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“My thoughts exactly. But we brought him here together, and you did the right thing having him come to me,” Jack says. “I appreciate it.” He taps his pad of paper with the back of his pen.
“I feel responsible for all my players, but I told him last night if he didn’t come clean, I’d do it for him. I can’t let a violation like this slide just because he’s my brother.”
Jack shakes his head. “No, you’re right. If anything, that puts you two under an even larger microscope. I’ll deal with the league, and you get down to practice.”
“He’s not going to get a ban from the league, is he?”
“Depends on whether the commissioner is in a good mood today.” He says it like a joke, but the truth is that I’m worried about my brother. “All I know is that those caught doing the same thing last year were handed heavy punishments. Some were banned, some got a year. Given his youth, his cooperation, and his history of keeping his nose out of trouble, he’ll probably get off on the easier side.”
I press my lips together as I can’t help but think there’s nothing easy about any of this. “So…Graham?”
Jack nods. “Graham. But let’s wait until we hear from the commissioner before we make any moves.”
“Understood. I need to get down to the locker room ahead of practice.”
“Of course,” Jack says. “I’ll get moving on this now.”
My chest hurts for my brother, but it was his own decisions that landed him here.
And now I need to keep my mouth shut as I wait for whatever decision the league will hand down.
CHAPTER 15: JOLENE
It’s a long weekend where I don’t hear from Lincoln, but he has a game so I’m trying to forgive him of that. I’m working, too—long hours since the season is now underway even if it’s just the preseason, and I’m working on a few of the stories we’ll tell all season long. Who to watch for, who’s stepping up to the plate with this new squad, what they’re doing on their days off, what charities they’re supporting.
Lincoln is focused, and while he grants me a pre-game interview, it’s a formality. It’s not personal. He gives no indication that he feels any way at all toward me, and I know viewers will be tuning in just for that. Maybe this entire scandal will help boost ratings after all. Maybe they already have. I know our podcast downloads have skyrocketed in the last few days.
And ratings are up at the station, too, which is great. I’ve avoided going into the office, which is usually quieter over the weekends anyway even though the news never stops, and I haven’t heard from Marcus yet on how he’s handling Rivera, so I imagine he’ll be fired on Monday.
At least that’s what I’m hoping for.
The Aces win their third and final preseason game, and the team has a week off from games before the regular season begins.
But just because there isn’t a game doesn’t mean the team takes much time off. The next two weeks will be full of film and practices as they prepare to face the Seahawks. They’ll get Tuesday off, as that’s the standard across the league, but Lincoln won’t take it off. He’ll use the quiet hours to study film and meet with his coaching staff.
He won’t take the time to meet with me, though. And I wish that didn’t hurt as much as it does.
Everyone needs time off. I know he loves his job, and I know he’s a fierce competitor at his core, but the amount of stress he must be under worries me.
And since we haven’t really spoken much since he stormed out of Sam’s house on Friday, I’m not sure where we stand on the Asher issue. I’m not sure where we stand on much of anything, actually.
Monday morning rolls around and as I’m heading into the office, my phone starts to ring.
I glance at the screen hoping it’s Lincoln.
I always hope it’s Lincoln.
It’s not.
It’s Marcus.
“Good morning,” I answer, trying to sound bright but probably failing.
“Hey, Jolene,” he says, and he sounds subdued.
“Is, uh…is everything okay with your mom?” I ask.
“Yes. She’s doing well, thanks. This isn’t about that,” he says.
