The Love Triangle. Nic Tatano
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never see my name on the police blotter again. Finally, should my head coach decide to suspend or fine me, I would ask the players’ union to not challenge this as I will accept whatever punishment he thinks appropriate.”
The player moved toward an officer and shook his hand while handing him a check, then went back to the podium to take questions.
Kyle’s jaw hung open. “Sonofabitch. That was incredible.” He watched the rest of the news conference as his client politely took every single question, never dodging the issue.
***
Lexi smiled as she read the text.
Terrific job, thank you! Will call this evening.
-Kyle Caruso
She looked up as the football player, conservatively dressed in a gray three-piece suit, calmly took question after question from the media, whose hostility had been drained with the announcement of his self-imposed sentence. Whatever blood had been in the water had been washed out to sea by the man’s contrition. Number eighty-eight was now a human being who was sorry for his behavior. Very sorry.
She felt a hand lightly touch her forearm. “Excuse me, is this your handiwork?”
Lexi turned and found herself staring into the chest of a very tall man. She looked up and immediately recognized him as the veteran quarterback of the Jets, Jake Frost. “I’m his public relations person, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“Well, then, thank you for diffusing the situation and turning it into a positive.” He stuck out his hand. “Jake Frost.”
“Yeah, I know.”
“And you are?”
“Lexi Harlow.”
“How long have you been working with my teammate?”
“About four hours. I got hired this morning by his agent.”
“Wow. Well, this is a stroke of genius. The poor kid was getting beat to hell on talk radio all weekend and this morning. I know this will turn things around.”
“So what are you doing here?”
“Team captain. And I’ve been trying to mentor the kid. Though obviously I didn’t do a very good job. Maybe you need to travel with the team.”
“You said it yourself, he’s a kid. You couldn’t watch him twenty-four seven.”
“Well, this will make him grow up fast. So, did the agent have you set this up or did you come up with this strategy all by yourself?”
“My idea.”
“I’m impressed. Especially with the actions have consequences thing. The rest of the world needs to learn that, especially parents. Hell, the rest of the NFL needs to learn it.”
“Sounds like we’re on the same page.” She glanced back at the news conference and saw that the questions had finally stopped. “Well, looks like we’re done here. Nice meeting you.”
She started to walk away, but he put his hand lightly on her shoulder. “Listen, I wouldn’t mind getting to know the woman who seems to think like I do. May I have your phone number?”
“You need a PR person?”
“No, I need a dinner date.” He flashed a crooked smile, which made him look like a shy high school boy.
She backed up a step, surprised at his answer. She stared into the deep-set gray eyes of this Greek god and saw a look that was sincere. Though she knew the reputation of athletes, something told her this one might be okay. She couldn’t remember reading anything about the guy breaking the law. Besides, she’d barbecued all of her boyfriend’s clothes and was now a free agent. She smiled at him, reached into her purse, pulled out a business card but didn’t give it to him, holding it near her face. “I don’t usually give my number to perfect strangers.”
He shrugged. “I never said I was perfect. I have an awful lot of flaws. I mean, besides throwing interceptions from time to time. Off the field I’m a total disaster. I really need a woman to fix me.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. His answer lowered her inhibitions and she handed him the card. “Every woman’s dream, to mold a man into perfection. But if you’re a typical bed-hopping athlete you should know that this weekend I torched the clothes of the boyfriend who cheated on me, so you either treat me right or wear a flame-retardant suit.”
His eyes widened. “That was you? The thing with the sitcom guy on the front page of The Post?”
She put one finger to her lips. “Shhhh. Not common knowledge, but I confess to being the arsonist.”
“I’ll consider myself warned.” He put the card in his pocket. “And I will call you. I guess there will be a penalty if I don’t.”
She moved closer and craned her neck as she locked eyes with him. “You’d better believe it, Mister.”
***
Lexi poured herself a glass of wine, stretched out on the couch and put her feet up, then turned on Fox Sports One. She wanted to see a replay of the news conference. Talk radio had done a complete about-face, the callers all impressed that her new client had taken responsibility for his actions and was doing something tangible to apologize. Even a few cops called in to compliment the young man. The local news showed Nate Washington in jeans and a tee-shirt working on the construction of a house alongside a bunch of police officers.
Her strategy had worked perfectly.
And a pro quarterback, possibly the most eligible bachelor in New York and one who was (hard to believe) even better-looking than Dave, had asked for her phone number. Whether he would actually call was beside the point. It felt good to have a man like that interested in her. Greek gods didn’t grow on trees.
Three days ago her world had gone ablaze, literally and figuratively.
Now, in what seemed like an instant, things had turned around. Though possibly getting into bed with a professional athlete, literally and figuratively, was something that demanded she tread with caution. For now, though, the rose-colored glasses provided by possibly the most gorgeous man she’d ever met remained in place.
She took a sip of the cold red wine and settled in to watch the replay when her cell rang. She didn’t recognize the number and hit the pause button on the TV. “Hello, this is Lexi.”
“Hi, Lexi, it’s Kyle Caruso. Am I catching you at a bad time?”
“No, not at all. Just watching TV. Your trip go okay?”
“Too early to tell. I’m at San Diego State, hoping to sign their star running back. But right now it takes a back seat to all the goodwill you got for my client today, and that all reflects really well on me as his agent. I can’t thank you enough and tell you how impressed I am with your strategy, especially on such short notice.”
“Thank you, I’m glad you’re pleased. Noah was a pleasure to work with.”
“I told you, he’s a good kid. But you made him look like a saint.”
“That’s why they call me Spin Girl. I can usually spin most situations. Though not cheating politicians.”
He laughed a bit. “Yeah, I can’t imagine anyone could fix that. Anyway, did the Jets treat you okay setting things up? I gave them a heads-up that you were working with me.”
“They were very nice, thank you for calling ahead. The head coach was happy we were being so pro-active and taking control of the situation. So was the quarterback.”
“Oh, I didn’t see Frost at the news conference.”
“He was there, but off camera. He said he’d been mentoring Noah and was glad to see him take responsibility for what he’d done. Seemed like a good guy.”
“Man,