Chapter 45: Xavier

Chapter 45: Xavier

What the bloody hell?

"Hullo everyone, thank you for having me. Oh hullo, Xavier. Good to see you again," she says breezily, as if she didn’t ruin my life.

I repeat, what the bloody hell?

"Who’s that and what’s she got to do with me? Can I go now? I’ve wasted enough of my time on this loser." Camacho stands up in a huff.

"That, Vinny, is the young woman you seemed to be so concerned about and protective of. Sit down, and hear her out," Robert Miller commands. No wonder he’s taken the Boston Buzzards from the bottom of the barrel to second place in the league in two years. He understands leadership. "It’s Phaedra Jones. Thanks for joining us, Phaedra."

"I’m chuffed to be here. This … this has been a long time coming. Is Tanner there? I can’t quite see everyone."

"I’m here," Tanner Suarez replies. "You asked for this meeting, Ms. Jones. Please go ahead."

"Right, okay then. So the thing is, I’m an addict. I’m an alcoholic and an addict, though I don’t think that will come as a surprise to anyone who’s met me in real life."

When she says this, practically everyone at the table gives Vinny the side-eye. It’s obvious he had no clue about who Phaedra really was. Or is at all, actually.

"My father did a good job of keeping it out of the mainstream press for the most part, but it’s not shocking or scandalous to anyone who knew me."

I think I may vomit. What is going on here? Why is she saying all this now? She threw me under the bus rather than admit she was an addict. What’s changed? I want to get up and leave, but seeing as how Miller just put Camacho in his place, I’m afraid to move.

Phaedra continues, "I’ve only recently come to terms with the fact that I have a problem. I’m 236 days sober today, actually, so I’m still new to the journey if you consider the fact that I used for over ten years. And as part of my recovery, I’d like to set the record straight about the car accident."

This snaps me to attention, and I shift forward in my seat as if it will help me hear better.

"The night of the incident, I was drunk, high, and despondent. The only person who even noticed my distress that evening was Xavier Henry. I hit on him, but he would not accept my proposition because I was high, which says a lot about his character. When I left, he followed me out, concerned for my safety. He offered to call me a car or drive me home. I refused to listen. I was quite belligerent, in fact. I got in my car. At the very last second, Xavier jumped in, trying to convince me to stop. I wouldn’t listen to him, but I quickly lost control of the car. When it crashed, all I knew is my father had told me if I messed up one more time because of the drugs, he’d cut me off forever. This was not the first of this kind of incident. My father was just skilled at covering it up. Let’s say I learned from the best."

Christ almighty, is this really happening? Why is she coming forward now? It’s too little, too late. My career is done. At least this will clear my name, but still, she ruined my life.

"I begged Xavier to say he was driving and that a bunny ran out in front of the car, causing him to lose control. It had worked for me in the past. Unfortunately, it didn’t work for Xavier." Phaedra looks squarely at me. "Xavier, darling, I’m so sorry for asking you to lie. I’m even more sorry about Father’s reaction. It’s one of the many, many regrets I’ve amassed over the years due to my addiction. I let it go so long, rationalizing that you were still playing and that it didn’t hurt you, but I know it must have. That was the justification of a selfish, struggling addict. It’s taken me years to realize how my actions hurt others like you. Please accept my sincerest apologies. I’ll understand if you don’t forgive me, but I do want it publicly known that you are not a drunk driver and that you did not in any way injure or endanger me. Quite the opposite, really. Not only did you try to keep me safe that night, but even after everything that followed, you never went public with what happened. You never went to the press, even though they were crucifying you. You never told them I was high or a train wreck. Thank you for everything you did to defend me. You’re a hero, Xavier Henry."

My mouth opens and then closes without producing any sound.

"And thank you, Ms. Jones, for clearing the air and Mr. Henry’s reputation," Tanner Suarez says. "It’s important for the USSL to be composed of players of integrity, and it seems as if Mr. Henry possesses such character."

I’m so confused.

"What are you saying, and Phaedra, why are you part of this meeting? How did you know about all this going on?" I ask.

