Covering Kendall

by Julie Brannagh

  Jerry Berggren, an older, overweight man with a permanently red face, pointed at her and shouted, “It is when you’re fucking around with the biggest free agent acquisition this year.”

  “That’s enough, Jerry,” George said to him. “You need to apologize. That was inappropriate.”

  “I’m not apologizing to her,” Jerry snapped.

  “Your comments violated labor laws,” the team’s lawyer said, and he put his face in his hands. “I suggest you all calm down a little. Kendall’s right. Her private life is none of your business.”

  Kendall heard the door behind her open: Sydney walked in. She couldn’t miss Jerry’s comments; Kendall was pretty sure people in the next county could have heard him clearly. Kendall saw Sydney sit down in a spare chair in the corner of the conference room.

  “She had one job: Sign McCoy. She’s already failed at it. The franchise is more important than her inability to find a date,” Jerry said.

  “Maybe we’ll get him for less money because of the side benefits,” Leonard, the acting director of football operations, snarled.

  “Enough,” the team’s attorney snapped. “You’re all over the line.”

  Five other men started talking at once about how Kendall wasn’t the best choice for the job, how she would make them the laughing stock of the league when this got out, how she (and every other woman) could never be trusted in any pro football franchise leadership because they couldn’t keep their personal lives out of the office. Kendall saw Sydney’s mouth drop open out of the corner of her eye. She was holding her iPad at an angle too. In other words, she was recording what was being said.

  If they all thought Kendall was going to burst into tears and slink out of the conference room, they had another thing coming.

  The typically shy and introverted Bruce, the Miners’ team attorney, was on his feet by now. “Quiet!” he roared.

  “We could fire you,” George Simmons told him.

  “Go ahead. You’ll be served with a suit as quickly as I can file it,” Bruce said. He shook his head and picked up his things off of the table in front of him. “The fact you’re now being recorded means Ms. Tracy has an open and shut case for a hostile work environment and several other violations of federal employment law. I—”

  The director of scouting pointed at Sydney. “Shut it off! Shut it off, goddammit! You don’t have the right to record me or anyone else here!”

  Sydney smiled at him. “No,” she said.

  “We’ll fire you.”

  “Go ahead,” Sydney said. She sat up in her chair. “I’m sure the HR department will be really interested in your comments to Ms. Tracy and to me over the past ten minutes or so.”

  “It sucks, doesn’t it?” Bruce said to the six men who were now either gaping at Sydney or whose mouths were opening and shutting like goldfish. “You might want to start with a sincere and abject apology for your comments.”

  Kendall glanced over at Sydney. She wanted to walk out right now, pack up her desk and leave, but Sydney wouldn’t have a job if she did. Kendall had enough in savings to be okay while she looked for something else. If she got really stuck, her parents would help too. When the word hit the street that the woman who’d done such a great job over the past four years managing San Francisco’s salary cap was available, she wouldn’t be out of work for long.

  She wasn’t going to let any man talk to her the way her colleagues had today. She also wasn’t going to sit quietly while they mistreated Sydney, either.

  “We need to talk,” Kendall mouthed at her.

  Sydney gave Kendall a quick nod. The attorney was heading toward the conference room door.

  “Where the hell do you think you’re going?” George barked at him.

  “I quit,” he said. “Good luck finding other representation.” He pulled the conference room door open and slammed it behind him. Silence descended over the room.

  DREW’S MEETING WAS quick and to the point. Coach Stewart asked him the same questions the defensive coordinator asked him. Drew’s answers seemed to satisfy him, but the coach leaned over his desk to fix Drew with a long stare.

  “McCoy, I don’t get to pass judgment on your love life because everyone involved is a consenting adult, but I am telling you right now I am not happy about this. I know you’ve said you’re not discussing team business with Ms. Tracy, but things have a way of slipping out when we don’t expect it.” He let out a long breath. “I’m not going to bench you for Sunday, but you won’t be seeing a lot of playing time. You also need to decide if this relationship is important enough to jeopardize your career over.”

  “I don’t see why that would be an issue.” He knew it would be an issue, but backing down wasn’t an option.

