AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Shouldn’t you have thought about that before you smashed up my car?” Jason demanded.
Kenneth didn’t reply. He looked miserable. Jason could tell that he was scared. Given what he had done, that was no surprise. Jason was heartened by his confession, though. While he knew Kenneth was only doing it to try and keep his place, he did appreciate that it was happening.
Even if it was a little too late. His car would not be rescued now. It had been scrapped, and Jason had needed to get a new one.
While he was upset that one of the players had orchestrated the vandalism, Jason knew lashing out at Kenneth with whatever he could was not going to do anyone any good.
Kenneth still would not look him in the eye. A six-foot-five guy in his early twenties was unable to stand up like a man. He was hunched over, withdrawn.
His mind made up, Jason leaned on his desk. “I’m going to make you an offer, Kenneth. And I hope you’re going to take it, because you won’t like the alternative.”
“What?” Kenneth looked up. “What do you mean?”
“I want you to go to your brother and the friends who helped smash my car to pieces, and tell them that all of you are to pay me back.” Kenneth started to protest, but Jason held up a hand. “I’m not asking for the entire amount. Insurance covered the majority of it. I just want you and the rest of the group to pay me what there is left of the car value. Depending on how many of you were involved, splitting that evenly shouldn’t be a problem.”
Kenneth swallowed. “I suppose that’s to be expected,” he mumbled.
“I will uphold Carl’s suspension from the team, but only until you’ve paid back your share of the debt.” Jason shook his head. “Deal with that first, and then you can get back on the pitch.”
“I understand.”
“You will carry on going to training and working out as normal. I’ll square it away with Carl. But until you pay back your portion of the money, no starts for you. Your brother and friends are to do the same.” Jason paused, fixing Kenneth with a hard stare. “If anyone refuses this offer, or just stops paying me back for any reason outside of extenuating circumstances — and I will be checking — I’ll make sure you’re off the team permanently, the police will be notified about your actions, and I’ll increase the payment to the cost of the entire car.”
Kenneth’s eyes widened. “I feel like you’re blackmailing me, Mr. Munro.”
“It’s not blackmail. I think this is fair. You pay back the money that wasn’t covered by insurance, you get back on the team. Any one of your little group refuses, all of you get arrested and you lose your place on the team.” Jason shrugged. “I’m merely giving you a chance to redeem yourself. You’re a damn good player, and I would rather have you on the field. You do want to keep your place, don’t you?”
“Of course!” Kenneth nodded furiously. “I love playing football. I don’t want to be thrown off because of this.”
“Well, if I had been anyone else, I would have done that. I won’t have that disrespect towards me, Barron.” Jason pushed off his desk. “Now, we’re going to call my lawyer and get a contract drawn up. I suggest you call your brother and his friends and tell them to get over here. We’ll do this with a witness present, and I don’t want anyone wriggling out of it.”
“I won’t do that.” Kenneth paused. “I can’t speak to my brother, though.”
“You’re going to have to make him see reason. If he objects, you lose what you love the most. And you don’t want that, do you?”
“No!”
“Then call him and whoever else was involved. The sooner we get this sorted, the sooner you can get back to playing.” Jason jerked his head towards the door. “Now get out of here. We’ll discuss this further when your companions get here.”
Kenneth didn’t need to be told twice. He hurried away, the door closing behind him, and Jason sagged into a chair. God, what the hell had just happened? Why was he giving him a reprieve? If it had been anyone else, Jason would have been calling the cops already.
He had to be going soft. It was the only explanation he could think of. Although the thought of a young man, no matter how disrespectful he was, losing his dream job didn’t sit well with Jason. He didn’t want to be seen as a tyrant.
Besides, the team was starting to do well now. Jason didn’t want to ruffle any more feathers than he already had.
CHAPTER16
ELENA
“There you are. Get that down you.”
Fleur placed a steaming coffee mug in front of Elena. Elena smiled and cupped her hands around it with a sigh.
“That feels like heaven.”
“I’m glad. It’s getting really cold now, isn’t it?” Fleur sat across from her sister, shrugging off her coat and putting it on the back of her chair. “I forgot what you said about Nebraska getting colder than California.”
“I’m so happy that you came up here to see me, Fleur. I know it’s a long way.”
