The news had hurt her, that much was obvious. If there was one person on this earth he’d want to protect from pain, it was Micki. Too late now, he thought, disgusted with himself.
He knew she’d walked out so she could be alone and retreat behind every emotional wall she could find. He didn’t blame her. If he had a brick wall he could hide behind, he’d be there in an instant. Problem was, he didn’t have that luxury. Nothing would make Carole and her pregnancy go away. He couldn’t change the fact that he was back-page headlines again, this time with a scandal that would do far more damage than good.
He couldn’t deny he needed Micki’s unique ability to spin a story his way, nor could he ignore that it might be the only way for him to keep her in his life. At least until he sorted through this personal mess and came out the other side. Right now Micki was his lifeline and he needed her. Apparently, knowing he was selfish and doing something about it were two different things.
Without warning, the door swung open wide and Micki walked back inside, her sister Sophie and her uncle Yank right behind her.
He stiffened, ignoring the embarrassment he felt at being caught with his pants down by people he admired and cared for. “Why do I have the feeling I’d rather face a firing squad than the three of you?” he asked.
“Well, I don’t know,” Yank said, his voice laced with sarcasm. “Maybe because you can’t keep your dick in your pants and now we’ve got ourselves a situation?” The older man picked up the paper and flung it Damian’s way.
Damian winced. It was bad enough he’d still have to explain this mess to his family, but now he was faced with Micki’s. “I really don’t see how that’s relevant to my career.”
“He really doesn’t see how this is relevant to his career,” Yank mimicked him. “I’ll tell you how. I can book you on comedy shows and channels for idiots if this kid turns out to be yours. Want to know what was waiting in the wings for you?” Yank asked.
Probably not, Damian thought. “What?” he asked instead.
“GMA special sports correspondent, that’s what. You see, you might not have wanted to talk about your career beyond playing ball, but I had your back. Always.”
“And I appreciate that. I admit this isn’t the responsible image I want to project and I’m not proud of any of this. But plenty of famous people have survived worse scandal. I don’t see what you’re so worked up about,” he said, his voice trailing off as his gaze shifted from Yank to Micki.
Damian knew exactly what had the old man so riled up and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do to make things better. The man was already pissed at how Damian had handled his relationship with Micki. Now this. Who could blame Yank if his anger was more personal than professional?
Then there was Micki, who hadn’t met Damian’s gaze since bringing her partners into the room.
“Look,” Micki said, stepping in front of her uncle. “I spend my days spinning scandal for a living, but I thought we needed reinforcements on this one. You had an appointment with Uncle Yank anyway, and I figured Sophie would be of help since I’m not exactly an unbiased third party.”
In other words, she was hurt, and afraid her emotions would get in the way of doing her job. “You aren’t about to pass me off to your sister, are you?” he asked Micki, ignoring the other two people in the room.
Silence followed and his gut churned at the thought of losing the only person he trusted.
“It would serve you right if I did, but no I’ll help you handle this,” she finally said.
Well that was something, at least. “Okay then, what’s the plan?”
Sophie picked up a pen and began making notes on a pad in her hand. “In cases like these, having the right person standing by a man in times of scandal can save a reputation. In your case it’s going to be Micki who holds your hand through this mess.” Her frown told him how much Sophie hated the idea of her sister being subjected to being in the role of his savior.
But obviously they’d discussed it briefly before coming in here because neither Yank nor Micki argued the point.
Still Damian was confused. “I’m not sure I understand what you’re suggesting.”
“I’ll explain. First, you’re going to issue a statement with your publicist by your side. That would be me,” Micki said, in case he missed the obvious. “You are going to admit you made a mistake and state that once the facts are verified, you plan to do the right thing. You’re going to be a stand-up guy, just like your fans and the kids who look up to you expect.”
He nodded. So far so good. Relief filled him as he realized that he’d been right in coming to Micki for help. Not just professionally, but personally as well. He couldn’t wrap his mind around how to handle any of this and he could already see that she’d help him get his head on straight. He’d owe her big time for this, Damian thought.
“Next up is handling the actual…umm…situation,” Micki said, her cheeks turning red in embarrassment.
“What she’s referring to is whether you’ve dealt with the issues surrounding this pregnancy,” Sophie said, rescuing her sister. “Did you talk to the woman about a paternity test?”
He shook his head. “Not yet.”
“Did you think about meeting with a lawyer?” Yank asked.
Again, Damian said, “No. I just found out. I can’t even imagine how the damn story got leaked so quickly.”
“Probably the doctors or nurses the woman saw. Somebody saw a chance to make a buck,” Yank muttered.
“You need to set up those appointments,” Micki instructed him, back to her professional mode. “What’s your schedule look like?”
Damian groaned. “A series of home games and then a week on the road.”
She nodded. “Okay, lawyer and doctor appointments first.”
“You need to find out how far along this woman is and then talk to someone about when it’s safe for paternity tests to be done.”
“My sisters have an ob-gyn. I can set up an appointment with him. He’s a family friend and I’m sure he’ll fit me in around game times.”
His sisters. Shit. The thought of facing them and their questions made him squirm.
