Chapter 18
Erik
The team executive offices are set on the top floor of the east side of the arena. It holds only four offices for the four men that run this team. Christian Rutherford, our team’s president and general manager; Tarly Moore, the chief financial officer; Scott Rigal, the executive vice president and general manager of the arena and last; the team’s owner, Dominik Carlson.
Dominik—as he has asked everyone to call him—doesn’t live in Phoenix but rather Los Angeles. He made his first millions off an Internet radio company he founded and then promptly diversified to make his first billion. He owns one of two professional basketball teams in LA and spent a lot of money and time politicking to get Phoenix a professional hockey team. He even owns shares in the entertainment group that owns the arena.
He comes to Phoenix often to watch us play, flying in and then back out again on his private jet. I’ve not met him yet but the word is he’s very cool. He loaned Bishop his private plane last month to chase Brooke to New York when she thought she could do something as foolish as to break up with the man.
Still, despite all that, it’s disconcerting to get a call from some secretary at the arena that Dominik was there and wished to meet with me. In fact, I’d been lying in bed with Blue when the phone rang.
Ordinarily, I would not have answered it but we’d been lying there awhile talking—after we had amazing morning sex whereby I made her come once with my mouth and the next time with my cock—and I had been contemplating getting up for breakfast. I was grumpy after the call requesting an immediate meeting, as this had not been time budgeted into my plan to spend four glorious days with Blue. Regretfully, I had to shower alone as Blue whipped us up something to eat and I had to leave her there alone while I went to see what the head honcho wanted.
Hannah, the executive receptionist, greets me with a smile when I walk in. “Good morning, Mr. Dalhbeck. If you’ll have a seat, Mr. Carlson will see you soon.”
I look over to where she points, a sitting area of two couches done in sleek gray suede. Sebastian Parr, the team’s director of merchandising sits there scrolling on his iPhone. He looks up, gives me a nod and then looks back down again.
It’s now clear why I’m here.
To validate my suspicions, the door I had just walked through opens up and in walks Dax.
Yup…we’re all here for the lawsuit.
“What’s up, dude?” he says as he holds his fist out to me to bump.
“Not much,” I say and then nod to Sebastian sitting there, who is ignoring us both. “Guess we’re here about the lawsuit, huh?”
“That would be my guess as well,” Dax says.
“Mine as well,” Sebastian says without looking up from his phone.
Dax, Sebastian, and I were sued the first week of October, just as we were coming out of preseason and starting regular play. The bitch that sued us—and I mean that with all disrespect—is lying through her teeth claiming that she was sexually harassed by the three of us.
“Mr. Carlson is ready to see you now,” Hannah says from behind us. She points to the hall that leads to his office before asking, “Would any of you like me to bring you something to drink?”
We all decline and head to the impromptu meeting that was called by the ultimate man in charge and for which there was no thought of ever declining his summons.
Surprisingly, Dominik doesn’t have the largest office. We’d all been given a tour of the arena before the season started, which included the executive suite. I theorize that it’s because he’s not here often, but I also think it means his ego is in check.
He’s on the phone when we walk in. Not the phone on his desk, but his cell phone and he’s standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the Phoenix skyline, with a hand casually tucked into a pocket. I bet his suit is from Italy and costs five figures. Turning toward us, he motions to a round table with four chairs in one corner of the office for us to sit.
Into the phone, he says, “I’ll have the car pick you up at four and it will take you to the airport. I’ll have landed by then.”
There’s a moment of silence then he adds, “You don’t need to pack anything but your bathing suit. Trust me.”
Dax and I grin at each other. Those words coupled with his low, seductive voice and you know he’s setting up what is promising to be a very good time with a woman.
We take our chairs while Dominik makes his farewell to the lucky lady. He approaches us with a broad smile and walking around the table, shakes our hands, calling us each by name. When he’s done, he unbuttons his suit jacket and sits in the empty chair directly opposite of me.
“Thank you for coming in on such short notice.” He clasps his hands on the table. “You probably figured this is about the lawsuit that was filed against the organization and the three of you.”
We all nod.
“My lawyers have done some investigation into Miss Pearson,” he tells us. He’s so professional and polite to call her that rather than “that bitch.” “And it seems she’s got a criminal history…petty theft and forgery. Didn’t do any jail time, but my attorneys say that would be enough to discredit her in front of a jury. The case will be her word against yours, after all.”
“That’s great news,” Sebastian says with obvious relief.
“It is, as long as your stories are true and she can’t surprise us with some evidence that she was sexually harassed by the three of you,” he says, and takes his time to look around the table at all of us.
“I had sex with her,” Dax says, a fact that he’s already admitted to. “But she propositioned me in front of witnesses and she wasn’t subtle about it.”
“I don’t care if you had sex with her,” Dominik replies coolly. “Only if you used your position on the team to promise her something the organization could do for her in exchange for sexual favors.”
“Nope,” Dax replies with an adamant shake of his head. “Just fucked her and it wasn’t that great.”
I cough to cover the laugh that erupts out of me and Dominik’s lips twitch. He turns his attention to Sebastian. “I didn’t touch her at all. Flirted with her one night at the Sneaky Saguaro but I think she went home with Dax that night.”
“She came on to me strong in the job interview,” Sebastian continues. “Which you know I immediately reported to Christian after she left, which is company policy.”
