Chapter 62
WARD
‘W hat in the hell were you thinking? I mean, just look at this!’ Bernie bellowed as he pointed angrily at the flat-panel TV on the wall of his office.
Onscreen, the Rumble on Red as the media had since deemed it, played out in all its glory – Kendrick’s opening punch, Ward’s retaliation and subsequent ass-kicking of the golfer, then Shelley entering the fray in her designer dress and heels like the badass she was.
Slumped into a chair on the other side of his agent’s desk, Ward sat in stony silence, refusing to look at the TV. After all, he had been there. He had lived it – why did he need to watch it again?
But no matter, the press continued to eat it up. It was the only thing that ESPN and FOX Sports and every single other sports network, YouTuber and gossip site had been talking about and replaying ad nauseum for the past twenty-four hours. The NHL ceremony and award winners were merely cast aside as afterthoughts.
The media reaction had been intense – but Ward had a hard time caring. He flexed his bruised right hand and reflected on the sensation of first-connecting his fist with Kendrick’s smug-ass face. The recollection was deeply satisfying and he smirked at the memory.
‘Something funny?’ barked Bernie. ‘Is there some sort of joke I’m missing out on right now?’
He glanced up and met his agent’s furious gaze, then quickly rearranged his features.
‘I really don’t think you truly understand the gravity of this situation. I’m serious. You’re in deep shit this time, serious shit. This is not a good look—’
‘It was just a fight. It’s not like I haven’t been in any before.’
Bernie snorted. ‘That’s how you’re justifying this? That you’ve been in fights before? OK, maybe yes, you have. On the ice. During a game . Or a boozy night out. Not on the red carpet in front of two hundred cameras. With a fellow pro athlete who is going to sue you from here to eternity.’
‘That asshat hit me first,’ spat Ward.
‘And so you pummelled him? The ass-whooping you gave him, do you think that was justified ? You look unhinged.’ Again, Bernie pointed at the TV.
Ward glanced over and took a deep breath. He had to admit, that footage wasn’t awesome, especially since it appeared that Kendrick wasn’t fighting back – or certainly not with the same intensity that Ward was delivering. Which had been kinda disappointing at the time too, to be honest. Loser.
‘Look, Bernie,’ he continued, ‘that guy—’ he jerked his chin toward the screen ‘—is a prick. He was grabbing Hannah, gripping hard on her arm. And she was pulling away. I saw it. I didn’t like it. That’s why I went over – and told him to get his hands off of her. Everything after that is on him.’
Bernie sighed and collapsed heavily into his office chair, dragging his hands through his hair, and leaving behind little spikes. He looked like he hadn’t slept last night, which, of course, he hadn’t since he was once again in damage-control mode. He threw his head back and looked at the ceiling for a moment.
‘So, you were just being a knight in shining armour, then? Is that what it was?’ he asked, sarcasm clear in his voice. ‘Did it ever occur to you that maybe that was an issue best left for your publicist? That maybe it was a lovers’ quarrel that was none of your business?’
Ward looked away, purposefully avoiding his agent’s gaze.
Of course, it had occurred to him that it wasn’t any of his business. But he also realized that he had developed a serious blind spot when it came to Hannah. He wanted her business to be his business.
When he remained silent, Bernie pressed on.
‘And speaking of Hannah, what does she have to say about all of this? Huh? Did she ask you to butt in like that? I’m pretty certain she wouldn’t thank you for it – not for making such a public spectacle of her private life.’
Ward felt like he was under a microscope, and he shifted uncomfortably in his seat.
‘She quit, OK? She said she can’t work with me anymore.’
Truth be told, Hannah’s declaration the night before hadn’t truly registered with him in the heat of the moment. However, once he’d returned home (the event organisers insisting that it was best he forget about presenting the award and just attend to his bruises), taken off the torn shirt and started seeing the coverage flood in, the scuffle completely overshadowing the event itself, the reality of the situation began to settle in.
The fact that Hannah might be serious about what she said didn’t sit well with Ward. After all, his intentions had been pure – he knew she was being roughed up by Kendrick and he’d swooped in to defend her. That guy was bad news.
But what if yet again he had misread the situation? he wondered now. What if what went down was simply a private matter, a heated exchange between a couple in a relationship – and it really was none of his business? And his jealousy toward Kendrick had maybe distorted his perception.
