Chapter 23 - Karter #4
Hastings stood near a marble countertop, pouring sparkling water into a glass. Coach Corby was also there, sitting on a leather sofa across the room, nursing a cup of coffee.
“Boys,” Hastings said smoothly. He raised his glass in a polite toast. “Congratulations on clinching the division. Your father actually just texted me his regards.”
“We are not here for a victory lap,” I interrupted. Crossing the thick carpet, I pulled the phone from my jacket. “We are here about Aleksey Zotov.”
Hastings paused and set the water pitcher down carefully. “Karter, that matter is closed. The paperwork is all but finalized.”
“Trenton Wright lied.” Stopping right in front of him, I placed my phone flat on the marble counter. “And Coach just told me you needed proof to undo it.”
Looking right at Corby, I hit play.
Trenton’s confession played through the small speaker. Corby sat up straight. He set his cup down on the glass table and stared hard at the phone.
Hastings, however, did not say a word. He just pushed his wire-rimmed glasses up his nose. The warm, accommodating smile vanished entirely, leaving his mouth pressed into a hard, flat line.
“Well,” Corby said, breaking the silence once the audio had finished. He looked over at the athletic director. “That is a direct admission of a fraudulent claim. Sounds like the investigation just collapsed, Gerry. I want Zotov back on my ice.”
Hastings interlaced his fingers. “Let us not act hastily. My sense is that we can handle this internally. Also, we need to consider the fallout from the donor side. We can suspend Trenton quietly for the rest of the playoffs to protect the Wright family’s status.”
Locking my knees, I refused to accept a compromise. “You pull Trenton from the roster, and you clear Aleksey’s record. Or I send this file to the NACH compliance board and every sports reporter covering the tournament.”
Hastings blinked. A tight, patronizing smile touched his lips.
“Let us be reasonable. Your father and Trenton’s father already settled this.
Richard made it very clear that your family name will not be dragged into a locker room scandal right as he launches his Senate campaign. He fully expects you to drop this.”
“Call him,” I challenged, keeping my voice dead flat.
“Tell him I am emailing this audio file to the press in ten minutes. Exposing a Title IX cover-up bought by his donor buddies will absolutely tank his political campaign. Let us see if he prefers quietly dropping Trenton or dealing with a media circus.”
Hastings lost the smile. He turned frantically toward my brother. “Elliot. Talk some sense into him.”
Elliot planted his feet and crossed his arms. “Don’t look at me. He takes that recording to the press, I’m standing right next to him at the podium. I’m backing him. A hundred percent.”
Hastings slumped against the counter. Surrounded by the two guys whose family name kept his athletic department funded, he had absolutely no cards left to play. Hastings looked back at Coach Corby for an out, but Corby simply picked his coffee back up and took a slow sip.
Picking my phone up off the marble, Elliot and I turned our backs on the athletic director and walked out of the suite.
Stepping into the hallway, the door clicked shut behind us. A rush of adrenaline flooded my veins, making my hands shake slightly as I shoved the phone back into my jacket.
Elliot let out a long breath as we walked down the corridor. “Will you actually do it?” he asked, glancing sideways at me. “Send that audio to the compliance board and the press?”
“In a heartbeat,” I replied, not breaking my stride.
Elliot sighed, shaking his head as he ran a hand through his hair. “Dad is going to absolutely lose his mind when Hastings calls him.”
“Let him,” I muttered. “He already threatened to freeze my accounts and pull my tuition when we talked on the phone earlier. I guess he’ll have to actually follow through now.”
Elliot stopped walking. He stared at me for a long second, his mouth parting slightly before clicking shut without a word.
I stopped a few steps ahead and turned back. That was when it hit me. I’d spent years as the Johnston kid who never quite measured up or fit my dad’s expectations. Elliot was the other one. Captain material from birth, never a foot out of line, never a mark against his name.
Standing shoulder to shoulder with me in that suite, he hadn’t just bluffed Hastings. He had outright defied our dad for possibly the very first time in his life, putting his own pristine reputation and financial security right on the chopping block.
Elliot stared at the carpet for a long moment. When he finally lifted his head, his eyes locked onto mine.
“Zotov,” Elliot said, his voice dropping low, “better be worth all this.”
I didn’t even have to think about my answer. “He is.”
Elliot held my stare for a second longer before giving me a single, slow nod. Turning forward, we started walking again. Taking Trenton down and blowing up my family’s legacy was the easy part.
I had cleared the way. Now I just had to wait and see if Aleksey chose to walk back through the door.