Page 69 of Offsides

“There’s more,” she said, feeling it her duty to at least share all the info she had. Legally speaking she didn’t have to—it wasn’t like a lawyer having to share evidence as discovery. But her heart was aching for Cowboy and the world of hurt she knew he was going through seeing that video. She didn’t want to blindside him even more when it came time to ask her questions. “There are photos of him inside what I assume is The Landing Strip. Dash is sitting in a big leather chair, not on stage, but in what appears to be a rather prominent area of the club, with a….dancer…straddling him.”

“So he’s getting a lap dance. It happens,” Keaton snapped.

“Not usually sans pants,” she snapped back, not liking his attitude. “And that’s not the only one. There’s another where he’s also naked, a different stripper bent over him. It’s not a close-up shot, but it doesn’t take much to figure out that she’s snorting something off him.”

“You better go call Jenn, now,” Cowboy barked, sitting down on the bed.

Keaton nodded, exiting the suite and letting the door slam behind him. The room reverberated with the sound, the silence and stillness of the moment taking over.

“I need to go take care of this,” Cowboy muttered a moment later, pushing up from the bed. Grabbing a shirt, he pulled it over his head, turning to Theo and giving her a forced smile. “I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

“That’s fine. I can pack your stuff if needed. This causes a lot of work for both of us.”

Cowboy grunted, twitching. “Right.”

“Britt, go do what you need to do. Go get Dash, deal with him as a team. I can get with Sara on whatever the team’s statement is for now. If interviews with Dash and the rest of you need to wait until we’re back in Atlanta, I can make that work.”

“Interviews?”

“Yes, interviews. Dash, Gunnar, Felicity, you, maybe even a couple of the other players to get their feelings on his actions. Doesn’t have to be anything elaborate or over-the-top—”

“Absolutely not,” he cut her off.

“Excuse you?”

“There will be no interviews about this. It’s not a story. The police aren’t charging him.”

Theo took a step back, as if somehow more space between them would make his words make sense. Of course this was a story. It was all over social media. Who cared if the police weren’t charging him? What he did, and what his dick looked like, was now public knowledge.

Sucking in a deep breath, Theo reminded herself what all this meant to Cowboy. He took his job to heart—these players and this team meant the world to him. And one of them just fucked up—big time. Of course he wasn’t thinking clearly. He was in crisis mode. His brain was still on the part about getting Dash dressed and out of jail. Give him time and he would have a plan in place for her and the rest of the media. He always did, didn’t he?

“Go do what you need to do,” she said again, meaning every word. Her heart hurt for him right now, and she didn’t need to add to the pain and frustration he was already feeling. “We can talk about how to handle the interviews later.”

“There won’t be any fucking interviews,” he growled.

Theo’s hackles went up. Did he really just snarl at her? Just who did he think he was talking to?

“Yes, there will. You gave me exclusive access to this team.”

“And I can revoke it any time.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

The plane ride back to Atlanta might have been the most awkward thing Theo had ever experienced. The plane was quieter than a morgue, no one bothering to even look at one another. What should have been a joy-filled trip, the celebration from last night continuing, was overshadowed by their teammate’s actions.

Dash was shoved in the back of the plane, in the very last row, up against the window. He had already been on the plane when Theo arrived, and no one had even spared him a glance since they’d taken off. The tension was palpable. What Theo couldn't figure out though, was if it was because his teammates were upset with him over what he had done, or if it was because they knew their bosses were in a bad mood and they didn’t want to do any more damage. A little bit of both was probably the answer—since that was exactly how she was feeling.

Thoughts bounced around Theo’s head like she was playing a game of Pong. Their conversation with Keaton played on repeat, followed by how harsh Cowboy had been. It was understandable that he was upset, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he had meant what he had said.

By the time they had landed in Atlanta, everyone was so worked up that the opening of the plane door had felt like hitting the release valve on a pressure cooker. Bursting off that plane, the team seemed to come to life again as they gathered their things to head home.

“My office, first thing tomorrow morning,” Cowboy said to Dash, his voice harsh. “Go straight home. So help me, if I hear about you so much as hitting up the corner store tonight, you will be running sprints for the rest of time.”

“Cowboy, I told you. I do not remember—”

“I don’t care what you do and don’t remember. Your actions are not how a member of this organization behaves.”

“We will deal with this tomorrow,” Gunnar added in.