  “The Miners are our biggest rivals in the league. There was nobody else for you to get involved with?”

  “Coach, we met. There was interest. We are pursuing it. End of story.”

  The coach shook his head. “We can talk more at another time. Thanks for stopping by.”

  It really wasn’t Drew’s choice to “stop by,” but he got up and stuck his hand out to shake the coach’s hand.

  “Thanks, Coach.”

  Fifteen minutes later, Drew had got the thumbs up from the trainers as far as his condition after last Sunday’s game when the cell in his pocket rang. He grabbed it out to take a look on his way back to the team gym. He recognized the number of one of the local sports talk stations. He hit the “talk” button with one finger.

  “McCoy,” he said.

  “Hey, Drew, it’s Mike from The Score.” He’d talked to the guy multiple times in the past, so it wasn’t a surprise he’d call. “Have you got a few minutes for us this afternoon?”

  “I’m on my way in to do some lifting right now.”

  “We’re trying to clear up a nasty rumor over here. We heard you’re dating the Miners’ acting GM. True or not?”

  “No comment.”

  “Our phone lines are on fire right now. Why don’t you give us ten minutes or so at three o’clock to clear things up and set some people straight?”

  “Mike, I enjoy chatting with you guys, but my private life is kind of off-limits right now.”

  “You have to know Sharks fans are going nuts. They think you’re angling for a trade or something.”

  “No. I have no interest in playing for the Miners, now or in the future.”

  “Well, then, what the hell are you doing, guy? It’s like the Montagues and the Capulets with shoulder pads. The Sharks hate the Miners, and the Miners return the favor.”

  “I get what you’re doing here, Mike, but I don’t think giving an interview today would be a great idea.”

  “Will you call me back when you change your mind?”

  “Yeah.” Drew pulled in a long breath. “I’ll do that.”

  Drew wasn’t as reclusive about his personal life as some of his teammates were, but he’d rather talk about football than who he was dating. He wasn’t so sure Kendall wanted to discuss their relationship with any member of the media, either. He wished one more time he’d chosen somewhere a bit more private to kiss her goodbye this morning.

  His phone chirped with an incoming text.

  All Hell’s breaking loose here. I miss you.

  TO SAY THAT the next few days were a challenge for both Kendall and Drew would be an understatement. Kendall and Sydney spent the rest of the afternoon talking with the team’s attorney, who had just quit. They were in Kendall’s office with the door shut planning what to do next. Kendall didn’t want to run away with her tail between her legs, but finding out once and for all what the guys she worked with really thought of her made her wonder if she’d be a lot better off somewhere else.

  She’d planned to stay with the Miners as long as possible. She enjoyed her former job. She’d never wanted the GM job in the first place. She was more than happy to let one or more of the assholes at the conference table today take the job, if they wanted it so badly. She’d decid
ed in the past couple of hours that she deserved better than to work with a bunch of guys that feared and mistrusted women, but she’d like to have something else lined up before she made her move.

  “Would you like me to help find you another job?” Kendall said to Sydney. “There are several people I know that would hire you in a heartbeat. I’m not leaving until I know you’re going to be okay.”

  “You have to leave,” Sydney argued. “You can’t stay here and put up with that crap daily. Plus, I have documentation.” She held up her iPad. “Let them offer you an obscene amount of money first, a formal apology, or both.”

  “They’re not going to offer me a thing. They believe they can gut it out and force me to quit first.”

  Sydney was already shaking her head. Kendall’s desk phone rang and she picked it up.

  “Kendall Tracy.”

  “Hi Kendall, this is Miles from HR. I’m wondering if I could have a few minutes of your time this afternoon.”

  “I’d prefer to meet with you tomorrow—”

  “The team attorney just walked in here and quit. So did his administrative assistant. I’d like to talk with you about what happened in the meeting today.”

  Sydney waved a little to catch Kendall’s eye and said, “We’ll take the meeting. Be here in ten minutes, please.”

  “Great,” he said. “I’ll see you then.”

  Kendall hung up her phone. “What was that?” she said to Sydney.

