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No one responds to my question. Instead, Giles holds out his hand toward one of the chairs across from his desk. “Have a seat, Lee.”
I glance at Coach, and he blows out a breath. Dr. Carlisle stands next to him, rigid and asshole-like as usual.
“Someone gonna tell me why I’m here?” I look around the room.
The door to the office opens behind me and I swing around to see who else is joining us. Shayna must’ve come straight from the airport, because her carry-on suitcase is trailing behind her.
Suddenly, a sinking feeling about what this might be about comes over me. But there’s no way they could know anything. We’ve been careful, despite what Miles thinks. Even if they speculate, there’s no proof.
“Thanks for joining us, Ms. Kudrow,” Giles says. “Have a seat.”
She sits beside me and doesn’t look in my direction. “I got here as soon as I could. I just landed.”
I shift in my seat, annoyed that they haven’t said shit yet. “What’s going on?”
Giles opens the drawer to his right and pulls out a manilla envelope. He then removes the contents of the envelope and sets them in front of Shayna and me.
I lean in, spreading the photographs around so I can see them all. They’re pictures of me leaving Shayna’s building. There aren’t any of us together because we’ve always been careful to never arrive at the same time, but obviously someone has been keeping tabs on me for a while because I’m wearing different outfits.
I push them back toward Giles. “Yeah, so?”
“We know this is Shayna’s building.”
It’s not hard to figure out. The address and street name are beside the entrance to the building, and it’s visible in a few of the pictures.
When I glance at Shayna, her face is drained of color and her mouth hangs ajar. She didn’t want to come clean, but what choice do we have now?
“Okay fine.” I hold up my hands. “I was going to come to you about this sooner, but we had some things to discuss first.”
Shayna’s head whips in my direction.
“I knew Shayna back in college, and through the process of spending time together since she started working for the Kingsmen, feelings have developed and we’re in a relationship.”
“Goddammit, Burrows,” Coach says, crossing his arms.
Dr. Carlisle frowns and shakes his head like some disapproving father.
Giles stares between us, then opens the drawer to his right again and pulls out another envelope. “TheSan Jose Chroniclewas going to run these pictures, as well as a story about how the Kingsmen quarterback has been having a secret affair with a woman on staff. I had to pay a large sum of money to make the story go away.”
I look at Shayna. Bryce has to be the one who ratted us out, which means Shayna’s trust was broken. It has to hurt that much more for her.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Hanover, I—” Shayna starts, but he raises his hand to stop her. She presses her lips together.
“As I’m sure you’re both aware, we have a no-fraternization policy in the organization. You’ve both signed papers regarding this policy.” He slides some papers out of the envelope and pushes them in Shayna’s direction. “Which is why we’re relieving you of your duties, Ms. Kudrow, immediately. There’s a check enclosed that you’ll find will set you up nicely for your next endeavor. You can cash it as soon as you’ve signed the contract included that states that you entered into a relationship with Mr. Lee Burrows of your own free will and that you were not coerced in any way by him.”
I grip the arms of the chair and bolt upright. “What the fuck?”
“Sit down, Lee.” Giles’s patience is waning with me, but I don’t give a shit. He turns his attention back to Shayna. “You’ll see we’ve been more than generous. Feel free to have your lawyer look it over, but you only have twenty-four hours.”
With tears in her eyes, Shayna nods and reaches for the papers.
I slap my hand down on them. “She’s not signing anything.”
“Lee.” Her voice is quiet, but it slices me open. She removes my hand, plucking one finger at a time, and takes the papers. She stands. “I’m sorry for any trouble I caused.” She turns and takes her carry-on and leaves the room.
“This is bullshit,” I say to all three men.
It isn’t until I hear the door close behind me that Giles speaks. His fist pounds on the desk. “No, Lee, you listen to me! She’s a distraction for you. We can’t have you pining over some girl on the sidelines or getting jealous when she’s massaging some other player. It never works. There’s a reason we have a no-fraternization policy in our contracts.”
