The Right Side of Tanner

Chapter 38

Jenna

Nick set up a meeting with the CEO of AthletaWear, Dane Martin, first thing this morning to hopefully clear me of the accusations Max turned in against me and get my job back. He's investigated Max's claim and found a lot of fascinating information.

Max started sleeping with one of the other account reps a while back. The same rep was also rumored to be sleeping with Dane. Max was trying to get a foot in the door at AthletaWear and was using her to try to do it. He told his lady friend that I had screwed him over while we were dating, that I cheated on him, and didn't deserve the job I had. He wanted her to help him get back at me by getting me fired and putting him in my position.

He and his lady friend conspired to get me out and get Max in. He promised her if she helped him, he'd share some of the big contracts with her, so she had more motivation to work with him. She used her sway with Dane to convince him that Max's claim was unquestionable. She made him think that I was doing shady deals behind the company's back to try to elevate myself financially, telling him that I was a wolf in sheep's clothing that needed to be dealt with immediately.

Fucking bitch!

She even went as far as to say that she overheard me giving information about my clients to Max. The bitch was going to recommend Max as my replacement to her good friend, Mr. Martin, and make sure no one else was hired into the position.

They had planned to give him Max's application for my job as soon as I was let go, but things didn't work out the way Max wanted. Nick made sure the position wasn't made available right away. He asked Dane for some time to do his own investigation into the claim before hiring someone new. Luckily for me, Dane allowed it.

So, Max's plan was starting to crumble. Then, the cherry on top- his little friend decided to come clean and tell Nick everything after she walked in on him screwing one of his coworkers in his office one day when she went to surprise him with lunch. Huh, it seems the jackass has a pattern. No surprise here.

When she walked in on that, she was livid. She went straight to Nick and spilled everything. She told him she'd sign an official statement and anything else he needed if he agreed not to fire her.

So, Nick agreed that he wouldn't fire her. She gave her statement in front of Nick, the company's legal team, and a notary. Once Nick had everything he needed to show the CEO what really happened, we met with him, armed with all the evidence Nick had collected.

We also had Nick's figures regarding my track record with the company, including the amount of money my contracts brought in and glowing peer reviews from coworkers. I also had my statement ready regarding my run-in with Max in the alleyway and his phone call requesting that I disclose to him private client information.

Nick and I also agreed that full transparency was the best course of action to ensure Max didn't have anything to cling to when he inevitably tried to retaliate. So, at the meeting, we also disclosed the whole nature of my relationship with Tanner. I assured Dane that Tanner and I were keeping our personal and professional lives separate and had no intention of changing that regardless of what may happen between us in the future.

He was shocked and said he wanted to mull things over with Nick, and they would decide how to proceed by the end of the following day. They then excused me, and I left my fate in their hands, hoping Nick and I had done enough to save my job. I could do nothing now but wait.

~

Later that day, I went with Lindsey and Mel to the game. This was a big one. If the guys win this, they will move on to the championship game. So, we went, ready to cheer our hearts out for our guys.

I knew there would be drama when the sleazeball, Tatum Charles, stopped by our section during warm-up. He pulled his usual bullshit- wagging his tongue at us, making suggestive comments, eye-raping us. The fucker really needs to be taught some common decency.

When Liam and Chase skated by after he left, they asked what had happened. They were pissed when we gave them the details. It didn't escape my notice that Tanner asked what happened when the guys rejoined the team. He looked over at us, and I could tell he had something brewing. He hates Tatum to begin with, now add to that the fact that the guy just disrespected the girls and me- yeah, things are going to get wild.

I couldn't help but laugh when Damien bumped into the fucker when he skated past. He made it look like an accident, but I know he did that to send a message.

Yep, this game is going to be intense.

~

By the third period, I was on the edge of my seat. Florida had landed some heavy hits on our guys. It was like they wanted a fight, and the refs were too blind or stubborn to call the jerks for roughing. The blows they were giving out were dirty, filled with malice, especially the ones by Tatum.

After Tanner scored a goal and the teams faced off again, Tatum charged down the ice straight for him. Tatum landed a brutal hit, sending Tanner flying into the boards. I almost lost my shit until I saw Tanner fling off his gloves and call Tatum out. The refs let them duke it out for a bit until Tanner won the fight, slamming Tatum down like a sack of potatoes onto the ice.

Watching my man take care of business out there released something primal in me. I can't explain why, but seeing him defend himself out there was so fucking sexy. It had me aching, especially when he turned and looked directly at me before going to the penalty box. When he did that, he smirked and gave me the sexiest wink I've ever seen. Fuck, I wanted him bad after that.

Maybe I'll reward him after the game. You know, for defending the team's honor and all that.

The crowd went wild after Liam scored the winning goal. The team now has a shot at the championship!

~

Everyone meets up at the bar afterward for a huge celebration. The place is packed, and everyone is having a blast. I'm standing between Lindsey and Tanner at one of the tables as everyone chats about the game highlights when my phone starts ringing.

It's Nick, so I excuse myself and step outside. This is it, the moment of truth.

Nick tells me Mr. Martin decided I should be reinstated immediately. He would be issuing me a written apology and has granted me a juicy raise and back pay for the time I lost while wrongly robbed of my position.

Also, Nick and Dane contacted Max's boss regarding everything, and he was fired, as was the other account rep whose lies led to my firing in the first place. Dane fired her, not Nick, so technically, he held up his end of the bargain with the woman.

I hang up with Nick and breathe a sigh of relief. I head back inside and tell everyone the news. It looks like we have more than one reason to celebrate tonight.

A/N:

Thank you to everyone who is giving my books a chance! I hope you are enjoying reading them as much as I enjoy writing them! 

Much love,

Laura 

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