20. Liliana
Chapter 20
Liliana
It took me forever to find my way back to the locker room. I wouldn’t admit this to anyone, but I had to call Macy and describe where I was. It took her almost twenty minutes to find me, then she led me back to the locker room.
“Thank you! I don’t know what I would’ve done without you.” I wrap her in a big hug as we stand outside of the locker room.
“You’re welcome. I’ve gotten lost here more than once. It’s like a right of passage. If you haven’t gotten lost, you probably stay in your office.” She chuckles. “Oh! Charlie and I are going out with Cici tomorrow night. We wanted to invite you to come with us. I want to hear all about this date Cici helped crash.” She wiggles her brows, making me chuckle.
“I think I'm free. Let me check with Smithy tonight, then I’ll let you know.”
“Sounds good! And tell Smithy I said you’re free! You need to spend some time with the other W.A.G.S.”
“W.A.G.S.? Really?” I chuckle.
“What? It’s the wives and girlfriends of sports players.” She lifts her shoulders in a shrug. “It’s easier to call us W.A.G.S. than anything else.”
“I’ve just never heard someone use that term in real life. I’d love to hang out with you guys. Is Cici dating someone on the team?”
“Nah, she’s as single as can be. We need to change that though.”
“Definitely. I’ll let you know later tonight about tomorrow.” I wave goodbye as I step into the locker room. I’m not sure where Smithy is, but I'm sure I can find him now that I'm in the players’ area.
I peek around the locker room, but find it completely empty. I'm about to head through the door to the physical therapy area when someone calls my name. I turn towards the voice and find Owen standing in the doorway to his office.
“Do you have a moment to talk, Lils?”
“Of course.”
I follow him in and take a seat on a chair in front of his desk. He leaves the door open as he settles into his high back chair.
“I wanted to talk to you about an article. I’m wondering if you could interview Levi and write something up about him being our new coach. I need something to paint us in a good light right now. I know some of the guys are getting antsy about the negative press surrounding Stubbs. I have no doubt Danny’s going to cause problems too. He did sign an NDA though, so if he opens his mouth, I have grounds to take him to court. I believe Macy already contacted him to remind him of that.”
“I’d love to write an article about Levi joining the team and everything he wants to do, I'm just not sure my boss will let me run it.” I give him a tight-lipped smile.
“Bill Hoseman is your boss, correct?”
“Yes.”
“That guy’s a jerk. He’s been trying to tarnish my name for years. I don’t know what I ever did to him, but he’s been out to get me since I bought the Pit Bulls.” Owen shakes his head. “How many times has he tried to get you to trash my name?”
I open my mouth to respond, but what do I say? I don’t want to lie to Owen, but I also don’t want to answer his question.
“This is off the record, Lils. I just want to know what I'm dealing with. That being said, if you’re uncomfortable answering, just tell me to mind my own business. You don’t work for me, you don’t owe me anything.” He shrugs.
“Off the record…” I trail off, trying to decide what to tell him. “Almost every article I’ve written concerning the Pit Bulls has been returned to me because he wanted me to paint you in a bad light.”
“But you’ve never published anything against me.” He arches a brow.
“No. I know how well you treat your players and employees. I'm not trashing your name just because Bill has a personal vendetta against you,” I say softly.
“I appreciate that. It’s not common to find someone like you in a sea of reporters. Most don’t care if what they write is correct, they just want views. A way to get to the top of their field.”
“Owen… I feel like I should confess something to you. Last week, Bill gave me a new assignment. Probably the biggest assignment of my career.”
“I'm listening.” He leans his elbows on the desk, his full attention on me.
“I’m supposed to dig up as much dirt as I can on you. I have until two weeks after the season starts to give Bill a juicy story. Something to take you down a peg or two.”
“I see.” He watches me carefully. It’s like he’s assessing me.
“Bill found out I was friends with Smithy and wants me to exploit our relationship to get the information I need.”
“And?” He pushes.
“And I refuse to do it. I'm using these few weeks to figure out what I want in life. I don’t want to work for someone like Bill. I'm not helping him destroy someone’s career for no reason. Hell, if your image is ruined, it affects every single person who works for you. I'm not doing that.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re an amazing man. You stepped in today when you could’ve ignored what Danny was doing. You care about your players and put so much effort into this team. Smithy always says you’re the most amazing boss in the world. He doesn’t want to work for anyone else. He’s even talked about if he’s ever traded, he’s retiring. He doesn’t want to go to another team because he knows it will be vastly different.”
“I’d never trade him. He’s one of my best players.”
“I heard all about how you stuck up for Charlie. I even saw the video from your office when you stepped in and kept Stubbs away from her. You go above and beyond. I plan to write an article showing that, but it will mean the end of my career with Bill. I have a feeling he’ll try to get me black listed. I’ll be lucky if I can find another reporter’s job.”
“Lils, if that happens, you call me up. I’ll make sure to help you get a position somewhere. Hell, if you interview Levi and write up an article, I’ll make sure it gets printed with another company. I have a lot of friends in high places. Bill doesn’t own as many people as he thinks he does.”
“That would be amazing. I was about to leave, maybe I’ll stop by Levi’s office and see when he’d be up for an interview. I can run my article by you before I give it to anyone so you can approve it.”
“Nah, I trust you.” He waves me off. “You’re good people, Lils. I can see that. I'm glad Smithy finally grew the balls to ask you out. He needs you in his life more than he realizes it.”