“Is it true that you are seeing Kendall Tracy of the Miners?”
Drew wasn’t going to bother asking him where he got his information. “Yes.”
“How long has this relationship been going on?”
“A couple of weeks.”
LeRoy shook his head. “Will you be asking for a trade to San Francisco?”
“No. I’m not interested in playing for the Miners.”
“Have you been discussing team business with her?”
“Hell, no.”
He’d given Kendall advice. He hadn’t divulged team strategy or anything else the coaching staff would consider confidential.
“McCoy, I’m not joking. If we find out she’s seen your playbook or you’ve been discussing our game planning with her, you’re not going to like the consequences.”
“With all due respect, LeRoy, do you discuss that stuff with your wife?”
“She hates it.”
“I have other things to talk about with Kendall besides football, too.”
Drew knew he was going to get grilled, but that fact didn’t make his current situation any more enjoyable.
“It’s hard to believe you couldn’t find another woman to date in the Puget Sound area. You also have to wonder what she’s thinking too. Wait until their front office finds out.”
Drew’s stomach churned. He knew there would be consequences for Kendall when and if their budding relationship came to light. These guys considered it a betrayal, but her team would consider it an act of treason.
LeRoy nodded down the corridor. “Coach wants to see you. You’re going to be asked the same questions. There’s also a good chance you might get benched on Sunday.”
Drew expected as much, but he’d make his arguments to the head coach instead of discussing it in an open area where any of his teammates could overhear the conversation. He followed the DC to the head coach’s office. He stepped inside to see most of the coaching staff and a few of the front office boys.
“McCoy,” Coach Stewart said. “Have a seat.”
SYDNEY STROLLED INTO Kendall’s office as Kendall was attempting to enter data on a spreadsheet and eat half a turkey sandwich at the same time.
“Your secret is out,” she said. She sat down in one of the chairs in front of Kendall’s desk.
“What’s happening?”
“They’re meeting to discuss how they’re going to handle it.”
Kendall’s heart skipped a beat and she felt the cold fist of dread forming in her stomach, but remaining calm and taking some deep breaths was the best thing she could do for herself right now. She’d had plenty of time to think on the flight back to San Francisco and while she’d been working at her desk most of the afternoon.
Her private life was her own. She and Drew were consenting adults. It was really nobody else’s business who she was romantically involved with.
“It might be nice if I were included in that meeting,” she said.
She took another big bite of her sandwich. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t make anything this good at home. Maybe the guys at the deli would share their secrets with her. Concentrating on the sandwich was a hell of a lot more fun than dwelling on what was about to happen to her at the hands of the Miners’ owner and her co-workers.
“Maybe you should attend the meeting anyway,” Sydney said. “They’re in the main conference room.” She grabbed Kendall’s iPad and handed it to her. “The rest of your sandwich will be here when you get back.”
“Would you like to attend as well?” Kendall knew she’d need a witness to what was said.
“I’m right behind you,” Sydney said. She wrapped up Kendall’s sandwich to stow it in the mini-fridge in one corner of the office, grabbed her own tablet, and followed Kendall down the hall.
Kendall grabbed her suit jacket, pulled it on, and strode down the hallway to the conference room. She pushed the door open hard enough for the doorknob to bounce off of the wall behind it. The seven men surrounding the table fell silent as she walked into the room.
“Thanks for inviting me to the meeting, guys. What are we discussing?” She put her iPad down on the table in front of the only empty chair, pulled it out, and sat down. They’d called out the big guns for this meeting; both the team’s owner and the CEO of the Miners, George Simmons, were there.
George glared at her. “We understand you’re involved in a romantic relationship with Drew McCoy of the Sharks. You’ve put us in a very unpleasant position as a result, Ms. Tracy.”
She lifted an eyebrow. “You’ve been calling me Kendall since I was sixteen years old, George.”