37. Zak

"Jesus, you guys really know how to make me work," Marc says with a deep sigh. He stares at his computer screen. "Remember, our whole strategy was about shedding a positive light on the team, not violating codes of conduct, breaking a movie star's heart, and spitting open a guy's skull."

"Come on, you love to spin shit." Matt chuckles and stretches his arms overhead.

Marc scrubs a hand down the front of his face. "You want to know about spinning? Let me tell you about spinning. It's the exact thing my mind has been doing over the past week while I've been trying to navigate through all this."

His eyes settle on me. "And there are enough pictures of you guys flying through cyberspace to wallpaper the goddamn city. Calls into question your ethics, Zak. As owner of the team, you can't be dating a contracted player. And your knowledge of Matt's code of conduct violation back at Ohio State doesn't help matters."

"Yeah, but he didn't have anything to do with that. It was all me," Matt says, dropping his arms. "That can't blow back on him."

"It can, and it will because it's more controversy and people love that shit. Let's face it, Zak was never a fan favorite. The Crusaders have two wins under their belts now since beating Oakland on Sunday, but it doesn't even matter. Even beating the Raptors doesn't hold water. They want new blood. Our plan to rehabilitate your image failed epically."

"Okay, but wait a second," I say, sitting up straight and wincing a little from the sudden movement. "Let's get back to the split skull comment because that's bullshit. The guy broke into Matt's apartment, beat the shit out of a security guard, tied up his sisters, and was ready to kill everyone. I hit him with a bat to stop him from committing a mass murder. How am I the bad guy in that scenario?"

"More violence," Marc throws up his hands. "The haters gonna hate, no matter what."

"That's ridiculous. He's a hero. Especially for doing that while he was recovering from the accident." Matt's jaw tenses. "I can't believe people are seriously using that against him. He's a drug-dealing, fucking pimp criminal. Besides, Rusty is in police custody in the hospital. After we gave our statement, the cops here contacted the local police down in West Virginia. They raided his place and found enough illegal weapons and drugs to keep him and his dickhead brother locked up for five lifetimes. Once, he's released, he's going straight to the clink."

"Yes, yes, I know all of that." Marc presses his fingers to his temples. "I'm just trying to make a point about how you guys are attracting the wrong kind of attention these days. Fans are still shocked at Matt's announcement, and you know this state. It's a hard battle to keep them. Besides all of that, now it looks even more like Zak is trying to cast a rainbow over the team."

I put a hand on Matt's arm to settle him. "Marc, it's fine. I've already thought about how to handle everything, and I have a plan."

"Great. I can't wait to hear it." He sits back with his arms folded across his chest.

"I'm selling the team."

His eyes pop open wide. "You're what?"

"Don't look so shocked. This was my dad's thing, not mine. I kept the team because I knew how much he loved it and how excited he was. But now, for other reasons, I can see that it would be better for everyone if I just found another buyer. It'll clear me up from any negative press about Matt's code violation, and it'll make our relationship a non-issue."

"If the league decides to can him, the relationship won't be an issue at all," Marc grumbles.

"Do you really think—" Matt asks, an edge to his voice. But before he can finish getting the question out, Marc's phone pings.

Marc picks up the phone and frowns at the screen for a long minute. "Well, well. This is interesting," he finally says, his words cutting into the tense silence.

"What?" Matt practically jumps out of the chair. "Is it from the league ethics committee? Is it about me?"

"Chill the fuck out," I murmur, putting my hand over his. "We're going to deal with this together, okay?"

Marc holds up his hand. "Matt, relax. We'll handle that separately. You basically got a slap on the wrist from the ethics committee, according to their spokesperson. Under the circumstances of your situation, they decided not to take action. But right now, we're not discussing you." He holds up his phone. "This is about Brett Travers."

"What about him?" I ask. "He's a little late in leaking Matt's secret."

Marc's face lights up. "He's not exposing Matt. Other people are exposing him." He hands his phone to me. "Seems like you're not the only one that asshat bullied. A player on the Raptors came forward with his story."

"Who?" I ask.

"Aaron Shields. He just made a public coming-out statement. Evidently, Travers found him out and was bullying and threatening him. There were others, too, who were victimized by Travers. Women he'd sexually assaulted after getting them drunk. Obviously, the guy has a lot of serious control issues. But Matt's statement sent people flying out of the woodwork, and I'll bet there'll be more who share their stories."

Matt turns an incredulous look at me. "This'll definitely turn down the heat on us."

"I'm still selling the team." I rub my finger over his wrist and smile. "I want to go back to my regular life and my regular job."

Matt snorts. "Yeah, okay. ‘Cause you definitely don't make a gazillion dollars a year or anything. That's regular for ya."

"Well, if that's your final decision, Zak, I understand and will help you do whatever necessary to find a new owner. I'm sure there are shareholders at the holding company who might want to do a joint purchase."

When we finally walk out of Marc's office, I feel lighter, like the albatross that'd been slung around my neck finally slipped off. I can breathe again. I can live my life, according to my rules with the man I love. I think about my first session with Dr. Forest and how ready I was to grasp onto the potential for happiness after finally letting go of the guilt and anger I'd felt for so many years. It's ironic that I'd been so prepared to move into the future without Matt when here we are taking those steps together. I learned a lot about myself in that session, things I'd been reluctant to admit. Things I hadn't acknowledged at all.

That's why I decided I'm going to continue my sessions with him. I realized how important it is to keep your headspace clear if you want to live a happy and fruitful life, how necessary it is to clear the negative thoughts and lies that can poison your mind if left to fester.

I barely notice the camera flashes blinking around us as we walk down the street toward my mother's building about twenty minutes later. Just to be safe, we brought the girls over before our meeting with Marc. Mom's building is safer than Fort Knox, so we knew they'd be safest there while we were out.

Her penthouse smells amazing. The scent of rich, delicious foods wafts through the apartment and my stomach growls with anticipation. Matt captures her in a bear hug, and she laughs and kisses him on the cheek. They fell in love instantly, which isn't really shocking since he's got such a magnetic and charming personality.

"Smells amazing in here," he says, running over to Summer and Missy before tackling them onto the couch.

"You look good, sweetie." Mom grins at me and laces her fingers with mine. "How are you feeling?"

"So unbelievably incredible." A return smile stretches across my face as I catch Matt's eye.

He winks at me, and it makes my heart float up in my chest like a helium balloon that I hope never ever deflates.

"I know." Mom watches our wordless exchange, her eyes shining bright like the sun. "Mothers always know."