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Chapter 4
Easton
I spent the entire day thinking about what Harlowe said last night. She is so damn determined to make everyone see how good she is in business, at understanding football, at being able to not just own but run a top notch team. She doesn't see that everyone who matters already knows how good she is.
Her family, my family, all of us are behind her. Hell, Grandpa and Grandma have called me every night to ask how she is doing. They want to come out and see for themselves but they know they would overshadow her. That's the last thing they want to do.
So they will wait, just like the rest of the family. All of them will be out for the first game of the season. They have their own suite, two suites, next to each other now that the family has gotten so big. The Segler's and the Bradford's will be there for the first big game for Harlowe and for me.
"Hey, Bradford! I saw you got a little one on one time with the new owner last night. How did that go?" Cooper Sands, tight end, and a good friend of mine, decided to poke at me over the press release this morning.
"She stopped by to chew me out for kissing her in front of the press. No big deal. You know we grew up together, right? Her brother is my best friend," I remind him.
"Yeah, well, that isn't the way I open the door to my best friend's little sister but hey, she doesn't look like Harlowe Segler either," Cooper laughs as do some of the other guys.
The comment rubs me the wrong way and immediately I make a point to everyone in the locker room that Harlowe is off limits. With the palm of my hand, I slam his locker closed and step into his face, angry and ready to fight.
It took Coop off guard. I don't start fights with the team, but then my best friend's sister wasn't being talked about in the locker room before.
I've done this only a few times before. Every time it was about Harlowe. Some idiot on the team would get a wild hair up their ass and think it's okay to talk shit about her. The kind of stuff you don't say about a nice girl like Harlowe. Stuff you wouldn't want said about your sister or your girlfriend. So I defended her.
Just like I'm going to defend Harlowe now.
"Harlowe is off limits to everyone in this locker room. She is to be respected and treated like family! Nobody talks trash about her. You treat her like you would your sister or your best friend's sister. We protect her! Do you understand me? If anyone wants to talk shit about her, they're going to be dealing with me!" Looking around the room, I had every eye on me.
I'll take on any one of them if they try anything with Harlowe. I'm not a linebacker, I don't play defense but I'm no slouch. I don't back down from a fight either. Especially one that matters.
"I didn't mean anything, Easton," Cooper tried to apologize.
"She's a woman, what does she know about football, dude?"
"What experience does she actually have? She's young, Easton. She can't be over thirty."
"If she was married and her husband was involved, maybe but she's a single chick. What does she actually know?"
"All of you were given a chance to play this game with no experience in the league," I silenced the room. "All of you had to prove that you could do it. That you had what it takes to be here. If you don't trust her, then trust me. I know Harlowe can take us to the championship."
"How?" Dre asked the question everyone else was thinking.
"Because I trust her. I believe in her. I've known her all my life. She's a woman in a man's industry. She's going to face a lot of backlash from a lot of people and she needs us to stand with her. We have to stand behind her. Harlowe is a good person with a big heart. She's tough and she doesn't take any shit, but she gets the job done.
"She's smart, talented and tenacious. She's going to piss you off and push us hard. And she's going to work her ass off for each of us. She won't let us down. She knows football, she grew up with the Bradford's, she knows what she's doing. She just needs us to believe in her." And I realized just how important it was for her that I believed in her. She needed me to get the team on her side.
They didn't completely agree, but they were going to give her a chance. That was all I could ask for. It was a start and Harlowe would have to get her ass out on that field and talk to the guys herself. Once she does, they'll get on board.
Knowing that will make her day, I figured I'd end her day on a good note and headed into the front office to tell her myself. Going upstairs, something I rarely did, I saw that most everyone had already left for the day.
Going to the third floor, I headed to the back corner office where I heard voices. Angry voices and it didn't sound good. Listening for a moment, I thought it might be better to talk to her later, then I stopped when I heard Tom. It sounded like he was threatening her.
Slowly I pushed the door open, just to see for myself what the situation was inside. I'm glad I did because when I saw the way he had her pinned in the chair I thought I was going to have to save her. I no sooner opened the door to do just that when Harlowe kicked Tom hard right in the balls. I thought the guy was going to pass out on her.
Before that could happen, I grabbed Tom by the back of his pants and hauled his ass out of her office and literally tossed him on the floor.
"Keep your fucking hands off her!" I bellowed at the general manager as I stood over him.
"I didn't touch that bitch! She kicked me!"
"From where I was standing, it looked like you were attacking her and she was protecting herself," I'd say that in court too.
"She's the one who was attacking me!" Tom tries to turn the tables on Harlowe but it won't work. I saw what I saw.
