The Right Side of Tanner

Chapter 37

Tanner

Max- that fucking Cretan! I could strangle that son of a bitch!

After what Jenna told me, I really want to teach that little weasel a lesson. I'm so fired up about everything he's done to my girl; I've been going extra hard in games and at practice. Maybe even a little, too hard. I may have checked one of the guys a bit too forcefully during practice the other day, which led to Coach giving me a stern talking to afterward and the guys asking what the hell had gotten into me.

I shrugged it off, telling everyone I was just super amped up about being so close to the championship. Luckily, they bought it. I just have to be careful with that shit; otherwise, I'll end up in the penalty box or the bench more than on the ice.

Jenna has been working through everything with her old boss the past few weeks, trying to find a way to get her job back. After Max approached her that night in the alley, she called Nick and told him what happened. She came clean about our relationship too. He was shocked, to say the least when she told him everything. Of all the people working for the company, Jenna was the last one anybody thought would end up sleeping with a client.

Hell, that's still a shocker to me, and I'm the one she's sleeping with.

Nick was pretty cool about the whole situation, though. Once the initial shock wore off, he said he didn't expressly have a problem with our relationship, so long as it didn't start to affect either of us professionally. That took a huge weight off Jenna's shoulders and mine. It gave us a little light at the end of the tunnel.

Who knows, maybe once this whole thing gets worked out, we can come clean to everyone else about our relationship. Maybe.

Nick did say it may be harder to convince the higher- ups to agree with his stance, but since it's not explicitly forbidden in the employee contracts, it shouldn't give them cause to keep her from her job.

He also told her that he found out how Max was able to push his bullshit accusation all the way to the CEO and get Jenna fired. It turns out the fucker had help from someone who worked for the company. Yeah! He snaked his way in and got them to help him out so his false claim against Jenna would go straight to the top.

I swear, if I ever see that shithead again, I'll make him wish he'd never been born.

No one hurts my girl.

Nick is going to call a meeting with the CEO once he has all the evidence locked down that he needs to refute Max's claims. According to him, all of the information he's dug up should be more than enough to not only get Jenna her job back but also get Max blacklisted from working in the industry ever again.

Serves the jackass right!

~

As I'm leaving practice, Jenna calls me to tell me Nick finally has what he needs to set up the big meeting. He's got everything arranged for the meeting to be held tomorrow morning with the CEO. They want her to come tell her side of what all has happened lately between her and Max- him requesting personal information about clients, him harassing her in the alleyway, etc.

I just hope everything works out. That douchebag doesn't deserve to get away with what he's done.

I'm lost in thought, still fuming over what Max has done to Jenna when Drew stops me. "Hey, T.J., some of us are gonna go grab dinner. You wanna come?"

I won't be seeing Jenna tonight, so I have nothing better to do. "Yeah, I'll join you guys."

~

Drew, Rob, Damien, and I head to the steakhouse that's a few blocks from the arena with some of the other guys after we've showered and changed. They're all bullshitting amongst themselves and speculating how the game tomorrow will go. We play against Florida. Which means we have to deal with my old teammate and bitter rival, Tatum Charles. Fuck, I can't stand that guy!

I guess he was pulling his usual shit in L.A. and they got sick of him. Shipped him off to Florida. Rob brings up the last game that Florida played. "I'm surprised the league didn't suspend Charles after the shit he pulled the other night."

Drew chimes in, "Yeah, fucker got a slap on the wrist if you ask me. That hit against Boston was dirty. Anyone with eyes could see that."

Tatum slammed one of Boston's forwards into the boards so hard that he broke the glass. The guy he hit wound up with a nasty concussion and had to be placed on concussion protocol indefinitely. Poor bastard may never get to come back after that hit. And the league just slapped Charles with a fine. He may have cost a guy his career, and all he gets is a fine. Fucking ridiculous!

The night goes on, and the chatter skims over different topics as we eat. I'm checking a text from Jenna when someone starts mentioning AthletaWear. As soon as I text my girl back, I tune back into the conversation.

I only catch the last part of what Damien said to Drew. "... it sucks. I wish Taylor were still the rep. The other guy they sent has no personality."

Rob chuckles. "Yeah, you got that right. I wish she'd come back. I miss having her around. Plus, she's a lot easier on the eyes. Right, T.J.?" He elbows me, and wiggles his eyebrows suggestively.

A couple of months ago, a comment like that would have pissed me off. Now that I'm more settled into my relationship with Jenna, it doesn't irk me like it used to. I know that she's mine, and I am hers.

I remind myself of that as I take a sip of my water. A smile starts to form across my lips. "Yeah. She is very easy on the eyes."

My mind starts to drift to thoughts of my girl. A memory from the other morning creeps into my mind. I woke up next to Jenna in my bed. The sunlight was creeping in through the curtains, settling on her face, illuminating it to make her look angelic as she lay there sleeping soundly in my arms. My gorgeous girl looked so peaceful at that moment. Then, when her eyes started to open, she saw me, and a broad smile grew on her face. Fuck, she looked so beautiful!

As I picture that image of her in my head, my smile starts to widen. It went unnoticed for the most part. Then I look over at Drew. He's sipping his beer, studying me with a peculiar look on his face. He's the only one who knows about the night Jenna practically carried me out of the bar. He knows I tried to kiss her that night, but I haven't said a word about anything to anyone since. I wonder if he suspects something is going on between her and me. If he does, he hasn't dared to bring it up.

When he sees me looking at him, he nods his head and rejoins the conversation. Maybe I'm just paranoid. I try to convince myself of that as the discussion continues. They've moved on to a new topic now. One, I start to tune out as I drift back into my daydream of Jenna.

Once dinner is over, we all part ways and head home. I can't wait. As soon as I get home, I'm going to call my girl. Hearing her voice always calms me- makes me grounded. That's just what I need before I go to sleep tonight because we go up against Florida tomorrow. And if we win that game, we move on to the championship round against Dallas. It's what we've been working for all season, and we have a lot of pressure riding on tomorrow's game.