"Message received."
"You should know that Olivia's in Pittsburgh now."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, I'm outside of her hotel now. She checked in yesterday and is staying in the East End of the city, really close to Aubrey and Jenna."
"Fuck. That devious little bitch."
"She emailed her boss that she's got a juicy story about Jenna being sick and you knowing about it — that you victimized her specifically because she was vulnerable right now."
"That story can't happen! The other stuff was bad enough, but this would destroy Jenna. What is Olivia's obsession with this story? The team is fed up with her, she's simply burning her bridges. It's like she has a vendetta against Jenna. This can't be about wanting to be with me. She never liked me that much to begin with, and I certainly hate the fuck out of her now after what she did."
"I don't know if Jenna was the real target here," Trey mused.
"What do you mean?"
"You're the one who looks the worst. That article was released before your planned big meeting with the team. If Jenna had changed her opinion like you wanted, no one would have taken her seriously after your relationship came out."
"You mean, maybe they wanted her opinion to stand?" Wyatt asked.
"Yes, and make the team view you as undesirable, and too much of a risk. That's kind of what happened, isn't it?"
"It is. And it's really helped Chase. We know he's a piece of shit, but he's made himself look squeaky clean for the rest of the world. What did they talk about in their emails?"
"Some are about meeting up. She went to Atlanta a few times, but she had more trips to Vegas. This all occurred over the last few years, only during the football season. They also have the names of Atlanta players and their injuries. For the few weeks he started, there’s a series of numbers. They could be scores, but I’m not sure."
"Holy shit. Trey, send everything you can to me. Your friend, that Griffen guy. He's not just a writer, isn't he an investigative journalist, too?"
"Yeah. I help him with the investigations."
"Do you think he could complete an article and get it published by tomorrow?"
"If it'll help Jenna, then he'd have it done in an hour."
"Good. Let's meet with him ASAP. I want this feature to come out before Olivia's article about Jenna being sick. And if Olivia and Chase were doing what I suspect, no one will give a shit about me and Jenna anymore."
"Gabe, this is Griffen. Thanks for setting up this press conference for us," Wyatt said to his agent before buttoning, and then unbuttoning, his suit jacket. His whole body was humming with anticipation.
This was as antsy as he'd felt before the Orange Bowl. He'd gone on to win the national championship for the University of Texas. Hopefully this day would be similarly successful. Though, unlike that game, this milestone was guaranteed to be humiliating for him.
"It wasn't hard. After Griffen's article in the New York Times yesterday, I couldn't find a hotel conference room big enough to fit everybody that wanted to come."
"It looks like Super Bowl media day in here. But I can't take too much credit for that excitement. A story revealing that Olivia Hayes and Chase Matthews were involved in an interstate gambling ring was bound to cause an uproar," Griffen interjected.
Wyatt could tell the guy still hated him, but he'd managed to put that aside for Jenna's sake. His article was explosive. He and Trey took Wyatt's gambling theory and ran with it so well that his head was almost spinning. Wyatt even got a quote from an "anonymous" Roughneck's front office man stating all of her team privileges were revoked, and negotiations with Chase had officially ceased.
She'd been sleeping with men at every level, all over the league, getting inside information on injuries and game plans. Then turning over what she learned to her gambling contacts in Vegas. Wyatt figured his refusal to share anything at all with her during their now cringe-inducing random sexual escapades, was probably infuriating to her.
But the real jackpot came when she hooked up with Chase. What began as one of her information conquests, quickly turned into something bigger when he lucked into a starting quarterback position for Atlanta. With Chase running the game, he could shave points in a way that made everyone involved very rich — and also felons.
The only problem was that Chase wasn't going to start in Atlanta next season. If Chase could start as QB in Pittsburgh, that would’ve been perfect for Olivia. When Wyatt opened his big mouth about Jenna "seeing things his way," he'd gift wrapped the perfect way for Olivia and Chase to unseat him.
