Brian studied my face, waiting for it to crack. I curled my fingers in my pocket, not saying a damn word. Which made it worse because all I could focus on was how fast my blood was pumping.
“Becca Hendrex, right?” he said slowly. “Kind of funny when you think about it. Of all the reporters to get involved with…”
“Since when do you care so much about what I do in my free time? She’s a reporter. So what? Kissing her in a bar isn’t a crime.”
There was no sense in denying it. It was clearly us in that photo. And I hated that he somehow got his hands on it. The guy was vicious when he wanted something. Lately, making my life miserable seemed to be at the top of his list.
He smiled. “I couldn’t agree more, so it got me thinking. Why would you need to keep it a secret?” He rubbed his chin and started pacing my living room. “So, I did some digging, and you’re never going to believe what I found.”
I stepped forward in his direction. “Your obsession with my personal life is a little concerning.”
He stopped pacing and held up his phone. “I’m not stupid, Nate.”
Yeah, that was a problem. Brian was many things, but stupid wasn’t one of them.
I scrubbed a hand down my face. “Brian, I don’t know what you’re getting at, but whatever it is, leave her out of this.”
“Relax,” he said smoothly. “No one needs to know that she’s writing an article about you.” He continued, and I felt ice slide down my spine. “It would be a shame if people started questioning her credibility though.”
It shouldn’t have surprised me that he knew about Becca and me. Brian missed nothing, especially when there was something in it for him. Ever since I cut ties with him, he’s been hell-bent on making sure I paid for it.
My hands curled into fists as I stepped up and got in his face. “Don’t even think about touching her. This is between you and me. So, tell me what the fuck you want now?”
He played with the Rolex on his wrist. The same one I gave him when I signed my last contract. “What I want is what you owe me.” His grin turned predatory. How I ever considered thisman a friend was beyond me. “And these new developments have given me more leverage to negotiate. I figured since we were once friends and almost brothers-in-law, I owed you a face-to- face visit to hammer out the details.”
I swallowed a bitter taste of betrayal on my tongue. “You thought wrong.”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “You and I both know that the Hawks were never going to let you hit the open market once your contract ran out. So, of course, I had to make a few calls to see how much they were going to offer you to stay.” He shook his head. “Three years, one hundred twenty-five point nine million. With a fifty-five million dollar signing bonus.” He whistled. “Not bad.”
This was all about to be public knowledge, but my guess was he was pissed that he wasn’t getting a cut, since I fired his ass. He hated being left out when there was money involved. “So let me guess, you want more money?”
He pushed past me, walking into my living room, acting as if he’d been robbed and was ready to cash in. “Of course, I want more money, Nate. How do you think the league would feel if they knew their star quarterback played injured and hid it from them?”
My mind went back to that day he walked into the training room and everything went sideways.
I was sitting on the exam table, getting a cortisone shot in my right shoulder. He knew right then and there that I was hurt. And he’s been dangling that over my head for weeks now.
“This is very messy, Nate. Especially now, since you’re dating Becca Hendrix. Wonder what her boss would say if they found out she was sleeping with the guy she’s been covering?”
Rage burned hot in my chest because I knew he wasn’t bluffing. That was the worst part. “I told you to leave her out of this. I will not say it again.”
“That’s kind of hard to do since she’s already in this. So, here’s how this is going to work. You are going to pay me five million on top of my original number, or I start talking. I would rather not do that because it might fuck up your new contract negotiations, and I need to get paid. Plus, there’s a headline here somewhere, don’t you think? Perhaps your new girlfriend can help you think of one.”
I felt the muscle in my cheek twitch. I was tempted to reach forward and wrap my hands around his neck. I wasn’t one who backed down from a scuffle, but I was afraid of what I would do if I did get my hands on him. “Becca is no longer covering the team,” I said, hoping that would take the heat off her.
He shook his head. “Still not going to look good for you two lovebirds if word gets around. In fact, it will make you both look guilty as hell. If you two aren’t doing anything wrong, why keep your relationship a secret?”
“Who I date is nobody’s business but mine.” As much as I wished that were true, even I knew that was a weak argument.
“I disagree. You’re a pretty big deal, Nate.” He paused dramatically, acting like this was the moment he had been waiting for. “Imagine what people will say. Not a good look for your girl who is supposed to represent women in sports journalism.”
My hands balled into fists. He wasn’t just coming after me. He was threatening her, and that was something I wouldn’t tolerate. “Has anyone ever told you what a smug bastard you are?”
I have no idea how someone as sweet as Nadine could be married to someone like him.
His wife was a good woman. Went to church on Sundays and volunteered at the soup kitchen on Wednesdays. Clara was ten, and Emma was six. They were both adorable and would leavebright, hand-drawn pictures all over his office. I felt sorry for them because they deserved better than this dickhead.
His jaw tightened. “I’m getting sick of you dodging me, Nate. You are running out of time. So, set your pride aside and let’s negotiate a deal.”
