My temples pounded as I pushed the image away, straightened my shoulders, and turned to Uncle Darin. “I’ll go to the coroner’s office.”
He shook his head. “Vee, you don’t have to do that. Daphne asked me. I’ll do it.”
Of course Daphne wouldn’t do it herself.
I stood. “I’m going. We can go together, but I’m going.”
“Rachel?” he asked.
“Vee, do you want me to come along?”
In the years after my mother left and before Daphne, Rachel was the stable female in my life. Even after Daphne, Rachel was my go-to. While my single father assured me that I was loved, there were girl things and questions that arose. Without hesitation, my aunt filled the void. “No. I need to do this. You, Grant, and Lip can take care of things here.” Suddenly, I had the realization that this tragedy affected many more people beyond our bubble. “Royce and the coaches. Have they been told?”
“No one has,” Uncle Darin said. “We needed to reach you first.”
My mind was a cyclone of thoughts. “The press.” I turned to Grant. “As vice president of communications, you and I need to decide on a statement.” Grant began to talk, but I continued. “We first need to inform Royce and the coaches. Our team should hear this news from us, not from a news outlet.”
Lip looked up from his phone. “TMZ just broke the news.”
The urgency enveloping us gave me strength. “Uncle Darin, we’ll go to the coroner’s office after I address the team.”
Grant reached for my arm. “Let Dad do that.”
Wrenching my arm back, I walked to the office door. “Bre,” I called to Dad’s personal assistant. When she met my gaze, I went on, “Please contact Royce Beasley, Coach Tilson, Andrew Pratt, and Darius Brown. Ask them to move all the players into the large viewing room. I’ll be addressing them in a few minutes. First, I need to speak to Royce and the coaches. We can meet in Royce’s office.”
“Right away, Vee.” She furrowed her forehead. “Is there something wrong?”
Pressing my lips together, I nodded. “There is.” My thoughts expanded. The coaching staff and players needed to be told, but there were roughly another seventy-five employees currently in Maker’s Mark Football Center. “Bre, instead of the film room, ask Royce to send the players to the indoor practice facility.” I turned around to Grant. “Can you have the PA system turned on?”
My cousin nodded.
I turned back to Bre. “I need all employees in the building to join the team and coaches in the indoor practice facility in ten minutes. No phones.”
“Yes.”
I turned back to everyone in the office. “The players should be watching film. Hopefully, no one is scrolling on their phone.”
Uncle Darin shook his head. “Tilson doesn’t tolerate that.”
“Good. His rule may avoid a panic.”
My thoughts raced. If TMZ was talking, the Coopers needed to get out ahead of the rumors. “How did they identify him…the police?”
Uncle Darin was the one to answer. “License plate. The car was registered to Reid Hubbard. They also saw his identification.”
I let out a sigh. “There wasn’t a mistake?”
“No, Vee. No mistake.”
“Grant,” I said, “the Coopers need to make a statement. We can’t get ahead of TMZ, but we can stop the rumor mill. Make it simple: The Hubbard family and Lexington Coopers…” When he didn’t move, I hardened my tone. “Write this down.”
“Vee, you’re not in charge.”
“Right now I am. Write it down.”
Grant pulled his phone from the inside pocket in his sports coat. “The Hubbard family and the Lexington Coopers…” he repeated.
“Have been notified,” I began, “of the untimely death of Reid Hubbard, 65, CEO of the Lexington Coopers. Our family asks for privacy at this difficult time. We will share more information once more is known.” I met his gaze. “Don’t release the statement until I’m in front of everyone.”
