Page 27 of Leave Me Not: Nick & Elissa #2 (Badger Creek Duet #8)
27
NICK
T he journalist picks up on the first ring, clearly waiting for us to call her back. After Lis does a round of introductions again, Gemma takes a deep breath before filling us in on everything she has learned.
“So, here’s what I’ve found out so far. In addition to Lucas Montgomery, I now know of at least ten other athletes who have been injured during training or a competition over the last five years. All of these athletes have likely received improper treatment or been silenced.”
Lis glances at me, her eyes wide and I can only shake my head in disbelief. I’ve been on the team for three years and besides the two missing teammates; Lucas and I are the only others I know about.
Which means there are at least six more that this has happened to.
Fuck. This is already way bigger than I thought it could be.
“The coach, Nathan Miles and the team doctor, Graham Watts, have been working together for the better part of ten years though, so I’m thinking there are many more. I plan to dig a little deeper into that over the next week or so. You should also know that Dr. Watts joined the team with a pending investigation regarding his care of a college student in Canada too, but that seems to have been silenced somewhere along the way.”
“Jesus,” I murmur, blowing out a breath.
“I’ve reached out to Lucas, the most recently injured athlete, in the hopes of getting a comment, but he’s not responding to my calls or emails. My guess is there are NDAs at play and everyone’s afraid to talk. I am planning to fly out to Park City though, try and get an interview with the coach or team doctor, although I doubt either of them are going to speak to me. But I will also ask around, see if I can’t find someone who’s willing to talk while I’m out there. Even if it’s off the record, it would still be good, although an actual interview would seal the deal on these two.”
The line goes quiet and when I look over at Gerry, he’s smiling, his legal pad now filled with notes. “Well Ms. Williams, we might be able to help you out with that side of things.”
“Really, how so?”
Gerry chuckles. “Because I happen to have someone who will speak to you, on the record, about all of the things that have happened to him.”
“He doesn’t have an NDA?” she asks and I have to give this woman credit for actually giving a shit about that.
“He does,” Gerry replies, glancing over at Lis and me. “But with recent developments, which I believe have voided his contract with the team, I’m not sure the NDA would hold up in court.”
“Not sure doesn’t sound too convincing,” Gemma says, taking the words right out of my mouth.
“Very true, Ms. Williams, but in this case, I think we’re good. The actions of these two individuals toward a member of the team haven’t just violated his team contract, but also his contract with one of his major sponsors, both of which are grounds for termination of said contracts and an avenue for compensation at the very least. Add in all the information you’ve found, and I think we have a shot at taking these two down and ending their careers.”
“And let me guess, that’s where you need me?” Gemma asks.
Gerry lets out another laugh. “Well, I’d like to think of this as being a mutually beneficial arrangement, but yes, that would be your end of the deal. We give you an athlete who was injured during training whilst on the team and then forced to return before he should have, resulting in more damage and a need for additional surgery. He agrees to give you a no-holds barred interview, which you are welcome to use in your story, if we can control the narrative of when it comes out. We’d like to use it as leverage in our case against the coach and team doctor.”
The line goes silent again and when I turn to Lis, she’s staring at it, her eyes wide and unblinking as she twists her fingers together in her lap. I know she’s worried about this, about Gemma losing her story, about me getting out of my contract, about the debt I’m currently facing, but hearing Gerry spell it all out, hearing what Gemma has found out, I just feel strangely relieved.
“I still get exclusive rights to the story?” Gemma eventually asks. “You aren’t going to stop me from running it.”
“You do,” Gerry says with a nod. “We’re not trying to stop you; we just want to work together on when it comes out so we can get maximum advantage from it.”
“What about if the coach and doctor insist on the story being buried?”
Gerry’s grin widens. “I can assure you, that will not happen. The story is running whether they like it or not. What we want is to settle my client’s claims without going to court. That’s the only option they will be presented with.”
The line goes quiet again, as Lis now grabs my hand and squeezes hard. “Okay, I’d say, you’ve got a deal,” Gemma finally says and beside me, Lis exhales as I pull her closer and drop a kiss to the top of her head. “Can I ask who this athlete is?” Gemma now asks. “I mean I’m assuming it’s you, Nick, considering you are on the team, and it was your wife who asked me to look into this story in the first place. Plus, I know from my research that you were also recently injured.”
Lis laughs, her head falling onto my shoulder as I say, “Yeah, it’s me. Sorry for the cloak and dagger stuff, Lis was just trying to protect me from any of the fallout.”
“No, I get it, makes sense,” Gemma replies. “Okay, when do you want to do the interview? I can be in Badger Creek the day after tomorrow if that works for you.”
Gerry’s smile widens at this and I also grin, loving that this is all moving so quickly. “The day after tomorrow would be perfect,” he replies. “I’ll have something set up and send you through the details.”
“Awesome, sounds good.”
“Great, we’ll be in touch then,” Gerry says, as he jots down a few more notes.
“One more thing,” Gemma asks.
“Yes?”
“Any chance I could speak with someone from the company who sponsors Nick? Just so I can add that angle to the story too. It feels like this could be really huge.”
Gerry chuckles again and if I didn’t know better, I’d swear he was loving this. “I think we can probably make that happen, Ms. Williams.”
“Alright then, great. I guess I’ll see you all in a couple of days.”
Later that night Lis and I are lying in bed at her place, having spent the rest of the afternoon with Gerry and Jeff, coming up with a plan for the interview. Jeff had also agreed to take part, saying he was willing to go on record as well, especially given everything they’d done to me. And Gerry was going to be there too, just to make sure everything was by the book and neither Jeff or I got screwed over.
