Page 26 of Leave Me Not: Nick & Elissa #2 (Badger Creek Duet #8)
26
ELISSA
N ick and I head over to Max’s parents’ house to meet Gerry, but I’m still not sure there’s anything he can help us with. Nick left the team and that was one of the things Gerry asked him not to do. It could put this whole thing at risk, although I understand why he did it.
We talked in great detail about what his surgeon said, and how jumping would continue to damage his knee. The surgeon even said he needed another surgery to repair the damage that’s happened in the few short weeks he was jumping.
I just keep hoping something comes up, that the lawyer has found a loophole, has found something to make this all go away. We might have to take Max up on his offer to buy out Nick’s contract and just be forever in debt to him.
Nick pulls into the driveway, and I let out a hard sigh. My body aches from the accident, but it’s nothing compared to this weight we’ve both been carrying. This contract and the money and now Nick’s reinjury, it’s all a lot.
The only positive about all of this is that when Nick and I got married, I added him to my insurance so at least we don’t have to worry about covering the cost of the surgery on our own. It was something we never even talked about, I just did it out of concern that things would change for him. The last surgery was covered by the US ski team, but I wasn’t going to count on them to keep Nick on their insurance plan if he left the team.
“I added you to my insurance,” I admit before we both exit the car. “I was worried you would be dropped from the team’s insurance and left with nothing if you got hurt again.”
Nick lets out a soft laugh, looking over at me with his eyes crinkled in the corners. “You’re a smart one, Lis. Who would have thought I’d need surgery again? I gotta tell you, I was stressing about how to pay for it too.”
“Well, it’s one thing we don’t have to worry about. There’s a shitload more that we have to worry about, but not this.”
“I’m so sorry, Lis. This is not how I wanted things to happen,” Nick says, reaching over to take my hand, a quiet concern blanketing the car.
“I know. I don’t blame you for any of this, so please stop thinking I do,” I reply, shaking my head as I give his hand a squeeze.
“All I know is that I’m never leaving you again. Coming home to find you in that hospital bed was too fucking much for me. I can’t even explain…” he stalls out, tugging a hand through his hair. “Lis, you and the baby are my family, my future and I will do anything to protect that and if that means going into debt to be here with you, then so be it.”
Reaching over, I wrap my hand around the back of his neck, pulling him closer to me, I press a soft kiss to his lips. Letting them linger there for a few seconds, I close my eyes, basking in his smell and the closeness of him.
“I love you,” I whisper against his lips, smiling.
“I love you too,” Nick says back, and a silence falls over us. We sit together for a few minutes, neither of us talking, just letting the moment of calm happen.
It’s going to be a while before our life settles down. We have a lot ahead of us in dealing with his coach and this contract.
“You ready?” I ask, my words loud in the quiet of the car.
“Guess so.”
Max’s dad greets us at the door, letting us in and shaking Nick’s hand and giving me a hug. He wishes both of us a quick congratulations about us getting married, before leading us into the kitchen where Gerry is sitting at the table.
“Well, Nick,” Gerry starts immediately, letting out a chuckle. “Guess my advice to lay low didn’t go that great, huh?” Again, he laughs, a little louder this time to show he’s just giving Nick shit.
“Yeah, really fucked things up,” Nick replies, pulling out a chair and sitting down. “But my surgeon says I’ve reinjured my knee by jumping.”
Nick says it like it will help his case, but I have no idea how we prove to his team and to the coach when the team doctor has cleared Nick. It feels like it’s an argument between two people who want two different things. It’s an argument that we may never win.
“Yes, that’s what I heard from Jeff. Looks like we’ll let this thing go to trial and we can use the information from your surgeon, but I can’t guarantee anything,” Gerry says, and nothing about that sounds promising.
My phone begins to ring as I’m trying to process all this, and I excuse myself to answer it. Not even bothering to look at the name or the number, needing to block out what the lawyer just said.
“Hello,” I say, sounding exhausted.
“Elissa, it’s Gemma Williams.”
“Oh, hey, Gemma,” I reply, sounding defeated, but suddenly I realize she could possibly be someone who can help with this. It’s the reason I contacted her in the first place.
“So, I haven’t had a story like this in, well, ever. Most of the time I’m hired by travel magazines and websites or to do a write up on a new restaurant—” I cut her off, feeling badly that I asked her to do something she’s not well-versed in. I was desperate for anyone or anything to help end this nightmare with Nick.
“I’m really sorry. I know it was a lot to ask, and it’s okay that you aren’t able to do it,” I quickly say, again my body feeling like it’s going to collapse with the heaviness of all the bad news.
“Oh no, that’s not at all what I’m saying,” Gemma corrects, her words loud and almost excited. “I have a story here that will put me on the map. I plan to shop it around to several media outlets, but I wanted to share with you what I’ve found first.”
“What?” I gasp out, not sure if I heard her correctly.
“There is some serious covering up going on with the US ski team and I’m about to expose it,” she clarifies. “Elissa, the amount of injured athletes I’ve come across who have trained under Nick’s coach and were under the care of the team doctor is out of control.”
“Can you hang on for just a second?” I ask, scrambling back into the kitchen where I quickly interrupt Nick and Gerry.
