“...said it...” That from the third voice.
Dick’s next string of sentences were so tangled all I could make out was “proof” at the end of his sentence.
“I got it,” Doc replied. “... Lily’s fiancé...dust settles.”
“Let me... Lily’s fiancé soon,” Dick responded.
Lily’s fiancé. What the fuck? She never told me she was with someone. And how the hell could that possibly be tied to my shoulder?
Motherfucker. She’s gotta be taking you for a ride.
But it wasn’t anger that welled in me, it was hurt. A good old-fashioned ache in my chest that made my stomach drop to my feet.
“This is bullshit, right here.” A new voice cut through—a woman, who must have been right next to the door. I didn’t have any trouble understanding her. “You guys are screwing with people’s lives for a damn game, and he’s hiding something. That little prick is shady as hell.”
Dick’s voice got louder, clear as a bell. I could almost see his face, all scrunched up and red. “You’ll do your goddamned job and keep your mouth shut, or I’ll toss you out on your pretty little ass!”
When I heard a hand hit the doorknob, I folded around the corner into the recess. The door slammed, and at the last minute, she spotted me as she passed, her mouth drawn in a grim line.
I didn’t blame her. Mariana Lopez was the team’s Public Relations Manager, and this team had been one dumpster fire after another lately.
Slipping back into the PT room, I hopped up on the table. Was it possible Lily wasn’t the person I thought she was? There were too many secrets. Too much she was keeping from me. Never mentioning she was engaged? I was falling in love with a woman that belonged to someone else.
I was trying not to go there in my head, but it sure as hell sounded like Lily could be playing me. Dick would give his left nut to get me out of here. It was a little farfetched, but I’d heard of crazier shit happening in this league.
Dr. Douche pulled open the medical room door carrying an immobilizer. I couldn’t even look at Chase. How the hell did he know Lily’s fiancé and why the hell would it come up in the same conversation as my shoulder?
His voice cut through, his face covered with disdain. This man truly hated me.
The feeling was mutual.
“Separated. Rest and ice. We’ll reevaluate in four weeks. You can take the brace off to shower, but it stays on otherwise, with the exception of PT. No workouts. No practices. You’re going to miss the season opener at least. Pack your bags. We’re sending you home.”
I cocked my head. “You sure? It doesn’t feel that bad. A little achy, but usable.”
“I have the medical degree here. What I say on player health is final. I’m going to tell your coach now. Check in with the office to get a flight home.”
This was bullshit. Everybody knew what Dick said was final, not the doctor.
After a trainer helped me get the immobilizer on, I headed for my room to shove my stuff in a duffel. I pulled my playbook into my lap, flipping through pages. I’d designed several of these plays myself. Me and the defensive coordinator. I knew them like the back of my hand.
Dick would never release me outright because my contract was guaranteed—if they fired me, they’d have to pay me out for the last two years of it. I was valuable in a trade, too. But they couldn’t do that unless I violated the conduct clause. Did they have enough to enforce it, or was Lily the missing piece?
* * *
Dallas had insisted on the clause with my first contract.
I’d screwed up bad my senior year of college. I got into a fight with a guy harassing a drunk girl at a party. I’d missed the last three games of the season, including the national championship, and scouts labeled me a troublemaker. It had cost me several places in the draft.
The clause was based on a strike system. If I behaved in a manner that violated our code of conduct, they could trade me. We’d never bothered pulling the clause out of subsequent contracts.
Right up until I banged the owner’s granddaughter.
Technically, I wasn’t in violation for that because it wasn’t public knowledge. But it did put me at the top of the owner’s shit list. Then the fantasy suite happened. Strike one. CC bit the sitter who decided to sue me, and I refused to put CC down. Strike two. If Dick knew about me screwing his apparently engaged stepdaughter, he’d get his strike three.
It was time to call my agent.
As I was about to hit her contact, Hayes smacked my foot and mimed pulling out my buds. “What?”
“You don’t know?”
“Know what?” I wasn’t in the mood to play guessing games.
“Wait, what happened to your shoulder?”
I balled a fist next to my leg and told him the story. “Chase said it’s a separation, but it doesn’t feel bad.”
“How long?” He pulled the chair from the desk and turned it to face me.
“Four weeks. Then reevaluate. They’re sending me home, dude.”
“Shit.” Knees on his elbows, he dropped his head. “I really don’t want to tell you this now.”
“Spit it out, Walker.”
“Go to Sportsworld’s home page.”
Navigating to their home page on my phone, I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. “Fuck me running.”
This was going to go down as one of the worst days of my life.
A woman from the fantasy suite was suing the team and the individual players. She was a Bulldogs employee and claiming sexual harassment. She’d named every player in attendance that night.
There was one problem. I wasn’t there when things got dirty. I’d never even spoken to this woman before. I’d never seen her at the Bulldogs headquarters, even.
Yet, here I was.
Guess I’d be calling my lawyer before I called my agent.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Cupid is an asshole.
Lily
“Oh shit!” Whoops. Still at the training center, I slapped a hand over my mouth.
Brody was in it up to his eyeballs. In fact, the entire Bulldogs organization was in trouble from the looks of it. Olive had sent me the link as soon as the news broke. This woman who worked for the Bulldogs wasn’t playing around. I didn’t presume to know what actually took place in the fantasy suite, but this didn’t sound like Brody.
I probably should have felt relieved that I’d dodged a bullet with him by getting out with minimal damage to my heart. Or so I’d thought. Apparently, when I’d dodged the bullet, I’d stepped into cupid’s arrow.