That was all over now. Fox Sports had suspended her indefinitely. Trey found her computer and other files in her hotel room. He erased all the contents relating to Jenna. How he'd managed that was another one of those questions Wyatt wasn't supposed to ask. She would never post another sentence about Jenna as a reporter and Wyatt could finally breathe a bit more easily.
"You all right there, Wy?" Gabe asked.
"I'm great. Let's do this."
Wyatt and Griffen sat at a table in front of dozens of microphones. He cleared his throat and began to speak.
"Thank you for coming. I know you all have a lot of questions for Griffen Tate. After I make a brief statement, I'll hand full rein to him. You've seen a lot about me in the news lately. That I’m a selfish bastard. That I used Dr. Sutherland to further my own agenda — to try and manipulate her into giving me a favorable opinion on my shoulder. That I am willing to do anything to stay on as starting quarterback of the Pittsburgh Roughnecks… All of those things are true."
Some people in the room gasped, and the shame burning at Wyatt's throat made it difficult to speak. He swallowed, steeled his jaw and looked straight ahead at the undulating sea of reporters before him.
"What you haven't heard is the rest of the story. All of these reports left out that Dr. Sutherland is an incredible physician, with a better football brain than any man I've ever met. She's way too good for me. So, I guess, it's the only fair punishment for my actions, that I fell in love with her almost right away. She did nothing wrong in any of this — unless you count trusting me. I rationalized my behavior behind my good intentions. And that's how I also decided it was okay that I was trying to have her, while keeping the truth from her."
Wyatt cleared his throat, and continued, "Dr. Sutherland is not weak, or a victim. She's not an accomplice in my bad acts. She is the most beautiful person I know, inside and out. I still love her. I will always love her. I'm not with her now. That's because I wasn't brave enough to be the man she deserves. But, I refuse to let any of you hurt her or misjudge her. Come after me. Hate me. But leave her out of it. Thank you for your time. And for the record, that is the last statement you will ever get from me about Dr. Sutherland. Griffen, you're up."
Griffen gave him a nod and small smile that made him feel oddly proud. Maybe he could clean up this mess after all.
Wyatt waited patiently for the press conference to end. He left quickly to avoid the onslaught of reporters trying to get one more quote and made his way to his SUV in the same downtown parking garage where he'd first kissed Jenna. It had been a bittersweet surprise when Gabe had told him the press conference would be held at the hotel on the other side of the garage from the ice-skating rink.
He hadn't been able to resist the urge to park there, perhaps in some pitiful effort to be closer to the memory of that moment. The thought of how shy, yet sexy, she’d been that day was enough to make him want to scream with self-loathing. After he glanced into the backseat to make sure his duffel bag was secure for his upcoming drive, a figure emerged from behind a pillar in front of him.
"If it isn't Gunslinger McCoy. In the flesh," the person slurred at him, and moved into the light. Wyatt's fists immediately clenched.
"Chase Matthews. Shouldn't the FBI be giving you a body cavity search, or something?" The stench of booze on Chase's breath was undeniable.
"I saw your press conference online while I waited here for
you. It makes sense Jenna would fall for a pussy. Too bad your precious doctor is going to really hate you. Well, even more than she does already. Now that you busted me."
"What the hell are you talking about? She hates you, you piece of shit."
"You think you're so clever. Why do you think she never tried to mess with me? Why she helped me?" Fear started to pulsate in Wyatt's chest. He wanted to shut Chase up, but he couldn't form words before the shithead spoke again. "There it is. You're scared now, pretty boy. Nice. That's what I want to see. Thing is, I always loved gambling. That's how I found out her dad — the great Kevin Sutherland — shared my hobby. I saw him gambling on sports and took pictures. I made it look like he gambled on his own team. Jenna covered for me, but there's no need for me to protect her daddy’s secret anymore."
Wyatt gritted his teeth. "If you fucking hurt her…"
"Funny you should bring up fucking. She's not too bad at it, is she? I bet she's gotten better since I broke her in, back in the day."
