Skin in the Game

by Jackie Barbosa

But Angie had no intention of settling for might. She’d ignored and excused Donnelly’s behavior long enough. It was one thing when she’d thought he was just blowing off steam, venting his disappointment at being passed over as Harvey’s heir apparent. When he went after her job, however, it was time for a new strategy. And if there was one thing she could do, it was devise a kick-ass strategy. One that wouldn’t just get her job back, but change the game for good.

  ***

  “Unbelievable.” Cade stared at Angie, incapable of comprehending what she’d just told him.

  “Believe it,” she said, her tone flat. “They suspended me, pending further investigation.

  At least my union rep was able to make sure the suspension is with pay. She couldn’t change their minds about anything else, thanks to the calls from concerned parents.”

  “Jesus, what century do people think this is?” He clenched his fists, wanting nothing more than to march back through the now-closed doors of the school board’s meeting room and punch every last one of the close-minded bastards.

  “They’re just doing their jobs, Cade. They have to answer to the voters, and the voters in Harper Falls don’t like the idea of high school teachers sleeping around.”

  “You’re not sleeping around. You’re sleeping with me.”

  “To-may-to, to-mah-to,” she said with a shrug.

  “I don’t know what’s worse: that they might fire you or that you’re defending them.”

  “It isn’t their fault. I signed a contract with a morality clause in it.” She put her hand on his arm. “They haven’t fired me yet, but I have to convince them I’m not going to set a poor example for the students, and that starts and ends with me not getting caught in compromising situations with you.”

  He didn’t like the sound of that. “And what, exactly, does that mean?”

  “It means I told them you were planning to accept a job offer from the Jets and that we won’t be seeing each other anymore.” She dropped her hand from his arm and turned toward the door that led out of the foyer to the parking lot.

  Cade grabbed her wrist and spun her back around. “What?”

  “It’s over, Cade.” Her eyes shone with gathering tears, and she sounded like she was going to choke on the words.

  Good. At least she wasn’t happy about breaking it off. Not that he was about to let that happen.

  “The hell it’s over. We agreed before we left New York that we’d make this work.”

  She closed her eyes and bowed her head. “I know, but it was never going to last. Maybe a few weeks or months, but sooner or later, one or both of us was going to get tired of being apart more than we were together. And now—” She looked back up at him, her expression pleading.

  “And now, the only way we can be together is for me to give up everything I’ve worked for over the past four and a half years. I just…I can’t do that, especially for something that’s not even permanent.”

  “Then let’s make it permanent.”

  The words were out before Cade even realized he was going to say them, but he couldn’t take them back…nor did he want to. He loved her. From the moment he’d seen her pick up that sports section in the coffee shop, he’d known where this was headed. One plus one equals one.

  The only mystery was why he hadn’t recognized sooner.

  Angie’s widening eyes said that his declaration was as much as surprise to her as it was to him. “You can’t mean—“

  “I can and I do.” In fact, he’d never meant anything more in his life. If the situation were different, they could take things more slowly, but they didn’t have that luxury anymore. And anyway, more time was only going to make him surer of what he was about to do. He clasped her palm in his and dropped to one knee. “Angela Peterson, will you marry me?”

  ***

  How many times had Angie imagined Cade Reynolds on his knee, asking for her hand in marriage? Oh, not recently, but when she was fourteen, this moment had been one of her most persistent fantasies. She had also never believed it could actually happen. And now that it was, the timing was all wrong.

  Her throat ached with emotion. She loved him…so much that the thought of losing him was physically painful. There was nothing she wanted more than to fling her arms around his neck and say yes. And that’s exactly what she would do…if marrying him would fix anything.

  “I can’t,” she whispered, blinking to clear her tear-blurred vision.

  “What do you mean, you can’t?” To her relief, Cade sounded more baffled than angry or offended. “I love you, and I’m pretty damn sure you love me. What else matters?”

  “What else matters?” she repeated. “What about my job?”

