First Down (First and Ten #1) (23 page)

Ana patted her arm and tried to think of something to say. “Remember that my mom wants you, and she would probably trade one of my brothers for you. So let your family have Clark, and you can be my true sister.” She watched Clark saunter over to them with a big smile on his face. He looked damned happy about something.

“Hi, guys. Did Ella tell you about Thanksgiving? We had a good time, and I think her family likes me.” He noticed that no one was returning his smile and that Jack was giving him a signal to stop talking. “What did I say?”

Ella elbowed him. “Don’t be such a show-off. Everyone doesn’t need to know that my family likes you better than me.”

Clark took her hand and made her look at him. “Your family is very proud of you, and they love you to pieces. They just don’t know how to show it in a way that makes sense to you. Both of your brothers threatened my life if I didn’t treat you properly. They also gave me the third degree about my intentions. Your parents did the same thing. So don’t ever say that again.”

Folding her arms, Ella looked over the crowd and thought about what he’d said. It might be possible, but she doubted it. “They didn’t have to like you so much.”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’m a hard man to resist. You’ve tried really hard, and so far, you haven’t been successful.” He felt her elbow in his side and smiled. That was her way of telling him he was right. “Let’s go find a good table, I think they are about to serve dinner.” They walked to a table, and Ella made sure that she sat next to Ana, because she still had a lot to discuss with her friend.

As dessert was being served, Jack leaned over to speak into Ana’s ear. “Do you want to give the speech, or should I?”

She leaned into him and put her hand on his leg. She noticed that he smiled, looked down at her hand, and covered it with his. “I think you should make the speech. You are the one who donated the money and created the foundation.”

“All right, sweetie.” He leaned back as the waiter put his desert plate in front of him and felt Ana’s hand squeeze his leg. His body reacted instantly, and he shoved his napkin over his lap. “Quit being naughty, Ana. I can’t go up there if you keep doing that. So unless you want to make the speech, you better move your hand.” He felt her laughter as she slid her hand back to her lap. “I promise you can get at me as soon as we get home, and I will make it worth the wait.”

“As long as you promise.” She took a big bite of cake and moaned as the dark chocolate hit her tongue. Opening her eyes, she, noticed Jack’s face was flushed and he was staring at her. “Why are you looking at me that way?”

“You just behave until we get in the car. Then all bets are off.” He liked that Ana was showing how she felt about him in a room crowded with colleagues and people from the Sharks organization. It meant that she couldn’t help her feelings, which was going to be important if what his attorney told him was true. He didn’t want to think about the possibility, so he focused on Ana’s smile. Looking at her face, feeling her skin against his and smelling her fragrance made his world right.

The head of the hospital walked up to the podium and started making his annual speech. If they were lucky, it wouldn’t last as long as it did last year.

********

Jack stood at the podium, caught Ana’s gaze and her encouraging smile. Taking a deep breath, he tried to remember the speech that he’d practiced. “I’m up here today because I met a woman who turned my world upside down. I met her in San Diego two months ago, and I haven’t been the same since. Maybe you were expecting me to tell you about my love of science or my need to do good, but none of that would be true. I’ve met the love of my life, and the woman that I’m going to spend the rest of my life with…happens to be a doctor. She just started her fellowship, and she has some pretty good ideas about some research that she would like to pursue. So like any man who is trying to win a woman’s heart, I stripped down to my skivvies so I could give her a million dollars for research. I believe in Dr. Ana James and the work that she’s doing, so I had a foundation set up and deposited my fee. I’ve named it the Ana James Ellis Foundation. After we get married, the name will make sense. I knew she was the woman for me because her last name is my first name. I couldn’t think of a better sign. Anyway….the research that she pursues, we hope ultimately can change people’s lives. Ana told me that I couldn’t strip down anymore, so we’ll have to figure something else out for the next round of funding. But as I look out over the room, I see a lot of men who might be great candidates for the next ad. Who knows? Maybe we can start a movement. So if you feel like taking your clothes off and donating your fee, come find me later, and I can tell you how I did it. If we get ten guys to do it, just think about the change we could make. Thank you, Ana, for making me a better man and giving me the opportunity to make a difference.” He noticed that she had tears running down her face.

