Page 20 of Player Next Door

“The kid I’ve never met. We can use the other skaters, but not this kid nor her cheating father.”

“Fine. Just be ready to get into your phone tomorrow. I do hope you at least remember the password to that.”

* * *

The next morning, John showed up with Marnie. He handed her the working phone. Reese’s hands shook as she glanced at the main screen. No password. That had been stupid, but this wasn’t exactly the best phone she’d ever had. It was the crappiest one her mother could find, and it also happened to be the cheapest. Fran didn’t even want her to have a phone, but relented when Reese’s father—and her coach, Brian—demanded it.

Reese opened the text message app and scrolled down, searching for Jen’s name. They weren’t best friends, so it took some searching. When she finally found Jen’s name, she tapped it. There were only a couple of dozen texts over the few years Reese had had the phone. Almost all the messages were from Jen. The only texts from Reese were the ones the other woman had used to ruin Reese’s life.

How convenient.

Reese handed the phone back to John. He scanned the texts quickly, then took screenshots.

“Okay, this is good. It’s not going to solve all our problems, but it’s a start. I’m going to have these messages downloaded, then our PR team will distribute them as they see fit.”

Reese let out a breath she felt she’d been holding for days. “So I wait a day or two and life goes back to normal?”

John’s brows furrowed. “Back to normal?”

“Yes. This will exonerate me? I can go back to the way things were?”

Reese glanced over at Marnie who had pursed her lips and was now looking at the ground. Reese turned her attention back to John who didn’t look impressed, not that he ever looked impressed.

“You said some horrible things. They are documented. Just because Jennifer allegedly started it and said some terrible things of her own, your responses to her were…not great. And your non-apology call didn’t help. These texts will give us some breathing room, and somewhere down the line people may forget about you, but this is the kind of shit that sticks. We’re going to have to do a lot to rehabilitate your image. I mean,a lot.”

“But I thought this was all I needed to do.”

“It’s not that simple. You realize all your endorsements have dropped you, right?”

Reese’s brown eyes widened. “When did this happen?”

“A few last night. The rest this morning. The call you had with Jennifer was a bridge too far.”

“What about our investors?”

“I’m working on that,” Marnie said. “So far, they’re still on board, but it’s all wait and see. That’s why we need to move fast on this. The plan is to release these texts in response, and then have you keep a low profile for a few months. Maybe six. Then we’ll see about landing you an interview with some big-name journalist so that you can clear the air. And we’ll rehabilitate from there.”

“Six months?” The words were like a knife to her gut that just kept twisting. At least she had her Crush athletic-wear line to focus on. “But I can still work, right? Go to the office every day?”

Marnie and John exchanged looks. “I’m afraid not. We think that for the time being, you should step down. Just a temporary leave of absence.”

Reese shook her head. “No, no, no! What am I supposed to do all day? I’m not used to sitting around and doing nothing.”

“Well, any vacation places you’ve always wanted to visit? I recommend that you start there. Why not take a trip through Europe?” John said. “You’re not as recognizable there. Or Asia. South America?”

“How about Antarctica or Greenland,” Reese said bitterly.

Marnie walked over and gave her a hug. “Look, before you know it, this will be over. Six months will fly by.”

“How will it fly by when I have absolutely nothing to do?”

“Let me put something together. We’ll plan a vacation for you.”

“And who would I go with?”

All eyes fell on Cam. Reese had many acquaintances, but her list of friends was pretty short. It was basically Cam, and he had a fiancée he wanted to spend time with.

“No,” Reese said when Cam was about to offer. “You don’t need to babysit me for half a year. I’m a big girl. I can find things to do. Will I be allowed to volunteer at my old skating club, or is that too much?”

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