Page 88 of Intercept My Heart

“And you think she is right for you? Oh, come on. All she has ever done is lie and run from her problems. You are being a fool, and it’s only going to blow up in your face. I love you enough to wait for you to learn things the hard way, but I won’t wait forever.” I grew more and more irritated as the conversation continued. Baby girl had to have bumped her head because she wasn’t picking up what I was putting down.

“Aye, I’m gonna head out of here. I’ll give you a month to find a new spot, and after that, I’m done. Please don’t make this any harder than it should be. You only know one side of me, and I would hate to introduce you to the other side. Take care of yourself, Harper.”With that, I walked out of her life and her office. Now her father wanted to speak to me. Mentally, I prepared myself for the bullshit waiting on the other side of the door.

“Come in!”

I took a deep breath while whispering a small prayer.

“What’s up, Coach. You sent a message saying there was an urgent matter you needed to talk to me about. How can I help?” My face remained emotionless because I was too busy reading his body language.

“Hello, son. Thank you for coming on such short notice.” He stood from his desk to greet me. “You may have a seat. This won’t take long.” I decided to go along with it because I wasn’t planning on being here long either.

“What can I do for you?” I repeated my original question.

“You seem to be in a hurry, son. Am I interrupting something?”

“Not at all. However, I’m not a fan of small talk, so I prefer to get right to business.”

“Fair enough. I have a friend of mine who is on his way up. We can get started as soon as he—” A knock interrupted him. “I guess I spoke too soon.” He got up from his desk to answer the door. The two men greeted one other before the man stepped into the office.

“How are you doing, young man? My name is Anthony Howard.” He held his hand out to me, but something about him rubbed me wrong. His appearance reminded me of those corrupt attorneys you saw on those law shows. “Very well then. Have you already briefed him on why he’s here?”

“No. I wanted to wait for you to get here before we got into the topic. We can get started now,” Mr. Monarch urged.

“I’ll let you take the floor first, and I’ll fill in if there are any other questions.” My jaw flexed as they continued to talk as if I weren’t in the room.

“Money, I have considered you to be a very dear friend and son of mine. For many years, I have watched you grow and thrive on and off of the field.” My eyebrows raised because it seemed like he was giving me a termination speech.

“It has come to my attention that you have chosen to end your relationship with my daughter. While I respect your decision to choose what you feel is right for you, I’m not in agreement with how it has affected my child. You see, Harper is my pride and joy. My sons have grown to become fantastic men, but there is something so special about a daughter. I’m sure you know what I mean by that. My job is to protect my child and her interests, no matter what it takes. I’m sure you understand my plight.”

“Not really. Your daughter is a grown-ass woman, and I’m not someone you need to protect her from.”

“I thought the same thing until my daughter called me, crying hysterically. I don’t take too kindly to my daughter being hurt. I realize she is a grown woman, as you so eloquently put it,but I’m still her protector.” Mr. Monarch passed me an envelope with a bunch of paperwork in it.

“What is all this for?”

“In those documents, you will find the details and records of the traffic stop you were involved in during your senior year at Douglasville. I’m sure you recall that night. When you and your friend were caught with drugs and alcohol in your vehicle.” My hands gripped the paper tightly while he spoke. This man was really going to try and blackmail me.

“What does my traffic stop have to do with anything? From what you advised, everything was handled.” I set the envelope back on the desk, then folded my arms across my chest.

“Yes and no. You see, I stuck my neck out and paid off the officers that night because I wanted to protect someone whom I considered to be a son. It was a very large price to pay, might I add. However, since you are planning to leave my daughter, I can no longer consider you a son. I’m sure you can understand. I have photos along with the bodycam footage to implicate you in possession of illegal substances with the intent to sell. That isn’t very noble or becoming of someone who is being considered for the Hall of Fame.”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Oh, I’m very serious. I have connections everywhere, and all I have to do is make one phone call, and you’ll be headed to trial for bribing a police officer and possession of drugs. Your legacy will be tarnished, and you will be known as a drug dealer. I’m sure that won’t look good on your records, nor will you be able to keep that nice cushy coaching job of yours. My daughter also has videos of the two of you participating in illicit sex with a stripper while supplying them with drugs.”

“I have never supplied them with a mothafuckin thing!” My nostrils flared as he attempted to railroad me.

“Oh, no? Is this your bathroom with lines of coke on the counter?”

When he placed the photos in front of me, I stared at them in disbelief. I’d never witnessed Porschea doing drugs in my home. There were a few times when I noticed her pupils dilated, but I never thought for a second she was doing all of this in my house. As I sifted through the photos, there were a few of her passed out on the bathroom floor. There was another photo of her snorting coke off my dick. From the looks of it, I must have been passed out. However, to the outside world, this would look as if we were doing drugs together.

“How the hell did you get these? I don’t have any cameras in my bedroom or bathroom.” My trigger finger twitched as I brewed in my seat. This dirty mothafucka must have been plotting on me for a while now, but the question was why?

“I have my ways. That’s all you need to know for now. I realize this is a lot for you to take in, but I can make all of this go away.” I chuckled angrily when the pieces began to come together.

“At what cost?”

“You need to get back with Harper and continue with your nuptials. My daughter has been patient with you, but my patience has worn thin. You will be getting married in a few months. Harper will happily welcome you back, and you will live happily ever after. If you agree to do this, I will make all of your problems go away. Anthony is one of my attorneys, and he has drawn up an agreement for us. If you agree to go through with the wedding, I will agree never to use this information against you. This allows us both to get what we want.” The fat fuck smiled as if we were making a business deal of some sort. Instead, he was threatening to set me up and ruin my life if I refused to marry his daughter. This felt like something youwould see in a movie. Never in a million years did I see things going this way.

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