  Sydney held up her tablet. “You don’t have to say a thing, Kendall.”

  “We can’t use that. We didn’t ask permission before recording it.”

  “Let them worry about that,” Sydney said. “The guys in that meeting earlier should be on their knees praying I haven’t called every sports media outlet on the planet by now.”

  Kendall’s phone chirped with an incoming text.

  Is there anything I can do to help?

  A FEW DAYS later, Drew ran out onto the field in Dallas in front of a sold-out, cheering crowd. He was thankful for the distraction of a game. What he hoped would be a one-day non-story had ballooned into wall-to-wall discussions on Seattle talk radio and what appeared to be the destruction of Kendall’s future with the Miners.

  When he offered to fly to San Francisco on Tuesday, she said, “You have a game. I’ll be fine. We’ll see each other Sunday night. I’ll be at your house as soon as I get back from Green Bay and get a flight out of SFO.” He heard the strain in her voice and kicked himself again for a stupid mistake. “As of this morning, I have three offers from other teams on the table.”

  “Is that good or bad?”

  “You tell me,” she said, and for the first time in days, he heard a smile in her voice. “Oakland, Arizona, or Miami. I’m sort of partial to Oakland right now, because the Miners’ owner just about stroked out when they called him to ask for permission to contact me.”

  “He’s not happy with that idea?”

  “Nope.” She pulled in a long breath. “How are you doing?”

  “Things are fine. I miss you.”

  “I miss you too. Will you introduce me to Nolan?”

  “Absolutely.”

  There was so much to say and never enough time to say it in. She’d be at his house on Sunday night, and they could spend most of Monday holding each other and talking. He was looking forward to it.

  After giving him a lot of shit about his and Kendall’s romance, his teammates (to his surprise) closed ranks around him.

  “I’ll give her a chance because of you, dawg,” Derrick told him. “If she says one word about how the Miners are a better team, though, it’s on.”

  “I heard on the news she’s getting a lot of shit from their organization. She deserves better,” Seth chimed in.

  “You guys are getting soft,” Zach joked, but slapped Drew on the back. “We’ll get through this.”

  They would. His teammates lined up on the field for the kickoff. Drew was listed as a starter, but fully expected his backup to take his place when the defense took the field. To his surprise, Coach Stewart turned to him, pointed at the field, and said, “Get your ass out there.”

  He ran out to join the huddle before Coach changed his mind.

  The first few plays went perfectly. He missed batting down the Dallas QB’s pass on the first play, but he helped the defensive line drop Dallas’s QB for a loss twice. The Sharks fans in the crowd went crazy. He waved to acknowledge the cheering. The defense huddled up to talk about how they wanted to stop the Dallas offense on third and fifteen, and Derrick gave Drew a nod.

  “Here’s your big chance, guy. Sack his ass,” Derrick said. “I can’t wait to watch him cry like a little girl.” He pantomimed rubbing his eyes with two grimy fists. “Waaa, waaaa.”

  “What about you? They want to see that sexy sack dance on national TV,” Drew responded.

  “I’ve got the play. Shut it so I can tell you shitheads what we’re doing,” Seth said. The middle linebacker was considered the quarterback of the defense. His helmet had a two-way speaker in it so he could talk with the coaching staff while the team was on the field.

  “Oooh. It gets me really hot when you take charge,” Clay, the rookie, said to Seth. The other nine guys started laughing.

  “The DL coach says he’s had enough of your BS, guys. Here’s what we’re doing.” Seth gave the play, told them how to line up, and the defensive line jogged back to get in their stance. The linebackers shifted as they watched the QB’s eyes. The guy had signed a hundred million dollar contract extension on the offseason, but he was still too dumb to stop signaling who he was about to pass to with his eyes every time he lined up behind center.

  The ball was snapped from center, and Drew ran through a gigantic hole the defensive line made for him and reached out to grab the QB’s jersey to pull him down onto the turf. Something went wrong between “You’re mine, dumbass” and the sack dance he’d been planning on.

