“As far as Mindy is concerned. Her story is complete bull. You can take that to your lawyers. Next, is the not so great news.” The heaviness in her voice returns.
I place the file back on the table and direct my attention to Coral. Instinctively, I know what she has to say about Tina. “She was raped,” I whisper.
Coral silently looks at me, as if she is assessing me. “You knew.” It’s not a question, but a statement of fact.
“I watched her press conference and knew she wasn’t lying. Not about what happened. I just...knew,” I hesitate, not wanting to get into how I knew.
Coral nods. “Takes one to know one,” she states, staring directly at me.
A silent heartbeat passes between us before I nod slightly.
She blows out a breath. “I’m sorry,” she consoles. “Unfortunately, it is true. Tina was raped, but it wasn’t Landon.”
Even though I already knew this, it feels good hearing it from someone else, especially someone as confident as Coral.
“I knew that,” I stated just a confident.
Coral gives me a half smile. “We had to do some, uh, digging and were able to match the DNA of Tina’s son with one of Landon’s college teammates.”
I sit back in my chair shocked. “You got his medical records?” I question, knowing it is illegal to obtain someone’s medical records, especially a child’s.
“Don’t ask too many questions,” Coral retorts easily. “Tina’s son was fathered by a John Richardson. He played football at the University of Nebraska for three years before injuring his shoulder and being permanently sidelined. After college he went on to work in sales and marketing. He’s now marketing director at a sports company in Illinois. According to past employment records, he has a history of sexually harassing his female staff. One company was almost sued, but they made him resign. Old habits die hard. I have no doubt he’s the one who raped Tina. But I could see how she may be confused. She was apparently very drunk that night.”
I take the side-by-side images of Landon and John, Coral hands me. Right next to each other one can make out a resemblance, especially years ago when they were in college. Both were over six feet tall with dark hair and bulky builds. But that is where the resemblance ends for me, and I could never mistake John for Landon. Landon is slightly taller and more muscular, with blue eyes, while John has brown eyes. But for someone who was drunk at a college party, I could see how one would make the mix up. My own friend had to point out to me who it was that assaulted me in college, so I know how this could happen.
“Have you spoken to Tina?” I ask, wanting to know if Tina realizes this.
“Not yet, but I will. I’ll show her the evidence. She seems honest enough and she’ll likely recant her story.”
I close my eyes, letting the words I’ve wanted to hear for months now sink in. I’m so glad this is almost over. My first instinct is to pick up the phone and call Landon, but I don’t. I decide I want to play this out another way.
“I can already tell you’re going to do something with this information your husband won’t like.”
I tilt my head to the side, still trying to figure out how she is able to read me so easily. When Coral smirks at me I decide to let it go, figuring it’s just one of those things people in her line of business are known for. “He definitely won’t like what I’m thinking of doing, but he’s kept me in the dark on all this so it’ll serve his ass right,” I respond.
“That’s the spirit.” Coral laughs. “Can I tell you something?” she asks. “I studied video of Landon on the field and in interviews to get a sense of who he is when Jeremy first called. If you haven’t been able to tell, I’m pretty good at reading people.”
“That’s probably the understatement of the month,” I quip.
Coral shrugs. “Probably. Anyway, I can tell he’s a lot like my husband. Both men are at the top of their respective fields. They can charm the pants off of respectable women such as ourselves.”
I giggle as Coral motions to her baby bump for emphasis.
“But most of all, they’re protective of the people they love. My husband decided to walk away from me for years rather than put me in harm’s way. I’m guessing yours has kept you out of the loop on this case for the same reason. He didn’t want to see you hurt by any of this.”
“So you’re saying I should let go of the fact that he has kept me out of a major part of his life for months now?” I ask, my voice nearing incredulity.
“Hell no,” Coral responds immediately. “I’m not saying that. Let his ass know that shit won’t fly with you. I just wanted you to know I know where you’re coming from.”
“Tuh,” I mock teasingly. “It’s hard to believe anyone can keep anything from you.”
Coral’s smile widens, “Yeah, not many can, except him. And he’s the type that gets what he wants. There isn’t much that Liam Bennett can’t do.”
I swoon as I hear the love in her voice for her husband. Even with this woman’s tough exterior, the affection she has for her husband shines through all over her face, making her even more beautiful.
“Apparently, I can’t get my wife to be honest with me about where she’s going for lunch.” I hear a deep male voice laced with a controlled anger.
I look up behind Coral to see a pair of the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen, second after Jeremy’s. With his sandy blonde hair, tall stature, and what appears to be a nice build draped in a tailored Italian suit, I assume this must be the Liam Bennett. In fact, I know it is because I’ve seen his image on the news some months ago when his father, the former governor of Texas, made headlines for illegal activity. And now that I’m putting two and two together, I realize this is Jeremy’s cousin. The two men look very much alike although Jeremy’s hair is dark and Liam’s is light.
I move my gaze from Liam’s stern face to Coral’s. Surprisingly, she’s smirking at me. “Melody Rogers, please allow me to introduce you to my husband, Liam Bennett. Li, this is Melody,” she introduces.