She stood, blew him kisses, and then began to clap.

Soon everyone joined her, and the room was filled with the sound.

Maybe his speech would give a couple of guys the idea of doing something like he did. They were fortunate to pursue their dreams and play the game they loved while being paid an obscene amount of money. He walked down from the stage and into the waiting arms of the woman he loved. So far, this day had been freaking amazing.

********

Jack and Ana stood in a large group of Shark players around the bar in the lobby of the hotel. They had decided to convene there after the charity event wound down. Though he enjoyed hanging out with his friends, he was ready to go home and celebrate with Ana. He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “Sweetie, are you ready to go home?”

“Yes, let me just go to ladies before we leave.” She watched Jack stand and hold out his hand, so he could help her up. “I can go on my own; nothing is going to happen.”

“All right, do you want me to come and wait?”

“No, I’m a big girl, and I can do this.” She smiled and turned in the direction of the meeting rooms. Why was the bathroom always so far away? She walked down the long hall and noticed a group of women that she’d seen earlier in the bar. They were loud, giggly, and probably drunk. She followed them into the restroom and made her way down to one of the stalls. After she was done, she was washing her hands and caught a stare that one of the women was giving her. She smiled and then got a paper towel. As she was digging in her purse for her lip gloss, she noticed that the woman was studying her. She smiled again and then looked in the mirror as she put applied the gloss to her lips.

“I’ve read about you. You are some kind of super-smart, fancy doctor.”

Ana had a very bad feeling about what was about to happen. She decided to face it head on and deal with whatever this woman had to say. She put her hand out and introduced herself. “I’m Ana.”

The woman looked her up and down and then gave her a small smirk. “I’m Kiky, and I just watched your boyfriend’s sex tape. I have to say that you are a lucky woman, and I hope he treats you right.”

Ana felt the blood leave her head and thought she might faint. A loud buzzing sound filled her head, and she knew that she was going to lose her cookies. “Did you say sex tape?”

“I sure did, honey. The skank who put it up has been threatening all day to do it, unless she was paid. Apparently, your boyfriend didn’t feel like she deserved the money, so she put it up on YouTube. It’s gotten a lot of hits already. That man of yours has a very fine ass, and it’s not hard to watch.”

Ana doubled over and felt like she had been stabbed. She couldn’t decide if she was going to faint or throw up first. As she studied the tile floor in the bathroom, she decided that throwing up was going to be her only option. She twirled, flew into the closest stall, and gave up everything she’d eaten that day. It seemed fitting, because everything Jack had ever told her seemed to be a lie. Maybe this was her body’s way of getting rid of it all. She slowly stood, took a piece of toilet paper, and wiped her mouth. She leaned against the stall and pressed her face into the cold tile. “Get it together, Ana, and think. Use that big brain of yours and figure a way out of here.” After several minutes, she unlatched the door and walked back toward the sinks.

Unfortunately, Kiky was still there, and she looked a little worried.

“I wasn’t expecting to hear that,” Ana mumbled.

“Honey, none of us ever are. That’s why I quit dating basketball players. The pain was never worth it.”

Ana rinsed her mouth and then got a damp towel to wipe her face. She studied Kiky and made a decision. “I guess I better see it.”

Kiky handed her some breath mints and then shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a very good idea.”

Ana chewed the breath mints and gave her a hard stare. “I want to face the truth, and the only way that I’m going to be able to do that is to see for myself.” She put out her hand as Kiky tapped her phone. Ana took it and watched the video of her boyfriend having relations with another woman. It was definitely him because the tattoo on his back showed during one scene. It was very low quality and looked really choppy. But there was enough there to see what was going on. Ana felt her stomach come up, and she willed it back down. She needed to see the whole thing, and then she could decide how she was going to kill him. It was probably no more than three minutes long, but it felt like a lifetime. Once it was finished, she handed Kiky her phone back and nodded her head. “Thanks for showing it to me.”

