beautiful mistake - joe burrow

112

"They can't just do that, can they?" pissed off, Joe jumped up and pushed his chair back which slammed into the wall with a loud crash. the reps had left by then and the six had sat speechless in their seats for a few minutes.

"I mean, you guys don't have to fire Elle just because they tell you to, do you?" Joe looked at Mike who just sighed softly "they are our superiors, so to speak, if we disobey their orders it can have dire consequences for us" Mike explained.

"that means you guys are just going to let Elle go? You can't do that Mike" Nick woke up from his stupor and stood up, putting his hands on his hips and looking desperately at the president.

"no, of course not. I'll go call Kathrin right now and have her inform our lawyers. The two representatives said themselves, there is no reason why, based on our statements, Elle should be fired. They have nothing on her, they won't get away with it" Mike explained, mumbled a goodbye and left the room.

"Why just her, Paul?" Joe turned to the head athletic trainer with a sigh. "Why is she the only one getting fired? Why are there no consequences for me? After all, I was just as involved in this whole thing as she was"

"Prosecuting you would be more complicated, Joe. The NFLPA could get involved, because like Mike said, the NFL has nothing on you, so it wouldn't do anything on you. Plus, with the contract you signed, it's all a little more complicated. Terminating our employment contracts is easier than your player contract" Paul explained.

"And there's no NFLPA or anything like that for you ATs? Or the possibility of the NFLPA taking on this case?" Joe asked. Paul shrugged his shoulders. "It might be worth a try"

Zac, meanwhile, had knelt down next to Elle, who was still sitting motionless in her chair, her elbows propped on the table, her face buried in her hands. She looked so exhausted and fragile that you would think she would collapse if you just touched her.

Gently and carefully, Zac put his arms around her shoulders. "Hey, Elle. Listen to me. We're not giving up on you. We're going to fight with every weapon we have to keep you here. No matter what sacrifices it takes, you understand?"

Elle raised her head. The shock, the pain, the fear all reflected in her eyes made Joe's heart feel heavy. Why did it have to come to this? Everything had just been so good.

"Nick, Zac, what do you say we go into my office and figure out what to do about this? Joe, I think it would be better if you took Elle home for now and you guys recovered from the shock, okay?" Paul suggested. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Take care of her. She needs you real bad right now" Nick murmured to Joe as the three men left the couple. Joe nodded. "I'll give it my best shot" he replied with a wry smile.

The car ride was awfully quiet. Elle had completely huddled in the passenger seat, her head resting against the cold windshield and her gaze fixedly out the window, although it looked as if her thoughts were not here at all.

Joe felt terrible. He didn't know what to do to cheer her up. The "everything will be all right" speech wouldn't do any good anyway, because who could say if everything would really be all right again? Besides, he felt guilty since only Elle had to face the consequences.

Once home, he made them both some tea, as he had when Elle had told him about her abusive ex, before they sat down on the couch and Joe pulled Elle to his lap.

Sighing, she buried her face in the crook of his neck while Joe wrapped his arms around her tightly and pressed a kiss to her forehead. For a while they sat in silence.

"Do you want to talk?" Joe asked gently, stroking her back encouragingly. Elle just nodded slightly.

"Alright, listen to me, baby. I know it looks like the world is coming to an end right now. We've talked a few times about what might happen if we go public, but for this exact hardship to actually happen right now, I don't think anyone expected it" Joe started talking.

"I'm terribly sorry about how everything turned out, but I'm quite sure we'll find a solution. You have an entire organization behind you fighting tooth and nail to get you your job back. You heard what Mike said, he got the lawyers involved. The NFL has nothing chargeable on us."

Elle sighed. "I know and I appreciate how everyone is trying to help me. But, Joe, how am I supposed to keep running an organization where I fight for more women in the NFL when I can't even manage to keep my job myself?"

"We'll make it work, Elle. You'll keep your job and do the same for other women. You just don't have to give up. Fight for yourself. Show them that you're not so easily accommodated"

They were silent again for a few moments until Elle blurted out the question that was one of her biggest concerns. "What if we don't make it? What am I going to do then? What happens to us?"

Sighing, Joe pulled her close. "What we absolutely will not allow is for this unfair decision to ruin our relationship, got it? That will never happen, okay?" he pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"And I'd suggest you just stay with me and I'll take care of both of us, after all I'm not exactly poor and it would easily be enough for both of us, but..." he grinned at Elle, who gave him an indignant look. "...I know you well enough to know that you would hate to be just a housewife and live on my dime" he finished his sentence.

"You're absolutely right" Elle agreed with him nodding "I thought so" Joe winked at her. "The good thing is that you've made quite a name for yourself in football over the last few months. I'm sure there's bound to be a team, even if it might just be a college team, around here that would be very happy to hire you as an AT right away. Maybe you could ask your old internship place, they wanted you back at the beginning of last season" Joe suggested.

"And if all the teams around here don't take you, then I'll just fly to see you every free minute I can to LA, New York, Miami, wherever you land. I'll even visit you at the North or South Pole if you get taken there" Joe grinned.

Elle giggled. "I don't think the Polar Bears or Penguins need an athletic trainer for their football team" she pondered.

"Who knows?" Joe shrugged. "anyway, it doesn't matter what happens, Elle. We're going to stick together. We're not going to let something like this break us, you understand?" Elle nodded.

"You know what I said back then when we were talking about our kiss?" Elle looked at him with a smile. "You mean it was a mistake, but a nice one?" Joe asked. Elle nodded. "A beautiful mistake."

"are you calling our relationship a mistake?" Joe asked confused. Elle shook her head. "no, of course not. I just couldn't help thinking about it. And even if it was a mistake, I don't regret anything. I wouldn't do anything differently. I would commit it again"

"I feel the same way. It sucks what happened today because of it, but I still wouldn't change it. I'm glad we made it public, Elle" Joe admitted.

"I love you, Joe. And I'll love you too when I'm treating penguins at the South Pole" Elle wrapped her arms around his neck as Joe laughed. "And I love you, Elle" smiling he placed his lips on hers.

WHO-DEY 🧡