Liam looks at me for the first time. “Pleasure,” he says with a nod and then returns his full attention to his wife. “You told me you’d be staying in our hotel for lunch. This isn’t our hotel, CeCe.”
“It isn’t?” Coral asks, raising an eyebrow, looking around as if bewildered.
“Cece.” Liam’s voice has a warning growl in it. I know that tone. I’ve heard it a number of times from my own husband.
Coral sighs and stands. Liam immediately extends his arm to assist her up. Coral waves his help off and rolls her eyes, but the slight curl of her lips tells me she enjoys his affection. “Well, Li, I had to meet with Mrs. Rogers here. Hey…” she pauses, looking at me “Did you know you're now married to Mr. Rogers?”
I giggle. “Yes, my students have definitely made all the Mr. Rogers jokes you can think of.”
“Good for them. Anyway,” Coral turns back to her husband whose face says he is growing more impatient by the second. “Mrs. Rogers and I needed to meet. Jeremy called the other day and needed help for his friend, Landon. So here I am.” She shrugs.
“And you just conveniently forgot to tell me?”
“No. I didn’t forget.”
Her honesty surprises me.
“I knew Mitch would tell you where I was.” Coral turns her head toward the doors and waves over her shoulder.
I see a tall, burly, dark-haired man wave back. My eyes widen as I hadn’t noticed him before, but apparently he’s been here the whole time.
“Another issue. How is he supposed to protect you if he’s way out there?” Liam questions.
Coral sighs. “I can protect my—”
“Don’t even start with that shit, especially not while you’re carrying my baby.” The tone of his voice says this is not up for further discussion.
Coral simply rolls her eyes and grumbles “Whatever.”
“All right, Mrs. Rogers, it looks like you and my wife are just about finishing up. I’ve already taken care of the bill. D
o you need a ride somewhere? I can have my driver take you,” Liam offers.
I shake my head. “That’s not necessary. I drove. But thank you.”
“All right, well, we have a trip to the Adventure Aquarium, and Princess is in the car waiting with Drew,” Liam says to his wife.
“Why didn’t you say she was waiting?” Coral quickly bends down to gather her things, but is stopped by Liam, as he picks up her bag and hands it to her.
Liam shakes his head, “I get the run around, but Laura gets you to move quickly,” he teases.
“You get me to take on your last name and then you knock me up,” she quips, pointing to her belly.
Liam shrugs. “Fair enough, I guess. Mrs. Rogers it was a pleasure, but we must be going. I’ll have Mitch, escort you to your vehicle.”
I nod and stand as I marvel at the couple before me. Both clearly have very strong personalities. I wonder about the backstory on how they met and got together.
“After you, dear,” Liam motions for his wife.
Coral turns to me. “Melody, it was nice meeting you. If you need anything else, you have my card.” She nods at the envelope on the table.
“But not in the next few months. She needs to take it easy,” Liam quickly interjects. “And don’t think I won’t speak to Jeremy over this,” he adds.
I can tell by his tone he is serious. I smirk, remembering Coral’s words on how similar our husbands are.
“Thank you. Enjoy your outing,” I return. I assume the princess Liam spoke of is his daughter, Laura, who is around four years old, if I recall correctly from what I’ve read about him.
I gather my belongings and the file Coral has given me and put it in the envelope, placing both in my bag. I strut toward the door, feeling much lighter than when I walked in.
“Ma’am,” Mitch nods. “I’ll walk you to your car.”
I watch as Liam escorts Coral across the street where a little girl with blonde hair excitedly greets Coral, practically jumping into her arms. Even with her full belly, Coral swoops the little girl in her arms, carrying her to the car, as Liam rests his arms at the small of her back, supporting her. They really are a beautiful family.
“Thank you.” I nod with reverie in my voice. I suddenly can’t wait until that is Landon and me. In fact, I decide as soon as I get home I’m going to throw out my birth control pills. But first, there’s some business I need to handle, I think as I pull out my phone.
Chapter Twelve
Landon
I frown as I adjust the button on my suit jacket as I strut down the hall in my sports’ arena. Typically, I’d have Mel help me get ready when I wear suits, as I usually hate these monkey suits, and she is better than I am at tying ties, but I haven’t told her about this meeting. It turns out the team owner and a few of my sponsors are getting antsy about everything that’s coming from Mindy’s lawyers, even though my attorneys have been able to point out inconsistencies with her story. I tighten my hands into fists as I think about the fact that there is a court date set two weeks from now. There’s no damn reason I should be going to court for any of this shit.
“Landon, thanks for meeting us down here,” Michael greets me as I enter one of the huge conference rooms. Inside, sits Tim, one of the owners of my team, along with three other executives from a major athletic apparel company I have worked with for years.
“As if I had a choice,” I grunt.
“Landon, don’t be like that,” Tim begins, but stops when I glare at him. He and I have had a number of disagreements throughout my career with the Lions, but he would back down when I reminded him how much money I make for this team.
“I’m not being like anything, Tim,” I state, my tone sharp as I take my seat. “Gentlemen, in the interest of saving time, why don’t we cut the formalities and bullshit and get to why I’m here. You think I’m a rapist.”