"You had her pinned in her chair pushed back so she couldn't get out. That's not her attacking you," I don't buy it.
"You're not seeing the whole story! She's a liar! And you are just being played, Bradford. You don't get it. Women like that, they just want one thing and they are what's wrong with this industry. They don't belong in football!" Tom tries to get me to go along with him.
Does he not know who my family is? Or how I'm related to the Segler's? Idiot!
"She going to fuck this entire team! Bradford, you're thinking with your dick! She just wants to fuck you!" Tom's comment wasn't appropriate and he asked for the punch.
When I swung. He didn't expect it. He fell back in a heap on the floor, and his nose started bleeding everywhere.
"You son of a bitch! I ought to bench your ass!" Tom threatened me but I had a sneaky suspicion that he didn't have that power anymore.
"I don't think so. You screwed with the wrong woman, Tom. Don't mess with a Segler woman, they'll kick your ass," I told him with a smirk on my face. It wouldn't be the first time I watched Harlowe kick a man's ass.
This one deserved it.
Taking a step back, I looked back at Harlowe to make sure she was okay and she was already on her feet and storming to the door. As she walked past me, she stepped over to Tom and looked down at him.
"Collect your belongings and get out of my facility! You're fired!" Harlowe quietly gave her order.
She didn't stick around for his response but went back into her office and called security to escort Tom out and to collect his keys, security cards and ID passes. Once the necessities were dealt with she looked up at me and waited a moment.
"Did you need something, Easton? I'm a bit busy right now," her voice stayed calm and professional but I saw her hand shake and knew she wasn't as calm as she would like me to think.
"I can wait while security gets Tom out of here. And I'll make sure you get home safely," I take a seat across from her without waiting for an invitation.
Without looking up, I sent her brother a text message letting him know that his sister is kicking my GM's ass and is going to be on the front page news again. I asked him to give Dylan a heads up because I punched said GM for Harlowe and threw him out of her office after she kicked him in the balls.
I waited less than a minute for a response and got the laughing emoji and a thumbs up. Then he asked if she was okay.
"Hunky dory! She fired him and called security. I'm staying with her until she leaves for home."
"Thx bro owe you 1"
"I'm tired, Easton. It's been a long day. I've got a lot of paperwork to get through and probably a lot more thanks to Tom before I'm done. Tom isn't going to make this easy so I'm sure I'll be here a while. Just tell me what you need and be on your way," Harlowe reached into her desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of aspirin. Taking two, she washed it down with her water and waited for me to answer her.
Wondering what would be the best thing I could say to her at this moment, I could only come up with one thing, "I believe in you."
I've never seen Harlowe at a loss for words, but she is now. Her mouth is open like she wants to say something but she can't form the words. It's actually a first for me. Harlowe has always been able to put me in my place but this time, I got her.
"You... what?" She really doesn't know what to say.
"I know you can run this team. I know you can take us to the championship. I believe in you," without looking at her, I finish sending my text to Max, before I look up. She looks exhausted. "What happened today?"
"Huh?"
"You look beat? What happened?" I explain, just as security came in with Tom's key's and pass cards.
"Thank you, please be sure everyone knows that Tom is no longer with the organization and that he is no longer allowed on the premises. Not even for the games. I don't want him here." Harlowe is explicit about what she wants and she details this out to the guard. I don't envy the guy when he has to explain this to everyone else.
He leaves with his orders and Harlowe rubs her temples. "What do you want, Easton? I still have a lot of work to do."
Looking at the pile on her desk, I'm guessing she has at least two or three more hours left to do. She's not going to get much done tonight with the headache she's got going. Making an executive decision, one I know she won't like, I go around the desk and start opening up the drawers until I find her purse.
"What are you doing?"
Pulling out the bag, I close the drawer and take her hand, "Taking you home."
"Easton, I don't think you heard me. I still have a lot of work to do." She argued, only making me smile.
"Not tonight you don't. Brother's orders. I was told to get you home and fed. Sorry, take it up with Max!" When she dug her heels in and refused to budge, what else could I do?
Turning on her, I bent down and flipped the woman over my shoulder and carried her out of her office and to the elevator. She screamed a little, then laughed as she pounded her fists against my back.
"Put me down, Easton! This isn't funny!" She tried not to laugh. "I'm your boss, damn it! Put me down!"
"You keep that up, Lowe, I'm gonna have to teach you a lesson," I warned her. Of course she didn't listen to me. As the elevator door opened, I pushed the button to go down and gave her a single hard slap right on her ass. Just the right spot that sang against my hand.
Damn, maybe I shouldn't have done that.
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