Bigger and Badder: A Billionaire Romance

by Jackson Kane

  Lucas gave me a look that said we weren’t friends. We just had a common enemy at the moment. At some point we were going to have to discuss what happened in Berlin, but now wasn’t the time.

  Fine, whatever. I’ll take any help I can get, I thought.

  With Richard between Lucas and me, the three of us advanced on Aaron. The hostility that radiated from us was palpable. Three versus three; It was an even match, and they were hopelessly outnumbered.

  “Yes well, we’ve got a game to finish.” Not liking his odds, Aaron groped for the remote in his pocket and raised the gate. Aaron jerked his head and his bodyguards followed him out toward the field.

  Judy kicked her leg out catching Aaron’s foot and sending the fat bastard tumbling. Aaron’s body guards paused to double back for him, but we were already on him. Richard and Lucas kept the other players at bay while I hoisted Aaron up by the collar of his jacket.

  “Think about what you’re doing, Garrett.”

  I jerked his face up next to mine and snarled. “I’ve been thinking about this for a long, long time.”

  I was willing to let it go; I really was. I had my own life outside of football. I could get past it all, but he just couldn’t help himself. I didn’t know what he was going to do to Judy, but, whatever it was he was going to make sure I watched.

  I couldn’t let that go.

  I threw him face first into the sidewall. He hit with a wet sounding crack and came away bloody.

  “Help me you fucks!” He growled at his guys, red, bubbling spittle sprayed from his mouth. Between Richard and Lucas, none of them could get through. Anyone that tried got put on their ass or worse. For billionaires, the King brothers were tougher than you’d expect.

  Aaron turned over and collapsed into a sitting position against the wall. I took a knee over him and batted away his meager defenses. It was time to end our rivalry once and for all. I cocked my fist back, ready to ram it down Aaron’s throat when a gentle hand on my shoulder stopped me.

  “Let him go,” Paul said, nursing a puffy eye. Aside from what was going to be a nice shiner, Paul was fine. “Do you really want to go down that path?”

  “You’re Goddamn right I want to.” All I saw was red; the possibilities of what he would’ve done to Judy, had he not been stopped, darkened my head and heart like heavy rain clouds, crackling lightning.

  “And then what?” Paul asked. “What happens to your daughter when you go to prison?”

  I hesitated long enough for Jackie’s face to flash in my mind.

  “Fuck!” I punched the wall right next to Aaron’s head. I knew Paul was right. I took a deep breath and stood up. “Get this trash out of my tunnel.”

  The three players grabbed their coach and hustled out onto the field.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Judy asked anyone who would listen; her voice was thick with indignation. “I’m glad you didn’t kill him, but that’s our only other option? Just let him go? What? Are we just going to pretend like this didn’t happen? That’s insane!”

  “He’s still our financier,” Paul looked away. He was extremely conflicted about all of this. At the end of the day, as far as he knew, Aaron was their only option to fund and save their town.

  It didn’t surprise me that Aaron kept such a big secret from the stadium chairman and the rest of the board members. For being as good a tactician as he was, Aaron wasn’t a good businessman.

  “I take it Aaron didn’t tell you about our wager,” I asked Paul.

  “What wager? What are you talking about?” Confusion screwed up his features.

  “Whoever wins this game, wins the right to financially back the stadium.”

  “Why would you possibly want to help us now?” He looked even more confused somehow. “You already passed on us. Twice.”

  I took Judy’s hand.

  Richard grabbed his brother’s shoulder to give us some space, but Lucas brushed it off. It was obvious that Luke wanted to have a few more words with me, before we hit the field.

  “Don’t be such a stubborn dick, they’re having a moment,” Richard said, throwing his brother in a headlock, dragging him away. Luke pushed him off, but relented, and they bickered like only brothers could, the whole way out of the tunnel.

  “I love your daughter.” I told Paul while looking at Judy. Judy squeezed my hand and smiled back at me. “I’m just as flawed and petty as anyone else, but Judy showed me a better path. She also showed me the beauty of your town, and all of its potential.”