“Maybe I should’ve kept it to myself, but I feel like women need to look out for one another more. If we did, then men wouldn’t get away with as much as they do.”

Ana patted her arm. “I couldn’t agree more.” She walked out of the bathroom, and down the long hall. It gave her enough time to figure out what she was going to do. She walked through the lobby, went out the front doors, and hailed a cab. She was going to Ronnie’s house and hide out. No one would get past her security gates and Gerald. Ana needed to hunker down before she decided her next move.

Once she was in the cab, she texted Ella, told her she was going home, and not to worry. She next texted Jack and told him how much she enjoyed watching his sex tape. The last words she typed told him to never contact her again. Why did she think that dating a football player was ever a good idea? She turned off her phone and leaned her head back as the cab made its way through the streets of downtown Miami.

CHAPTER TWENTY

Friday

Jack sat on the team plane as it headed to New Jersey and tried to figure out how he was going to get Ana to listen to him. Last night had ended in a shit storm, and he was only at the beginning of figuring out how he was going to get out of it. He’d been called into the front office early and had the pleasure of Coach Bellows giving him a lecture about his morality. After the facts were revealed, he called in the team manager, and they consulted with the team attorney. He knew that the truth would come out sooner rather than later, but would it be enough for Ana?

He felt sick to his stomach and couldn’t focus. The anxiety that ran through his body was killing any hope of him pulling out a good game on Sunday. And for the first time in his life, he didn’t care. If he could stay in Miami and fix this thing with Ana, then he would. But she wasn’t going to see him until he could prove his innocence. Even when he did, he wasn’t sure it was going to be enough. He watched Clark make his way down the aisle and sit in the seat next to him. He figured only a close friend would risk getting close. Everyone had given him a wide berth all day. He had a mad going that wasn’t going to go away until he fixed things with Ana. “Do you have any news for me?”

Clark gave him a sympathetic smile and shook his head. “The women have closed ranks, and there is radio silence. Whatever is happening at Ronnie’s is not something that we’re ever going to find out about. I’m not sure if they are arranging a contract on your life or having a spell put on you or simply putting large pins in a doll with your face on it. Those all are real possibilities.”

“I wonder how Ana is doing.”

Clark tried to come up with a good answer, but unfortunately, there wasn’t one. “I imagine she’s doing as well as any woman who had the pleasure of watching a sex tape of her boyfriend in the ladies room. I understand that Gerald has taken over her care and is providing whatever she needs.”

Jack wiped his hand down his face and let out a breath. “I confirmed with Joel that there’s security at Ronnie’s. The last thing I want is someone getting to Ana right now. I don’t know how she is ever going to forgive me, but I have to find a way.” He noticed Clark had no response, which meant that he knew what a long shot it was going to be. “You know that it isn’t me in those tapes.”

Clark held up his hands and smiled. “No judgment from me, man. You were single, and what you do in your free time is up to you.”

“That isn’t me in the tapes. Someone edited it and made it look like me. Those images are from the locker room. Someone had access to the locker room and showers, and they’re selling pictures to the highest bidder. The team attorney is on this, and they’re trying to find out where the leak is. You may be next, Clark.”

He straightened up and looked at his team mates. “That sucks.”

“Yeah, I couldn’t agree more. Someone sees this team as a bank account.” Leaning back in his seat, he closed his eyes. He knew that the stuff out there about him wasn’t true, and it would soon be proven. Clark stood and clapped him on the shoulder and then moved away down the aisle. His attorney was going to make sure that the two women that made these claims were prosecuted in whatever way possible, and Jack didn’t care how much money it might cost. This was going to be shut down and never happen again. He dug his phone out of his pocket and stared at his screensaver. It was a picture that was taken last night before everything went to hell. They had their arms around one another, and they were looking at each other with big smiles. That was the truth of them, and he was going to find a way back.