  “But you won’t need it once we’re married. You can do whatever you want.”

  For a few seconds, she could only gape at him, dumbfounded. He claimed to love her, yet apparently, he didn’t know her at all. After everything they’d been through these past few weeks, after everything she had told him, how could he fail to understand that everything that mattered to her was right here in Harper Falls?

  Furious, she tugged at his hand, pulling him back to his feet. She didn’t want to have this discussion while he was still on bended knee.

  She jerked her thumb in the direction of the double doors. “I just spent almost an hour in there trying to convince the board that I deserve to keep my job. Now you want me to throw it all out the window to marry you and do ‘whatever I want’? What if teaching and coaching is what I want?”

  Cade frowned. “Well, I’m sure they need teachers in New York. High school football coaches, too. Hell, I told you already you’re good enough to design plays in the NFL. The Jets could use someone with your skills. All it would take is a good word from me.”

  Angie’s hands curled into fists, her nails digging into her palms as she fought the urge to scream. “I don’t want a teaching job in New York. I want the one I already have…or had, until I made the mistake of falling into bed with you. And I most certainly don’t want a coaching position that I only get thanks to my husband’s recommendation.” She shook her head, unable to believe that the Cade Reynolds she’d grown to love and trust could be so obtuse. “I want what I’ve earned, not what someone hands me on a silver platter. And I love my students, my players, and even this sometimes narrow-minded little town. New York is a great place to visit, but I don’t want to live there. You might love to be in the limelight, but I hate it and I don’t see any way I could avoid it if we were married. I’d be your arm candy, the pretty piece you trot out on the town. I couldn’t stand it, Cade, and eventually, that would tear us apart.”

  He pressed his lips together, and his jaw tightened. “I see.”

  “No, I don’t think you do. How would you feel if I was asking you to give up being an NFL quarterback to be with me?”

  “I wouldn’t like it,” he admitted.

  “You wouldn’t do it,” she countered. “And I don’t want you to.” She placed her hand on his arm and raised herself up onto her toes to press a quick kiss on his cheek. “Go to New York.

  Play for the Jets. Get your Super Bowl ring. It’s what you want and you deserve it.” And then, she turned and walked away.

  Only when she was safely alone in the car did she allow the tears to fall. She’d known from the beginning how this would end. Somehow, that only made it hurt more.

  Chapter Seventeen

  When Cade blew a game, he tended to blow it big. This wasn’t a game, but he’d sure as hell blown it big. Unlike the games he’d lost, though, he did have a chance to make this right.

  Starting with ensuring that Angie got her job back.

  When he arrived on Chuck Donnelly’s doorstep, it was almost nine o’clock. Donnelly opened the door, his features registering surprise before he said, “Reynolds. What can I do for you?”

  Cade wasn’t in the mood for social niceties. “I think you know.”

  Donnelly crossed his arms over his chest. “I won’t withdra
w my complaint, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “You will if you don’t want the next complaint to be against you.”

  “Oh, that’s rich. I catch the two of you with your tongues down each other’s throats not once, but twice, and you think you’re going to lodge a complaint against me? For what…coitus interruptus?” Donnelly snickered and started to close the door.

  Cade laid his palm flat against the oak surface and pushed the door back inward. “There’s nothing illegal about what we were doing. What you’ve been doing, on the other hand…”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Donnelly protested, but his voice was half an octave higher than before and his neck and ears reddened.

  “Then I’m sure it won’t concern you in the slightest if I go to the school board and describe how you’ve been sexually harassing Angie for years.”

  Donnelly gaped and then sputtered, “Y-you can’t p-prove that.”

  “You’re right. I can’t prove the ‘for years’ part. But I can damn well describe what I’ve witnessed in the two weeks I’ve been acting head coach. Hostile workplace harassment is a generous description for what I’ve seen you do.”

  “If I’ve been harassing her, why hasn’t she lodged a complaint herself?”

