“I know that. That’s why I’m here to give you a heads-up.”
“This is bullshit.” He curled his fingers along the edge of the desk. “Do you have any idea what this will do to me? You’re thirty-one, Nate. There’s a whole world waiting for you out there when this is over.” He spread his arms out. “I’m pushing sixty. Where the fuck am I going? It will be all over for me. You might as well put me in a cardboard box and bury me in the backyard.”
He was thinking of himself. As much as I didn’t want to be the reason everything he’s built got ripped away from him, the fact of the matter was, the chips were going to fall where they fell.
I couldn’t continue to let this spiral, not if it meant bringing Becca down with me.
“Look, I know you’re pissed, and emotions are running high, but I don’t have any other options at this point. If I talk before Brian, I can control the narrative a bit. Trust me, this is the best-case scenario.”
He dragged a hand over his face and started pacing. “Can’t you just wait until the season’s over?” he asked, trying to find a way to work around this.
I met his gaze. “No.”
He walked around his desk, stopping a few feet in front of me. “What the fuck is wrong with you? We are in the middle of the season. This will be a three-ring circus. Just sit on it a little longer. You’ve waited this long, what’s another month or two?”
“Because the longer I sit on it, the worse it gets.”
“Worse, how?”
“He’s holding something else over my head.” I worked my jaw back and forth. “I don’t want to get into it, but if I stay silent and he talks first, it looks like I’m hiding it. I need to take responsibility for this before he tries to spin it into something it isn’t.”
His expression didn’t change, but the tension in his shoulders dropped slightly. He could tell he wasn’t changing my mind and was running out of arguments.
“If you tell them, I will be done. Dr. Clark will be fired for concealing your injury. So, think about that before you go and hand us over to management in a neat little bow, to save your own ass.”
I held his gaze, choosing more restraint than he realized. “I’m done having this bullshit hanging over my head. I’ll do my best to take as much blame as I can, but the story is coming out, whether you want it to or not.”
His face turned a shade of red I’d never seen before. And trust me, I’ve seen him pissed plenty of times.
“What exactly are you planning to tell them?”
“I made the call to play. I knew the risks. You didn’t force me.”
“How noble of you.”
Silence stretched between us. It was thick and uncomfortable.
“Don’t do this, Nate, I’m begging you. This is a mistake.”
My chest tightened with guilt. In his eyes, this was nothing short of betrayal. It could potentially damage our relationship with the team. I was prepared for the negative consequences, but in my mind, it was a small price to pay. My integrity meant something. My word meant something. My team counted on me to set a good example. What kind of role model did that make me if I was comfortable with lying?
“I know it seems like I’m making you take the fall, but I’m just trying to own up to my part. I have to make this right.” I looked him dead in the eye. “You gave me a chance once, and I owe you that much, but I’m done letting people hold shit over my head.”
And with those parting words, I walked out of his office and headed toward management. I was sick of carrying this secret around and letting Brian think he had the upper hand. It was time to let the shit hit the fan.
I was dreading this,but I knew that, with everything I had, it was the right thing to do.
I stepped off the elevator and walked down the long hallway to the conference room. I paused just for a second outside the door, reminding myself to keep it short and straight to the point.
I ran a hand through my hair, feeling a bead of sweat on my temple. Once I did this, there was no going back.
I stepped into the room, and conversations paused. The general manager, Gary Holmes, was seated at the head of the table. The VP of Operations, Vance Allyn, leaned against the wall, typing on his phone. VP of Compliance, Jason Merrick, was looking at something on his laptop.
Gary looked up and motioned me over. “Nate, why don’t you take a seat.”
I slid onto one of the metal chairs and gripped the armrest like my life depended on it. “Good afternoon.” I smiled, even though I knew this wasn’t going to be an easy conversation. There was no easing into this. There was nothing comfortable about this whatsoever.
Vance tore his gaze away from his phone. “All right, go ahead and tell us what this meeting is about.”
