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“It’s fine. Let’s just get this over with.”
I glance at Bailey, who takes the seat next to me, pointedly not looking at me. Not getting anything from her, I turn back to the GM, searching for answers in his expression. Again, nothing. I’m usually fairly decent about reading people, but I’m not getting a goddamn thing from either one of them. I have zero idea which way this is going to go.
“I’m not going to lie, Ben,” Gary says. “This is quite the house of shit we’re all being forced to live in right now.”
“I hope you realize, at the very least, that I’m not the architect,” I say. “I take responsibility for my actions, but none of this was my design.”
“We’re aware,” he says.
Gary exchanges a glance with Bailey, and I see some silent bit of communication passing between them. I have no idea why he would have discussed the situation with her. She's a reporter for Christ's sake. But judging by that look they shared, it’s more than obvious that he did.
“Miss Greene filmed the entire interaction with her brother,” Gary says. “We have him on video admitting to flagrantly fouling with the intention of causing you injury. He said he wasn’t going to stop because he didn’t like that you and Miss Greene are seeing each other. We saw him strike her and saw that you were simply trying to defend her.”
I glance at Bailey, surprised at the news. She doesn’t look back at me, and I can see the torrent of emotions crossing her face. No matter how bad their relationship is, Eric is still her brother, and by making a secret video, she has betrayed him.
“The simple answer is to trade me. That ends all this nonsense,” I say.
“Well, I was just on the phone finalizing a trade, actually. That's why I was late coming in this morning. I was updating Coach Holman,” Gary says.
“Great. Where are you sending me?”
“We’re not sending you anywhere,” he replies. “We’ve traded Eric to Washington.”
I look from Gary to Bailey then back again. “What? Why?”
“In light of the video and the situation as a whole, I made a deal with Miss Greene,” Gary explains. “In exchange for her agreeing to not report on this story and suppressing the video she made, we traded Eric rather than you.”
I sit back and look up at the ceiling, taking a minute to process what Gary just told me. On the one hand, it’s fantastic news. Being able to stay in LA, close to Bailey, is the best possible outcome. On the other hand, there is a sliver of fear in me that in time, she’s going to come to resent me for what she had to do to save my ass.
As strained as their relationship is, like I said, at the end of the day, he’s still her brother. And as they say, blood is thicker than water.
“That’s not to say you won’t suffer some consequences for your actions,” Gary continues. “You know from your days in Dallas that Coach Holman has a zero-tolerance policy in regard to fighting."
I nod. “I do.”
“That means, you will be suspended for the rest of the preseason, with pay,” he says. “You can participate in team workouts, practices, things like that. But you will not be allowed to be in the arena on game days. You can rejoin the squad for the first regular season game.”
“That’s fair,” I say. “Thank you, Gary.”
“One more thing. Because Miss Greene is a member of the media and our team’s beat writer, we don’t want you two acting like a couple while you’re in the building,” he says. “Obviously, you’re welcome to do whatever you want when you’re not on team property, but as long as you’re in the facility, your relationship must remain strictly professional.”
I glance at Bailey again and nod. “Of course.”
Gary stares at me for a minute, perhaps waiting for me to say something or ask any questions. When I don’t, he nods.
“Okay. That’s it,” he says. “Go ahead and go home. Thanks for coming in.”
I get to my feet and extend my hand. “Are we good?”
“We’re good,” he replies and shakes my hand. “Clean slates all around. As far as I and Coach Holman are concerned, we're both glad to put all the bullshit drama to bed and get back to focusing on basketball again."
“I’ll be locked in. I give you my word.”
He smiles at me. “I wouldn't expect anything less from you.”
“Thank you, Gary.”
“Thank Miss Greene,” he replies. “She really went to the mat for you.”