  “Mainly because she thinks you’re an ass who doesn’t know what he’s doing.” Cade stepped across the threshold, forcing Donnelly to take a step backward. “I, on the other hand, think you’re an ass who not only knows exactly what he’s doing, but also gets a big kick out of belittling and intimidating women.”

  “That’s…that’s not true. I’m married, for fuck’s sake.”

  “Give your wife my condolences.” Cade poked a finger in the center of Donnelly’s chest.

  “I know your type. How much would you like to bet that I can find half a dozen other women you’ve treated the way I’ve seen you treat Angie? Maybe more. Some teachers, some students.

  Because men like you don’t treat just one woman like dirt; they treat them all that way.”

  The pinched expression on Donnelly’s face told Cade he’d struck a nerve. The guy was every bit as big a prick as Cade thought. Worse than that, the prick knew it.

  “Then why haven’t they reported me before now?” Donnelly might know he was sunk, but he wasn’t going down without a fight.

  Cade shrugged. “Maybe they’re giving you the benefit of the doubt. Or maybe they just don’t think anyone will take them seriously if they make individual reports. As a group, though, I think they’ll be pretty convincing, don’t you?”

  Donnelly’s mouth drew into a tight line. “You’d do that?”

  “And enjoy it,” Cade confirmed.

  Donnelly clenched and unclenched his fists. Before he could answer, a woman’s voice rang out in the background.

  “Who’s at the door, Chuck?” A few seconds later, the bearer of the voice appeared behind her husband’s door. Mrs. Donnelly was a petite but buxom woman with auburn hair and an attractive, heart-shaped face. Her eyes lit when she saw Cade. “Cade Reynolds!” She gave Donnelly a playful punch in the bicep. “Why didn’t you invite him in?” With an apologetic shake of her head, she said, “I’m so sorry for my husband’s rudeness. Please, come in.”

  Cade held up his hand. “That’s all right, Mrs. Donnelly.”

  “Shannon,” she interjected.

  “Shannon,” he repeated. “Anyway, I just came to discuss an issue related to the football team. We’re done now.”

  “Oh, I see.” She was clearly disappointed that he didn’t want to stay for a while, but she smiled brightly anyway. “Next time, then.”

  “Yeah, next time,” Cade agreed while sincerely hoping there wouldn’t be one. He looked at Donnelly, who seemed to be vacillating between jerking his arm away from his wife, who rested her palm on his shoulder, and punching Cade. “So, do we have an understanding?”

  “Uh huh.”

  “First thing in the morning.” If he wasn’t specific enough about his expectations, Donnelly would drag his feet.

  The other man nodded. It was hardly a ringing endorsement, but Cade felt confident that Donnelly would withdraw his complaint rather than risk the alternative.

  Satisfied, Cade said good night to Shannon Donnelly and headed back to his car. Angie would have her job back before the week was over. But he needed to think long and hard about his own job. And what he was willing to give up to have it.

  ***

  “What are you doing here?” Donnelly asked, his tone thick with irritation.

  It was Wednesday morning, and Angie had been waiting for him outside his classroom for almost twenty minutes. She’d planned to catch him before school started, thinking this would give them plenty of time to talk. Instead, he’d arrived just minutes before the first bell. Even when he wasn’t trying to thwart her, he still managed to get in her way.

  “Waiting for you,” she answered, mirroring his response to her the afternoon he’d waited for her outside her classroom.

  Glowering, Donnelly pulled a key ring from his pocket. “Why?” He located the right key and thrust it into the lock, turning it with an angry jerk. “You sic’ced your attack dog on me and now you want to gloat. Is that it?”

  Her attack dog? She frowned in confusion. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  He pushed the door open and walked into the dimly lit room. “And if I believe that, you have a swamp in Arizona to sell me.” He flipped on the light switch. The fluorescent lamps overhead sizzled and then blinked to life.

  Angie followed him into the room. “I really don’t know what you mean.”

