I hang up the call before I start ranting, especially since it is just a voice mail box and not actually Lucas.
“What do you want to do?” Carly asks, her voice soft and reserved.
“Until we know if his PR firm is already on this, we can work on drafting up a statement, but need to hold off on actually submitting it to anyone. I don’t want to overstep.”
Nine
Lucas
I’m sitting at a table with some of my teammates in the back of the hotel’s bar. We’ve just finished our lunch and are shooting the shit, when my phone starts buzzing constantly on the table. I turn it over to see the screen blowing up with notifications. When that happens, it is never a good sign, so I quickly grab it, swiping up to check out what is going on today.
“Shit, son,” JJ says from across the table. “Looks like someone got himself a little bit of drama going on.” He smirks.
“Asshole,” I call him, glaring at him over the top of my phone. My glare must not be all that intimidating to him, as he just smiles back like he knows something I don’t.
I skim the posts, one on Twitter, specifically, catches my eye and has now been shared over a thousand times in the few minutes it has been posted. Some chick, one I don’t even recognize, has tagged me and is claiming I’m the father of her unborn child.
“Just take a deep breath and get Carmen on the phone,” Derek says, slapping a hand on my shoulder as I do my best to pull oxygen into my lungs and not pass out because I’m freaking out inside. I know down in my soul that this girl is lying. All she sees with me is a big fat paycheck if she claims I’m her baby daddy.
“I’ll call my own, first,” I grunt out as I pull up my contacts list. Before I can hit the button, my phone starts ringing, and it is Brent, my agent calling.
“Lucas.” Brent’s deep voice comes through the line. “Talk to me, kid.”
“She’s lying,” I blurt out.
“Okay, and what makes you so confident about that?” he questions.
“First off, I don’t recognize her at all from the little I was able to see on her profile. Plus, I always use protection.”
“Protection isn’t one-hundred percent, you should know that,” he shoots back.
“I know, but I just have a feeling about this one,” I tell him.
“I’ve already shot a message off to PR, asking them to get on this ASAP. For now, no comments to any media. You got that?” he asks.
“Loud and clear.”
“We’ll make a announcement in the next hour, basically stating that a paternity test will be requested to determine if you are, in fact, the father, and if that proves you are then you will step up and provide for the baby and reasonable support for his or her mother. We’ll also request that the media leave you alone on this matter, as you are still processing the news, seeing as how the young woman took to Twitter to inform you of this potential child.”
“I can live with all of that,” I tell him. My phone starts buzzing in my ear, thanks to an incoming call. I pull it away, just to check to see who is calling. Carmen’s contact pops up, but I let her go to voice mail, knowing that she’s probably calling to rip me a new one due to this newest drama. I swear, I can’t win when it comes to keeping my name out of the spotlight. She’s never going to think better of me if shit like this keeps popping up.
I step out of the shower, wrapping a towel around my waist. After the bombshell dropped this afternoon, I played like shit tonight. Dropped a ball I should have never dropped, which allowed Tampa to score a run, then struck out every time I was up to bat.
I get dressed as quickly as I can, not really socializing with any of the guys. I’m in a shitty mood, between today’s drama, the shitty way I played, the loss of the game. It all is just weighing down on me tonight. I just need a night to escape everything, and plan to do just that when I get back to the hotel.
Just as I’m entering my hotel room, my phone starts buzzing in my pocket. I pull it out, seeing my sister’s smiling face lighting up the screen. Seeing how late it is, I worry something might be wrong with my nephew, so I answer the call as quickly as I can.
“Everything okay with Milo?” I ask as her face fills the screen.
“Oh, yeah, he’s fine. I was worried about you. How are you holding up?” she asks.
“It’s been one hell of a day, but I’ll survive,” I tell her, dropping to sit on the edge of the bed.
“I saw the press release, how are you really handling the news?” she presses. My sister is one of my very best friends. We are only thirteen months apart, and while that contributed to us fighting like cats and dogs growing up, we’re now closer than ever. I’d do anything for her, my nephew, Milo, or my brother-in-law, Brad.
“She’s so full of shit, Tiff. I’ve never slept with that girl, let alone gotten her pregnant. I’m hopeful that we can do the DNA test as soon as I get back to Indianapolis, but I’m not sure how all that works, since the baby isn’t born yet. It is going to really suck if I have to wait until it is born to find out.”
“Depending on how far along she is, they can do a simple blood test from what I was researching earlier. It is ninety-nine percent accurate. They can also do an amniocentesis, but that is more invasive and comes with some risks.”
“I’d be fine with the blood test if it is that accurate,” I tell her.
“That’s what I’d suggest starting with. The lab that I found looks like they offer same day rush results for another five-hundred bucks, otherwise, it can take three to five days.”
“Five-hundred bucks will be well worth the cost, just to know for sure within a day,” I tell her and mean every word. I’d rather drop a couple grand on this test and know for sure than to spend only a few hundred and have it hanging over my head. “I think a lawyer has to step in and get involved. Brent was going to handle everything for me and let me know once I’m back in town.”
“When do you fly in?” Tiffany questions.
“After tomorrow’s game.”
“So, you could potentially be getting the test done in as soon as two days from now.”
“I guess so, but that also means they have to get this chick to agree to it by then.”
“Do you even know her name?” Tiff asks.
“Nope, do you?” I ask her as I push back on the bed, leaning against the headboard as I get a little comfortable.
“The report said Abigail.”
“Yeah, no recollection of an Abigail, ever.”
“Do you need to check your little black book?” She chuckles, giving me shit.
“Don’t be a bitch.”
“Me? A bitch to my little brother, the hotshot of major league baseball?” she asks all innocent like. “Never!” She breaks out into a maniacal laugh and I can’t help but smirk at her antics. “That’s the smile I was looking for.” She beams. “I knew I could make you laugh at this crazy situation.”
“Thanks, Tiff. I knew if anyone could get me through all this BS, it would be you. Now, how’s my nephew today?”