CHAPTER 44 #2
Keeping her eyes trained on Welcott, she continues, “When you brought me onto the job, it became my responsibility to assess all strengths and weaknesses outside of the client I’m focusing on.
My team and I did a deep dive into the organization to see what could possibly be tainting the business from the inside, and my team has brought up a series of conversations within your organization, all stemming from Troy St. John and Coach Keenan.
” She sets down another piece of paper. “We have audio records, but they are written out here. As you can see, Troy and Coach Keenan have been formulating plans to remove Graydon from the team.”
Holy shit, how did she get ahold of those?
“What are you talking about?” Coach Keenan asks, now standing as well. “I want to see those records.”
“My assistant is emailing them as we speak. They should be in your inbox shortly,” Gretchen says, not even cracking a smile.
“Given this information, I decided to run beta tests on the importance of the two players, Troy and Graydon. And every test that came back spoke wildly in Graydon’s favor.
” She lays down another piece of paper. “Please note that we tested before the PR relationship and after, and in both instances, Graydon surpassed his father in popularity. But with his newfound relationship with Maple, his popularity has skyrocketed and, as you know, has reshaped the perception the public has of the Foghorns. Now, we have yet to play a game, and given where Coach Keenan’s mind has been—trying to get rid of his best player rather than coaching—we will see where the season takes us, but considering the amount of jersey sales and season ticket purchases, I would say you’re looking at a positive season, at least in sales. And it’s because of Graydon.”
“How dare you imply that I’m not focused on my team,” Coach Keenan says, but once again, Gretchen ignores him.
“Mr. Welcott, one of the reasons I took this job was because I could see that you were a smart businessman, and you weren’t just hiring me to place a Band-Aid on a problem.
You hired me because you care about your organization, and you want to see it succeed.
With that being said, it is my greatest recommendation that you not only support my efforts in fixing the leak but also consider ridding this team of the disease that’s been clinging to the walls of your facility and trying to tarnish your reputation and intelligence as an owner.
I recommend you see that Troy St. John is not allowed in these halls and is only on the field when honoring past players—but only if he signs an NDA and walks quietly.
If not, we have ways of making sure his reputation takes more than just a hit.
And I suggest you look into another head coach. His head is not in the right place.”
“Where the fuck do you come off?” Coach Keenan shouts.
Gretchen stands from her chair and nods.
“I’ve taken enough of your time. Please feel free to reach out if you have any questions.
” And with that, she pauses for me to stand as well, which I do, and together, we head out of Welcott’s office and down the hallway, all the way to the locker room, where she finally stops and turns toward me.
“That should be all you need. Good job not opening that mouth of yours.”
Still in shock, I tug on my neck and say, “You think he’s going to make a change?”
“He’s a smart man who cares more about his ego than this organization.
If someone is undermining him, he will get rid of them.
Once he hears the audio, you won’t have to worry about your father anymore.
And given that I’ve been handling your PR as of late, I would suggest letting the relationship between the two of you die.
Don’t seek closure, don’t seek a conversation.
There is nothing of substance that will come from him that will ease the ache I’m sure you have where he’s concerned.
If I were you, I would just consider him dead at this point. ”
“He was dead to me years ago.”
“Yet you let him bother you. Trust me, Graydon, your significance in this life and this organization outweighs his by tenfold. He means nothing to you. Understood?”
I run my tongue over my teeth, the need to just shove him into a wall and scream at him for everything he’s done to me, my mom…Maple, it’s overwhelming…
Gretchen grips my shirt, forcing me to look her in the eyes.
“Drop it,” she says through clenched teeth.
“I’m telling you right now, Graydon, fucking drop it.
Forget he even exists, because if Welcott takes my recommendation, things will get heated before they calm down, and I need you level-headed, on top of your game, and unfazed by his actions. ”
I know she’s right, but it doesn’t make it any less painful.
She lets go of my shirt and takes a step back. “Now, I’m going to be doing some damage control on the relationship news. Don’t talk to anyone about this other than me and Maple. We don’t need word spreading, because this is a hot topic that is going to be picked up everywhere.”
A thought hits me at the mention of not talking to anyone.
“Shit, I think press are at the zoo, trying to speak with Maple. When I called to check on her, that’s what her asshat of a coworker said. I’m going to go over there.”
“Try calling her before you do.”
“Can’t. I broke my phone by throwing it into a wall.”
Gretchen lets out a deep sigh and then pinches the bridge of her nose. “For the love of God, did anyone see you do that?”
“Just Hutton.”
“Okay.” Her eyes meet mine. “Control your freaking temper, Graydon, and save the aggression for the field. Can you do that?”
I mull over her words. It’s never been that easy for me, ever.
I grew up in a household where abandonment hit me every which way.
From my dad to my mom—though not on purpose—I’ve grown to sit in my anger, to wrestle with it daily, to lean on the emotion more than any other.
And to just let it go, not to react when something doesn’t go my way, well, easier said than done.
“Can you?” she repeats.
“Yes.”
“Good.” She lets out a sigh. “Okay, can you handle Maple, or do I need to go with you?”
“I can deal with it,” I say.
She studies me for a moment and then shakes her head. “No, I’ll go with you.”
“I said I can handle it.”
“And I said I’ll go with you.” She turns me toward the parking lot. “Follow me.”
“I need to grab my shit first.”
She crosses her arms and taps her foot. “Hurry up. I’m on borrowed time.”
