by Claire Adams
“I guess it’s a miracle it hasn’t happened, yet,” I mumbled.
“Yes, it is, but it will happen. You have to get ahead of this. I can arrange a press conference for you to explain the situation. It would be best if you, the coach and the child’s mother were all there.”
“Shit,” coach said, shaking his head in frustration.
“Liza won’t like that,” I commented.
“It doesn’t matter what she likes or doesn’t like. She made her bed, she gets to lie in it,” Coach spat out.
I was instantly defensive of her. “It was an accident.”
He shrugged. “Accidents have consequences.”
“I hope you are referring to what happened yesterday and not Ainsley. She isn’t a consequence,” I shot back, getting very hot around the collar.
“You know that’s not what I mean!”
“I take it Ainsley is the little girl in question? Cute kid, by the way,” Stan interjected.
“Liza should have held on to her,” Coach stated again.
“Look, it happened. Let’s deal with it,” I said, growing more frustrated by the second.
Stan leaned back in his chair and looked at me, then coach. “A united front will head off a lot of potential problems. Will your daughter do a press conference?” he asked the coach.
He shrugged in response.
“No, I really doubt it. But maybe there’s a slim chance if you and I can talk to her and let her know this isn’t her fault,” I said to coach.
“Milo, I want you to review the chain of events, and correct me if I’m wrong. Did she get pregnant with your child? I don’t need to know the details, but from what I gather, the two of you weren’t exactly in a relationship at the time, right?”
I felt as if I was being choked. “Yes,” I managed to get out, feeling very small under his intense scrutiny.
He nodded his head. “I also understand you were not aware Ainsley existed until you showed up here and somehow figured it out. Is that right?”
I nodded my head again.
“Well, I certainly had no idea who fathered my granddaughter. She was always hesitant to speak of the man. I had no inclination it was you. None. Zero. Zip.”
I looked away, knowing what he was driving at. “I get it. I understand.”
“No, I don’t think you do, and I know she damn well doesn’t. I pushed the owners to pay you more than you were currently valued. I pushed to get you on the team when—let’s face it—your star had burned out last season. What do you think that’s going to look like to the owners, the players, the fans and the press?” he said, his voice raising as he talked.
“I’m sorry,” I said in a soft voice.
“I don’t need you to be sorry! I need her to be sorry! She has jeopardized my job here. She has put a black mark on my reputation as a fair coach, and I could very well face serious sanctions!”
Stan spoke up, stopping the conversation before it could get any more heated.
“Okay, the damage is done, but we can try and win over the fans and the press. I don’t know that there’s much we can do about the commissioners or your owners, but let’s fight the battles we can win for a start.”
“Fine. I’ll try calling her again,” I said. “When?”
“I’ll make a few calls and get it scheduled in the next few hours. Get yourselves together,” Stan ordered.
Standing up, I left the office, not bothering to talk to Coach. I called Liza again, but she declined my call. I considered going to her apartment, but I wouldn’t have time. I needed to shower and change and go over the statement I knew Stan would have prepared.
I left her a voicemail, offering her a chance to speak at the press conference and explaining why it had to be done. I knew she would be pissed, but like her dad said, a lot of this fell on her shoulders. I would do my best to protect her, but the damage had been done.
My phone rang. I didn’t immediately recognize the number.
“Hello?”
“Milo! Are you on your way?”
Shit. It was the realtor. I was supposed to be signing papers. “I’ll be right there.”
I took the first right and headed to the office to pick up the keys to my new home. I had forgotten all about it after the situation yesterday. I never did get the chance to tell Liza about the bungalow. It would have to wait.
I called her and left another voicemail, asking her to call me right away. Once the papers were signed and I had the keys in hand, I raced back to the hotel to change. Then headed straight to the stadium to expose my personal life to the world. I was dreading every minute of it.
“You ready?” Coach asked.
“Not really, but I guess I have to be. I wish Liza would call me. Or you. If and when she sees this, she is going to kill us,” I said, shaking my head imagining how furious she would be.
“Yes, she is, but she’ll get over it.”
Stan came into the small room the coach and I had been holed up in. “It’s time. Each of you has a statement. Avoid answering questions, even if they push you, and they will push you.”
“Got it,” I mumbled, dreading the next thirty minutes.
We walked into the area where the press was waiting. Flashbulbs nearly blinded me. I managed to find my way to the podium. I clutched the prepared speech in my hand. I could feel a sense of panic and nerves bubbling to the surface. I had talked to the press hundreds of times, but that was always about football. My personal life had always been nothing more than unconfirmed rumors.
“Go ahead,” Stan whispered from behind me.
I looked back and to the left where Coach was standing. He nodded his head and encouraged me to go ahead.
I cleared my throat and took a deep breath. “Good afternoon. I am reading a prepared statement. I will not be answering any questions. This is a personal matter, and I prefer to keep it that way. Five years ago, I graduated college and was drafted into the NFL. I left Miami not knowing I had fathered a child. I only found out in recent weeks that I had a little girl. Coach Summers had no knowledge of the child’s paternity until about a week ago. Both Coach and I are working together to make this situation the best for the child. We appreciate privacy at this time as we navigate this situation. Thank you.”