One of the executives nearly spits his sip of water out at my bluntness.
“No, Landon. Nobody here thinks that,” Tim begins.
“So, you think I abuse women?” I look straight into Tim’s eyes as I ask that question.
In his defense, he doesn’t cower and look away under my glare. “Landon, you’ve been with this team since the start of your career, and we’ve never had any legal or other problems with you. I mean, you can be a little or a lot pushy—”
“I don’t hear you complaining about when my pushiness wins us games and Super Bowls,” I interrupt.
Tim nods. “Touché.”
“So this is about business. You think your image is harmed by being associated with me right now?” I look toward the executives at the other end of the table.
“Yes,” one of them says. “We are a public company and our image is tied to the athletes we sponsor. Until now, you have been a model athlete and client to work with. Your jerseys sell like hotcakes, even now they still do. Everyone wants to buy your signature training shoe, and your commercials are among the highest rated commercials watched on TV and Youtube. But with all that’s going on in the news lately about campus rape, especially when it comes to athletes, we just want to be careful.”
I pause as I take in everything he has to say and nod. “I can understand that. Business is business right?” The executives look relieved at my statement, as I give them a half smile.
“We’re glad you understand.”
“Oh, I understand all right. I understand you’re all full of shit.”
“Landon, wait,” Michael speaks up for the first time.
“No, let me finish, just so we can all clear the air. You,” I turn back to the executives. “Just pointed out how much money I make you selling your products and how many years we’ve been in business together with no hiccups along the road. I’ve busted my ass for more than a decade in this league without as much as a parking ticket before all of this. I don’t ask for much from others, but loyalty is high on my list. I told you all that when I was twenty-two years old, fresh out of college, number one draft pick. And for years, you had no problem showing loyalty as long as I was putting up numbers and getting you rings. Now when the shit hits the fan you want to bail?”
“Landon, no one is bailing on anyone,” Tim says.
“Good because I can tell you this, when all this shit with Mindy is over with and it is proven that I never touched her or that other woman, I will remember who stood by me. What I’ll say is this, since you all seem to need to hear it. I am not now nor have I ever been a rapist or abuser of any woman. These accusations are nothing more than an angry, jealous woman who refuses to accept that I don’t want her. I don’t make threats. I make promises, and I am promising you gentlemen that if you make any public statements siding with Mindy over me or ones that veer from the typical waiting for details to emerge statement, you will regret it. I think that’s all we needed to discuss today,” I finish looking at Michael and then at the other men in the room as I stand.
The rest of the men in the room stand as well. “Landon, we were just looking for assurances from you that this case was bogus,” Tim says, as he comes over to me.
“Well, now you have them,” I nod, unbuttoning my suit jacket. “Is there anything else?”
A unison of no’s sounds off around the room, and I head toward the door with no need to look back.
I decide to head over to the housing complex my real estate company is building, to check in with Tank and make sure business is running smoothly. I pull out my cell phone as I make my way toward the parking garage.
“Hey, baby.” Her breathless voice always manages to calm me down.
“Hey, Red. You sound out of breath. What are you doing?”
“I left the school and now I’m on my way downtown to do some shopping. I dropped the car off at home and took the train. I was coming out of the subway when you called.”
“Oh…” I nod. “Speaking of shopping, there was this red bathing suit I saw the last time we were out. You’ll need it for our next trip.”
“Lando
n, I already have a red bathing suit, remember?”
“How could I forget?” I ask low into the phone, thinking of the bathing suit I first spotted her in. “But you can never have too many.”
She giggles into the phone, and my heart seriously skips a beat. I shake my head at how damn lame love has made me, but in all seriousness, I don’t mind.
“What did you do today?” she asks.
“Had a meeting with Tim and some executives from Sports World,” I say as I climb into my car.
“How did it go?”
“It went,” I say, giving few details. “Now I’m heading over to the housing complex to catch up with Tank.”
“Okay. I just arrived at the store, anyway I’ll pick up some Thai on the way home for dinner. That sound good?”
“Better than good. And don’t forget the bathing suit,” I add.
She laughs. “Okay, babe. I love you.”
I’ll never get tired of hearing those words come out of her mouth. “Love you too,” I return right before hanging up. Considering all the nonsense going on in this case, I am still a very lucky man.
Chapter Thirteen
Melody
I bite my bottom lip as I hang up the phone with Landon, feeling a twinge of guilt for lying. I tell myself that what I’m doing is for my husband and push that guilt aside as I open the glass door to the spacious offices of McDaniel and Associates. I feel like I’m stepping into enemy territory when the office receptionist looks up at me from behind her desk.
“Can I help you?” she politely greets.
“Yes, I have an appointment with Evan McDaniel.”
“Your name?”
“Melody Ro…um…James. Melody James.” We still haven’t gone public about our nuptials, but Landon makes it a point every day to remind me my last name is now Rogers. And I’ve gotten most of my ID’s and financial accounts changed from James to Rogers, of course, at my husband’s insistence.
“Yup, Ms. James I see your appointment on Mr. McDaniel’s schedule. You can have a seat, and I’ll let him know you’re here.”
Forever: a standalone, interracial romance Page 10