"Tanner, if you don’t mind, I’ll go first so I can sign off," Phaedra says. "I’ve been out of the public for a while now since I went into rehab. I only downloaded ClikClak when I got out and was into my recovery. I particularly enjoyed the dating exploits of a certain American Clakker, who I found to be quite amusing. Then, a few weeks ago, the internet proved what a small world it is when I realized that Lovely Lia was married to the person I needed to apologize to. Well, when the ESPN story broke, I knew I had to step forward to make amends. I knew you’d never take my calls. Then I got a message from Lovely Lia—er, Ophelia— asking for help, and voilà! I’m here. But now I’ll be signing off while you do your football business. Xavier, next time you’re back in England, let’s do lunch. I’d love to catch up."

And with that, the screen goes black.

I try to process all she just said. "Ophelia? Ophelia contacted Phaedra?" I don’t even know I’ve said it out loud. "This doesn’t make any sense. Why would Ophelia reach out to Phaedra?"

Bjorn stands up. "She’s been quite busy, and quite persuasive too." He drops a stack of papers on the table in front of me.

"What are these?"

"The emails and documentation to refute nearly every single point in the ESPN article. I had several phone conversations with her, and at my request, she sent these over to me with alarming volume and speed. She can be charming, yet with dogged determination, as you well know. One would never expect that level of tenacity from her."

He should try spending nearly three days in a hotel room with her.

This is all happening at breakneck speed. The Buzzards obviously knew Phaedra and Ophelia had information to clear my name and reputation. Why didn’t they say something before Camacho terminated my contract?

Miller nods to his lawyer who slides another folder down to me.

"What’s this?"

"One-point-two for three years plus the standard bonuses."

Camacho’s face turns as red as a tomato. "You can’t be serious."

Miller looks at him, calm and cool. "You terminated him. In fact, you were happy to do it with an audience simply to humiliate him. You specifically asked Tanner Suarez to be here to verify the legitimacy of the contract termination. That was your request, not ours. It was a bonus that Phaedra Jones asked for his witness as well. And since Xavier is unsigned and unattached to a team, we are free to sign him, as a non-citizen player, right now. I think that’s all we need from you. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out, Vin."

There is a moment of stunned silence before Camacho leaves in a huff. Miller turns back to me. "I understand if you want to have your representative look at these, but I also am under the impression that you are currently without representation."

I know I should have someone look at them, but I also don’t want to miss this chance. I’m fairly confident I’m dreaming and that when I wake, this will all be gone. "Is this a dream?"

"Can I offer a solution?" Callaghan Entay steps up. "My agent, Justice Williams, would be more than happy to look at it and represent you. He’s expecting your call."

I look around the room, still certain this isn’t real. Kenley’s there, grinning from ear to ear. "Ken, what’s going on? I don’t understand … how … why …"

The door opens at the far end of the room and Ophelia walks in with a tall brunette I’ve never seen before. Ophelia, dressed in an oversized ivory cable knit jumper and black leggings, is a sight for sore eyes. "Don’t be mad at me for sticking my nose in. I … I had to fix this. And you know me. Before I could stop and think, I was messaging Phaedra and Hannah and emailing Bjorn when Mr. Miller wouldn’t take my calls."

I don’t know who Hannah is, and I really don’t care. I’m on my feet and closing the distance between Ophelia and me in four long strides. I encircle her in my arms, picking her right up off the floor.

Her legs wrap around me, as they usually do, and it’s enough to make me forget where I am. I bring her mouth to mine, hoping that my kiss can say what my brain cannot yet put into words.

Breathless, I pull back. "You did this for me?"

She looks deep into my eyes. "Of course I did. It was grand gesture time."

"You found Phaedra Jones."

"Technically, she found me first, but I did contact her and ask her to do this. I also found out lots of juicy info about Tony, none of which implicates you. Also, much to the chagrin of ClikClak, I’m not actually a sex worker. Not that there’s anything wrong with that."

I kiss her again because I’ve missed this. I’ve missed her. And I love her.

"Ahem, are you two finished?" Miller asks. I hear him mutter, "So much for the marriage being just for show."

"One more thing," I say. "Thank you. I can’t believe you did this for me. Why though?"

Ophelia smiles and the brightness of it nearly splits my heart in two. "That’s easy. I broke rule number five."

"What’s rule number five?" She’d mentioned rules before, but we never circled back to that.

"No falling in love. I broke it, because I love you, Xavier."

"Good, because I love you too."