  “So you’re trying to tell me that you had nothing to do with Cade Reynolds showing up on my doorstep last night and threatening to get every woman I’ve ever looked at sideways to lodge a harassment complaint against me if I don’t make sure you get your job back?” Donnelly set his briefcase on his desk with a thud and looked at her through narrowed eyes. “Pardon me if I’m skeptical.”

  Cade had gone to Donnelly’s house and threatened him with a harassment suit? Oh God, please tell me he didn’t.

  But she knew he had. Donnelly had no reason to lie, especially since he had all but admitted to having harassed other women in the process. And somehow, Cade had known…or been confident enough in his hunch to use it as leverage. The fact that the threat had worked spoke for itself.

  Angie had always suspected that she might not be Donnelly’s only victim, of course, but she’d given him the benefit of the doubt, in part because she knew just how difficult it had to be for a man to lose his position in a male-dominated field to a woman. No matter how much lip-service people paid to gender equality, some things were always going to be hard for most guys to swallow. A female football coach was one of those things.

  She really ought to be furious with Cade for going over her head and trying to solve her problems for her. The last thing she needed was for someone like Donnelly to think she wasn’t capable of fighting her own battles. Part of her was a little pissed off. Cade’s confrontational approach to the situation wasn’t likely to improve matters. Donnelly might withdraw his complaint and accept her return to the team, but he’d be simmering with the same resentment that had gotten them to this point in the first place. Cade undoubtedly thought he was making things better, but the reality was, he’d left her with another mess she’d have to clean up.

  And yet…and yet, what he’d done was sweet. Supportive, even. It was a message, and she’d gotten it, loud and clear. Cade knew how much her job meant to her. Doing what he could to get it back for her was an apology. A peace offering. She was touched. And maybe a little tempted.

  But that didn’t mean she wouldn’t have to repair the damage his act of contrition had done.

  “I swear, I had nothing to do with Cade’s visit. He did that all on his own. Do you really think I’d send him to do my dirty work?”

  “Well, he is your boyfriend…”

  Boyfriend? Ugh. She hated
that term. They taught high school; they weren’t in it. “No, he’s not.”

  Donnelly waved a hand. “Lover, squeeze, whatever. I’ve seen the two of you together, remember?”

  “That’s over,” Angie said, doing her best to ignore the stab of regret that pierced her heart at the thought. “He’s going to be playing for the Jets, which means he’s moving to New York.

  We won’t be seeing each other anymore.”

  “What’s that got to do with anything? Look, I promised him I’d tell the school board that I think the charges should be dropped, and I will. You should have your job back in no time.

  Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to get ready for class.” He turned to the white board and picked up the eraser.

  Angie watched him erase the previous day’s notes from the board with broad, angry strokes. Damn it, but when it came right down to it, she felt sorry for him. Before she had come to Harper Falls High, he’d had every reason to believe he’d be the next head coach of the team.

  How could she blame him for reacting badly when she usurped his position in the team hierarchy? It wasn’t as if she’d behaved any better when the same thing had happened to her.

  While they’d been talking, the voices and footsteps of students in the corridors had grown louder. The first bell would ring soon. It was now or never. She could accept Cade’s solution to her problems, or she could implement her own.

  In the end, it was a no-brainer.

  “I don’t want you to tell the board you think I should get my job back,” she said. “If you don’t, I promise there’ll be no repercussions.”

  Donnelly’s hand stopped mid-erase. He turned to look at her. “What? Are you crazy?”

  “Maybe,” she admitted, “but the fact is, I’m sick and tired of being at war with you. It’s not good for me, it’s not good for you, and it’s definitely not good for the team. That’s not going to change if the only reason you’re helping me get my job back is because you’ve been blackmailed into it.”

  “You’d never walk away from your job or this team without a fight. Since the moment you walked into this school, you’ve been all about getting the head coaching position after Harvey retires, and you want me to believe you’re just going to give up now?” His eyebrows pinched suspiciously. “What are you really up to?”