Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
Jack
Maggie’s been acting off for weeks now. At first I’d chalked it up to stress from her upcoming court dates about her custody arrangements, and maybe that’s part of it, but ever since training camp started she’s been more distant.
Our phone calls are short, she’s taking forever to respond to texts, and she keeps saying she can’t meet for lunch because work is too busy.
Meanwhile, my agent’s been hard at work all summer, using my relationship with Maggie to show that I’m not the asshole Maggie’s boss has painted me to be.
His hard work has managed to salvage the sponsorship for the breast cancer charity, and I have a photo shoot scheduled in October for their next campaign.
We still haven’t decided whether or not to pursue a defamation suit.
Since it hasn’t yet damaged my career, at least not in ways I care about—Max says that the Emeralds are happy to discuss my contract and their initial offer wasn’t insulting, though of course he’s working to get me a better deal—it’s not something I’m willing to pull the trigger on just yet, despite Max telling I should.
I don’t want to mess up Maggie’s job, and if I sue her boss, I worry what position that’ll put her in, and what that’ll mean for us.
“I think you should do it,” Max tells me again after discussing his latest contract negotiations. I’m halfway through the second week of training camp and we had a phone call after I got home. We start preseason games next week, and the team seems to be coming together.
“I’m still not ready to go that route,” I hedge.
He sighs. “Look. I get that you’re dating his assistant or whatever?—”
“Social media manager,” I jump in. She’s not that fucker’s assistant, and I know she’s relieved that he finally hired a new one.
“Whatever,” Max says, dismissing my correction. “She works for him. Given how far and wide the story about you spread, I’m not sure her being the social media manager is better, really.”
I grunt.
“Regardless, he’s tainted the public perception of you. And you and I both know that no amount of keeping your nose clean or looking like a standup guy with a steady girlfriend is going to undo that damage.”
“And a lawsuit will? That won’t just stir up more drama and cause more problems longterm?”
“It’ll show people that you’re not willing to let some jackass drag your reputation through the mud without consequences. And it might make him and other assholes just like him think twice before doing this to some other athlete who might not be able to recover as easily.”
I grunt again. I guess I hadn’t really thought about it that way. By suing Brock, I could protect my teammates and colleagues. Putting him out of business—which would be my ultimate goal with a lawsuit—might put Maggie out of work, but …
Wheels turning, I tell Max, “I’ll think about it.”
“You’ve been thinking about it. For months now. What more is there to think about?”
“We have time, Max. The lawyers said as long as we file within two years, we’re good.”
“I still think we shouldn’t wait that long. The sooner we shut this guy down, the better.”
“I’ll let you know,” I promise.
He sighs. “Okay. I’ll keep you updated on talks with the front office. Keep doing what you’ve been doing—stay out of trouble and play the way you’ve always played.”
“Thanks, Max. I will.”
As soon as we hang up, I call Molly. “What’s our social media situation?” I ask without preamble as soon as she picks up.
“Uh, with regard to what specifically?”
“Do you have someone on staff who handles that?”
“That falls under my job duties, though I usually try to let the intern handle it. When we have one, anyway.”
That’s kinda what I thought. I’ve looked at the social media pages for the Emeralds, and while it’s fine, it’s nothing spectacular. “Do you think there’d be a place for a social media manager in the PR office?”
She pauses for a second, and I hold my breath waiting for her answer. “I can’t specifically say yes or no to that question, but I assume you’re asking because you have someone in mind.”
I blow out a breath. “Yeah. Maggie. My girlfriend. She needs a new job.”
Molly hums, the sound not giving away much.
“I’m aware that you’re dating the social media manager for Brock Savage’s show.
I’ve managed to keep that piece of information out of the media—thank you, by the way, for keeping me updated on when and where you and her make public appearances so I can stay on top of those things. It makes my job much easier.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Based on the virality of the story about you, as well as other things I’ve seen from that show, she does good work.”
“She worked for her ex’s show before she started working for Brock.
Managed to get him picked up by a network.
Then he basically had her blacklisted when they got divorced.
Made it all but impossible for her to find a job in sports media, which is why she works for Brock Savage.
