Page 4 of Great Pretender
The scandal slapped me in my face, andI could honestly say I saw my life flash before my eyes as my gaze was glued to an image of myself on the front page.Minutes later, the phone calls from Dad began, accompanied by a slew of messages.I’ve beenrunning around trying to fix the mess since.
When I realized I couldn’t do shit, I took tohiding out at my house like a teenaged boy who’d gotten himself in trouble.That’s exactly what I feel like; Not the thirty-year man I’m supposed to be.
Murray came by twenty minutes ago to check on me and give me the update from the office.
“Your father is pissed as fuck,” Murray states with a sure nod.
“I can’t remember shit, Murray,” I scoff.“You were at the bar. Can’t you help me to remember a little more?”
“We drank too much. That’s the answer,” Murray replies, opening his palms.“Curtis bought the last round of drinks; then he made that bet with you.”
That’s what he said before, but I don’t remember any damn bet.“Why did I accept the bet?”
“I don’t remember. I was too busy with the blonde sitting on my lap to babysit you.” He laughs.
I scrunch up a piece of paper and throw it at him.“Prick, I don’t need babysitting.Something made me slip up, and I want to know what it was.What the hell was it?”
“Chad, what does it matter? It’s not like you can take back the night.If you ask me, the whole thing happened because you went on that little abstinence hiatus, and you needed to let loose.Curtis’ yacht party was the perfect excuse to go wild.” He smirks and glances down at the phone still vibrating on the table.“Just answer the phone, man.Own up to the fact that you screwed up because you were drunk.Maybe he’ll understand.”
Murray is my right-hand man. We’ve been friends for a long time.Not as long as Piper and I, but he’s known me since high school, played on the same teams, and now we work together.
So, he should be well versed in understanding my father.
There’s no point trying to make me feel better because we both know there’ll be no understanding when it comes to that man.
“I have a bad feeling about this.” That’s an understatement since my gut is telling me this recent debacle will not be like previous times, and no,my old man will not care that I’ve been the saint I promised to be for close to eight months.That is actually what will make this recent shit so much worse than it already is.
There was nothing in the media about me for months, thenbam.
I glance over at the copy ofThe Enquirer, New York’s favorite tabloid, resting next to the phone.I picked it up on my way home.
Out of all the papers that featured last night’s activities, they were the most detailed in their coverage.At least the other tabloids left me with some dignity.The Enquirer, however, didn’t leave anything out.
Former Gladiator’s Quarterback Chad Holdsworth Strikes Again
That’s the headline, but I think people will be more drawn to the raunchy image of me standing on the boardwalk by the yacht with the two topless women in my arms. All the women are wearing is barely-there micro miniskirts and stilettos.
Their tits have been blurred out on the front page.Flip a few pages in, though, and they’re on full display.One of the women is Tiffany James, the cover girl of last month’sPlayboymagazine.I don’t know who the other woman is.
There are more pictures of Tiffany and me inside the newspaper.
The image I know for sure that got my father worked up was the full-frontal nude pic of me with Tiffany pressed up against the wall.
I think it’s pretty clear what I got up to.
AndI can’t fucking remember.
I woke up with the hangover from hell, and my damn head still hurts like I got hit with a four-by-four.Everything in my mind is a mess.
The phone stops ringing, but I know Dad will call again.We’ve been playing this game since I was sixteen.
“I’ll figure something out,” I state.
Murray’s brows almost disappear into his hairline. “Like what? The pictures don’t lie, man, and you know what those women are like.Especially Tiffany, who’s been trying to get in your bed for months.She’ll be selling some story to the papers.With her recentPlayboyventure, this is going to go on for weeks.”
He’s right. It will.
“I’ll have to think of some way to do damage control.” I’ve already spoken to PR, but there’s only so much they can do.They managed to pull some of the newspapers off sale, but the damage to my name has been done, and the seeds have been sown.