Wyatt grabbed Chase's jacket and yanked at him hard, pushing him back against the pillar, but he just laughed in his face.
"I'll fucking kill you if you say her name again."
"Are you going to risk that shoulder of yours?" he taunted. Wyatt hesitated. "I didn't think so."
"If you're smart, you'll shut up, Chase," Wyatt said, pushing him against the pillar again.
"Did you like Jenna's big tits? They were nice back then. Too bad they're all fucked up now, according to Olivia."
"That's it, motherfucker!" Wyatt saw nothing but brutal, hot red, as he pounded fists into Chase's stomach and then a left hook to his jaw. Chase managed a couple glancing blows to Wyatt's face, but Wyatt quickly knocked him down to the ground. His foot stomped onto Chase's stomach.
Wyatt's body was moving on its own. All his anger and frustration of the last two weeks was focused with pinpoint accuracy on destroying the man beneath him. "I’m going to fucking kill you!"
"Wy, stop!" Wyatt vaguely registered Gabe yelling into his ear as he pulled him away from Chase.
"Let me go, Gabe! I’m not done with this lowlife. He gets off on intimidating women. I’m going to show this sick fuck what it means to really suffer." Wyatt kicked at Chase again. "Get up, bitch!"
Chase groaned from the ground, clearly in agonizing pain. The sight filled Wyatt with a mixture of triumph and a desire to deliver even more hurt to the bastard.
"Stop it, Wy. If you stop now, I can make this go away. It's over…it's over."
CHAPTER TWENTY
Jenna sat in her rental car in the driveway of her childhood home. The windows were rolled up and the air conditioning was running. Yet, it wasn’t the rainy April Georgia weather holding her firmly in place.
The sadness to which Jenna had grown accustomed hung as heavy in her limbs as lead. Her father had called her the week before to say he needed her right away. Her radiation treatments were finally done and the tumors hadn't returned. They hadn't been malignant, but they were certainly dangerous. Having them gone and this clean bill of health should've left her feeling relieved. She was even practicing in the orthopedic surgical group again, thanks to Wyatt's press conference and Richard's support. Even so, she still felt miserable and alone.
Jenna took out her cell phone and played Wyatt's press conference from January for about the thousandth time. At first, she'd wanted to be mad at him for it, worrying it was a ploy to make himself look good. But she couldn't deny the clear anguish on his face, because she'd seen it in her own mirror ever since the day she told him goodbye.
The conference was by all accounts embarrassing to him, and on top of that, he'd simply disappeared after it. In fact, he’d been off the grid for months. There'd been rumors he'd beaten up Chase Matthews, but that story petered out after the FBI took Chase into custody and indicted him and Olivia for racketeering, and various other charges. Chase being so discredited also eliminated him as a threat to her father's career.
She and Wyatt had been apart much longer than they'd been together, but she could still feel the sensation of her face beneath his fingertips and his lips on hers. Jenna hated that she couldn't get over him, but at least the love she held for him deep inside was something the world could never take away from her. She paused the video and finally left the car, throwing her bags over her arms. Her father waited for her at the door and took them from her. Jenna couldn't make sense of his smiling face and all-around good mood. She gave him a hug and sized him up.
"Hi, Dad. You know, for someone so desperate to see me, you look pretty great. I thought you were sick."
"No. I'm not sick. I just wanted to see you. Come on, let's get these up to your room."
They walked up the stairs and nostalgia hit her hard at the sight of her unchanged bedroom. The walls still featured posters of her favorite NFL players, and her bookshelves were lined with her many trophies and numerous textbooks.
Her father put her bags on the floor and turned to her with the most serious look on his face.
"How's my baby girl?"
"I'm okay."
He looked at her skeptically, "Come on. I know I didn't raise a liar."
"It's been a rough couple of months. With the treatments, and…"
"And not seeing Wyatt?"
"No, that wasn't easy. Not like it matters. You know what he did, and no one's heard from him since the press conference."
