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The man laughed. “You’re not going to confirm you danced around the statue. Did Emily go with you? Is that why she’s not here today.”
The man was a gossip and he wasn’t going to tell him anything.
“I have no clue as to why she’s not here today,” he said which wasn’t a lie. All he knew was that she had flown somewhere. “But her girls came in and did their drills this morning. If I wasn’t here, I’m sure my boys would just sleep in.”
Just then the bell rang announcing first class.
“Gotta get to work,” Zach said as he hurried to his group of students waiting on him.
The hour passed quickly, and the next time he looked up, it was getting close to eleven. His last class of the morning ended at ten forty-five, so he would have time to get to his office and turn on the television.
What was going on that she would be on a big cable channel? Would this get her fired here in Cupid?
Being back here had been great, but if he received the opportunity to advance his career, he’d leave in a heartbeat. And he had put in several applications at colleges around the area.
Just as his class ended, he made his way toward his office. Principal Townsend stood waiting right outside his door. Crap.
“Mr. Rowling, may I have a word with you?”
“Of course,” he said and opened his door to let the man in.
“Good game Friday night. The boys were a little slow to get started, but they pulled off a dramatic finish.”
At the time, he had wanted them to lose, but now he felt grateful their win pushed him and Emily together. Because of the bet, they had done the Cupid dance. And someone knew.
“Yes, they worked hard to come back,” he said, wishing the man would leave.
The principal crossed his legs and glanced around the office like he was looking for some way to say something.
“You’ve been a great addition to our faculty,” he said.
“Thank you,” Zach said, knowing if he didn’t leave now, he was going to miss what was happening.
“When you arrived here, I didn’t think you would stay this long. Now I’m receiving inquiries about you from other schools. Colleges to be exact. Do you plan on leaving us, Mr. Rowling?”
With a sigh, he knew he should have seen this coming. The long hand of the clock moved toward eleven. He couldn’t stand it. He had to know what was going on.
“Excuse me. I really want to focus on our talk, but there is something I must do. And maybe it will affect you as well. I’ve got to turn on ESPN.”
The principal made a strange noise like he couldn’t believe he was going to watch TV instead of talking to him.
Quickly he turned on the small television in his office.
The announcer quietly said. “This press conference was called with regards to Michael Devans from the front office of the Seattle Miners.”
The principal gasped. “That’s Miss Martin. What is she doing?”
“I don’t know,” Zach said. “We’re about to learn why she’s there.”
Five women were sitting at a long table with a microphone in front of them. Emily sat in the middle.
“Good morning. I’m attorney Allen Rockford,” a man in a suit said. “We’re here to announce a lawsuit against the Seattle Miners. These five women were victims of sexual aggression and malicious behavior that the team owners knew about and tried to suppress. All five of these ladies were threatened if they did not sleep with Mr. Devans, they would be fired. He would find a way to lie to the press about them and their contract would be nullified on moral grounds. It worked every time.”
The man took a deep breath and gazed into the camera. “Today, these women have come forward to tell their story. We are seeking thirty-five million dollars in restitution, plus the remainder of their contract money. We can prove the owners of the team knew what this individual was doing and did nothing to stop him.”
He handed the microphone to Emily. Zach could see her hand shaking. “Good morning, my name is Emily Martin. I played the forward position for the Seattle Miners for four years. Last year, I was called to Mr. Devans’s office to renegotiate my contract. At the time, I thought it wasn’t up for renewal until this year.”
She licked her lips and sighed. “When I arrived at his office, he locked the door, which I thought was odd. He told me that my agent would not negotiate with him which was a lie. I sat in a chair across from him and he told me that if I would sleep with him, my contract would be renewed and I could continue playing for the Miners. If I refused him, he would show the pictures of me coming into his office. He would say that I slept with him and our affair ended his marriage. When I told him no, he tried to force himself on me, but I hit him and ran out the door.”