Nah, he wasn’t stupid. Ward knew a narc when he saw one and could only hope that Hannah saw it now too.
It wasn’t like Ward hadn’t tried calling her at least ten times since. And while he was trying to play it cool on the outside, now as he sat here in his agent’s office being admonished, he had to admit that he was worried.
Not necessarily about the intense public scrutiny or potential aftermath, but that he had ruined his relationship with Hannah. That there was a real possibility that she truly had washed her hands of him this time and might well go back to Kendrick regardless. That he had got it all completely and terribly wrong.
Again.
The thought made him feel sick.
‘Oh, well isn’t that just the freakin’ cherry on top … ’ exclaimed Bernie, throwing his hands up in the air and bringing Ward back into the present. ‘And after all of the good work she did. Jesus, do you have any self-awareness at all? Are you able to even fathom that your actions have consequences?’
‘Of course I do,’ he retorted, jumping out of his chair defensively. ‘I just couldn’t stand by and let her be roughed up like a ragdoll, OK? She doesn’t deserve that, don’t you get it? She’s special, Bernie. She’s—’
Emotion was thick in his voice and Ward’s impassioned reaction was not lost on Bernie, who had known his client for more years than he could honestly remember. And now recognition dawned.
‘Aw crap,’ Bernie said, shaking his head. ‘Why didn’t I see this before? That’s it, isn’t it? You have something going on with Hannah? This is all some crazy love triangle shit, isn’t it?’
Ward squared his shoulders and jutted out his chin. ‘No, there’s nothing going on, it’s just … I didn’t want to see anything bad happen to her, OK?’
But Bernie wasn’t buying it.
‘You know I’ve known you way too long, right? You’re a skirt chaser. Everyone knows you are. And this just solidifies your image. Bad boy womaniser – getting involved with another guy’s girl. That’s what working with Hannah was supposed to turn around, but you dragged her right into it, huh? Knight in shining armour, my ass.’
He opened his mouth to defend himself and also to insist that Hannah hadn’t done anything wrong, hadn’t crossed over any professional lines and she shouldn’t be blamed for anything, but Bernie cut him off.
‘You know, everything I arranged for you was contingent on you turning things around. Your recovery, getting off the pills …’ When Ward looked up sharply, his agent shook his head. ‘You think I didn’t know about the pills? That’s part of it too but only a part. Getting you back on track was also tied to the public deciding you aren’t an asshole – that you don’t have anger management problems, that you aren’t a toxic knuckle-dragger. And for a while there, I thought you truly were turning things around. But now you have successfully managed to throw away everything in a matter of minutes by kicking the ass of a pro golfer … a PGA champ in the prime of his career … and it seems becoming involved in some imbroglio with the publicist I arranged for you. Who quits after you pick a fight with her boyfriend on the red carpet! Who knows what the hell else is going on, what else could come out … ’ Bernie paused, catching his breath, as impassioned with rage as Ward had been on the TV a moment ago. ‘Man, you know you and I go way back,’ he continued, ‘but I just don’t know anymore. After all this, don’t expect Panthers’ management to welcome you back with such open arms anymore – Craig Sumners is already in my ear. This kind of stuff is bad publicity. He’s not happy. No one is. They will likely buy out your contract because they have to, but don’t expect to be a part of the squad ever again.’
At these words, Ward’s face fell.
Could his career really be over this time? This kind of stuff was right up Jefferson Prince’s alley, after all …
He shook his head. ‘Sumners is not going to cut me now,’ he started, thinking if he put the words out there, he could make them true. ‘Not after that big public welcome home.’
‘He might not have a choice,’ Bernie replied darkly. ‘He and Prince might be OK with this kinda macho bullshit but the sponsors won’t. And you know no one else is going to touch you either. There’s not going to be a team out there willing to take on a player so volatile and unpredictable – no one wants their brand hurt by a loose cannon.’ He sighed once again and looked at Ward, his face finally softening. ‘And really, man, when that happens … ’
‘What?’ Ward barked, trepidation in his voice at his agent’s tone.
‘Then I’m going to have to take Hannah’s lead. You’ve become a lot of work lately. And eventually, a guy like me has to question if the juice is worth the squeeze.’