Page 46 of Inside the Penalty Box

“Yeah, what is it?” Clay asked.

I swallowed hard and shoved my phone over toward them so they could see for themselves. The blood rushed from their faces, just like I’m sure it had done from mine.

“Pamela,” the coach said, stepping to the side while she came to the front of the table.

“Hey, guys. I want to discuss what happened Friday night. It seems Dylan had a run-in with his ex-girlfriend Carlie at a local club on Friday. The same ex that caused all the trouble last year. The situation was taken care of immediately. However, she has now gone to the press.”

The entire team turned and looked my way. I’d done everything I could for the better part of the year to keep myself out of the spotlight. I could only imagine what this news might do now. Hell, if she was malicious enough, it could end my contract with this team.

“Carlie is pregnant, and Dylan is about to be a happy father,” Pamela announced as she read the beginning part of the article.

I shook my head as each one of the team turned and looked my way. “Look, she is lying. You all know that. If she is pregnant, it’s not mine. You all know I’ve been single for months, until just recently. If it’s anyone’s, it’s Novak’s.”

Knox reached over and grabbed my phone from Clay’s hand and opened the article, reading silently.

“Nope, not what it says here.”

I glared at him, adrenaline coursing through my veins. I knew he was only doing it to get at me, maybe to break the tension, but I wasn’t in the mood for his shit.

“It says here that it is yours,” he said, tapping the screen on my phone.

“For fuck’s sakes, man, you are with me everywhere I fucking go. When was the last time I was with her?”

“Knock it off, man,” Clay growled at Knox. “Don’t get him going.”

Two guys on the team chuckled while a bunch of them started murmuring amongst themselves.

“Alright, that’s enough!” Coach yelled, regaining control of the room again.

“I’ll call my attorney and demand she provide a DNA test.” I raised my voice loud enough that everyone could hear me over their murmurs.

“We are already on it,” Pamela said, taking a moment to think. “Look, for the time being, no interviews—again. No one in this room is to say anything to anyone about this, anyone who’s asked is to comment with no comment. The team’s lawyers have already been contacted. They will make sure any videos that surface from Friday night are removed off social platforms, and they are working on a press release.”

I felt sick.

* * *

Clay, Lucas, Knox and I sat at a private table in the back of The Sushi Garden.

“There is also another problem at hand here, guys,” Knox said, shoving a soft-shell crab roll into his mouth.

“What’s that?” Clay asked.

I wanted this conversation to be over. Hell, I wanted this entire situation to be over. The worst thing I think I’d ever done was get involved with Carlie. She’d cost me enough over the last year, but it appeared she was back for more. She probably wouldn’t be content until I’d lost everything.

“We’re playing Novak’s team tomorrow night.”

That was all I needed to hear. I gripped my chopsticks hard enough that they should have broken.

“Whatever we do, we can’t let our boy near him.”

“Sort of impossible, don’t you think?” Knox said, looking over at Clay. “They’re both centers.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. If I made it through tomorrow night’s game without a fight, it would be a miracle, I thought to myself. If I knew Novak, he probably put Carlie up to this little stunt just to get under my skin. We’d always hated one another, and it wasn’t getting any better.

“It’s fine. I’ll be fine, guys.”

“Isn’t that what you said last time?” Knox asked.

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