Dominik nods at Sebastian with a grim smile because of the lengths this lady went to. He then turns to look at me. I hold both palms up. “I didn’t touch her. Had thought about it, because yeah…she’s hot. But she chose Dax that first night we met her, thank fuck.”
There’s no offense seemingly taken by Dominik over my F-bomb as he pushes up from the table. “That’s all I need, guys. I know you told the attorneys this same stuff before, but I wanted you to look me in the eye and talk to me straight, and based on what you’ve confirmed, I’m instructing my attorneys to tell Miss Pearson to fuck off…but in nicer terms, of course. While I have a strict, no tolerance policy toward any types of sexual harassment, I’m not going to let someone try to pin something on my guys that you didn’t do. I think it’s pretty clear she set this all up to make a quick buck.”
We all laugh as we stand up from the table. We shake hands with Dominik and Sebastian is the one to ask him, “So you’re not going to pay her any money?”
Dominik shrugs. “I might have them offer something really insulting. A take it or leave it amount like a hundred dollars. But no…we’re not going to even engage in any negotiations with her. If she wants to come after us, I’ll have my lawyers bury her in the deepest legal shitstorm she’s ever seen. But I’ll be fuck if I’m going to pay that twat when my guys have done nothing wrong.”
It’s in that moment that I realize that not only is the team’s owner, Dominik Carlson, extremely cool because he called Nanette Pearson a twat, but that he truly has his players’ and employees’ backs. No matter what the man might need from me in the future, I will always have his. I’m not sure how to accomplish it since I give my all, but I know I sure as shit will find some way to play just a bit harder for him after today.
Dominik walks to his office door and opens it for us to leave. “Thanks again for coming in.”
We start to file out but Dominik taps me on the shoulder. “Got a minute to chat, Erik?”
Dax shoots me a perplexed look and although I really want to get home to Blue, I merely turn to my boss with a smile. “Sure.”
“Excellent,” he says as he shuts the office door. He puts his hands in his pockets again, giving me an affable smile. It makes him seem friendly and non-bosslike.
I smile back at him and he makes no move for us to sit down somewhere so I expect whatever it is won’t take long.
“I got your email about the flight attendants,” he says and I blink in surprise. I hadn’t sent the email to him but to our general manager, Christian Rutherford, but he clearly forwarded it up the chain. “I have to admit…I’m quite perplexed why you would make an appeal on behalf of our flight crew. Are they unhappy?”
“Not that I know of,” I tell him neutrally. I hadn’t said much to Christian other than the attendants did an outstanding job and that they should be given a raise in recognition of it.
“And this wouldn’t have anything to do with Blue Gardner?” he asks slyly.
I’m not sure how to answer. I don’t want to lie to the man but I don’t want to put Blue in a spotlight that could hurt her. What if he thinks she put me up to this?
My hesitation is enough for him to say, “I know you’re dating her. Christian told me.”
“Yes,” I confirm to him. “I am.”
“Why so tight-lipped, Mr. Dalhbeck?” he asks me, and there’s no doubt by the tone of his voice that he’s taunting me. “If you want something from me, just ask it and tell it to me true.”
I don’t know much about this guy, but two things I do know. He has a romantic streak in him as evidenced by the fact he lent his plane to Bishop to get Brooke back. And he’s fiercely loyal to his team, as evidenced by what just happened in his office not five minutes ago.
I decide to just lay it out. “Blue’s brother is handicapped and lives in a group home.”
“Yes,” he says with a nod. “Billy.”
My chin jerks inward as my eyebrows shoot into my hairline.
Dominik chuckles. “Our background check before we hired Miss Gardner was very thorough, not to mention we discussed Billy in her interview. The human resources director has a summary in her file, and before I talked to you today, I read it so I could be fully apprised of what’s going on.”
“That’s kind of nosy,” I reply dryly, not caring if it pisses him off. I don’t like him checking up on Blue, as if she did something wrong.
“I pay yours and Miss Gardner’s salary,” he reminds me. “I’m entitled. But before you get your panties in a further twist, let me see if I can figure this out on my own. I’m going to assume that money is a bit tight for Miss Gardner since her parents died and she’s taking care of her brother now. And thus is the reason you asked for the raise?”
“Christ,” I mutter as I look away, dragging my fingers through my hair. When I look back, I give him a sheepish smile. “You nailed it. Right now she’s working a part-time job just to pay bills for him, but she had to take him out of a nicer home because her father’s life insurance has been denied.”
“Why?” he asks, his brow furrowing inward with concern.
I tell him about how Blue’s father died and that the life insurance company was denying the policy because he didn’t disclose a heart condition that he never knew he had. I also tell him that I’ve got my own attorney looking into it and he’s ordered all of the medical records, but that it will take a few weeks for all of that to come in.
Dominik turns on his heels, walking over to his desk. He grabs a notepad and pen, handing them to me. “Write your attorney’s name and contact info on there.”
I do as he asks, handing it to back to him.
“I’m going to put my attorneys on this. No offense to yours, but mine are better. The best in the nation. I’ll get this worked out for Blue.”
Surprise by the ferocity of his tone jolts me, and I know without a doubt in my mind that Blue will be getting her father’s life insurance payout. I’m betting there’s not much that Dominik Carlson can’t accomplish with his power and money. That life insurance will make all the difference in Billy’s life and I can’t ask for more.
“Thank you,” I say gratefully and stick my hand out.
He shakes it with an incline of his head. “My pleasure. And good luck to the both of you.”