Chapter 30
NATE
The cafeteria was loud as Ryder, Jax, and I grabbed our food. Practice was brutal thanks to the shitty weather outside. It was late October, so snow this early in the year was no surprise for New England, but it still sucked when you had to practice and play in these conditions.
I set my tray down just as Jax and Ryder slid into the chairs across from me.
“I got news,” Ryder said between bites of his chicken and rice.
I took a drink of my blue Gatorade. “What kind of news?”
He leaned back in his chair and exchanged a look with Jax. “We made some calls. Got some shit on your guy.”
I paused and set my drink down. “What did you find?”
Jax smirked. “Your guy was doing some shady shit.” He picked up his phone. “Did you know he represented Marcus Brown?”
Marcus Brown was a linebacker who played for Washington. He was only three years in the league, but the pundits have been talking about him being an automatic in to the Hall of Fame.
“And?”
“Marcus is as smart as a whip. Dude pays attention to everything. He noticed some discrepancies with a few endorsement deals.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Are you saying Brian was taking advantage of him?”
Jax nodded. “Skimming from the top. Asshole was making everything look good on paper. One of his sponsors called, and they started talking numbers. That’s when Marcus noticed the numbers weren’t adding up.”
I pushed my food away. “Is he willing to go on the record?”
Jax nodded like a proud dad. “Him and a couple other guys.”
“Not all of them,” Ryder said, jumping in. “At least not yet.”
I dragged a hand over the back of my neck. “This is enough, right?”
They both nodded.
“I hope so.” Jax glanced over his shoulder as a few more guys walked into the cafeteria.
I paused for a second. “Why didn’t anyone say something sooner?”
Ryder tilted his head to the side. “Why do you think? Brian’s got connections and knows how to hold shit over people’s heads.”
I leaned back and spread my legs out. “So, he was doing the same thing to them as he was to me?”
Jax set his fork down and folded his arms across his chest. “The guy’s a big douche canoe.”
I rubbed the back of my neck; the gravity of the situation was settling in. “You didn’t tell them what he was doing to me, did you?”
Ryder shook his head. “Just said he was trying to pull something. Didn’t get into the details. In fact, they were shocked that he had the balls to fuck with someone like you.”
I looked down at my food. “I feel so dumb. I should have known.”
The signs had been there the whole time, yet somehow, I didn’t see them. I let him get too close. I thought he had my back, and I hated how badly that trust had been used against me.
Jax kicked me under the table. “Shut up. He was your friend. You trusted him.”
“It’s a good thing I’m better at reading guys on the field,” I muttered.
I glanced down at my plate and looked up at them. “I appreciate you guys doing this.”
“We already covered this.” Jax rolled his eyes.
I nodded once and let that settle.
Around us, the cafeteria got louder. Some guys were laughing. A few were arguing over who could drink the most beer. One of them tossed a handful of fries that turned into a full-blown food fight.
I was jealous that they had the ability to sit and laugh without a care in the world.
I dragged a hand over my jaw because that used to be me. Before life got so fucking complicated.
While I loved these guys, there was a part of me that just wanted to tune them out. Go back to what mattered.
Playing football. Where the only thing that I had to worry about was the next play. Because no matter how messy things got off the field, playing ball grounded me. And after the game on Sunday, I was ready to put all this shit behind me.
I pushed the door open, and the first thing that hit my ears was the sound of laughter. This sound was different from the team noise I’d been around all day. This was softer, lighter, and it made me smile.
I stepped inside, dropped my bag by the door, and followed the sound into the living room.
Becca and Callie were sitting on the couch. Callie was tucked into the corner, holding a glass of wine in her hand, and next to her was Becca.
She turned slightly when she heard me enter the room.
“Look who finally made it home,” Callie teased.
“Looks like you guys had a fun day,” I said, taking my coat off and draping it over the back of a chair. I placed my hands on my hips and glanced around, noticing all the shopping bags scattered on the floor. There were shoes, makeup, clothes, and God only knows what else.
“We did.” Callie grinned. “Wait until you see your credit card statement.”
I shook my head with a laugh as Becca popped off the couch. “How was practice?”
I brought her in for a kiss and held on to her. There was something about seeing her in my home after a long day that calmed the noise in my head.
“Good, but cold as fuck.”
She ran her hands through my hair. “You look tired.”
Because I was. I was exhausted in ways I didn’t think a few hours of sleep would be able to fix.
I sat down and rested my head against the cushion. “What did you guys do today other than bankrupt me?”