Sophie nodded. “Good. At least we have a plan of action. Right now Micki will go with you and help deal with the press. In case you didn’t realize, they’re already outside the building and clamoring for information.”
“Yeah, they were camped outside my building this morning.” He winced at the memory. “There’s no media quite like New York’s.”
“You got that right. Screw up and they’re all over you,” Yank said. “I got one question.”
“Shoot.” Damian wasn’t about to hold anything back now.
“If the kid’s yours, do you plan on marrying this broad?”
“Hell, no. I don’t believe in screwing up Carole’s life or the kid’s life just because protection didn’t work,” he snapped.
Yank cleared his throat. “You’re saying you used protection?”
Micki looked away.
Damian ran a hand over his warm face. “Yeah, Yank. I did.”
“Well, that’s something.” The older man met his gaze with a sympathetic look of his own.
For a brief second, Damian didn’t feel like the pariah in the room or the man who’d let this entire family down.
What a freaking mess he’d made. He and Micki hadn’t had a commitment; they’d had what should have been a brief fling. Yet he couldn’t shake the self-disgust flowing through him at the thought of disappointing her family and hurting her.
“I say we deal with the press immediately,” Micki said, interrupting his thoughts. “The more time you let go by, the more speculation they’ll shovel and the more dirt they’ll dig up on both you and Carole. You ready?” she asked Damian in her most professional, distant voice.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.”
She nodded. “Then let’s do it. I’ll brief you on what to say on the way downstairs.” Micki strode out of the room, pad in
hand, all but ignoring him.
At this point the only thing he had going for him was the fact that she and her family agreed she’d stick by his side. He intended to hold her to her promise.
* * *
Ricky Carter sat in his small apartment and watched Eyewitness News at Noon. Thanks to his discreet contacts, Damian Fuller’s paternity scandal had headlined the back of every newspaper in the city. Now Carter watched his captain and the man whose position he coveted step in front of microphones and speak from the heart.
No prepared statement for Fuller, Carter thought, taking a swig from a bottle of beer. Instead, the man had the fans eating from the palm of his hand as he extolled the virtues of always using protection, explaining how mistakes happen anyway and promising to do the right thing. Then he asked for time to figure things out and requested the media focus on what was important at this time of year—the Renegades making it to the off season.
He shook his head in disgust. Everything the man touched turned to gold. Nothing Carter did made a difference or brought Fuller down, and he ought to know since he’d tried his best.
Carter had made sure to let the reporters who covered the team know at which strip club they could find Fuller. Carter had hoped they’d bash Fuller for partying at Lacie’s the night before a charity event. Instead, he’d been branded a hero for rescuing his agent’s niece. Nice piece of spinning by the Hot Zone, Carter thought, frustrated.
Even now Fuller had the sexy little publicist standing by his side despite his fall from grace. The same woman who’d eyed Carter with disdain looked at Fuller with adoring eyes.
“The story of my life,” he muttered.
But it wasn’t just Damian’s dumb luck eating away at Rick now, it was his own actions that bothered him. When he’d hooked up with Carole, he’d eyed Fuller with envy. Silently sabotaging the Renegades captain had been too easy to resist, and for a while nobody had been hurt in the process.
Until Carole had gotten pregnant.
He and Carole had come together in fun, but somewhere along the way, he’d begun to develop feelings for her. Hell, he’d even thought she felt the same way. But then she’d ended up pregnant, insisting the baby was Damian’s. To add insult to injury, she’d been refusing to return Carter’s phone calls.
Carter had been so pissed about the pregnancy, so angry at Fuller, he’d wanted to get back at his captain. Carter had revealed Carole’s pregnancy to the press. But soon after making the call, the anger had subsided and he realized he’d set Carole up for pain and humiliation—something he’d never intended to do. He’d called the press first and realized he’d be hurting Carole later, after it was too late to take back the story.
He picked up the phone and dialed her hotel room. He knew she wasn’t leaving the city until tomorrow and wanted to make sure she was okay while she was here.
The phone rang and rang on the other end until he was about ready to hang up.
“Hello?” Carole said, out of breath.
“Hey, babe, I’ve been trying to reach you.”
“Carter?”
“Who were you expecting? Never mind,” he said, before she could answer. He was certain he didn’t want to know. “How are you feeling?”
“A little queasy. I’ve been spending more time than I’d like in the bathroom.”
Maybe that’s why he hadn’t been able to reach her. He glanced toward his fridge. “You should try drinking Coke. It’ll help. At least that’s what my sister said when she was expecting.”
“Thanks for the advice, Rick.”
He swallowed hard. “No problem. So how are you handling…the rest of it?” he asked, referring to the media attention and hoping she wouldn’t make him spell it out. He felt bad enough already.
She inhaled and he heard the long pause at the other end. “It’s horrible. The reporters are all over the lobby. I had to ask security to sneak me down the service elevator tomorrow morning just so I can make my flight. I can’t believe someone at the doctor’s office would leak the news about my pregnancy. I feel so violated.”
Carter’s gut cramped. “What makes you think it was them?”
