Race For Love Read Free Page B

glowered at her. "I will fight you on this." From the start, he should have listened to his instincts. He'd slept with the wrong girl and now he was paying for it.
    "You're welcome to try. But you do, and there go your chances of ever getting another job in the NBA. You wanted your independence, now you have it." With a smirk, she left him in the conference room.
    In the span of ten minutes his dreams lay in ashes at his feet.

3
    S unlight streamed into the brightly lit room and Derek rolled over in bed, dragging the floral covers up over his head. It was too fucking early to be awake. He'd been up half the night and needed another hour of sleep at the least. Unless of course, there was a basketball game. He would get up for some basketball.
    He'd been back home in Hope, New York, for exactly two weeks and he was already losing his mind. He loved being back in the chaos of his family. But being at home also meant it was never quiet. It meant there was always someone there, in his face, asking him if he was okay. Giving him the look. The one that was part pity, part, “Well now what the fuck is he going to do?"
    He still couldn't believe Kallie had actually fired him. He'd rationalized his fling with Kallie because, well, he'd been thinking with his dick. Idiot . She'd made things sound so easy. He'd wanted to believe her when she said she only wanted super casual, no strings. So he'd ignored his brain, and his instincts, and he'd gone with it. She'd been just another girl to fill an empty hole.
    And then he'd found out that she'd broken his one rule. She was like every other woman he'd ever met who used sex to control men. They were both fucked up, and he'd been in his rights to call it off. But this wasn't some random girl whose calls he could avoid. This one came with claws...and fangs and was intent on taking a piece out of his ass.
    The worst part of it was the trumped up reasons she'd used for his dismissal. She'd called into question every decision he'd ever made. Left him with no legacy. The trainers and athletes were all under the General Manager's purview. That should have been Royce's call. But, no doubt, she'd called in her trump card of being the owner's daughter.
    Kallie . The evil bitch had fucking pulled the trigger. All because he'd dumped her.
    Right after the perp walk through the training facility, he'd called his father, the only lawyer he knew, and had filed an appeal. They'd tried to file for an injunction too so he could keep his job while they waited for the appeal, but no dice on that. So home he'd come. The damn appeal could take months and that would mean he'd miss the season and he could kiss all hopes of a starting trainer position goodbye. She'd killed his dream. For nothing.
    If he'd just slept with her again, he could have had whatever he wanted. There was no suppressing the involuntary shudder. He liked his independence far too much. He'd made the right choice. Life was just gonna suck for a while. Because not only had she fired his ass, she'd essentially blackballed him. With his credentials, he should have had his pick of jobs. He'd reached out to numerous teams, but so far, not a single call. It didn't matter how many favors he was owed. No one was calling him. He was a pariah.
    There was a sharp knock at the door, then it immediately opened. There was only one person who did that, his father. From under the covers, he growled, "Jesus, Dad, I'm not a kid anymore, you can't just bust in when you feel like it." Then he yanked the covers down to give his father a glare that said he meant business. Too bad it didn't work on the old man.
    Derek stared at the man who would essentially be his reflection in about twenty-five years or so. He was the spitting image of his father. From their height of six foot three, to their jet-black hair and blue eyes. His father's hair had more salt than pepper now, but they were pretty much the same.
    "You think I give a shit how old you are?" John Donovan might