I felt as if I was going to be sick. The shouting and eruption of voices in the room was mind-blowing. I looked at Stan for help. He had offered to do the press conference instead of the PR team. I felt better with Stan doing it then having some big PR machine stepping into my personal life. It was bad enough I had to let anyone know what was happening in my personal life at all.
“Coach Summers will speak now. Quiet down, please,” he said loudly into the microphone.
The room quieted as Coach took his turn at the podium. I was a little jealous; his statement was about half the size of mine.
“I don’t need this,” he said, holding up the notecard with his statement. “I’m telling you now, I didn’t know who fathered my grandchild. I didn’t care. It’s up to the commissioner to decide whether or not there were any lines crossed. I don’t think it’s anybody’s business but my daughter’s and Mr. Pastek’s. Thank you.”
Coach and I rushed out of the room.
“God, that was awful,” I blurted out, once the door was closed behind us.
“Scavengers, all of them. I swear I will kick some ass if anyone of them prints anything negative about Liza or Ainsley,” he growled.
I stopped in my tracks. “They wouldn’t!”
He looked at me. “Of course, they would. I’m sure some already have started their piece about a fallen woman.”
“She’s not a fallen woman. This isn’t the eighteen hundreds.”
“I think you need to read the papers more often,” he shot back.
“They better not write anything like that about her,” I warned.
“We’ll handle it if they do. This will all blow over soon enough. In the meantime, we lay low. If things start to get ugly, we’ll h
ire someone to make it go away,” he explained.
“You act like you’ve done this before.”
He chuckled. “This isn’t my first rodeo. While I’ve never been the star, I’ve had to ride out a few storms with friends, colleagues, and players. Scandals are a dime a dozen. It all depends on what’s happening in the world. You two happened to have your secret exposed at a time when there’s not a lot of news.”
“Lucky us,” I mumbled.
“Cheer up, kid. Some Hollywood couple will get divorced, our President will tweet something, or a Hollywood pop tart will head to rehab. Just wait for the light to point a different direction.”
“I hope it happens soon. Very soon.”
We left the building, but unfortunately, Hollywood was on its best behavior. We were mobbed by the press. More flashes and phones were shoved in our faces as we made our way to our vehicles.
I managed to get in my car but navigating my way out of the parking lot was an entirely different story. I was going to have to park my ass for the next few days. I’d have to hire a driver and let a professional deal with the mob. I couldn’t risk running one of them over. That would only prolong the scandal.
I needed to call Liza. I definitely couldn’t go to her apartment now. If anyone saw me there, it would only add fuel to the fire. I picked up my phone but put it back down. As much as I needed to talk to her, I wasn’t looking forward to it. She was going to be pissed when she saw or heard that press conference. We had essentially thrown her under the bus. I was ashamed, but I had to do it to save her dad’s career. Hopefully, it worked. If not, we had embarrassed Liza for nothing.
Chapter 33
Liza
I stood there, staring at the television, my mouth hanging open. It felt like I was watching a movie. Like an out of body experience. It wasn’t a movie. It was my life being paraded in front of the hungry press. I watched them talk about me. They never said my name, but they didn’t have to. One reporter would do the digging and find out who I was and from there, my every secret would be exposed. My life would be laid bare for the world to judge.
“Mommy, I can’t see. I want to see Daddy and Papa,” Ainsley whined from her spot on the floor where she’d been playing.
I couldn’t speak. My mouth had gone completely dry. I had watched the press conference live, but I couldn’t believe I had heard right. It couldn’t be. I flipped the channel and caught it again. It was only a fluke that I’d seen it to begin with. The ticker at the bottom of the screen announced the press conference. If I hadn’t been watching television, I would have missed it. I wasn’t sure if that would have been better or not. The whole thing was surreal, and I still couldn’t quite believe it was all playing out in front of me.
“That little weasel,” I fumed under my breath.
“Who’s a weasel?”
I ignored her question and turned up the TV. Once again, the words stung. It felt like I’d been slapped, first by Milo and then my own father. Both men stood there and aired my dirty laundry in front of the world. The entire world knew about my mistake. They would assume I was the kind of girl who slept around. I wasn’t about to explain the circumstances about how I ended up pregnant. One time. One wild night had led me to that point.
I turned the station back to cartoons for Ainsley and went in search of my phone.
Turning it on, I waited. The voicemail indicator came on as expected. I took a few deep breaths and listened to the many messages. I had a feeling my mailbox was probably full. Most of the messages were from Milo, with a couple from my dad and one from my boss.
I groaned. I hadn’t even thought about how my job would be impacted. My boss was my first call. The principal knew me well enough to know who my dad was. I had never discussed my child’s paternity, but most of my colleagues knew I had a daughter and that there was no man in my life. Now, along with the rest of the world, they would know my secret.
