Page 1 of Hate the Game
Prologue
***Savannah***
Adjusting my pencil skirt and matching blazer, I looked across the large desk separating myself and Marla Knight and took a deep breath. “I had a whole speech prepared. I was going to tell you how amazing I would be at writing an amazing article about any Texas football team in the state but recent events have changed my mind.”
Marla, a beautiful woman in her fifties with a sharp black bob and eyes so fierce I oftentimes wanted to look away, leaned forward, resting her elbows on the desk. “You’re talking about the game between Texas and USC that injured two of your brothers?”
I wasn’t surprised she knew. I came from a famous football family and the Ford name preceded me everywhere I went. People not interested in football royalty even knew about thatgame. USC played dirty. My brothers still weren’t sure if they’d play again. It was early in the recovery process but it wasn’t looking good for at least one of them. Their dreams were hanging in the balance and I couldn’t think of anything other than revenge.
“Yes. I’m going to be honest with you because what I have planned isn’t going to be pretty and if you’re not into it, I may as well not start with you here at the Varsity Ledger. I know that the yearly article y’all publish is important and I want to be a part of it, but I want to veer away from the typical angle. Instead of a piece about a footballer’s good heart and all that crap I want to take USC’s football program down a peg.” I took a breath. “I want to take down The Apex Three.”
I waited to see Marla’s face harden as she pointed me out of her office but she just slowly smiled. She sat back in her huge leather desk chair and tapped her fingers on the armrests while I waited to see how she’d respond.
“Let me tell you a very short story. Once upon a time I was a young and hopeful fool who fell in love with an up and coming coach. He ditched me when I had to transfer schools to be closer to my family and it broke my heart. I’ve hated his smug face ever since. Carrington’s football program has been untouchable for years, though. I’ve never been able to get the revenge I want.” Her smile widened. “If you’re telling me that you want to go in there and take Carrington out at the knees, I’ll give you the partnership right now.”
I sat up straighter. I hadn’t expected to get anywhere with her so hearing her say she’d give me the article was crazy. “You’re serious?”
She nodded. “I know Coach Carrington, though, and he runs a tight ship. It won’t be easy.”
My pulse raced and I had to scoot to the edge of my chair as the excitement bubbled inside of me, threatening to flow over.“My main targets would be his son, Jax, Cole West, and Ryder Stone. I want them ruined for what they did and who they are. It wouldn’t hurt my feelings to take the coach down with them. They’re all guilty.”
“You’re a little pitbull, aren’t you? I like it. You’re going to have to turn it down if you want to get under that team skin and peel it back. No way you can walk in there with hatred burning in your eyes and accomplish anything. They’ll shut you out so fast.”
I tilted my head to the side and put on a sweet but vapid face. I softened my voice and even bit my lip for emphasis. “What hatred? I’m just here to write a puff piece and have a really good time.”
She raised her eyebrows and then threw her head back and cackled. “Oh, God. That’s beautiful. You’re just innocent enough to pull that shit off. I love it. Take my card. I have to process the paperwork, but you have the partnership. I’ll also go ahead and set up a liaison at USC. Go practice your sweet southern belle thing and be waiting on my call. I’m telling you now, Savannah Lane Ford. You’re going to be the biggest name in sports journalism if you pull this off.”
I stood up and straightened my back until it nearly hurt. “S. Lane. I don’t want any connection with the Ford name showing up.”
“If I thought those boys were any different than their coach, I’d almost feel bad for them.” Marla stood up and held her hand out for me to shake. “I wasn’t sure what to expect from you. Of course, my team researched everyone who applied and they brought that nasty business with your professor to my attention. Lucky for us that I’m smart enough to read through all that misogynistic rhetoric. Take back your power, S. Lane.”
“I’m planning on it.”
***Savannah***
To say I was surprised by what I found waiting for me in the USC Trojans football locker room would be the understatement of the year. Dozens of bare asses stared back at me, some hairier than I thought possible, some dotted with acne, and one with what I’d heard my brothers call a dingleberry. There were also asses that didn’t make me want to die a little, but it was hard to focus on those with the rest hovering so close by. I was waiting for someone to jump out and scream that I was being punked, à la Ashton Kutcher from the 2000s, but it didn’t happen. Instead, one by one, the entire roster of players stood up and turned around, faces falling when they saw it was me standing there.
I wanted to crawl into a hole and die or run off a cliff. Anything but continue standing there, pretending I wasn’t mortified.S. Lane, the way I was choosing to identify myself in the new phase of life, wasn’t easily embarrassed by bare asses. She took it on the nose and flirted her butt off.S. Lanewas a badass journalist pretending to be a simple girl with simple interests and desires.She was harmless. As harmless as a praying mantis moments before she bit her lovers’ head off.
I cocked my hip out to the side and twirled a piece of my hair around my finger. “Well, hell, boys. Do you greet all your fans like this?”
Jax Carrington, golden boy Coach’s son, stepped forward as if his attitude alone had conjured a towel into existence. He hadn’t even finished tying it around his waist before he was shouting at me. “Get out! What are you doing in here? This area of the—”
I strutted forward, my cowboy boots clicking across the floor. “Don’t get shy now, sweetheart. Not after flashing me that cute ass and the strongest looking thighs I’ve ever seen.”
“Who the fuck are you?”
I circled him and trailed my finger along his shoulders, very strong shoulders if I was noticing things I shouldn’t be. “I’m S. Lane from theVarsity Ledger. I was invited here and I’ve never been happier to have accepted an invite.”
Cole West stepped forward, using only his hands to cover what looked like a very large package. “You’re S. Lane?”
I flipped my hair over my shoulder and turned my attention on him. “Well, aren’t you adorable?”
He looked around like he wasn’t sure he wasn’t losing his mind. “Excuse me?”
I forced myself to look away and move on to a different guy on the team, not one of the three that I’d left Texas to take down. The new guy grinned when I tapped his chest and flagrantly uncovered his penis. I made a point of looking between his and Cole’s to take him down a peg before moving on.
“IamS. Lane. You can call me Savannah. Or Sav, if we get a little closer.” I winked at Jax. “I’m supposed to be interviewing a few of you but I didn’t bring a pencil or even a notepad. I guess it’ll have to wait. What could we get up to in the meantime?”
