put an end to it."
    "I've been looking at the file. You caught it late."
    "You fucking vindictive—" He cut himself off before he said something that could be used against him later. He rolled his shoulders. Calm down. Be fucking calm . That was the only way to get through this. "Look, maybe I could have been more sensitive that night. I wasn't looking to hurt your feelings. But we were over, we both knew it. You can't fire me because of that."
    Her eyes went wide. "Derek, what you're accusing me of is a violation of my ethics."
    Ethics his ass. She didn't know the meaning of the word. "You lied to me, and somehow I end up paying for it. You mean to tell me, you firing me is not about me breaking up with you?"
    "Those two things are mutually exclusive, Derek. You forget the Jaguars are here because of my family. And we are making the best decision for the team."
    He planted his hands down on the table and