Page 18 of The Path to Loving Him
“How the hell was this even allowed? I don’t know this fuck,” I say, my anger getting the best of me. Thankfully, Herbert has known me long enough to understand that my unprofessionalism isn’t because of him, but because of my irritation with the situation. “For all we know, this guy could be a real shit on the field. What are his qualifications even? Has he ever played baseball?”
“From what I learned, SHE earned her teaching degree in trigonometry so you won’t have to take on as many classes as youhave been. As for baseball, she helped her brother learn how to play.”
I blink a few times, because not only am I surprised about the she part, but . . . helped her brother?
Helped?
That is such a broad term that I don’t even know where to begin.
“She helped,” I say. “And also . . . she’s a she?”
“Is that going to be a problem, Rowley?” Herbert raises a singular brow.
“I mean . . . no. I’m all for women in sports, but I was just . . . I wasn’t expecting it. Not to mention, you’re talking about a bunch of horned-up teenagers here who think more with their dicks than their brains. Do we think that it’s smart having a woman on staff?”
“Did that sentence really just come out of your mouth?” he asks.
I groan and drag my hand over my face. “I’m not saying it in a sexist way. I’m just . . . it’s concerning. She’s a woman.”
“Yes, she is, and I think one of the main reasons David hired her is because he wants to break the boundaries for those you might be overlooking.”
I sigh and lean back in my chair. “I get that, and being that I’m raising a girl on my own at the moment, I’m more than happy for a woman to get her chance. But did she get the job because she’s a woman or because she’s actually good at coaching? I don’t have time to teach someone how to do their job, Herb. I need someone ready to help me and who can handle the boys on their own. I have enough going on with finding a house to buy, taking care of Mac, and navigating her feelings. I don’t have time to babysit.”
“From what David told me, you won’t have to babysit. She seems to be very competent.”
“Doubt it,” I say on an irritated huff.
Herbert’s chair squeaks as he leans forward and places his forearms on his desk. “It would behoove you to take this new hire seriously, Rowley. Unfortunately, David’s calling the shots. He’s the biggest donor to our school district. His money is why your baseball program is thriving.”
“Fuck that, it’s my coaching,” I say. “We’d still be winning games if we showed up in ratty uniforms and biked our way to the baseball fields rather than taking fancy fucking buses.”
“Yes, but you wouldn’t have the best kids transferring to our school, either.”
Eh, he’s right about that.
“You need to suck it up and realize that even though you don’t like this decision, you’re going to have to live with it.”
I slouch in my chair and massage my temples a few times, trying to see a way where this isn’t my new reality.
“What could be so bad about it?” he asks.
I look up at him. “Uh, a lot. How about that she doesn’t know what she’s doing? That she’s no help whatsoever? That she could be the worst hire that Almond Bay has ever seen, and I’m the one who will have to suffer through it because the man with the wallet feels so fucking self-righteous that he thinks he can make all the decisions without consulting one goddamn person?”
“Or . . . she could be really good and help improve your program.”
I stand from my chair. “Herbert, you’ve known me for a long goddamn time. You’ve seen the lack of luck in my life. So where the fuck do you come off thinking that this hire is not going to come back to bite me in the ass?”
He rubs his hand over his scruffy jaw and chuckles. “When you put it like that . . .”
“Jesus, fuck,” I say before stomping toward his door.
“For what it’s worth,” he calls out, “at least you won’t have to teach trigonometry anymore. I know how much you hated it.”
“Great, the one good thing happening in my life.”
“Uncle Ry Ry!” Mac shouts when she spots me from her daycare playground. She sprints toward me, her pigtails that I struggled with this morning askew and swaying as she leaps into my arms and hugs me tightly.
I squeeze her back, taking a second to enjoy this moment with my niece because if I don’t take these moments, I become fucking overwhelmed.
