Page 70 of The Fine Line
Caroline lets out a sharp, humorless laugh. “I thought you said you couldn’t fire me.”
“We wouldn’t fire you,” Amy says. “We’d… transfer you. Until this blows over.”
“Transfer me? What does that mean?”
“The Storm’s broadcasts are managed by a parent company within the regional sports network?—”
“Central Texas Sports,” I cut in. “I know.”
“Right,” Amy nods. “We have options?—”
“The Storm is the only hockey affiliate,” I say.
“Yes… that’s true.”
Caroline’s head pulls back. “You’d move me to cover a different sport?”
Amy purses her lips. “Well?—”
“Yes,” Linda cuts in. “That’s exactly what we’d do. It separates you from Rhett. It keeps the Storm brand intact. We’d reposition you under another sport—looks like a positive move publicly. Meanwhile, we’d work with Rhett on media training.”
Caroline exhales sharply. “So, let me get this straight. You’re saying my options are to marry Rhett Sutton or tank my career by narrating free throw contests and minor league baseball trivia for the next three years until you determine that the public no longer remembers or cares who may have been between my legs?”
“Caroline,” Bear groans. “Jesus Christ.”
“Am I wrong, Dad?” she fires back.
“No, you’re not,” he admits. “But it doesn’t make it any easier to hear.”
“You’re telling me?—”
“But, unfortunately, consequences arise from the actions that put us in compromising situations.”
She recoils. “Dad…” Her voice cracks. “Nothinghappened?—”
“Well—like everyone here has been over, Caroline—it doesn’t matter. The fact is that you were with him. And everyone knows.”
Her lip trembles. She stares at him, hurt written all over her face.
I’ve never hated myself more.
Linda clears her throat. “To answer your question bluntly, yes. Those are your options.”
Caroline nods slowly, her mind clearly racing.
I do nothing.
“I’m going to need time to think,” she whispers.
“Of course,” Linda says.
She gathers her things. I still do nothing.
Then Linda adds, “You can have until midnight.”
We both freeze.
“Until… midnight?” Caroline asks. “Tonight?”