"I've heard that," he answered slowly. After pausing, he added, "Everyone makes mistakes, Jenna. I also learned you covered for mine for far too long. You were living your life for someone else for years. That's a mistake, too."
"I was protecting you, you shouldn't have had to lose everything for one error of judgment."
"That was my choice to make, Jenna. I'd rather never coach again, than let something I did hurt you. But that's not why I wanted you to come here."
"Then why, Dad?"
"Because I wanted to ask you why you'd risk your whole life to cover for my mistake, but you won't even let Wyatt have a chance to make up for his."
"That's not fair. That was…"
"What he did to you was wrong. But our lives aren't judged solely by our failings. They are also defined by what we do to atone for them. If you have a chance at happiness, you have to take it. It may turn out badly, but that's why it's a chance and not a guarantee. You’ve got a shot at something that could make you happy in your own life. That's why I want you to consider forgiving him."
"It's not that simple."
"Of course it is. Love is the simplest thing we do in life. It's the living together and the day-to-day that's the hardest part."
"You're still a great coach in every way, Dad."
"That means you have to listen to me. You know I love you, but I don’t want you worrying about me. You look after so many people. But you also need to give the rest of the world some credit. I know better than anyone about putting your life on hold — of being scared. I don't want you hiding behind me, or anything. And that's what you're doing — hiding. Your mother would never have wanted that."
Jenna sat heavily on the edge of her bed. Her father walked to her bookshelf, and ran his hand across the frame of an old photograph. It was her mother holding a three-year-old Jenna in her arms. Her long wavy blonde hair was blowing in the breeze, as they smiled at each other. He cleared his throat, before turning back to face Jenna.
"I never wanted you to be afraid of living. Getting hurt? Getting knocked down? That's all a part of living, baby girl. Your mother told me what she was going to say to you that day that she…died. You've followed all her instructions, except for one thing."
"What's that, Dad?" Jenna couldn't look at him. She could evade questions and solve other's problems, but it was brutal to face him challenging her.
"She told you never to give up and to accept when something good comes your way. But you seem pretty happy with throwing in the towel. In fact, it looks like that's all you want to do."
"I don't want to fi
ght a losing battle, Dad."
"You're guaranteed to lose if you never bother to try."
"I can't fail again. I feel so lost, Dad. I just…I need more time."
"Time for what? The surgery and treatment were a success. You have your life back. The question, baby girl, is what are you gonna do with it?" He leaned down to kiss her cheek, and then added, "I'm going to head over to Cheryl's place while you get settled in."
"You're leaving?"
"I think you'll be fine," he said, tapping her gently on the chin with his fist and smiling down at her. He left the room and the sight of his back tore at her heart.
Jenna felt her throat close around a swollen ball of her own sadness. The desolation of the last few months was suddenly accentuated by the terrible sensation of disappointing her father, and the fact she knew he was right.
Heaving a deep sigh, she just let the loneliness take her body. She fell back on the bed as silent sobs shook her shoulders until it felt like her teeth would rattle out of her mouth. Her hair spread around her face as she tried to catch her breath, even as more tears filled her eyes.
Pressing her hands to her overheated face, she stopped holding back and let the tears fall. They spread against her palms until she couldn't remember a world in which she wasn't crying. The sound of her own pain was so loud, she almost didn't hear the hesitant question that came to her from the door.
"Hi, Doc. Are you okay?"
Jenna sat up quickly, wondering if she was hallucinating. Yet, it wasn't an illusion. Wyatt was standing inside her old bedroom, and he looked amazing. His right arm was in a support sling and he had a tentative look on his beautiful face. She frantically wiped at her cheeks and tried to compose herself. For so many months she'd convinced herself letting him go was the correct, albeit torturously painful, choice to make. That wisdom was now replaced with her intense desire to rush to him.
"Cat got your tongue?"
"Huh? Uh, um."
"You always did have a way with words, Doc."
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