She sniffed and he imagined her wiping her eyes as she spoke. “Nobody else knows Damian’s the father except you and me, and I know you wouldn’t hurt me.”
She trusted him, Ricky thought, fighting the wave of nausea that overtook him as he faced the reality of what he’d done. In his zeal to take everything Damian Fuller had, he’d hurt this woman in the process. He hadn’t meant to. He cared about her too much.
Way too much.
If she knew he’d been sabotaging Fuller, she’d dump his ass even as a friend. And he didn’t want that. As much as he and Carole had often joked about Damian’s arrogance and downfall, she was now carrying Fuller’s kid.
Or was she? he wondered, as Damian’s words from the press conference played back in his head.
Rick always wore a condom—it was ingrained in his head by his father—and he’d used one with Carole. She’d said she always made a guy use protection, too, but when she’d told him about the pregnancy, she’d said there was one time she and Fuller hadn’t used birth control. He’d believed her.
“Hey, babe?”
“Yes?”
“Did you and Fuller use protection?”
He listened closely, waiting for an answer.
“I already told you about me and Damian. Why are you asking me again?”
He shrugged. “Something Fuller said to the press about using protection and accidents happening anyway.”
She let out a too shrill laugh. “What else is he going to say? That he’s not the hero the world thinks he is?”
“I understand, babe. And I’m here for you no matter what.”
“That’s so sweet.” She paused. “But we can’t see each other anymore. And Damian can’t know we’ve ever been together, you know that, right? Because if Damian will, ummm, marry me and give the baby a name, you know I have to do it. Promise me, okay?”
Rick shut his eyes tight. His position on the field, his number at bat and now his woman. What the hell else did Fuller need to hang on to that ought to be his? Carter wondered.
He couldn’t live with making Carole such a promise.
“Oh, I’m going to be sick again. I’ve got to go,” she said and slammed the phone in his ear.
Apparently, he wasn’t going to have to promise her he’d keep his silence, after all. Which was a good thing since long after she’d hung up the phone, and long after the Renegades had won their 4:00 p.m. game, Rick tossed and turned in his bed, something eating away at him.
Something Carole hadn’t said.
She hadn’t answered his question about whether she and Fuller had used protection. After telling him about her pregnancy that first time, after explaining she and Damian had made that mistake just once, she’d evaded reassuring him directly ever since. Which left Rick with lingering doubts about Carole’s initial claim.
Never mind the fact that she might have been with more guys than him and Fuller. Rick didn’t want to deal with that thought at the moment. But if she and Fuller had used protection, just like she and Rick had used protection, then there was a fifty-fifty chance the baby she was carrying was his.
CHAPTER TEN
Micki’s head pounded as she somehow made it through the day. Although she, Sophie and Uncle Yank had all agreed they needed to stand by Damian, only she had a personal stake in the news he’d delivered. Only she was hurt by the fact that he’d possibly fathered a child. And only she disagreed with his decision not to marry Carole.
Nothing ate away at her more than a child deprived of a parent, perhaps because she’d lived the nightmare herself. She couldn’t understand how Damian could willingly opt out of his child’s life. She figured it was because the baby wasn’t a reality to him yet. Once it was, if it was, then she hoped he’d do the right thing and be a full-time parent by marrying Carole. No matter how much Micki was hurt by the thought.
In the meantime, she’d guide him through the PR aspects of his situation and make sure he played well to his public. All of his publics, which in a star athlete’s case included his coaches, the people who paid his salary, and his fans, including the parents of the kids who idolized him.
At least he was a quick study. She’d briefed him on the elevator ride down and he’d aced the brief statement to the reporters and the few questions she’d allowed him to take. He’d come across as a concerned man, a fallible human, and a star who was acknowledging his place in the public eye and using his mistake to educate America’s youth.
He’d returned to the office and used the conference room to schedule the meetings Sophie had suggested. First up was the doctor who’d explain the ins and outs of safe paternity testing. He had an appointment for a consultation tomorrow. Once he had an understanding of the facts, he’d have to confront Carole and request a test. Those were the more personal aspects of this situation and he didn’t need Micki around for that, she thought gratefully.
A knock sounded on her door and she glanced up. “Come in.”
Sophie stuck her head inside. “Want to grab a bite to eat?”
Micki shook her head.
“Okay, then good thing I figured you’d want to be holed up in your office. We’ll just eat here.” Sophie pulled a paper bag from behind her back and proceeded to unload the goodies she’d bought from the café downstairs. “I’ve got two iced coffees and two Squagels with cream cheese. Comfort food, including a brownie for dessert.”
“I appreciate it, Soph, but I’m not hungry.”
Her sister shrugged. “So you can keep me company while I eat.”
A couple of minutes later, Sophie had spread everything out across Micki’s desk, leaving her no choice but to stare or pick at the food she’d brought. Micki decided to pick.
“I’m sorry you have to go through this.” Sophie met her gaze. “Damian’s a jerk.”
“He’s not.” Micki shook her head, surprised to find herself defending him. “I mean, in reality, he’s no different than thousands of other people who end up with unplanned pregnancies. He’s just famous, that’s all.”
Hot Number (Hot Zone Book 2) Page 14
