Page 30 of Making the Call
“Go… do your thing. We’ll catch up later.” Dani’s stern voice makes me think she could hold her own in my line of work, and I can’t help but smile.
* * *
Sunday rolls into Monday with countless meetings, planning, and all the things necessary to get the season started right. I’ve been an assistant coach or have worked for the team for years but stepping into the head coach position takes things to a whole new level. The biggest difference is a shit-ton more meetings. I didn’t get blindsided, but I completely understand why there’s a Murphy’s bed at my office. I refuse to use it because my condo’s only ten minutes away from the stadium. Though, I may change my mind at some point.
I manage to both talk and text with Dani a few times throughout the day, but nothing compares to the real thing. I feel like a giant asshole for even considering a relationship at the start of the season. But for some reason, I can’t make myself walk away either.
After our coach and coordinator meeting, I catch up on emails while waiting for my scheduled meeting with Campbell Beck. Now that I’ve had a chance to calm down and see how the story’s played out over the week, I feel confident in how this meeting will go. I’m expecting him along with his agent, our GM, and Tanya Hart, the Rainier Renegades lead PR rep. Beck’s the first to arrive. I know better than to talk about anything pertaining to this circumstance without everyone else in the room. But I stand to greet him anyway.
Cam walks into the room and immediately shakes my hand. Despite the current situation he’s landed himself in, he holds his head high and as usual, is humble about his actions. “Thanks for coming in,” I offer and gesture to a seat at the table across the room from my desk. Before he can respond, his agent, Pete Ward, and Tanya walk in together.
“Wish it were under different circumstances,” Cam states quietly, so that only I can hear. I can’t tell if he’s upset we all have to be involved in this, or he’s talking about his recent nuptials.
Before I can say anything in response, Tony enters the room and states, “Let’s get started.” He looks around the room for any objections before motioning to the conference table I have set up along one side of my office.
My assistant Harlow set up the conference table to make sure we had everything we would need. She’s been a lifesaver since I stepped into this position. Since she was Ray’s assistant for the past ten years, she knows the ins and outs of this business, and I couldn’t imagine starting this season without her by my side.
When we’re all seated, it’s Cam who speaks first. I’d prepared to begin the meeting, but this doesn’t surprise me. Cam’s a straightforward guy and won’t skate around any issues. It’s part of the reason I respect him the way I do, despite his current situation.
“Before we begin, I’d like to apologize for having to take this meeting in the first place. Yes, I married Hillary in Vegas. Yes. Drinking was involved and… Yes… social media took things to an entirely new level.”
Ya think?The media got wind of this and made it a total shit show. It’s been all they can do to keep it on the newsreel and contemplate just how much of a spectacle Campbell’s made of his life, not to mention, our franchise. With this being Rainier’s first season with me as head coach, and a few players still up in the air for how we will fill our roster in the next few weeks, we’ve been the talk of the league in more ways than we’ve wanted.
Cam’s agent Pete starts to interrupt, but Campbell holds up his hand to keep the attention of the room. “Look. I know I could’ve handled things differently, and I’ll take that responsibility.” He pauses to take a breath and look around the room, gauging our reactions. He slowly shakes his head and looks me in the eye. “Look, sir…”
Tanya can’t hold her tongue any longer. “Did you really think you could take a quick trip to Vegas and not have the world hear about it?”
“Son,” Tony interrupts, “you know Mike runs a tight ship around here. As the owner, he doesn’t approve of the Renegades’ reputation being slung through the mud just a week before the preseason starts.”
Pete interjects before anyone can say more, “If you’ll give Cam a chance to explain, you’ll see there’s more to the story than what appeared on Hillary’s social media feed.”
Well, this oughta be good.I can’t imagine what he can say that disputes what Hillary posted on her newsfeed. He appeared to be caught with his pants down, and her claims of him being off the market left little to the imagination.
Cam clears his throat. “Contrary to popular belief, Hillary and I have dated exclusively for the past two years, so she isn’t just some fling. We’ve kept our relationship fairly quiet, except for personal friends and family so that she can have a life outside of being my significant other. We were tired of waiting for the right time and decided not to have a big fanfare wedding… So, we took a quick trip to Vegas. Unfortunately, we indulged in a bit of alcohol and might not have used our best judgement when it came to photo ops.”
I feel my eyebrows raise on their own accord as I listen to his story.Does he expect us to believe this shit?As Cam locks eyes with mine, I can tell I haven’t done a good job of schooling my features because he continues, “Yeah… Yeah… I know. That wasn’t the best way to let the world know.”You can say that again.
Cam shakes his head, and his features turn solemn. “Seriously, she thought she sent that photo to her best friends, instead of the world. Then my comment went viral about the fact I regret it was taken out of context.”
“What was left off the recording that went viral was our conversation prior to it as well as my words afterward. Reporters bombarded us right outside the hotel. Hillary had asked if I have any regrets, and I told her yes because I wished we’d done it sooner… The part recorded was when I made a comment about how I wish I would’ve told my mama beforehand because she’d be hurt I didn’t tell her before the world.” He grimaces.
“And how did that go for you?” Tanya snarks. She’s typically very professional, but I can tell she thinks she has better things she could be doing than dealing with Beck’s drama.
“Well…” He takes a deep breath. “Mama wasn’t happy she found out the way she did, but I know she’s happy for us.”
Tanya doesn’t say anything, but it’s clear from the expression on her face she agrees with his mother. I know Mama would’ve had a conniption fit. She wouldn’t care if I got married, but it’d definitely matter if she’s the last to know.God help Beck if his mother’s anything like mine.
Pete clears his throat to get the room’s attention. “Campbell takes full responsibility for his actions. He’s willing to go on the record to rectify this situation. You will also see he’s made plans to volunteer as well as visit local hospitals with his wife. These were in place long before the trip to Vegas, the only difference is now they’re married. He’s never done these trips with cameras, and it will stay that way. Hillary’s on board with no longer posting to social media on a whim, as well.” Cam’s face tightens at this comment. Obviously there have been words shared between them about this.
Pete continues, “Campbell’s been nothing but a team player since he stepped foot in our stadium.” He takes a moment to look at each of us in the room. Then he gathers some papers from his briefcase. “Here… Take a look at these. There is photo after photo of Cam working with underprivileged teens on their football skills, visiting sick children at the hospital, and pictures of Cam proposing to Hillary long before this trip to Vegas with a group of friends in the background.”
“Just how do you propose we spin this?” Tanya asks the room. “His video in Vegas and the social media frenzy Hillary’s photos created already made this situation a different story.”
Cam’s eyes tighten as his lips form a flat line. I’m not sure his teeth will hold out if he continues to flex and grind them the way his jaw’s ticking. He cuts a cold glance to Tanya, then to Pete. It’s taking everything in his power not to unleash his anger at her. Pete shakes his head slightly as if to heed a warning of his own.
Instead of holding him back, I find myself letting a question fly out of my mouth without permission. Maybe it’s my experience this week with Dani. Maybe it’s something else entirely, but the words are out before I can think it through much further. “Do you love her?”
The entire room turns to gape, as if I’ve just grown three heads. Maybe I have lost my mind? But I can’t see a man like Campbell Beck getting caught up in something like this, if his heart wasn’t in it.
