CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
A bad place to be is between me and the ball.
Jack let out a sigh and shoved his phone back in his pocket, knowing that Ana answering his call was a long shot. His press conference was going to start shortly, and it was the first step in cleaning up the mess, and he hoped it would be enough for her to take his call eventually.
Because he didn’t know how he’d manage if she didn’t. When he’d gotten home last night and seen some of her stuff missing, he’d been gutted and knew he wouldn’t give up until they found their way to the other side.
This was going to make them stronger and prepare them for whatever challenges came up because that’s what life was about. Survive the tough times, so the good ones were all the sweeter.
Seeing his agent nod, he buttoned his suit coat and ran his hand over his hair and walked down the long hall toward the conference room.
“First step in many,” he said quietly as he stood outside the room at Sun Life Stadium and tried Ana again. When she picked up, he was surprised as hell and knew he’d better start talking fast. “I love you, Ana, and I’m going to fix this. I’m giving a press conference in ten minutes, and I want you to watch it.”
When she didn’t respond, he decided to keep talking. “I’m sorry, honey. I never wanted to cause you any pain.”
“Then why did you, Jack? I don’t like being the collateral damage of your career, and I ask that you don’t call me anymore.”
“I won’t call you anymore today, but I’ll be at your house in a couple of hours, and we’re going to talk this out. I let you have a couple of days, and now that’s over. You said you loved me, Ana James, and that’s not something you can take back. We love each other, and that’s what matters.”
Hissing into the phone, she responded. “It’s not that easy, Jack. I can’t go to a public restroom without something happening. How do you expect to have a life together if we can never go out in public? I don’t want to deal with your past and all of the women in it.”
“Watch the news conference, and then we’ll talk. I love you, and we’re spending the rest of our lives together, being blissfully happy.”
“Goodbye, Jack.”
His lawyer signaled it was time and he walked into the room and faced a large crowd. His team sat in the front row, as well as many of his teammates, and he appreciated the hell out of the fact that so many of them had come out to support him.
Stepping up to the microphone, he cleared his throat and waited for everyone to quiet down and couldn’t wait to take the first step in reclaiming his life and the woman he loved.
“Thank you all for coming today. I wanted to take the opportunity to clarify all of the misinformation that’s been out in the press lately since it’s been open season on me for the last month. I’m here to tell you that I’m shutting it down today once and for all. I’ve never really spoken about my private life because I figured it’s no one’s business, but today that changes because I’m clearing the air.”
He watched the faces of the reporters and knew that what he was about to say was going to change a couple of people’s lives. He’d tried to solve this quietly, and that hadn’t worked, so now he was going to address it publicly. “There’s a woman who has been claiming I fathered her child and abandoned her. She’s sold her story to the tabloids and has done a couple of interviews, which is nice since she was paid. Turns out she’s going to need the money because my attorney has filed a suit of defamation and slander this morning in court.”
The sound of camera shutters filled the room for a moment, and he waited. “When the news first came out, I made a DNA sample available for her child’s to be tested against. As of a couple of minutes ago, she never brought her child in and I’m confident, she never will. My investigator has recently discovered I wasn’t her first choice for a father for the child and it appears that she spread a similar story about a player from our local baseball team, too. I’ll give her this—it’s an interesting way to make a living.”
Several people chuckled, and he took the opportunity to open a bottle of water and drain half of it. “As much as I believe in charity, this isn’t a cause I’m willing to support. I’ve given her many opportunities to either prove her case or take back her allegations, and she’s chosen to do neither. Which has given me no choice but to clear my name through the courts because I’m not going to set a precedent and give people the idea they can make accusations against me without consequence.” Taking another sip of water, he noticed that the reporters didn’t look quite so bloodthirsty and the mood in the room had shifted.
“And, if you thought the whole baby daddy thing made my girlfriend mad, the next thing really got to her. On the night we celebrated the foundation that we’ve set up to fund the research she’s heading up, another bomb was dropped when a stranger asked if she’d like to see her boyfriend’s sex tape.
“The video my girlfriend was shown was created by a group of people who do this for a living and was a finely edited version of a lot of different people. Unfortunately, the way it was done makes me look like the star. The team has discovered someone had access to our locker room and has been filming the players when we’re changing and getting in the showers and have a lot of footage of all of their naked glory. For a lot of guys, it’s not that big of a deal, but for men who are married or in a committed relationship, it is. I’ve been informed that the team is pursuing the group of people responsible and won’t stop until everyone involved is prosecuted.”
Shifting his weight, he stared at his attorney’s face and got a smile in return. “So, as much as you guys like a story, there isn’t one here. I don’t have any illegitimate children and haven’t starred in a sex tape. When the campaign comes out for the underwear that I’m promoting, please know that my girlfriend was at the photo shoot and was, in fact, the inspiration for the way the pictures turned out. My fee for that campaign was deposited into our foundation, and it will be my last one because she asked me not to take my clothes off anymore.
“So, now we come around to how this has hurt the person I love most in the world. My girlfriend is a smart, kind, and beautiful woman, and didn’t sign up for the fallout of my life. I have a lot of work in front of me to convince her that I’m worth the hassle, so I’d appreciate if the next time you report a story, you check the facts first. I’m also going to give a warning to whomever else wants to use me as an ATM: don’t! If you say something about me, it better be true because I’ll not let anyone get away with lying about me, and open season on Jack Ellis is closed.” He nodded to the crowd and walked out the door that led to the hall and leaned against the wall.
He hoped like hell that he had conveyed his feelings and made it clear where he stood. Hearing the door open, he watched his agent, the investigator, and his attorney walk out. “Well, that’s that. Let’s hope we don’t have to do that again.”
His attorney handed him the thick envelope. “Everything is in there from the investigation. If she doesn’t believe you, then have her read that. Don’t push her, Jack. Give her time to absorb all of this.”
He shook hands with all three men and then made his way out of the building, knowing he wasn’t going to be okay until he could see Ana and tell her how sorry he was and how much he loved her.