“Hi, this is Liza Summers,” I started.
“Oh, I’m so glad you called me back. Thank you. How are you doing?” she asked.
“I’m good. You?”
She chuckled. “I doubt that you’re good. I wanted to check in, see if you were okay and to assure you your job is secure. If this thing doesn’t blow over before school starts up, we’ll be ready. One thing about working in the toughest school in the city, no one wants to visit!” she teased.
“I’m so sorry. I hope the press will leave me alone. I can’t imagine them hounding me at my job. I’m not that big of a story.”
“Liza?”
“Yes?”
“They’ve already called the district and the school directly. I was catching up on some paperwork and took one of the calls myself,” she said in a gentle voice.
“Oh no,” I whispered.
“It’s okay. We have a couple weeks. I’m sure by the time school starts in January, the whole thing will be old news, and the sharks will have moved on to fresh meat,” she joked.
“I hope so. What a mess.”
“Take care. We’ll deal with it if we have to. Lay low and let it play out,” she advised.
I sighed in relief. “Thank you. I will.”
“I just wanted to let you know we support you, and we’ll see you after the break,” she said.
“Thank you. I really appreciate it. I’ll see you in January.”
I sat down on my bed and breathed a sigh of relief. There was one fire out; now to deal with Milo and my father. I wasn’t ready to talk to Milo. I was furious and hurt. The man owed me nothing, but I thought we had developed a friendship of sorts. I couldn’t believe he had been so quick to toss me out and drive a bus right over the top of me.
With shaking hands, I found my dad’s name in my phonebook and pushed the button. This was not a call I was looking forward to.
“It’s about damn time, young lady!” my dad said, answering the phone.
“Don’t you dare start with me. How could you do that?” I wailed.
He made a sound that I knew very well. I was about to get a hell of a lecture.
“You are the one that made this mess. If you would have told me from the very beginning who Ainsley’s father was, this whole situation could have been avoided. You didn’t. You chose to keep that from me. Were you embarrassed?” he asked.
“It wasn’t like that,” I said, really not wanting to get into the details of that night with my dad. Some things were off limits. “I don’t see how any of that is the business of the whole world. You two tossed me to the wolves. I can’t believe you made me the sacrificial lamb.”
“Oh, please. Get over yourself. We did no such thing. You’re angry because your poor choices have come to light. It’s no one’s fault but your own, Liza,” he grumbled.
He was pissed. I was pissed. It was not a good combination. “You didn’t have to tell the world!” I said a little too loudly.
“We had to say something! Would you prefer the press do their own digging and come up with their version of events? All of this could have been avoided had you been straight with me. You were the one who lost her in a crowd. Don’t blame Milo or me for your mistakes,” he reiterated.
I scoffed. “Mistakes? That’s nice, Dad. Way to stick up for your only daughter.”
“Like it or not, you made some big mistakes. That is the reality and I stuck up for you the only way I could. Sometimes, you have to be a big girl and admit when you’re wrong. Own up to them and quit being mad at us for your decisions. Do you realize what you have done? I could lose my job!” he fumed.
“Your job? I don’t suppose you thought of mine. You’re not going to get fired anyway. You’re being dramatic,” I reasoned.
“You don’t know that. There is a huge conflict of interest here. You have to see that. You put us both in a very difficult position. You can’t be mad at us for trying to repair the damage and save our careers. You messed with our jobs.”
“It’s not that big of a deal, Dad.”
I heard him sigh. “I
t is actually, and when you can see that, we’ll talk. Until then, I’m done. I won’t apologize for trying to save my job. The situation was handled the best way possible. You were invited to help and chose not to, so I suggest you think twice before you lodge accusations at anyone. I’m not angry with you, and I don’t love you any less, but you need to realize how serious all of this truly is. Quit playing the victim and realize we’re all in the boat with you.”
“You’re right, I guess,” I conceded. “I’m sorry, Dad. Really, I didn’t think about what it would mean for your job. It never occurred to me.”
“That’s too bad,” he said, still irritated. “You know we tried to call you, to warn you about the press conference. We wanted you to be a part of it, to read your own statement, but you turned off your phone to pout,” he continued the lecture.
“I turned it off because you were kind of mean yesterday, Dad. Don’t you think I felt horrible about losing her in that crowd? You know I am not like that. It was an accident. I didn’t do it so she could go racing for him and calling him Daddy in front of the press,” I explained.
“I don’t doubt that, but the point you have to see is that I didn’t do this. Milo and I didn’t conspire against you to ruin your life or make you feel bad,” he said, in a gentler tone now. “Neither of us wanted to hurt you. For what it’s worth, Milo fought against it, but in the end, he knew it had to be done for all of our sakes.”
“But you both—” I started to protest.
He cut me off. “Milo did what he could at the moment. His agent is the one that guided him into the press conference, which I think was the right move. I don’t know how he’s faring, but my phone hasn’t quit ringing. Your number will be out there soon enough. Then you’ll see what we’ve been dealing with for the past twenty-four hours.”