"Hold on. I don't even know this girl. You can't expect me to respond to this. It happens all the time."
"And that's the problem." He spun around. "The drinking. The gambling. The partying. The women. It happens constantly and it has to stop. You're out of control. It's all out of control."
"I didn't sleep with that girl." I gritted my teeth. "She's extorting you for money. You have to see it."
Mr. McCade plucked the picture and returned it to the silk lining against his chest. "That may be, but she has a compelling case. And all we need is one woman to come forward to the press, and see how many more follow after her. She's the beginning of your worst nightmare. How many kids do you think you have out there?"
"She's lying. She has no proof because it didn't happen. I didn't sleep with her." I paused. I hadn't missed the last question. "And the answer is none. I don't have any kids. I like women, but I have no interest in becoming a father."
"See, Luke what you don't seem to understand is that no one would believe you. There are more pictures of you stumbling home, than there are of you with nice, respectable women. You have a reputation in this town. You have given the Warriors a reputation. And it's going to stop."
I felt the anger rising. I refrained from balling my hands into fists. I wasn't going to knock out the team's owner or the Coach, but I was seeing red. One bullshit lie, and they were coming down on me like I had done something wrong. I hadn't even touched that girl.
"What are you implying?" I asked.
Coach was doing most of the talking now. "There are provisions in your contract for moral conduct." His eyebrows rose. "We can cite you for violating multiple infractions of the Warriors' code of ethics."
I shot up from the couch, almost losing my towel in my rage. "The hell you can."
Mr. McCade folded his hands in his lap. "You're a valuable quarterback, Luke, but right now you're more of a liability to this franchise. I don't want my family legacy soiled by your antics. The McCades have everything at stake here. This is our team-not yours. This is your last warning."
I glared at each of them, my eyes darting with fury. "Where's Linc? Why didn't you call him in for the meeting?"
Coach pressed his knuckles into the desk. "Your so-called manager? Your brother?"
I nodded. We all knew who Linc was. Applewhite was just being a dick. Linc took care of the business aspects of my life. He should be here getting me out of this damn meeting.
"He has about as much control over you as a wild bronco. He wasn't invited. This is between you and your contract."
I was tempted to end the meeting right now. Refuse to talk without my manager present, but it was better to get this over with. I wanted to know where this was headed.
"Spell it out. What do you want from me?"
"Clean up your act. Stop coming to practice reeking from the night before. No more gambling. Hire a damn driver. Choose your friends wisely." Applewhite rocked on his heels. "And no more women. None."
I chuckled. "You're fucking with me now, right?"
"Your contract is in jeopardy. Your position on this team is in jeopardy. The last thing I'm doing is fucking with you."
Coach reached into the top drawer of his desk and placed a manila envelope on top of his clipboard. I saw my name written on the tab.
"Go ahead," he urged. "Open it."
I thumbed the flap, flipping it open with hesitation. I stared at the contents scattered in front of me. I picked up the top newspaper clipping. "What is this?" I questioned.
"Your file," he muttered, turning his back to me. "It's every article. Every picture. Every time you were pulled over for speeding and there was a write-up. It's every headline about noise disturbances from the parties you throw."
I spread the articles and notes around, digging through the stack Coach or some bored son of a bitch in human resources had collected on me. My life in Austin was compiled into this damn folder. But I couldn't find anything on my quarterback rating or the numbers I put up every Sunday. There was nothing on my pre-season stats. No, this was a file on the dirty life I lived in the public eye. Austin's star didn't hide. He lived fully. That's what the folder showed me.
"So this is what it's come down to? No one here has my back? You don't care how many points I put up on that board out there? What you care about is a fucking stack of newspaper clippings? Unbelievable." I shook my head.
"We do have your back, Luke. That's why we're having this meeting." Coach turned to his desk and handed me an invitation. "This is for you."
It took everything I had not to crumple it in my hand. I lifted the wax seal and pulled the linen paper from the envelope.
"What is this?" I could tell from the swirly handwriting it was already something I was going to hate.
"There's a charity event tonight for the children's wing at the hospital. Lexi Wilde is going to perform. Go. Make the highest donation. Don't drink the champagne. Leave alone, before the event is over. Don't even speak to a single woman there."
I chuckled. "You expect me to be a monk and you're taking over my PR now? Isn't that below your pay grade, Coach?"
"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."