I switch my phone over to speakerphone and set it down on the table. My heart is racing, slamming hard in my chest and when I take in the look on Nick’s face, I know we need this. I hate the look of fear and disappointment that covers his face and if this can change it, I’m up for whatever needs to happen.
“Gemma,” I say, waiting for her to respond. “I have you on speakerphone with Nick and our lawyer Gerry.”
Gerry gives me a confused look, not aware of what I had going on in the background of this, not realizing I’d hired a journalist to look into it. I hope he isn’t upset, thinking I went over his head, but I really didn’t think Gemma would uncover a scandal.
“I hired Gemma Williams, a freelance journalist to possibly write a story about the US ski team. After visiting Nick and witnessing a pretty serious accident with one of his teammates, I thought there might be a story there,” I explain to Gerry. “It turns out she has some information that I think will be useful.”
“Okay,” Gerry says slowly. “Can we call you back, Ms. Williams?” he adds, and fuck, it doesn’t feel like he’s all that happy about me involving her in this.
We did hire him to help us and now I’m hiring a journalist and telling Nick to file complaints and Gerry knows nothing about this.
After Gemma agrees that we can call her back, I quickly end the call, my eyes wide as I look at Nick, hoping he doesn’t think I’ve fucked things up.
“I’m sorry, Gerry,” I apologize, swallowing hard and waiting for him to lay into me.
“No,” he insists, shaking his head. “It was a great idea, and it could be a huge break in all of this. I just want to talk with you and Nick first before we dive into everything she’s found.”
I let out a sigh of relief, falling into the chair next to Nick, and he slings an arm around the back of the chair.
“Lis, what do you think she found out?” Nick asks, a quiet confidence in his question, but behind that question is also concern.
If she found one person who was a victim of this coach and doctor, there has to be more, and Nick could have also been on that list.
“I have no idea, but I did tell her about what happened while I was visiting you,” I say, and Gerry sits up a little taller, waiting for us to fill him in.
“While Lis was there with me, I was taking her on a tour of the facility and we witnessed a jumper get hurt,” Nick clarifies. “But not just hurt, he was taken away in an ambulance and basically kept from contacting any of us. When I tried to ask how he was doing, the coach got angry.”
Gerry nods, pulling out a notepad, he begins taking notes as Nick speaks. “What happened after that?” he asks.
“Nothing really,” Nick says. “I didn’t ask again because I didn’t want to stand out or make the coach angry. I’m trying to get out of my contract and rocking the boat…” Nick doesn’t finish his thought, shrugging.
I pick up, trying to fill in some missing pieces. “When I got home, I was talking to Zoey, and she suggested I reach out to a journalist that did a story on the lodge renovations. I figured it was a longshot, and that she wouldn’t really be able to find anything out, but I guess she did.”
“What information did you share with her? Did you tell her Nick was trying to get out of his contract?”
I quickly shake my head. I didn’t ever mention anything specific about Nick because I didn’t want his name brought up in any of this. The last thing we need is to draw any more attention to Nick. I wanted Gemma to find a way to help Nick without bringing Nick into it, and from the little we talked, it seems like she has.
“I didn’t give Gemma any specifics about Nick not wanting to go back to the team and wanting to get out of his contract, but I did tell her that I thought there might be a story within the team regarding the coach and the team doctor. She knows Nick is my husband and that he was injured while on the team, but other than that, I’ve stayed quiet. I told her about Lucas getting hurt. I gave her Lucas’ name, but beyond that, I didn’t have much else for her.”
“Then she’s a damn good journalist,” Gerry says. “Let’s get her back on the phone and see if there’s anything we can use. It might be worth it to use her research as leverage to get Nick out of his contract.”
Gemma said this story could put her on the map, and I would hate to ruin that for her. I asked her for help, and now she has a story. While I want Nick home and out of this contract, I don’t want to take the story from Gemma.
“But I want her to still be able to use the story,” I say, defending Gemma and the work she’s done. “Is there a way for us to…I don’t know.”
Suddenly I’m overcome with guilt, not knowing how to handle any of this. I want Nick home and I want this all over, but I also want Gemma to get her big break. I want the coach and the doctor exposed for what they’ve done. Nick could have been seriously injured like Lucas, and there are others who have been. It’s not just about Nick now.
“Here’s what I propose,” Gerry starts, folding his hands in front of him, a stoic look on his face. “We need to speak to Ms. Williams and find out what she knows. We can then offer to have Nick give an interview but use that as leverage.”
“What do you mean?” Nick asks, a confused look on his face, and I have to say, I’m not sure where this is heading either.
“I’d like to present the idea of the article to Nick’s coach and the team doctor, letting them know we have significant information that could damage their career and reputation.”
“Like blackmail?” I gasp, the words coming out of my mouth before I can stop them. This does not feel like the route we want to go.
Gerry laughs, looking at me with a huge smile on his face. “Listen, Elissa, while I like to think I’m a better lawyer than that, you could say it’s blackmail, but I like to call it negotiation.
“I like Gerry’s term better,” Nick teases, his hand resting on my thigh, he gives it a squeeze. “Let’s call Gemma back and see what she found out and we can go from there.”
“Okay.”