Page 49 of Hot Route
As I log in to my email account, Janine comes up to my desk. Her normal, kind expression is blank. “Madison,” she says. “Jacob would like to see you in his office.”
Fuck. Fuck.Fuck.Jacob knows. There’s no other reason he’d be calling me to his office this early in the day. But I haven’t broken any company policies, so why does he want to see me?
“Okay,” I say, nodding at her once as I stand. She puts her hand on my shoulder and squeezes as I pass by her, headed toward what could be the end of my career before it even had a chance to begin.
I step off the elevator and head toward the reception desk outside Jacob’s office. “Hello, Madison. Nice to see you today,” Dani says in greeting. I paste on a fake smile, but I’m terrified right now.
“Hi,” I reply. “Janine said Jacob wanted to see me in his office.”
She nods once before picking up her phone to let him know I’ve arrived. “They’re ready for you,” she says to me, pointing over her shoulder. “You can go right in.”
They?As in, more than just Jacob?
I open the door, walking in and closing it behind me. I’m shocked when I look up and meet a familiar pair of eyes. Bradysits across from Jacob, one ankle crossed over his knee. A smug look covers his face as he stares back at me.
“Take a seat, Madison,” Jacob says.
I nod before sitting down in the only available chair. My whole body is shaking, but I’m doing my best to exude confidence. I thought I was getting called in here about the photos of Blaze, but what does that have to do with Brady? I don’t have to wait long for an answer before Jacob lays it all out for me.
“It’s been brought to my attention that you’ve been involved in some inappropriate situations here at Tailgate Media.” I stare at him, completely confused, waiting for him to elaborate. My heart pounds in my chest and blood rushes to my ears as he continues. “I wanted you to be in here while Brady explained everything. I don’t know the whole story, but I’ve been clued in on some of it.” He looks at Brady. “Start from the beginning, please.”
I know that look. It’s the one he used to use when he wanted people to see him as a victim. It’s all fucking fake, but Jacob doesn’t know that.
“Well,” Brady begins, “I’ve known Madison most of my life. We were in a relationship in high school, so when I saw her at Connor Paul’s house for the podcast, I thought it would be nice to go out together and catch up.” He looks at me, then to Jacob. “We were having a nice dinner. Until Madison propositioned me.”
“What?” I yell, shock radiating from my words. “That’s not true!”
Jacob gives me a stern look. “Let him finish, please.”
“Thank you,” Brady says before continuing. “She asked me to go back to my place so I could tie her up. She wanted to rekindle our old flame, but I told her I didn’t feel comfortable with the things she was asking for. I’m a gentleman. I kindly declined heroffer and she lost it. She started raising her voice and made a giant scene before walking out. You can ask anyone who was at Donatello’s that night. They’ll confirm my story.”
What a crock of shit. Brady Jones is the literal opposite of a gentleman. He’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. That’s all he’ll ever be, but he’s always gotten away with it, so I know this is not going to end well for me.
He hammers the story home with a final, crushing blow. “I just don’t think you want someone like Madison making clients uncomfortable if this is a regular habit of hers,” he says to Jacob, a look of innocence masking his face.
Jacob takes a deep breath, exhaling harshly before addressing Brady. “I am so sorry. This behavior is not something we allow here. Thank you for bringing it to my attention.”
Brady nods, reaching forward to shake Jacob’s hand before exiting the room. I’m trembling with everything I want to say. I want to scream that Brady is lying. That he was the one who hit on me and got mad when I said I didn’t want more than friendship. But I’m trying to stay professional, so I sit and wait for Jacob to speak.
“Madison, I don’t know if all of that is true, but I can’t have this kind of drama here. We just went through it with our last reporter and even if Brady is fabricating some of his story, word travels fast in this industry. I can’t have the reputation of a company that I’ve worked so hard for tarnished by disgruntled clients.”
Tears well up in my eyes. I know what’s coming before he even says it. But I wait for it anyway.
“I appreciate all your hard work, but we have to let you go. I hope you understand.”
And there it is. My future, ruined by someone who could care less about how hard I had to fight to get where I am. I want to rip this entire office to shreds. To take Jacob by the shoulders andshake some sense into him. For a moment, I consider trying to defend myself. But then I realize it doesn’t matter. His mind is made up. Even if he believed my side of the story, the risk isn’t worth it for him. Once Brady tells other clients that Tailgate is allowing this type of behavior from employees, it’s only a matter of time before sponsorships start getting pulled.
I stand, shoulders slumped in defeat before reaching out my hand for him to shake. “Thank you for the opportunity,” I say sadly before turning and walking out of his office.
THIRTY-SEVEN
BLAZE
I flyup the driveway as fast as I can, heading for the house. I’ve been texting and calling Mads all day and she hasn’t answered. It’s unlike her not to at least check in, so her radio silence has me in a panic. I even texted Dia to see if she had spoken to her, but her efforts to contact Mads ended the same way mine have.
We play Tennessee at home in two days, so today’s practice was a long one. By the time I arrived at the room that we use to watch practice tape and take notes on the day’s performance, I was sick to my stomach with worry. I had to sit through a meeting with my wide receivers coach that seemed to go on for hours before I ran like a bat out of hell to my truck and broke every traffic law on my way home.
I’ve barely shifted into park before I’m flinging the door open and running inside. “Mads!” I yell in a rush as soon as I’m inside. The house is dark and eerily quiet. Something is wrong.
