Page 31 of The Curveball
“Oh, no. It’s the loss. All the guys go through it at the end of the season. But from what Skye says, Griffin is taking it even harder because of this whole debacle.” She uses her phone to gesture at me before going on. “Uncle Dal told her and Park that rumors are flying Griffin was intoxicated. He’s concerned over his Future All-Stars. Is that the sweetest? He’s not worried for himself; he’s worried about the kiddos. That pumpkin of a man.”
Ah, another part of Griffin Marks I try to forget.
He’s charitable.
Not in the way that he’s rich and his accountant tells him he needs to find a charity to donate to. He’s the guy who worked with Parker Knight to build their own non-profit organization for kids. They built it from the ground up, and in the last four years they’ve raised over four million dollars for kids across the country who can’t afford competitive athletics.
“People are saying he was drunk?” Forget the pulsating knot on my head. Unbidden, a flash of anger knocks out the pain until all I can focus on is the fierce, she-wolf need to defend Griffin Marks. I’ll analyze it later. Probably at three in the morning, in a week or two, when my head won’t shut off. “Ally, will he lose sponsors for the foundation over this?”
“I hope not.” She sighs. “Uncle Dal is already working with our PR team to put out statements ASAP. But you know how people are. They jump the gun sometimes.”
Nope. This isn’t going to go any further.
He might be irritatingly overprotective, but I will not let Griffin go down in a ball of rumor flames when he’s been nothing but nice since this entire thing happened.
The man had no obligation to me beyond seeing me safely into an ambulance, but he stayed when I flipped out over the CT scan, he gave me a bed to sleep in, slept in the bed with me because I didn’t want to be alone, and interrupted his sleep to ask me the month and president’s name four times.
He’s not going to be buried by insinuations he’s irresponsible in a car.
“Hand me my phone, will you?”
“Nope.”
“Ally.”
“Sugar bear.”
“I need to post in my reader groups and tell the truth about what he did.”
“You can’t look at screens right now, Wren.”
I groan in frustration. “Three minutes. That’s all.”
“Nope. Give me your login, tell me what to say, and I’ll make it nice and flowery. But it’s got to be done in ten seconds because I’m getting another call from the school. Unless you need me to stay, I can call Cal.”
“No.” I let out a long breath. “No, don’t make Cal drive all the way back from work.”
“Looks like you have a choice to make. Ten, nine, eight—”
“Okay.” I grunt again, letting her know she’s aggravating. Alice simply smiles. In a few hurried words I spit out all my social media group logins and passwords. “It’s a good thing I trust you.”
“Sweets, I wouldn’t dream of doing you wrong,” she says. “Anything in particular you want me to say?”
“Not really. Basically let people know I’m alive, and Griffin Marks from the Vegas Kings has graciously been helping me with the incident. And make it clear he was completely sober.”
Alice nods and types a few notes into her phone. She’s the head of marketing for Burton Field and the team. If anyone can handle a few keenly worded social media posts, it’s her.
A few more clicks of her acrylic nails on her screen and she says, “Done and done. I’ll take care of it.”
“Thank you.” My head is back to throbbing, and I have to admit, it’s a relief knowing I won’t have to use much brain power to help diffuse these rumors.
“Okay, Wren Bird. You let me know if you need anything. Anytime, got it? Oh, and a bit of advice, maybe take it easy on Griff for a few days. He’s probably taking the out harder than he lets on.”
Her words are a jab to the heart. Am I so cold to Griffin my friend needs to remind me to play nice?
Once I’m alone, all I can think of is the weight of the world on Griffin’s broad shoulders. I can do something. He put me in lockdown, robbed me of my independence, but I’m not so stubborn not to see he did it out of concern.
The least I can do is show a tiny bit of appreciation. Maybe enough to keep his smile in place.