Page 93 of The Official Problem
He couldn’t. If he looked at Cole, if he saw the disappointment on his face, he’d crack wide open. His chest already felt like it was caving in.
“Obviously, these allegations are false. Slander. I’ve already got a lawyer looking into our options, but we do need to figure out how to navigate this given your relationship?—”
“Not false,” Kieran murmured.
“I think… wait—what did you just say?”
Kieran finally looked up. Matthieu, pacing behind Cole, froze mid-step. His eyes locked on Kieran. “I…” He couldn’t say it. The words caught in his throat, no matter how hard he tried to force them out.
“Kieran,” Cole said slowly, firmly. “What do you mean, not false?” His voice didn’t waver, but Kieran felt the tension in the press of his fingertips, now stilled on his knee.
“It wasn’t a bribe,” Kieran said finally. “I hadn’t even told Matthieu. I’m sorry. I didn’t think about how it would look if someone found out. I just wanted to help.”
Matthieu’s eyes went wide. “Help? What did you do?”
Kieran swallowed hard against the dryness in his throat. “A week ago, when you were in Montreal… I went to the hospital, and Oakcrest. I paid off your mother’s debt—the past due bills, the ones about to go to collections. All of it.”
“But… Kieran. That was almost…”
“Let me guess,” Cole cut in, rubbing his forehead with the heel of his palm. “Three hundred thousand dollars?”
Matthieu nodded, exhaling hard. “How did you even know about it?”
“I overheard you talking to Julie after the funeral. Matthieu, I couldn’t do nothing. I have all this cash sitting in a bank account I don’t touch. It just piles up.”
Matthieu’s face went blank. “So what? You went through my mail?”
“Julie sent everything to me.”
Cole shot to his feet. “I can’t believe this.” His earlier softness gone. “You made a financial transaction that size to a referee’s family member and didn’t think to tell your agent? Your financial advisor? Anyone? Do you understand what you’ve done?”
The words hit like a slap.
“I didn’t think anyone would find out. Howdidthis even get out?”
“Jesus, Kieran.” Cole paced, one hand on his hip, the other gripping his phone like he might hurl it at the wall. “You’re the face of the fucking franchise. You think you can throw that kind of money around and no one will say anything? I’m sure someone in medical billing just cashed in on a ridiculous payday for leaking that information to the media.”
“That’s got to be illegal, right? A HIPAA violation or something.”
“Not as illegal as sports bribery,” Cole snapped back.
“It wasn’t a bribe.”
“That’s going to be almost impossible to prove.”
His words hung in the deafening silence between them. Kieran had done plenty of things over his career to piss off Cole, most of it on purpose. He’d never heard him sound this disappointed, this hopeless. It hurt more than it should.
“I can’t do this,” Matthieu muttered. “I don’t know what the hell to do, but I can’t stand here while my whole livelihood gets flushed down the toilet.”
He didn’t wait for a reply—just spun on his heel and stormed upstairs. Kieran hesitated. Was this one of those times Matthieu needed space to process? Or one where he had to chase him down and grovel? Most likely the latter.
Cole’s phone blared in his hand. He scowled down at the screen. “I need to take this. Make sure he doesn’t do anything stupid—like run his mouth—until I figure out a plan.”
Kieran took the stairs two at a time and found Matthieu in the bedroom, stuffing the clothes he’d slowly brought over into a bag like he didn’t need them here anymore. The sight punched the air from his lungs. History was repeating itself, and Kieran couldn’t breathe.
“Matty…”
“Did you even think, Kieran?” Matthieu whirled on him. “Did you think for one second what that decision would do to me?”
