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“Last night, you demonstrated that you’re exactly what these young girls need. That’s the best our team has ever done. We beat one of the top schools. I’ve also watched you over the last few weeks, and if this would all just blow over, you would be an excellent permanent addition to our staff.”
What could she say? That it was going to get better? It wasn’t. Any day now, she expected to hear from her lawyer and then the real fight would begin. But if she said anything, he might fire her now.
“Am I allowed at this meeting? Can I bring my attorney?”
He frowned. “You have an attorney?”
“Yes, sir,” she said, knowing she had said too much.
“Why would you have an attorney?”
Licking her lips, she told him just a fraction of the truth. “I’m still negotiating a final settlement with the Seattle Miners and he’s handling that for me. It might be good for the school board to hear his investigation.”
The man seemed to sag with relief. “Good. It’s not an attorney to fight the school district.”
“No, sir,” she said.
The man sighed. “For a moment you had me worried.”
She grinned. “I have no fight with the district.”
“Good,” he said, picking up a pen and clicking it. “You may attend and you can bring your attorney, but I would caution you that people seem to lose their self-control when it comes to their children. Someone in town has painted you as an evil woman and they’re going to protect their daughters from you.”
Her parents were the best and she’d been lucky right up until her mother got breast cancer. Basketball had rescued her. Saved her in her grief, and even now, she thought it kept her from going crazy. And then while she was in college, her father had a heart attack.
The memory of those days filled her with sadness and yet she could understand why these people were protecting their children. Only she wasn’t who they needed safekeeping from. It was men like Michael Devans.
She smiled. “I can’t blame them for wanting to make certain that the people teaching their daughters are decent and moral. But I’ve always believed innocent until proven guilty. I was convicted in the news without a judge and jury.”
There was little more she could say without divulging confidences that her lawyer said she had to keep secret.
The man nodded. “I’ll have to agree with you on that one. The hearing is set for one week from today. You’ll have time for a couple of more games between now and then. Show them that we’ve hired someone who is exceptional to teach our girls.”
Sensing the meeting was over, she stood.
“Oh, Mr. Townsend could another coach be behind these parents? I’ve heard some rumors that some male coaches were wanting to make an example of me.”
His brows raised and he clenched his fist. “Let me do some checking,” he said. “I’m glad you told me about this.”
“Thank you, sir,” she said and left his office. Glancing at her watch, she saw she had time for one phone call before her next class.
Wanting to be certain she was away from prying ears and eyes, she ran outside into the teachers’ parking lot and called her lawyer.
“Good morning, Allen, it’s me. I know you’re working so hard on getting this together, can you give me any idea if we’re any closer?”
A truck drove into the parking lot and she turned her back toward it.
“I’ve got great news. I’ve found two more women, so we’re up to five. That’s enough to convince people that he has a real problem. I’m working on contracts for everyone and I plan on hopefully holding the news conference next week. We’ll fly you out here to Seattle the night before.”
The time for the world learning the truth was growing closer, but would it be soon enough?
“The school board is holding a hearing a week from today with the parents who want me fired because I’m an adulteress. Is there any way we can have this press conference before then?”
She was pushing it, and she knew it. But it felt like a dragon was breathing down her back.
There was a moment of silence and she didn’t know if what she needed was possible.
“I’ll do my best,” he said.
