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“Ms. Heaton, how do you respond to claims from some people that you lack the moral fiber to be an owner in the league?” Chris Grimsby from the New Orleans Herald asks me.
I’ve heard this question thrown around the airwaves, and I can’t say that I’m completely ready for it, despite having rehearsed the answer this morning in the shower. “I believe that I have the moral fiber to lead this team and lead this league,” I say in answer and there’s a collective gasp that goes through the crowd. “If I didn’t have the moral fiber needed, I would have never made my fortune working at an investment bank, saving and leveraging my earnings until I was able to start my own company.” The room goes quiet as I turn my entire boy to face the reporter. “I wouldn't have been able to purchase the team in the first place, let alone manage it successfully. So, to answer your question, yes, I believe I have the moral fiber to lead this team and eventually lead the league itself.”
There’s shocked murmurs that pass through the crowd.
“What do you say to accusations that you’re a pervert?” someone shoots out.
“I would ask that person to stand up and accuse me to my face,” I respond without batting an eye. If I’m going to have to answer this, then I’m going to do it facing the person who is accusing me.
There’s silence.
“That’s what I expected,” I say into the microphone, a hard edge lacing my words. “It’s safe for people to stand and hide in a corner as they try to tear someone down, but call them out in the open, and they scurry like roaches in the sunlight.”
“Can you tell us how many people you’ve slept with?” another voice calls out.
I don’t know why but I start blushing involuntarily. I can’t believe they’ve gone there. But I knew this might be coming my way. “Again, I’ll repeat, I would like to know who’s asking these questions. Please stand up so the world can see you.”
And that’s when AJ Ledoux stands up from the middle row.
Fuck. I should have known it was going to be him. Maybe I should have fucked him. Gotten him on board. But no.
I didn’t fuck my way to the top. And I’m proud of that. I enjoy sex, I love it - but I don’t use it as a bargaining chip. Everyone I fuck is for my own pleasure - no matter what the world does to me. But AJ - either he really can’t stand a woman running a franchise or he’s never forgotten about me rejecting him, but the man never has a nice word for me. Remember I told you earlier - even when we met at the ESPY’s las
t year, he just brushed by me as if I didn’t exist.
“I asked,” he says. “I would ask how many lovers you’ve had, but I doubt ‘love’ ever enters into a brain like yours, so I want to know how many people you’ve had sex with.”
“Can I ask what business it is that you know?” I ask him back, keeping my voice calm.
“I think the people of the nation who follow football have it in their interests to know if the integrity of their game is being compromised, Ms. Heaton,” AJ says with a sick looking smile.
“And how exactly does the integrity of the game get compromised based on the answer to my question?” I ask. I can’t help but sneer at the man. He looks and seems oily as he smiles at me.
“Well, you were filmed having sex with multiple people on your team, and the ensuing firestorm did end up costing you several games,” he says.
Now this, I’m ready for.
“I’ll admit, we did have a few bumps along the road,” I say. “But I’m not going to dignify that statement by elaborating on it. I will say that it is a private affair and it should remain private. Should any of it factor into how the team plays, that’s something that I believe I’m enough of a professional to prevent.”
“I wonder though, Ms. Heaton,” AJ continues without sitting down. “If you are aware that you may have violated the law in this regard?”
Now that stops me short. Fuck. I had no preparation for anything like that. I stare at AJ.
“Isn’t it true that the combined salaries of both Colt Stackford and Ethan Blake surpass the salary cap for the New York Nailers as stipulated by the NFL?” he asks.
I nod my head. “We are planning on making an announcement on that matter at a later date,” I say. I’m not going to get caught up on a discussion about Colt and Ethan and which one of them to keep or cut. Mostly because I don’t know. And everything that I’ve seen, or that Karl has told me about would suggest he doesn't have much of an idea either. It’s like the two were meant for each other. They’re perfectly joined. They’re perfect together. But I turn back to finish of AJ’s line of questioning. “However, league rules do specify that we have till the end of the season to make a formal decision as to which direction to go with.”
AJ seems to smile, as if he’s got me in a trap. “Based on that, Ms. Heaton,” he says with a smirk, “I believe that you being at a center of power that directly affects the economic wellbeing of both the players in question raises some serious issues with your judgment. Do you disagree?”
Oh shit. I see where he’s going for. “No,” I snap and people turn their heads. They’ve noticed. I need to keep it together. “What transpired between certain individuals and myself was a private affair that had no basis or bearing on what happens on the field…”
But AJ doesn’t let me finish. He goes for the jugular. “Actually, I believe it does, Ms. Heaton, because you placed two de facto employees of yours in a situation where they were unable to deny you consent for sexual intercourse,” AJ says.
Is he seriously accusing me of what I think he is? “In fact I posit that you used your power and influence to coerce two NFL players to have sexual relations with you. And that you forced them to engage in sexual practices that they would normally not have consented to,” AJ says with a triumphant stare. “That what you have is reluctant or dubious consent at best, but rape at the worst.”
I gulp inwardly. I never anticipated nor thought about this line of questioning. I can see cameras start to flash at this point. As soon as the word ‘rape’ started getting thrown around.
“Everything that occurred in my life with other people has always been of a consensual nature,” I say flatly. “To try to paint it in another light is reaching at best, and malicious defamation at worst.”
