Page 187 of Scoring the Player
I glare at him, but it only makes his shit-eating grin spread.
“Pay up.” He turns to Ari. “Told you that press conference would score him a date.”
“Just to be clear, we’re talking about Salem Jones?” Liz asks.
I shake my head, then nod.
“Uh, did I drop? Can you all still hear me?” Liz asks.
“My bad, Liz. Yeah, it’s Salem,” I answer.
“Okay,” Ari says with a smirk. “Maybe keep this under wraps for a few more days. I’m still due the next gift basket that comes in.”
For fuck’s sake.
“I’m happy for you,” Aiden speaks up. “You deserve to be happy.”
Happy, eh? I see Salem’s hurt face from this morning every other time I blink.
“Okay. If Aiden’s not getting fired”—I move to stand—“then I gotta go.”
“Wait. We need a plan—” Coach insists.
“Sorry, Coach. I’ll support whatever you all come up with, but I need to go.”
I seemissed calls from Cat. I shut my car door and hit her back.
“Hey,” she answers. “Thanks for calling me back. The article?—”
“It’s bullshit, but Ari’s handling it. Listen, Cat, I think I messed up with Salem. Me and the new assistant coach have history. It’s not like the articles claim, though.”
She sighs. “Oh, hon, I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, me too. Check on him. Okay?”
“Of course. And I’ll give Ari a call to discuss the team’s stance and come up with a joint statement for you.”
“Thanks.”
“Obviously, I don’t know the details, but Salem’s reasonable. Maybe just give it time?”
I may not be good at the relationship thing, but I know time isn’t how I fix this.
CHAPTER 44
SALEM
“Ay, force him to pass. Step up!” I yell to Ezekiel.
San Antonio’s point guard sold the drive hard. Ezekiel sags forward, feeding right into the setup, and the guy drives straight for Zeke’s chest. He sells the contact, catching two free throws.
“C’mon!” I shout.
Zeke shrugs. “Chill, man.”
“I’ll chill when you step up and stop giving the opps so much cushion.”
“Man, whatever.”