Even though I didn’t know this journalist, I feel like she’s on our side in all of this. The fact she had even asked about my NDA, when she could’ve easily ignored that I’d signed one, was proof of that.
While we’d been talking, my coach had called too. It had been a phone call I was expecting, given I hadn’t shown up for training this morning, but I hadn’t answered. Instead, Gerry took the call, telling the coach that I wasn’t coming back to Park City and anything he wanted to say to me would now have to go through him.
All four of us could hear the expletives that came through the phone at that.
Still, I was glad I didn’t have to talk to the guy. After everything that’s happened, I am so furious at him, that I don’t trust myself not to completely lose my shit and say something I might regret, or worse still, something that might ruin this.
So, when Gerry was adamant I have no contact with the coach, the team doctor or anyone else on or associated with the team, I was relieved. And even though that meant I had to ignore Brad’s texts, for now, I was more than prepared to do that.
If it means I get out of my contract and get to stay here with Lis, there isn’t a single thing I’m not prepared to do.
“How are you feeling about everything?” Lis eventually asks, propping herself up on my chest.
Smiling, I brush the hair back from her face, tucking a few strands behind her ear. “Really good,” I tell her. “It finally feels like maybe I’ve got a real chance at getting out of this and staying here with you. Without having to pay the money back.”
Gerry had said he thought my contracts were void now, so I wouldn’t have to pay back any of my bonuses and shit and spend god knows how long in debt because of it. He’d also mentioned compensation, but that still felt like a lot to hope for.
Lis gives me a small smile, her fingers tracing the lines of my tattoo. “This feels really big now,” she admits.
“It does.”
“I mean, bigger than I expected,” she says, looking up at me.
Gripping her hips, I hoist her higher, before cupping her jaw. “You don’t regret anything right?” I ask.
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “Do you?”
“Not a single thing,” I tell her. “I’m glad I left and came back here. I would’ve anyway when I found out what happened to you. But all this stuff with the journalist, with what Gerry says about my contracts…it’s just, I don’t know…huge.”
Lis nods, blowing out a breath. “It’s going to change everything, Nick.”
“I know.”
“No, I mean, there’s no going back from this.”
“Lis, babe,” I say, brushing my thumb across her mouth. “I don’t want to. What they’ve done…not just to me but to others too, it needs to stop.”
She doesn’t say anything, her gaze locked with mine as we lie here together. I know she worries I’m going to regret this, but she has no reason to. It’s over and I’m okay with that, and now more than anything, I want to restart my life with her. The life I thought I’d lost once.
“And you’re truly okay with not going to the Olympics?” she eventually asks. “At trying for a medal?”
“Yep,” I reply with a grin. “Besides, I have something way better than a gold medal.”
“Oh yeah, what’s that?”
“You,” I reply, my hand curling around her neck as I pull her close.
Lis laughs. “Oh my god, could you be any cheesier?”
I give her a quick kiss before wrapping my arms around her, holding her close. “Sure, I can try,” I say with a grin. “But yes, Elissa, I have never been more certain of anything in my entire life. I can’t wait for everything that’s going to happen. You, me, babies and everything.”
“Babies?”
Chuckling, I reply, “Yeah, babies. We aren’t stopping at one.”
She rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. “Maybe we should at least start with one first before we go making plans for more.”
“Nope, no way, babe. It’s definitely multiple.”
“Multiple?!” she says. “Right now, we live with my mom.”
“Built in babysitter,” I say, like it’s no big deal, because to me, it isn’t. I love Judy and I know she has no problem with me and Lis being here. She’s told us both that she doesn’t care, just like I know my parents wouldn’t care if we stayed at their place either.
“Yeah and zero privacy, you really want to live with your mother-in-law?” she asks. “You won’t even have sex with me here.”
My grin widens as I lift my head and press a kiss to her lips. “Yeah, I’m about to get over that stupid rule real quick,” I whisper. “Besides, now I’ve made an honest woman out of you, pretty sure Judy fully expects that we’re having sex.”
“Cause me getting pregnant wasn’t enough to convince her,” Lis teases.
Chuckling, I slide a hand down to her ass. “Well, that and all the condoms she left out for us when we were teenagers. She obviously knew, babe. And she obviously has no problem with it.”
Elissa laughs, her head falling so her forehead rests against my chest. “Oh my god, what am I going to do with you?”
I cup her face in my hands, lifting it so she’s looking at me again. “You’re gonna let me love you and make babies with you and have the best life together.” Lis snorts, shaking her head at me and I can’t stop the grin. “What, you wanted me to be cheesier.”
“You’re hopeless,” she breathes out, laughing.
“I am hopelessly in love with you, Elissa O’Connor, because you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to me. Better than any gold medal could ever be.”
“Oh my god, stop!” she says, slapping my chest.
Grinning, I pull her in for another kiss. “We’ll sort out the living thing, babe,” I whisper, my lips against hers. “We’ll do the interview and I’ll have my surgery and before baby comes, I promise we’ll have a plan for what we’re gonna do. Because yeah, I do want us to have that. I want us to have everything.”
She smiles, resting her forehead against mine. “You’re always so chill about everything, like you just know it’s all going to work out.”
“That’s because it will,” I tell her. “I have you and that’s all that matters to me. Everything else will fall into place when it needs to.”
Lis’ hand moves to my jaw now, her thumb brushing along my cheekbone as she looks down at me with nothing but love and happiness. And even though I know there is still so much ahead of us with my coach, with my surgery and recovery, with us finding a place to live and me deciding what I’m going to do for the rest of my life, none of that seems important right now.
All that matters is this woman lying in my arms, the love of my life.
“I love you, Nick,” she whispers.
“Yeah, you do,” I reply, grinning. “And I love you. Everything’s gonna be good, babe. I promise.”