  I wish I could say he jumped in joy and all that, but the truth was that things didn’t work that way. He and I had an incredibly damaged relationship, and we had a long way to go for him to trust me.

  Paul sighed, giving both of us a look separately. It was concern, but also begrudging consideration. It was a look that said, if this was what you want, Judy, I’m willing to give it a shot.

  “What happens if you do win?” He asked abruptly. Hard lines carved up his face. There was real worry in his features. “Are you going to fire me?”

  “Do you like your job?” I gauged his face, reading his surprise. “Are you happy being in charge?”

  “Happy? I don’t—” Paul blustered. He’d probably never been asked that question before.

  “The man I saw today refereeing was happy.” I put my hand on his shoulder. “I’m not saying I’ll make you a ref, if you don’t want to be, but if I win things will change. That doesn’t mean they have to be bad changes. You want what’s best for your town. Well now I want that, too. I’m invested. Hell my daughter even loves it here. I promise that I’ll do right by you, and everyone else who lives here.”

  “Even Lucas?” Judy slipped in a jab and a smirk.

  “God help me, even Lucas.” I looked past her to make sure Luke was out of eyeshot, then winked at her. Turning back to Paul, I continued, “We’ll find a good position for you, something that you enjoy and actually find fulfilling.”

  Paul contemplated everything for a short while. I didn’t want this to be a deal with the devil for him. I wanted it to be a partnership of equals. And in the coming months, I’d need his expert knowledge of the area to make informed decisions.

  That was of course, if I won.

  “Alright,” he said, finally. He extended his hand with a resigned, but understanding smile and shook mine. “Are you sure you’re still up for this? You look like shit.”

  “Thanks.” I shook my head at his honesty, then walked toward the tunnel exit. The field grew more expansive with each step I took to it. Leaving the sport the way I did those many years ago, I always knew I had one game left in me. “Yeah, let’s finish this.”

  Chapter 32

  Judy

  “What the shit!” Gloria mouthed the words angrily. Her ghostly, pale face turned a shade of red I’d never seen before. She’d covered her infant daughter’s ears right before the outburst, just in case some of the swearing was loud enough to hear. She glowered through the glass of the warmed VIP box we were sitting in, and stared lasers into Aaron Miller on the sidelines. “And they let him finish the game!”

  I explained what just happened and everything leading up to it, to both Gloria and Molly.

  Gloria slowly bounced her blanketed newborn. Alisha slept fitfully in her mother’s arms. Gloria lowered her voice and continued, “If the men are too proud or too stupid, then we have to do something. He can’t be allowed to get away with this.” Gloria glanced back at Molly and me. “Can we call the cops?”

  “Do we have any proof of what he wants to do to the town, or what he just did to Garrett and Paul?” Molly asked hopefully. “Anything at all that we could use?”

  “I took a video, but they destroyed my phone…” I crossed my arms and looked out onto the field.

  The third quarter of the game was intense, and the final quarter was shaping up to be more of the same. I pleaded with Garrett not to play, especially after everything that just happened. I’d heard too many reports of athletes dropping d
ead from too many concussions; every hit he took scared the hell out of me.

  Thank God for the King brothers… Now that they were covering Garrett, he didn’t get tackled nearly as much. In fact, Garrett’s team was able to catch up because they finally had the right amount of players.

  Lucas was a lot stronger than the other team anticipated, and was able to stop the heavier defensive guys, which in turn gave their quarterback several extra valuable seconds each play.

  Surprisingly enough, it was Richard who had a natural affinity for the game. Gloria told me he played a little in college. It certainly showed. Richard was startlingly quick for a man as tall as he was. He slipped past the linebackers and got more sacks than any other player.

  However, we were still behind by a few points and it was the last quarter. My stomach was in knots because of how much was riding on the next few plays. Aaron’s wide receiver, number fifty-three, was disgustingly fast. Garrett came extremely close a few times, but just couldn’t catch him. If fifty-three had the ball and a clear field in front of him, it was an all but guaranteed touchdown.

