Page 10 of Gross Misconduct

“But you’ve proven to be a valuable member of the team, but we are going to have to remove the captaincy from you. We will reevaluate at the end of the season, but for now, Grant and Warde will be the alternate captains for the season.”

Doofus flinched at that. I hadn’t told Tangi about this because I couldn’t risk it getting back to anyone, but I’d sort of broached it with her over breakfast, and she’d made it clear that Doofus would be devastated if he was no longer captain. And from what I knew about everyone’s relationship with Brandan Warde, a further knife to the heart would come from his promotion to alternate captain. But Doofus had played stupid games and won the ultimate stupid prize. Such was life.

“Is this necessary?” Taylor asked. Even he didn’t sound convincing.

Dave narrowed his light brown eyes. “Is that a serious question? How do you think it would look if we kept Jeremy as our captain? What example would that set?”

Taylor had nothing to reply with.

“For the next week or two, you will have a lower body injury that will keep you out of the lineup. You won’t be training with the team either. You will be rehabilitating with the Ravens. You will also be keeping a very low profile. In fact, you’ll be invisible. No partying, no drinking, no hanging out with friends, and no women. Absolutely nothing!”

“Dave, aren’t you taking this to the extreme?” Taylor said. “Why don’t you just put him in jail.”

Dave shot a glare Taylor’s way. “Not a bad idea. Maybe we should consider that.”

Taylor’s jaw tensed. “He’s supposed to be a monk for the whole season?”

“Not the whole season, put can he manage a month? Even a few weeks? How about a day?”

Oh boy, as much as I was enjoying this tarring and feathering, it wasn’t getting us anywhere, so I decided to end the madness. I held up my hand and cleared my throat as loudly as possible. “I don’t think this is very productive, let’s steer the conversation back to what’s important.” Whatever that was.

“You’re right,” Dave said. “We ask that Mr. Vaughn keep himself squeaky clean for a few weeks. Is that too much to ask?”

“No,” Doofus said. “Look, I know I screwed up. But what happened between me and Orla was nothing. I promise you I won’t screw up again.”

Taylor dropped his head and rolled his eyes. I was pretty sure I was the only one who saw that. And since there really wasn’t more to discuss, I was about to wrap up the meeting, but Clay decided to get in on the action.

“Son, you’re nearly thirty. Isn’t it time to find a nice woman and stop these shenanigans?”

“I’m twenty-seven.”

Clay frowned as if he were about to take away Doofus’s puppy dog. “You need to smarten up. All your teammates are settling down, and instead of doing that, our captain is screwing around with teammates’ wives. That’s not a good look. What you need is a nice woman to keep you straight and repair that image of yours.”

“That’s a great idea. I’ll look into it,” he said about as sincerely as my mother when she claimed she’d forgotten about my high school graduation when I’d only reminded her ten times.

Clay glanced over at me and in a split second his eyes lit up. What was that all about? Before I knew what was happening, he was telling everyone his great idea.

“I’ve got it. I have a solution to this problem, and it involves Ms. Bowman. She’s single, and you’re single, Mr. Vaughn. I think the two of you would make a great couple. See? Now our captain—former captain—problem is solved.”

Chapter Six

Jill

“No way,” Jeremy and I said in unison. For once, we agreed on something. There was no way I was going to date him. He was a total jerk who thought he was funny when he clearly wasn’t, and worse still, slept with his teammates’ wives. Sure, he was hot and had an amazing ass, but that couldn’t make up for everything else that he lacked. Like integrity. Good decision-making skills. A brain.

“I don’t see what the problem is. You can both get to know one another and see where this romance takes you,” Clay said with a smile.

Did he think he was some matchmaker? “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested,” I said, hoping that I was leaving no room for doubt.

“And she’s not my type,” Doofus added.

Why had that statement stung? He got a dirty look for saying it. Of course, he wasn’t my type either, but for him to suggest that I wasn’t his? For one, I was far too good for him. I was also too smart for him.

“How would either of you possibly know that,” Clay said. “Why not give it a chance? Tell you what, while Mr. Vaughn is in his self-imposed isolation, perhaps he should have dinner with Ms. Bowman at the team suite. They can be alone and get to know one another.”

Why did it feel like he was prostituting us both? Even the insinuation was unprofessional and grounds for a complaint I would win, but while I didn’t know Clay well, I knew that wasn’t his intention. He was legitimately trying to set us up. “That won’t be necessary.”

Clay’s face lit up. “Oh, do you have another idea?”

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