“No, I have someone doing that. You have a meeting in the morning at eight. Charlie Maine’s specialty is cleaning up cases like yours. You need to be prepared to report everything from the gala. It’s black tie, so go home and get some rest before you show up. We need pictures of you being a member of this community in a positive way.”
“This town worships me,” I growled. I didn’t need some prick named Charlie to tell me what to do.
“No, they worship the Warriors. Don’t mistake the two.” His nose was almost touching mine.
“And the girl from this morning?” I asked, turning to face Mr. McCade.
“I will pay her to keep her silence, but it’s the last time. If I hear of another one, you’re off the team. I’d rather pay to get rid of you than keep paying off your whores.”
I wasn’t the kind of man to beg, and I was done with this meeting. I’d never met the girl, and I sure as hell didn’t get her pregnant.
“Anything else?” My hand was on the doorknob. There was enough strength in my right arm to rip it off the door. I was angry enough to do it.
“I think we’re pretty clear here. You agree?” Coach asked, smacking gum between each word.
I nodded. “Oh, I got the message. It’s clear.”
I slammed the door behind me, storming to the locker room. By the time I walked in, the place was cleared out. The trainers were gone. The players packed up. And my ice tub was drained.
I shoved the gilded invitation into my Warriors’ bag and got dressed. I couldn’t get out of this shit hole fast enough.
I slide behind the wheel of my truck and pressed the screen on the dash, scrolling for Linc’s number. I backed out of my spot as the ringing echoed in my truck.
“Hey, brother. How was practice? It’s hotter than hell today.”
“Tell me you didn’t know anything about the McCade meeting.”
There was silence. “Linc!”
“Stop yelling. No, I don’t know anything about an ownership meeting. What happened?”
“Applewhite hired some kind of damage control PR expert I’m supposed to work with. Our first meeting is tomorrow at eight. I want you there.”
“You got it,” Linc responded quickly.
“Why do you sound calm about this? It’s bullshit.” I was livid. It felt like everyone was out to hang me.
“Calm the fuck down, Luke. I’m sure they’re blowing smoke. It’s a PR guy, not the league president. I’ll be at the meeting. I’ll talk to him. You have nothing to worry about.”
I stopped at a red light. “They’re threatening to cut me out of my contract.”
That got his attention. “What? Motherfuckers,” he muttered, but it came through clearly on my speakers.
“Exactly.”
“All right. You hang tight. I’ll get someone from the union on the phone. We’ll talk to legal. They can’t threaten you.”
Linc knew if I lost my spot with the Warriors he’d most likely be out of a job. Running my business interests was his only position, and I paid him over a million dollars a year to keep shit like this from happening.
I slowed the truck as I approached the gate to my driveway. I lived on the outskirts of Austin with a hundred acres surrounding me.
“Don’t call the union yet,” I instructed. “Let’s see how tomorrow plays out first.”
My older brother didn’t seem at ease. “They can’t threaten your contract. There are by-laws for this kind of thing. What are they saying you did?”
I pulled into the garage, and put the truck in park. “I didn’t do anything.”
“It’s going to come out. What are they saying?”
“They think I got some girl pregnant, but I didn’t. I’ve never seen her before.”
Linc was silent again. He was thinking. “All right. I’ll take care of this after we have the meeting. They can’t fire you for something you didn’t do.”
“Thanks, man. Look, I’ve got to get ready for some charity event. I’ll call you later tonight.”
“You, charity?” he choked.
“Another one of their damn directives, but I can’t get out of it.” I looked at my watch. I still had to shower and dig through my closet for my tux. “Call you later.”
I pressed the screen to end the call and sat for a second as the cool air escaped the cab. Linc was as invested in my career as I was. I knew I took advantage of him. I trusted him with my money. I trusted him to represent my interests. But most of all, I trusted him to stay out of my way. He never tried to manage me, and that made him the ideal manager.