Chapter 7 Tish
TISH
My heart leaps in my throat as I toss the covers aside and pad barefoot to the bathroom.
What have the Thunderwolves gotten themselves into now?
I turn on the shower faucets while my mind runs through a gauntlet of possible scandals. Were more players caught using steroids?
Does someone have a gambling problem and needs money to cover a debt before he gets a beatdown from a loan shark?
Was one of the guys arrested for a DUI?
Pushing the thoughts away, I strip off my clothes and take a quick shower, then go to Becky’s room to wake her up.
“Time to get up, sweetheart,” I say, tapping her shoulder gently. Becky isn’t at her best in the mornings.
She groans and tries to roll over to her other side but my hand on her shoulder prevents her. She mumbles something in protest, and I smile down at her.
“Don’t you want to show your friends the cookies you made?”
One eye pops open, then the other. “I guess so,” she mutters.
Once she gets out of bed, we choose what she’s going to wear for the day.
Becky picks out a fluffy red sweater and a pair of blue jeans.
Leaving her to dress herself, I return to the bathroom and finish doing my hair and makeup.
After just thirty minutes, Becky’s had breakfast and is dropped off at school.
I pull into the clubhouse parking lot, find a spot, and park my car.
Memories of yesterday, when I sat here with hormone overload, flood my mind and my pulse quickens, my breathing grows rapid and shallow.
Damn, girl, get a hold of yourself!
I wasn’t expecting to start working so soon, but here I am about ready to face my first day on the job and whatever trouble the team has gotten themselves into now.
With determination and resolve, I get out of my car and go straight to the coach’s office.
The door is slightly ajar, so I push it all the way open while knocking on it at the same time.
I only get about three steps into the office before I pause, nearly stumbling.
Holy shit!
I was expecting to meet just Coach Carl, but Jake and Ash are here too.
Heat warms my skin and a twinge of excitement zings along my nerves as I glance from one to the other.
Carl sits behind his desk, his expression full of disappointment and anger. He tells me to come further into the office with a brisk wave of his hand.
I move forward but stop and turn around to shut the door for privacy.
Ash smiles encouragingly at me as I take a seat in a cushy brown chair in front of Carl’s desk.
To my left sits Ash, and to my right, Jake. Jake looks like a boy who’s been caught with his hand in the cookie jar, telling me this meeting is likely about him.
“Now that we’re all here,” Carl says. “Trisha, welcome to your first day on the job. Looks like it’s going to be baptism by fire for you.”
I glance at Ash who rolls his eyes. Jake leans forward and braces his elbows on his knees, resting his forehead on his palms.
“What’s happened?” I ask.
On the way over, I listened to the sports news channel but didn’t hear anything about the Thunderwolves.
At least not anything I haven’t already heard. The reporters continue to regurgitate the hockey team’s bad press.
Coach Carl shoots a glare at Jake. “Apparently, Jake’s got himself a stalker who claims she’s carrying his baby.”
My eyebrows lift so high they disappear beneath my hair. Jake snaps his gaze in my direction and shakes his head.
“It’s not true,” he protests.
Carl’s expression remains tight. Ash shrugs his shoulders when I look his way.
When I turn to look at Jake, I cock my head to the side, giving him an “I find that hard to believe,” look.
“I swear,” Jake argues, turning his attention to the coach. “As I told you, I remember meeting her…Krista…at a party. I admit, I did consider fu—er…” He shoots a look at me. “Having sex with her, but I didn’t.”
“Why not?” I ask. Jake raises an eyebrow at my question. “I mean, with your reputation, well, it’s hard to believe you would turn down sex.”
“Fair question,” Ash puts in.
Jake shoots Ash a frown then meets my gaze. “It’s true, most of the time. But even I have standards.”
I want to laugh at his indignant tone but manage to keep my expression neutral.
“She was too needy and clingy.” Jake shakes his head in disgust at the memory. “I look for a good time, not a relationship, and that’s exactly what she was looking for. She was more than just a puck bunny, she was planning a future, and I wanted no part of it.”
I study his expression for a long minute, seeing the truth there. He’s not lying.
Or if he is, he’s a very good liar.
His gaze meets mine steadily.
If he is lying, his eyes would likely shift to the side.
He isn’t sweating or showing any other signs of nervousness.
“We need to get ahead of this before the press finds out,” Carl says, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger. “With Jake’s reputation, everyone will believe the woman, and God knows we don’t need any more bad press.”
The office grows quiet as three sets of male eyes focus on me, waiting for me to say something brilliant that will magically make this problem go away.
Baptism by fire, indeed.
For a second, my mind freezes.
I can’t find a single coherent thought except for the constant replay of “what am I going to do?”
Panic threatens to consume me and the three male faces blur in and out of focus.
If I can’t handle this, then I’m trying to break into the wrong career. Actually, in the scheme of things, this isn’t so bad and is actually quite common.
It’s nothing new for a woman to try to blame a pregnancy on a famous person.
Whether for money or marriage, or both, it’s an old play.
And there are ways to deal with that.
I take a deep breath and square my shoulders. “I agree, Carl. We need to get out in front of this. First thing, ask…Krista…to take a NIPP test—”
“NIPP?” Jake asks, raising an eyebrow. From the gleam in his eyes, I can tell what he’s thinking and shoot him a frown.
“Non-Invasive Prenatal Paternity, N.I.P.P.,” I emphasize. “Not short for nipple.”
Ash chokes out a bark of laughter. Carl clears his throat several times as if trying not to laugh. Jake, though, stares at me with wide eyes, a dark red stain making its way up his neck.
Apparently, the guys didn’t think I’d be able to follow Jake’s dirty line of thinking.
I fight back a smile and stare at Jake with a deadpan expression.
“What if she refuses?” Jake asks. “I mean, why would she agree to such a test when she’s not pregnant, at least not by me. She’s gotta know we never had sex. She wasn’t that wasted at the party.”
“Then we get a court order,” I say without pause.
“That might not be so easy and could expose us to the press,” Carl interjects.
“I don’t think it will be that difficult to get. We just need to express to the court that such accusations could be detrimental to Jake’s career and image.”
Carl nods thoughtfully.
“But there’s still the press,” Ash says with a frown. “There are reporters who hang out at courthouses just to see what cases go before judges and which ones they want to report on. If Jake has to go to court to get this order, the vultures will pounce.”
I nod. “It’s a chance we have to take. Besides, even if the press finds out, there will at least be some doubt casted Krista’s way. The first time they hear anything about it will be with Jake demanding she take a prenatal test.”
“Maybe there’s a way we can do this secretively.” I don’t think Carl even knows he is speaking out loud. His eyes stare straight ahead, not focused on anything.
“It could work,” he says, blinking his gaze back into focus.
I turn to Jake and point at him. “You can’t have any contact with her,” I warn sternly. “None. If she calls, don’t answer. If she runs up to you in a store, run the other way. All contact must be between the attorneys, if she has one.”
Jake raises his arms in the air in surrender. “I won’t.”
When I give him a doubtful frown, he stresses, “I won’t. I swear! I don’t want anything to do with that woman, and I especially don’t want to help her case.”
We talk for a little while longer, then Jake and Ash leave, which puts me in the office, alone, with Carl. “Well, I should get to work writing a few press release versions. Not that I expect to have to release them,” I hurry to explain when he frowns at me. “But I like to be prepared.”
He nods, then gestures at the door. “Close the door, Trisha. We need to talk.”