AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What changed your mind?” I ask.
He lifts a shoulder. “Not Dad.”
I chuckle. “Obviously.”
“I haven’t told him, but I chewed on your words all night, and ultimately, you’re right. I do feel guilty. I feel ashamed of myself that I broke a rule, and I’m even more ashamed that people will go back and study every play to see if I was doing something more sinister to affect the outcome of the game. I would never go that far, man. Never. But this is my reputation, and I decided the best thing I can do is man up and tell the truth. And, of course, get the help I need.”
“Wow,” I say, shocked at his words. But that’s Asher—forever surprising everyone with his unpredictability. “That’s…wow. I’m so proud of you for doing the right thing, man.”
He presses his lips together and nods once. “Thanks.”
I realize only then that those aren’t words he’d ever hear from our father. Dad doesn’t give a flying fuck if we do the right thing. He only cares if we do the thing that will most benefit ourselves. What a sad way to live. What a horrific thing to do to your own conscience.
Even now, I’m reminded of what my father did and why. I’ve carried immense guilt over that for two decades, but what good would it do anybody to admit it at this juncture?
It would only further the divide between our families at a time when we need to find a way to bridge them back together.
I’m not sure if there is a way, but I’m intent on searching for one.
“Do you want to do this now?” I ask.
He nods. “I need to get it over with.”
“Then go change your shirt and we’ll head on up.” I grab an Aces tee off the pile on the credenza behind me and toss it to him.
His brows dip as he looks down at the shirt then back up at me. “What’s wrong with my shirt?”
“You’re welcome to use my bathroom if you’d like privacy,” I say, nodding toward the door.
He doesn’t bother with the bathroom, instead unbuttoning his shirt where he sits before pulling the Aces shirt over his head as he mutters, “Seriously…what’s wrong with the cats?”
I shake my head with a bit of a chuckle, and I buzz Jack’s secretary. “Is Jack available for a meeting?”
“He has a nine o’clock call, but he’s free now,” Lily says.
“Great, this won’t take long since practice starts soon anyway. Be right down.”
Once he’s changed, he glances at me and draws in a deep breath.
“Ready?” I ask.
He nods, and a nervous tingle runs up my spine. This is my first big player issue. The first time I’m coming to Jack with bad news. The first time in my career I’ve dealt with something of this nature.
And the worst part of it all is that it’s my brother.
This was supposed to be our first season playing together. All eyes would be on us as we took the field next Sunday, the new starting tight end and his new head coach, a brother-brother force to be reckoned with, the first of its kind.
Instead, all eyes will be watching as the truth comes out about Asher. He’ll be criticized and scorned, and that’s not something I can protect him from. It’s not something Dad can protect him from, either.
But it’s something he has to deal with. He knew it was wrong, and he did it anyway. He knew the consequences, and here we are.
If he’d gone to someone else for the money instead of implicating me in his crimes, maybe he would’ve gotten away with it. But that’s not how it panned out, and now he has to face Jack Dalton.
My phone buzzes with a text on my way to Jack’s office, and I check my watch. It’s Jolene texting me, but I can’t deal with it right now.
I know she’ll want to be the one to break the story, but if I let her do it now, it’ll just look like I’m playing favorites with the media, and I can’t do that.
Instead, we’ll put out a press release. This isn’t the sort of thing I’d hold a special press conference for. I don’t want to answer questions about what my brother did. I just want to get it over with so we can focus forward.
