"I was in on it too," Ty said.
"Oh, so you want one of those? Fine, ten for you as well." Then he turned to the rest of the men in the room. "And every one of you fuckers who thinks you're hot shit, sending a bull out with just a rope? Yeah, just know you'd better have ten grand by the morning or you won't be allowed to draw a bull!"
"You can't do that!" Jackson huffed.
"And that's where you're wrong, boy," Mr. Merrill snarled, nearly spitting with his vehemence. "I am the president of this organization. I was elected to keep it running, and to keep it profitable. Y'all's last little stunt? Well, you almost killed the whole thing, so now you're going to try it again?"
"But you didn't ask why," Jake said, sounding so calm in the face of this man's rage. "Is that because you know why, D..." He paused to smile slyly. "Donald?"
"Watch your tone," Mr. Merrill growled at him.
"Nope," Jake said. "See, I'm done being scared. I'm also real fucking sick of the good ol' boy bullshit you've got going on. Covering for each other, never mind thesecretsand backroom deals. This shit, Don? It's fucked. It's so far over the top, I'd even say it's corrupt, and is that the record you really want to leave behind?"
"Oh, keep going, Jake. I'll raise everyone's fines to fifteen thousand."
"And you won't have anyone riding bulls," Jake told him. "If they can't pay, the chute will still be empty. Tomorrow is Sunday, Donald. Means no new riders until Anaheim."
"And a small event with actual riders," Mr. Merrill snapped, "is more entertaining to the fans than that bullshit tonight!"
"Doesn't make the judging fair," I pointed out.
Which made him turn on me. "Is thisyourdoing, Cody?"
"Nope," Jake said. "The lot of us actually kept it from her. Wasn't easy, because we knew she was a team player. But that'sthe thing, Don. Sheisa team player. The kind who doesn't whine and bitch when it's not all about her. The sort who follows the letter of the law rather than bending the rules around to make her rich and famous. She's here for a check, not her ego, but I'm sure that's not something you'd understand."
"Jake, I don't care about your beef with me," Mr. Merrill warned. "But this? This is my job, boy." Then he raised his voice. "I know you all think you got some big win because your favorite bullfighters are back, but that's only because their sponsor wanted them."
I shifted forward and tugged at my chaps. "This sponsor?"
"This one?" Jake asked, doing the same.
"I got one too," J.D. drawled. "But we can talk about reasons, Mr. President. Oh, we can sit down and have a real long talk about my fuckin' twenty-three rider score yesterday. Shit was only marginally better today. Now, how you gonna spin it that the best rider in the PBR is suddenly the worst?"
"Everyone saw you get carried off the dirt back in Iowa," Mr. Merrill pointed out. "J.D., if you're not fully healed, there's nothing wrong with taking a little more time off."
"And kissing my man before the show, up on the rail where God and everyone can see?" J.D. asked. "Because I ain't going back in the closet. Cody ain't gonna grow a dick. These brown boys? They ain't gonna get more white, and these educated ones ain't gonna turn into rednecks for ya."
"I think you're blowing things out of proportion," Mr. Merrill said.
"Are they?" Ty asked. "Because weallsaw that score. We also know it's bullshit. So either you look to see if someone's paying off your judges, or we take a page from Cody Jennings and go straight to the press."
"About someone's bull riding score?" Mr. Merrill scoffed. "Oh, I'm sure they'll put that on the evening news, Ty. But go ahead. A little controversy will only sell more seats."
"No," Jake said, lifting his hand to let Ty know he had this. "About the hate crimes being ignored. About the unfair rules, the bigotry in the PBR - "
"Which the fans won't see as a problem," Mr. Merrill said, cutting him off. "This woke shit? Keep up with the news, Jake. We're not here to become a social justice movement. We're here to ride bulls."
"And cheat on wives," Jake said. "And beat women. Yep, that's exactly the country sort of mentality our fans are rooting for, right? Or maybeyouhave the wrong idea of what it means to be country."
"Think what you will," Mr. Merrill said. "The fine has already been posted to the account of every rider who sent his bull out alone. Tomorrow, it will be fifteen thousand for a second violation. The next time..." He looked around the room, making sure everyone was listening. "Suspension."
"And the line has been drawn in the sand," Jake said.
Mr. Merrill just grunted, making it clear he was sure he'd won. But when he left, he didn't dawdle. He might not be retreating, but he sure didn't stick around to get dragged into the shit he'd just started.
Jackson was the first to break the silence. "Shit. Guys, I don't have ten grand. Means I can't ride tomorrow."
"Me either," Sonny said.
