Page 21 of Provoking the Punter

“That’s it. Which means it’s definitely not it.”

Chester leaned forward eagerly. Caitlin always had the best gossip. She worked PR for the team, and she seemed to know everybody and everything that went on in the city. She didn’t just have her finger on the pulse, she had her hand wrapped around the still beating heart.

This time it was he who had the inside information, and it was killing him not to share. She should know Garrett was blameless, but that would mean outing him. And he couldn’t do that.

He didn’t envy Garrett at all. He was carefully crafting the rope that would end up hanging him. If he came out, there’d be a small amount of shit, but it would fade away. If he waited, and the scandal hit him, it might be a career-ending shitstorm.

He was going to have to talk some sense into him.

Which meant he needed to make sure they talked. It was pretty hard to talk with your mouthful of dick. But Garrett could listen with his mouth full.

“Did he say anything to you?” she pressed.

Chester sagged. It looked like he wasn’t going to get anything from her. “No, I’m just the delightful host.”

“I’m going to have to talk to him again. He needs to know it’s better to sort these things out fast. Or at least have a plan in place.”

“He’s barely been here a week. Maybe give him a chance to settle in and trust some people… like his teammates. Perhaps, he’d be more likely to confide in them?”

She pressed her lips together. “There’s always a couple who think they can push through everything on their own, but it’s much easier if they just tell me and I can make things happen.”

That’s because some people have never had anyone to trust and help them.

Since he needed to talk to Garrett, he might as well pretend to be doing it for good causes and earn himself some extra points with Caitlin. “Is there anything I can do?”

“Ply him with alcohol until he talks?” She smiled.

Chester laughed. “Aside from that.”

“The trouble is when everybody keeps reciting the same thing, it means they’re sticking to a script, which means they’re covering something up.”

“And you can hear the clock ticking.”

“Exactly.” Her gaze narrowed. “I think you can, too.”

Did she suspect that he knew something? Well, he did, but she wasn’t supposed to know that. There was no clue he could give. He couldn’t say, “why don’t you look into the Copperheads’ coach?” Anything he said would end up exposing Garrett.

“I think he was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and that he’d drunk too much. From his behavior last night, it appears he had the wake up call he needed.”

“That doesn’t mean I’ve got nothing to worry about.”

Chester suspected Garrett was the least of her worries, given the things that he heard about some of the players. “How is James taking it?”

She gave him a tight smile. “He’s a professional. And he knows it’s a business. On that note, I want to arrange for some photographs to be taken of Grayson having dinner with his wife.”

And she wanted to use his restaurant as the setting. It wouldn’t be the first time. “What did he do?”

“He needs to clean up his family-man image. Dinner with the wife and an outing with the kids. If it’s a problem for you…”

That meant Grayson was screwing around. Some people were fucking stupid. “It’s never a problem, Caitlin. As long as you give me a heads up because I don’t want a scene, either. It’s bad for business.”

She nodded, and ripped a piece of paper off her pad with the date and time. “A window table might be best?”

“I will make sure nothing impedes the photographer’s view of the happy couple.”

“Let’s hope they look happy.”

“Is it that bad?”

---