Page 182 of The Home Game

But the truth was, most organizations struggled to keep a lid on leaked info at some point or another.

It was usually trade speculation or stuff that related more to the game than players’ personal lives but that wasn’t always the case.

The Dallas Steers had done a big house-cleaning last season after it became obvious the organization was leaking info like a sieve. Since the new support staff had been hired, there hadn’t been a single bit of news from there hitting the gossip sites.

Maybe the Fisher Cats would have to do something similar.

Kate was furious and there had been so many meetings with the ownership group and management. Matty was sick and fucking tired of all of it already.

“You coming?”

Matty blinked, looking up at Dustin and Dom who stared expectantly.

“Huh?”

“We’re going to have a private chat at my place. Because I’m sick of you two sniping at each other all the damn time. This needs to get hashed out before it impacts play.”

Matty bit back the urge to point out it was all Dom’s fault.

He didn’t, because he wasn’t an idiot, but damn was he tempted. Dom was really testing his patience these days.

Matty kept his mouth shut and cleared his dishes, taking a moment to compliment the team chef, Geoff, on the meal. Geoff the chef. Poor guy, players made that lame joke all the time and he had to be sick of it.

It wasn’t until Matty and Dom had taken a seat on Dustin and Charlie’s couch that Matty spoke about the tension that had been simmering for months. “Dom, I know you’re trying to look out for me, but I’m really fucking tired of having you treat Antoni like shit.”

Dom protested. “I’m not—”

“You are, man,” Dustin said with a sigh. “Matty and I both love how protective you are but you have been an asshole to him for months and it’s gotta stop. I know you care about him and you’re trying to look out for him but you’ve gotta find another way to do it.”

“Am I wrong that these deposits are a little fucking suspicious?” Dom asked, leaning forward with a frown.

Dustin’s lips tightened for a second. “I’ll admit it’s an odd coincidence. However, I think you’re assuming a connection that isn’t there.”

“Look, there’s a really fucking easy way to clear this up,” Matty pointed out. “Let me call Antoni.”

“Isn’t he in school?” Dustin asked.

Matty glanced at the time and shrugged. “Ahh, yeah. It’s his last teaching hour of the day. Well, I’ll text him and he can call once he’s done.”

“Fine.” Dom crossed his arms and Matty resisted the urge to throw something at his head.

He was acting like a spoiled child. There was probably a good reason for it but it was getting on Matty’s last nerve.

He shot off a text to Antoni, then looked at Dom.

“So tell me this, why in the hell would Antoni leak stuff to the gossip blogs? I don’t believe he did it, but I’ll humor you for a sec. What possible reason could he have for it? The amounts that got deposited were pretty small compared to what he could drain me for if he really wanted. Which, clearly, he hasn’t done!”

Dom remained silent.

“See,” Matty said. “It makes zero sense. And why in the fuck would he want the fake marriage stuff to end up on JockGossip anyway? It’ll only hurt his custody chances. We had to do the stupid podcast to try to fix the PR disaster we’re already in!”

“I don’t know, Matty! Maybe he’s playing a long con or maybe he wants the fame like Courtney! He’s been posting all of that stuff about you and the kids on his social media so clearly, he’s not shying away from that!”

“Yeah, which we discussed ahead of time with the kids and we all agreed it was worth it.”

“I’m just saying—”

“And I’m just saying I’m tired of it,” Matty snapped. “Dustin’s right. I love you, man, and I appreciate you being protective of me but you are driving me fucking nuts. I love Antoni. And he loves me too. If you’re not okay with me marrying a guy, then goddamn say it. Because you’ve always been a little paranoid but you’ve really leveled up here lately.”

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