I’m pretty sure she’d happily take a new job if she could find one. ”
“Oh, really?” Molly sounds much more interested now. “What’s the name of her ex’s show, and do you know how long ago she worked on it?”
“Her ex is Kyle McKenna. I’m not sure if his show still has the same name as it did when it was independent. They’ve been divorced for about four years. So it’d be before that.”
“Good to know,” Molly murmurs. “Have her send me a resume, and I’ll see what I can do.”
“Thanks, Molly. You’re the best.”
She laughs. “I try. It would be nice to have someone experienced focusing on our social media. I have too many other things to handle to do it well. We’ve needed a dedicated person for years, but convincing the C-suite execs of that has been an uphill battle.
If I have someone with her track record to present, though …
” She trails off. “Like I said, get me her resume. I can’t make any promises, but I’ll do my best.”
“Thanks again.”
After hanging up with Molly, I call Maggie. She doesn’t pick up, though, so I leave a voicemail. “Hey, Maggie! I have some potentially good news. Give me a call when you can.” And then I turn on the TV to pass the time, waiting impatiently for my girlfriend to call me back.
When she finally does hours later, I nearly drop my phone.
I’m a little surprised, honestly, because part of me was worried she might wait until Liam was asleep before calling.
Usually if I call during the day, she’ll call me on her way to pick him up, especially if I leave a voicemail like the one I left today.
Hitting the answer button, I grin. “Hey, Maggie! How was your day?”
She clears her throat. “Um, Jack? We need to talk.”
Uh-oh. While I might not have a ton of experience with relationships, I’ve witnessed enough to know that those words never signal something positive. “Okay. I have something important to tell you, too.” She makes a sound that has me concerned. “Are you okay, Maggie? Did something happen to Liam?”
“No, no. Liam’s fine.”
“With your ex? Is he giving you more trouble?”
“No. Well, yes, really, but that’s not—” She takes a deep breath.
“Jack, I’m really sorry to do this over the phone, but with your schedule changing and everything, I just …
” She clears her throat again as my heart sinks, a cold ball of dread forming in the pit of my stomach.
“I don’t think I can do this anymore,” she whispers.
“This …” I repeat. “This what? What do you mean?”
She makes the sound again, and this time I recognize it as a sob. “This. Us. I don’t think I can keep dating. Between the court case and Brock—” The sound cuts off, and my adrenaline surges. I stand, though it’s not like I can do anything over the phone.
“Maggie? Are you there? What’s going on?” My heart’s pounding. “What did Brock do? What did he say?”
“Nothing. Never mind. Don’t worry about that. Just … thank you for this summer. It was the most fun I’ve had in longer than I can remember.” She’s full on sobbing now, the words hard to make out. “I’m sorry,” she says on a choked whisper. “I have to go.”
“Maggie? Maggie.” I keep the phone pressed to my ear, but then it beeps three times, letting me know the call has ended. “Fuck!” I shout, running a hand through my hair, catching on the hair tie holding it in a small ponytail at the back of my head. “Fuck!”
What’s going on? This can’t be it. Furious, I open my phone again, my thumb hovering over Max’s name, ready to call him and tell him that I’m going to sue Brock Savage after all. He did something to Maggie. I know it.
But what?
I can’t sue him until I know Maggie’s safe, though. Fuck it. Max isn’t my lawyer. It’s not like telling him will get the ball rolling today.
I hit his name, and when I get his voicemail, all I say is. “I’m suing.” He’ll know who I am and what I mean.
After I hang up, I yank on a shirt and stuff my feet into shoes.
Before I do anything else, I need answers.
And I need to tell Maggie to send Molly her resume.
Even if she genuinely doesn’t want to date me anymore, at the very least I can do this one last thing for her.
I’ll reassure her that I don’t often interact with the front office, and I’ll make sure to tell Molly that all communication should go between her and me and not Maggie and me—assuming she gets the job, of course.
This whole time, my goal has been to make sure that Maggie gets what she needs.
And I’m not stopping now just because she thinks she needs to break up with me.
Because I don’t believe she’s doing this because she genuinely doesn’t want to see me anymore. We talked just last night. We said I love you before hanging up. She said it first, even. That’s not the behavior of a woman who doesn’t care about me or want to see me anymore.
Something happened, and I need to find out what.