Page 225 of Just for the Cameras
Oh God, are they…are they talking about trading Graydon?
“I’m not worried about it. He’ll screw it up somehow, he always does. The boy has too much baggage to be able to hold on to a normal relationship. She will see that quickly and break it off. Not to mention, she’s too soft to handle the fame. It will fall apart quicker than it started, especially if I can rope that PR girl into it.”
“Gretchen? I don’t think she would do anything to jeopardize the team.”
“I don’t care about the team. We can jeopardize the girl. Welcott was telling me he already made the donation to the zoo, so we can label her as a gold digger. And you know…a sordid breakup could possibly force his hand in wanting to trade to another team.”
My heart nearly pounds out of my chest as I attempt to hold my breath so I don’t miss one single damaging word.
“All this for some records?” the other man, who I’m assuming is Keenan, asks.
“He doesn’t deserve the team records,” Troy says in a low tone. “He doesn’t care about this team. He doesn’t even care about the goddamn sport. He’s just playing out of spite for me, and he will continue to play until he owns those records. We need him out. And it’s not like he’s getting any younger. He will be useless to you next year.”
“Yeah…” Keenan hums. “He had a great training camp, which I hate to admit, but then again, he was fueled by rage. Don’t you think breaking him up with that girl will do the same thing?”
“No,” Troy answers. “I see the way he looks at her, and I actually think he cares. Losing her will destroy him, and he’ll end up playing like shit. This will be to our benefit.”
“Okay, let me see what I can do.”
And then they take off, leaving me in a state of worry, fear, and anger.
They want to get Graydon to move? To be traded? What kind of father would do that? Over some stupid football record? He really is terrible.
A horrible human being.
Doesn’t he know Graydon is here for a reason, for his mom? He’s just going to take that away from him. Not to mention, Graydon is happy and succeeding. He’s not as angry as when I first met him, and his dad just wants to shove him right back into that hole?
There’s so much to unpack.
I’m not even thinking about the stuff he said about me. I can deal with that on my own—no need to worry Graydon about that—but trading him? That’s…that’s something he needs to know.
“There you are,” Graydon says as he takes a seat next to me and looks down at my bowl. “Uh, why is your ice cream all melted? I thought you were excited to eat it.”
I startle out of my thoughts and slap on a smile. “I like when it’s a little soupy.”
He glances at my bowl again. “Well, that’s exactly what it is.” He studies me for a moment. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is great.”
Clearly, it’s not, but I’m not about to tell him what I heard at the kickoff dinner. I know Graydon well enough to know that he would lose his shit and confront his dad right away. That would lead to him making a scene, and that’s the last thing he needs right now, especially after what his dad and coach were just talking about. I’m not sure how the trade system works, but I would hate for them to use it as fodder.
“Are you sure?” He eyes me, then glances around. “Did someone say something to you?”
“Nope, seriously, everything is great.” I pick up my spoon and attempt to scoop some ice cream up. Sheesh, this really is soup. “How did your little meeting go? Is it a good play?”
“Has some merit,” he says, still seeming skeptical. He places his hand on my thigh. “You would tell me if someone said something to you, right? If something was bothering you?”
“Yes,” I answer.I just might not tell you right away.But I will find the right way to frame this. I know he has little respect for Coach Keenan, but finding out that even he would eagerly sabotage Graydon’s happiness has me fighting back tears. It’s no wonder he was so angry when I first met him. From what I can tell, he’d only had Hutton in his corner. He has just been so…alone for so many years. I hate that for him.
“Okay.” He glances at my bowl again. “I can’t watch you eat that. We need a new bowl.”
I laugh as he takes my bowl from me.
“Come on.”
The door shuts behind us, and Graydon turns on me, pushing me up against the wall and pulling my leg up around his waist before I can even take my next breath. His mouth descends on mine, and his fingers filter into my braids, ruining them for the night.
Thankfully, we’re in his apartment for the rest of the evening.
