Page 84 of Stepping Up to the Plate

I make a note to return the texts and calls from my parents and brother later after I get something to eat and maybe nap. I don't have any messages from Lola since she told me goodnight. We didn't have our usual before-bed chat, so I don't know what she is up to today. It was weird sleeping without her, but I crashed before I had the chance to tell her I was home and invite her to join me.

The group chat with Kent and Robby has blown up, which isn't atypical. What is out of the ordinary is a 9-1-1 message from Molly to meet her at her office ASAP. I’m not sure if this is about what happened last night, but I have a sinking feeling it is.

When I get to Green & Kinser, the receptionist rushes me into Molly's office, where I am met by her, my agent, Tyler, and his junior agent, Macy. The latter gives me a sympathetic smile while Tyler looks annoyed and Molly appears angry.

“Okay, I'm here. I'm tired. Let's get this emergency meeting over with,” I state.

With a roll of her eyes and no context, Molly displays pictures on her wall monitor. Due to the dim lighting, it takes me a minute to understand what they are. When I realize what I’m seeing, my stomach drops.

Four images dance across my vision – all from last night. One has me standing behind Mandi while she is rigged up. The second is me kneeling beside her on the ground when I untied her. The third is me holding her in my lap in the aftercare section. The last – and potentially most damning – shows me with my hands on her shoulder, peering down at her in what appears to be a loving way.

“Fuck,” I curse under my breath. "Where did you get these?"

“They were sent to me by a media contact," Molly replies, irritated. “They hit the press this morning.”

"What?” I shout. “These are out?! Why didn't you stop them?”

“Excuse me? I didn't receive them untilafterthey were already out, and reporters wanted a comment. Why didn't you not cheat on your girlfriend in a sex club?” Molly grouses.

I recoil back at her accusation. “Cheat? I didn't cheat on Lola. I would never cheat on Lola. Ever.”

Before Molly can shout at me again, Tyler jumps in. “Listen, we aren't here to judge. We understand the life of an athlete of your caliber.”

“I. Did. Not. Cheat,” I roar.

Tyler holds his hands up in surrender. Everyone is silent for a moment. With Molly angry and Tyler afraid to piss me off more, Macy takes over.

“We believe you, Miller,” she says, giving Molly a pointed glare when she scoffs. “Why don't you tell us what is going on in these pictures?”

I give my team a high-level overview of what happened. I can't go into much detail for confidentiality reasons, but they get the gist. Molly seems relieved that I didn't cheat on her new favorite client, while Tyler appears disappointed the story isn’t juicier.

“Shit, I need to talk to Cole. Someone needs to tell Ma–the member. She's been through enough, and now naked pictures of her are circulating,” I say.

“You can't see her face in any of them. The focus of the images is you,” Molly assures me, not that it is much of a consolation.

At the same time, Tyler comments, “You can barely see any good stuff, anyway.” That earns him a scowl from everyone in the room. I text Cole and Declan, who are livid both over the club’s security breach as well as on behalf of Mandi and me. A full investigation has been launched. I have a sneaking suspicion that the arrogant asshole, Craig, was involved somehow.

Once I know my co-owners are on the case, I turn to my team, and we discuss the plan to tame the media circus. I spend over an hour listening and strategizing with Molly, and Macy provides good insight, specifically related to my endorsement deals. The Songbird’s PR manager is conferenced in, and we all agree I should spend the next few days if not weeks lying low. People didn’t care much about me before but finding out I own a sex club is going to increase their interest.

The team and Molly are putting out a joint statement that what happens in the private life of players is no one's business. It isn't my favorite wording, but my personal statement also includes my commitment to my sport and partner. I am hopeful that will quell any infidelity rumors, but I doubt it will help much. Club Hedone has already emailed our members about the breach of the rules and released a statement regarding the investigation, which calls for privacy for affected members.

When I am finally able to leave, it is long past lunch and I am famished. As I wait for a to-go order from a nearby food truck, I finally sift through my messages. They are all about the incident.

9:40 AM

Kent

Good boy Miller finally made a headline. Have you seen this? [link to article]

Robby

I'm going to reserve judgment until I talk to you, but just know if Carina asks me to, I will kick your ass. I can't imagine you would do this to Lola after everything that went down with her ex, but if you did…

He's damn right I wouldn't. Even if she hadn't been cheated on, there is no world in which I would touch someone other than Lola. Since the day those pretty doe eyes peered into mine, I haven't even thought about another woman. She's it for me.

2:16 PM

Me

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