  Drew’s world crumpled in less than five seconds. His cleats stuck in the turf, his arm wrenched at an unnatural angle as he tried to yank another man off of his feet, and the ripping, popping sound he heard from his shoulder was so loud that he wondered (before he fell onto the turf, overwhelmed with pain) if the fans heard it in the stands.

  Bodies crashed into each other all around him. One of Dallas’s linemen barely missed stepping onto his leg, and Drew curled into a protective ball. He could see his teammates frantically gesturing to the Sharks sidelines for the team doctor and the trainers as the play ended. Derrick dropped to his knees, unbuckled Drew’s chin strap, and eased his helmet off his head.

  “Take it easy, McCoy. We’re here.” Derrick shielded Drew with his body. “We got you. Breathe, buddy.”

  Seth helped him ease Drew onto his back. “You’re going to be okay,” he said. “Terrell got his ass for ya, guy.”

  A couple of seconds later, they heard Terrell shouting at the Dallas QB, “There’s more where that came from, candy ass.”

  “That’s my boy,” Derrick said approvingly.

  “Damn right,” Seth said. “C’mon, buddy. Breathe.”

  Drew was in so much pain it was hard to get a breath. He grabbed his now-limp arm with his other hand as the doctor and the trainers dropped to their knees around him.

  “Breathe, Drew,” the doc said. He was already gesturing for the paramedics and their rolling gurney. Drew managed to pull some air into his lungs. He could see his teammates gathered around. Some had taken a knee. Others appeared to be praying. He’d done that maneuver a thousand times during games before. He wondered how it went so wrong today. Coach Stewart’s face swam into his vision.

  “McCoy, I’ll meet you at the hospital. I’m not going back to Seattle without you,” he said. He squeezed Drew’s gloved hand as the paramedics transferred him to the gurney, strapped him in, and pulled up the wheels. “You’re going to be fine,” he said.

  “Thanks, Coach.”

  Through the haze of hellish pain, Drew knew the coac
h was lying through his teeth, but he wasn’t going to argue about it right now. He had no control over his arm. It wasn’t a dislocation or a sprain. He made the extra effort to flash a “thumbs up,” and he heard applause from the stands as he was taken off the field and loaded into an ambulance. The paramedics looped a cannula beneath his nose for oxygen, made sure the gurney was secured, and the ambulance screamed through the streets of Dallas on the way to the hospital.

  “Do any of you guys have a cell?” Drew asked.

  “I do,” one of the paramedics said. “What’s up?”

  “Will you call my parents?” He gave the number. The guy dialed and held the phone up to Drew’s ear.

  His mom answered on the second ring. “Mom, I’ll call you as soon as I know something,” he said.

  He could hear the tears in her voice. “I’ll get there as soon as I can, honey.”

  “Don’t.” Shit, he hurt, but he had to get this out. “I want to see you, but come to Seattle instead. I’ll pay for the ticket.”

  “We love you.”

  “Love you too.”

  A FEW HOURS later, Drew’s worst fears were confirmed via MRI: He had a torn labrum and a partial rotator cuff tear too. “Your shoulder’s a mess, buddy,” the team doctor told him. “You’ll be having surgery in Seattle as soon as we can get you back home.”

  Drew was pretty doped up on big-time painkillers, but he knew what the doctor’s words meant: He was done for the season. Even worse, his pro football career might be over.

  Chapter Fifteen

  * * *

  WHILE DREW WAS doing battle on the turf in Dallas, Kendall staked out a place on the Miners sidelines at Lambeau Field and patted her coat pocket to make sure she still had her phone. Green Bay was known for cold. Today was no exception. It was mid-October, snow flurries were predicted, and she was already freezing her ass off.

  She didn’t want to be here today, but she was still employed by the Miners. She was somewhat amused by the questions she’d received in team press conferences this week about the fact the team had stepped up their search for a GM candidate. Considering the fact she’d told them to do so, it wasn’t news to her. There were also leaks from within the Miners organization. The censored version of her colleagues’ remarks to her during their discussion brought an on-site surprise visit from the league commissioner two days ago. If things were bad before, they’d officially hit rock bottom after a few of her colleagues were told the league was opening an official investigation. There would be hell to pay.