  So far Garrett’s team did everything they could to make sure that didn’t happen, but part of me wondered if that was going to be enough. All it took was one mistake, and everything would come crashing down.

  “Thank you,” I smiled, turning back to the girls. “I really appreciate you and your spouses coming to help. This is all just so crazy. The fate of our town decided with a football game?” I laughed; not because it was funny, but because it was so ridiculous and terrifying.

  I didn’t even like football!

  “This is our town, too,” Molly put a hand on my shoulder.

  “Yeah,” Gloria added. “Even if we don’t live here anymore. Caldwell Hope will always be home. The boys were excited to help.”

  “Even if Luke was a big baby about playing nice with Garrett.” Molly shook her head.

  “How did you get him to agree, Moll?” I knew how deep that rivalry went.

  “I told him it wasn’t about him and Garrett, it was bigger than all that. This was a fight to save the soul of our town.” A creeping smirk raised the corner of Molly’s lips. “I also told him if he won, we could try some butt stuff.”

  “No wonder he’s kicking so much ass out there,” Gloria said, laughing. Molly nodded, then we both laughed as well. It felt good to be around my friends again, especially during such a hard time.

  “Hey guys…” Molly said, checking her phone. “I just got a text from a friend asking about the game.”

  “Ok? What about it?” I asked. Aaron Miller playing against Garrett Walker was probably going to make the news, in one way or another. I just didn’t think it would happen so quickly.

  The game wasn’t publically advertised, but it wasn’t exactly a private event either; there were thousands of people here. I didn’t think we even charged for admission. We just had the people who showed up, sign liability waivers because of the construction.

  “Judy, are you sure your phone was destroyed?” Molly asked distractedly. Gloria and I huddled around her as she pressed play on the video her friend sent her.

  We heard Aaron’s voice a second or two before I saw him. “…I don’t give a fuck about these people or their stupid fucking town. I’ll burn it all to the ground, and piss on the ashes, if it stands in my way.” Garrett was on the ground after just taking a beating by Aaron’s thugs. I had to look away. It was hard enough to live through once.

  But how did this exist? I watched my phone get destroyed.

  “Holy hell,” Gloria’s voice was distant and horrified while she watched then, when it was over a smile spread across her lips. “You didn’t record a video, Judy. You live streamed it. There was nothing to destroy; it was getting uploaded as you filmed it!”

  “It must’ve gone viral.” Molly shrugged. “Caldwell Hope needs to see this. They need to know what kind of man they’re in bed with.”

  The crowd suddenly cheered uproariously, which drew my attention back onto the field. The board members were treating this game like a practice run, so the stadium lights flashed, a pop song blasted over the loud speakers, and the Jumbo Tron showed the replay. Lucas and Nate had made a hole for Garrett at the ten yard line, and he pushed through into the end zone. I looked at the score. We were ahead by three points!

  Gears turned in my mind. What was the best way to get this video to everyone that mattered in town? The Jumbo Tron… “Bundle up, ladies. I have an idea!”

  The three of us ran through the massive concourse that ringed the field. We passed all the food and beer stands, and all the memorabilia stores that were designed to separate fans from their money. Nothing was stocked yet; most of them didn’t even have signs yet. It reminded me just how much work was left to finish this stadium.

  The thought of Aaron Miller being the one to pay for it all, sent a shiver through me.

  It was incredibly important that we got to the control room before the game was over and the people left. And like most important things, it was on the opposite end of the stadium from where we were.

  Because of course it was…

  “OK, we’re here,” I said in between long deep breaths. Garrett would be ashamed at how winded I was. The elevator was locked to the public, but that was fine. I always carried my key card. I slid it in the slot and nothing happened. The doors refused to open. I tried it four more times just to be sure. “Oh no…”

  “The elevators don’t work, do they?” Gloria sighed, catching her breath. Even her infant daughter, Alisha looked irritated by the turn of events.