Callie held her nails out. “Went and got pedicures and had our nails painted in your team colors.”
“Nice.” I turned to Becca and pulled her legs over the top of mine. “Just make sure you wear the right jersey this time.”
She bit down on her bottom lip and took a sip of her drink. “Is the team ready for Sunday?”
“I hope so. If not, we’re in trouble.”
Becca eyed me carefully because she knew what was going to happen after the game on Sunday. I was going to management and loading this shit off my chest.
Brian still believed he had the upper hand. He had no idea about the shit we were digging up on him. If it weren’t for Becca thinking about every angle or my boys making calls, I’d be in a much different position.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. My new agent, Tony’s name flashed across the screen.
“What’s up, Tony?”
“Hey, big guy. I got some news.”
I could hear papers shuffling in the background.
“I hope it’s good news.”
“You know that PI you asked me to hire to look into Brian’s financials?”
I frowned. “Tony, that was seven hours ago. Are you telling me your guy found something already?”
Once Jax and Ryder told me about other players having financial discrepancies, I asked him to look into that and make sure he wasn’t doing the same thing to me.
I had a pretty good accountant and financial advisor, but I still wanted them to take a look at my finances to ensure Brian didn’t touch anything without my knowledge.
“You told me to spare no expense, and money talks, my friend.”
I scrubbed a hand over my jaw. “What did he find?”
“Did you know he bought his sister a condo in Miami?”
“Um… no.”
I could feel the girls shift next to me.
“You’re going to love this.” He laughed. “He bought the house two months ago. Paid for it in cash.”
I scratched my head. “Tony, I’m not following.”
“The woman living there is not Lydia. It’s occupied by a girl named Tammy McLanise. She used to be a dancer at an upscale club in Palm Beach. It appears she stopped working there about two years ago when she got pregnant.”
“Jesus. Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“I can’t confirm yet that the kid is his, but why else would he need a secret little love shack if he wasn’t hiding something?”
My mind started spinning. The timeline was starting to add up. All the money he’s been skimming from other players and hoping to get from me was to pay for a place for his mistress and secret child.
I dragged a hand down my face. I should have been happy that I got something to hold over his head, but the first thing that came to mind was Nadine and the girls.
My mind went back to all the dinners, holidays, and events she hosted and included me in.
She was always warm and kind. Never forgot a birthday and always greeted me with a smile.
Meanwhile, her husband was living a double life, and it made me sick just thinking about it.
And the worst part was, he probably didn’t feel an ounce of guilt over it.
“His wife is going to be devastated.”
“He’s going to have bigger problems once the IRS starts asking questions about that house and when his clients find out he’s been screwing them over.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Yeah, some of the guys are already talking.”
The guy really was a piece of work. Images of him flashed through my mind. Tailored suits, expensive watches, and always acting like he was the smartest guy in the room.
Brian had no idea how much trouble he created for himself, and I couldn’t wait to watch his world come tumbling down.
“So, what’s the plan?”
“Right now, you wait.”
I frowned. “I hate waiting.”
“I know. We need more. Something solid, so he can’t lie his way out of it.”
My hand tightened around my phone. “Get more details. I will pay double if I have to.” I glanced at Becca. “I just want this over with.”
“My PI is verifying everything as we speak. You don’t want to leak this without proof. I told him we needed confirmation ASAP.”
I smiled even though he couldn’t see me.
A guy like Brian wouldn’t want something like this to go public—for months.
He’s been holding my injury over my head, all the while he was living a double life.
And the closer we got to confirming all this shady shit, the closer I was to being done with him for good.
I pressed the phone to my ear. “You did good, Tony.”
He exhaled heavily into the phone. “I’ll keep you updated, but hang in there, big guy. Remember, where there’s smoke, there’s fire. Speaking of smoke, I think I’ll go fire up a joint.”
I laughed. “Just don’t get too stoned. I need you focused.”
I hung up, and Becca slid her legs off my lap.
“This sounds promising.”
I dragged a hand down my face. “I sure do fucking hope so.”
One more game. Three more days. One more press conference.
Hopefully, everything would go according to plan, and we would move before Brian did. This was all coming down to timing. He was expecting money on Tuesday. He thought he was going to win because he didn’t know my people already had things moving.
He didn’t know Becca was going to release an article about what a douche he was.
He didn’t know management was going to hear everything from me.
He had no idea that his world was going to collapse in on him.
“I’m sorry, Nate,” Callie said from her end of the couch.
I shrugged. “It’s fine.”
All I needed to do was survive the next three days.