I open the gate for Gretchen, and together, we head toward the flamingo building.
There is press hanging around the front of the zoo, but nothing in the back, thankfully. My gut churns from the thought of Maple being hounded by press now. And sure, it will probably—hopefully—die down, but why do they have to be here?
This is her sanctuary. She loves it here, being with the flamingos, and to have that tainted makes me feel incredibly uneasy…and guilty.
We attempt to hide from onlookers, but it’s near impossible given my size and the news that’s going around today.
Phones point at me from all different directions as I make my way toward the flamingos, and I don’t even bother hiding anymore, because what’s the point?
I’m a giant man walking through the zoo in my workout clothes.
It’s pretty clear who I am and who I’m going to go see.
When we reach the building, I open the door for Gretchen only for her to come up short and stop before I can enter.
Confused, I look up, and that’s where I find Slutty Little Glasses, his arms all over my girl and his mouth inches from her head.
White-hot rage encompasses me, and before I can stop myself, I push past Gretchen, walk right up to them, and rip him off Maple with a roar of anger, shoving him a few feet away.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I yell.
“Graydon,” Maple says in shock, but I ignore her.
“I asked you what the fuck you were doing.” I round on Slutty Little Glasses, giving him no room to run away.
To his credit, he doesn’t back down as he lifts his chin and says, “Taking care of her.”
“That’s my fucking job!” I yell, practically spitting in his face from my anger.
“Graydon, back away,” Gretchen says from the side as my fists clench.
“I’m the one who protects her, not you.”
“How can you possibly protect her when you’re the one causing the harm?” he shoots back, his words creating a tumultuous wave of damage in my chest. “You’re the one hurting her.”
“Hank, don’t say that,” Maple says, coming up next to me. “That’s not true.”
“It’s not?” he asks. “Because from what I see, you’re crying at work—this not being the first time—over something to do with him. You’re being hounded by press, you’re panicking so much that you’re making yourself sick—”
“You’re making yourself sick?” I ask, turning toward Maple, who is clenching her hands together, tears brimming in her eyes.
“Please, Hank, just…stop.”
“Wait, what is he talking about?”
Her eyes dart to Hank and then back to me. “I was just…it was a lot to handle this morning. I might have gotten a little sick, but it’s nothing that you need to worry about because I’m sure you’re worried about enough at the moment.”
“I’m worried about you.”
“Are you, though?” Hank asks. “Because you’re the one who keeps putting her in these situations.”
“Who is this?” Gretchen asks, pointing at Hank. “And why is he here?”
“He’s a friend,” Maple says.
“I was unaware of his knowledge of the situation.” Gretchen starts tapping away on her phone while saying, “We need to talk about this privately.”
“Why, so you can continue to use her for your benefit?” Hank asks. “Because that’s all this has ever been. Using her, using this zoo, taking advantage of an opportunity to make your life better with total disregard for how she’s treated.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about,” I say.
“Hank, please, you’re going to make it worse.”
“Worse?” His brows shoot up. “How could I make this worse? You were almost attacked out there by some idiotic fan. The press snuck in and hounded you. I care about you, Maple, that’s why I’m going to say something, and it’s why I’ll keep saying something, because no one is seeing what I’m seeing.
He’s so blinded by what’s best for him—”
“All I care about is her,” I shoot back.
“If that were the case, then you wouldn’t be putting her through this, and all for what? A bunch of broken promises?”
“I haven’t broken a promise.”
“We really need to take this somewhere else,” Gretchen says, but Hank ignores her.
“You haven’t? Then what about the donation? The one that was promised her in exchange for helping you out? Phil just told me that money is being put toward merchandise rather than the flamingos, especially now with the painted wall that’s gathering attention.”
“Wait…what?” Maple asks. “He said that?”
“Yes, so everything you’ve done…pointless. That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, Maple, but you’ve been so…caught up with everything that you haven’t been listening. He’s hurting you.” Hank turns toward me. “You’re hurting her, and you’re not even realizing it.”
“I…I didn’t have any idea,” I say, his words sinking in.
“Because you’re too concerned about yourself. You say you care about her, but do you really? If you cared about her, you would realize that being with you isn’t doing her any good. It’s only hurting her.”
“That’s not true.” Maple shakes her head and comes up to me, her hand on my chest. “Graydon, that’s not true.”
I glance down at her, my mind swimming with Hank’s words, my own doubts creeping in as well.
“Were you sick this morning?” She looks me in the eyes, and I can tell she’s about to lie, so I say, “Tell me the truth.”
She wets her lips. “It was just…it was not what I expected this morning. I didn’t know that the relationship was going to be thrown out into the wild like that. I thought it was secure information.”
“It was,” I say, my jaw clenching. “Until my dad thought it was necessary to let it leak.”
“It was your dad?” she asks, her eyes still watery.
“Yeah.” I take a step back from her and smooth my hand over my jaw. “Fuck…he’s right.”
“Who’s right?”
I gesture toward Hank. “I’m just…I’m a burden for you.”
“Don’t.” Maple steps up, but I take another step away. “Graydon, don’t do this.”
My eyes find hers, and I can feel myself back away some more, my head shaking, the thought of the pain I’ve caused her pumping through me.
I’ve hurt her, in many ways, and this is just another instance. It’s not going to get easier than this. It’s only going to get harder with every day that goes by. Do I want to keep hurting her?
I don’t.
Which means…
“We should go, Gretchen.”