  “It’s not so much that they don’t work.” I groaned “It’s more like they aren’t even installed yet. Shit!”

  “Guys, we’re running out of time,” Molly, who was barely winded, looked out the nearby window. I followed her gaze. Just under five minutes on the play clock. “Is there another way up? How many stories is it?”

  “Six…” I replied, and we all whined in unison.

  Everyone important to Caldwell Hope was in the audience, including the Mayor and Governor. Most of our town’s decision makers weren’t internet savvy. By the time they saw the video on their own who knows what kind of damage Aaron could’ve done? We needed everyone to see this now.

  “Hold on, Kiddo.” Gloria adjusted Alisha in her baby harness. “Mommy and her friends are going to do something really stupid.”

  “Five minutes. Six stories…” Molly took a deep breath. “Does everyone have their big girl pants on?”

  “Nope.” I replied, saying what we were all thinking. I pushed open the stairwell door and we all shared the same resigned, do-we-have-to look.

  What else could we do?

  Despite the unheated stairwell in the heart of winter, we were all a sweaty mess when we finally made it to the top. If it wasn’t for Aaron calling a timeout at the beginning of the last minute, we’d never have made it.

  The door was of course locked, because of the millions of dollars’ worth of equipment inside so I had to reach for my key card. Only… my card wasn’t there!

  I frantically searched my pockets and they all turned up empty. It had to have fallen out of my pocket. I looked around the floor then opened the door to the stairwell, but nothing. It was nowhere to be found. My heart crashed into my stomach and I slid down a nearby wall, feeling nauseous. All the work for nothing.

  “Oh for— To hell with this!” Gloria apologized to Alisha, then kissed her on the forehead. She then pounded on the control room door as loud as she could and screamed for them to open up.

  It was no use. The room was notoriously loud and with so many people controlling so many things most of them wore headphones. No would hear—

  The door swung open.

  “Hello?” Allen, the manager asked. He was confused and a little annoyed at the racket, especially at such a crucial moment in the game. Gloria must have caught him the brief moment when he didn’t have his headphones on. “Can I help you?”

 
I rocketed to my feet and explained the situation as quickly as I could. I snatched Molly’s phone and waved it at him. “So yeah. We need you to plug this in or whatever.”

  “That’s…not how any of this works. It’s a one-hundred-thirty foot long screen. I—I can’t just plug someone’s phone into it.” Allen tried to explain.

  We walked into the control room. There were five rows of workstations, each with their own instrument panel, sound board, and LCD screen. Beyond that, above the glass windows that looked down on the field itself, was a wall of screens that stretched up to the twenty foot ceiling. Each screen on that wall had a grid of at least four live feeds from different angles.

  Between all of the humming electronics and the thirty or so people talking, and buzzing from station to station, the room literally vibrated with activity. It was unlike anything I’d ever seen before.

  “Listen, Allen.” I refocused on what I was doing there. “This is extremely important, even more so than the actual game that’s being played.” I hated to have to go down this road, but… “My father is your boss. This is footage of him being punched in the mouth by one of our financial backer’s goons.”

  “If you don’t play this right now…” Gloria took several menacing steps toward the tall IT manager. She was far too intimidating when she wanted to be, especially for being such a short woman. “Bad things are going to happen.”

  “Fuck, alright—” Allen retreated a step, and bumped into the back of someone’s chair. They were so zoned into what they were doing, they hardly even noticed.

  “Language!” Gloria interrupted harshly, covering her daughter’s ears.

  I could’ve laughed at how much Gloria changed since having Alisha. The Gloria I knew could cuss like a biker. I was willing to bet she still did, when her daughter wasn’t around.

  Frustrated and thoroughly outnumbered, Allen shook his head and went to work on his computer. He mumbled to himself the whole time, but did what we asked. He didn’t need the phone, the video was already all over YouTube. All we could do now was wait.