Grand Slam (The Boys of Summer 3)

My back pushes into my chair as if a bucket of bricks has been thrown at my chest. The imaginary force causes my breathing to labor and my fists to clench. I shake my head as I try to regain my composure. I didn’t touch that woman once I left the bar. In fact, we never left the general bar area together, so how can she say something like this?

“Nah, man. She’s lying. It wasn’t me.”

“Travis—”

I put my hand up to stop him. It’s disrespectful, I know, but I’m not answering any more of his questions. “I think I need to wait for my lawyer.” With his cold, dark eyes focusing on me, Hook picks up the folder and taps it a few times on the table before pushing his chair back. The nerve-grating sound of the legs pushing into the floor from his body weight sends a warning signal to me: He’s pissed and thinks I’m guilty of rape.

* * *

“Travis?”

My head pops up when I hear my name. Irvin walks in. Our eye contact is brief, and I can see it in his eyes. I know his question before he even has t

o say it, and I hate that I’ve put the doubt in his mind. “No, I didn’t. I left by myself, but someone saw me leave.”

Irvin sighs and sets his briefcase and jacket onto the table. “I already called Jeffrey. He’s sending someone over.”

“Why?” I ask. I don’t see why my public relations manager needs to be involved. I didn’t do anything wrong, so Irvin should be able to get everything taken care of, and I can be on my way.

“Because you’re Travis Kidd and you’re sitting in a police station. Whether you committed a crime or not, you’re newsworthy, and the district attorney will use the media to his advantage to get them on his side.”

“But I didn’t do anything!” I say rather loudly with my hands in the air.

“They don’t seem to think that’s the case, Travis. I’ve already met with Detective Hook, and he’s certain that the case he’s building is going to be solid. He wants to talk.”

I let my head fall forward, already feeling defeated. “So now what?”

Irvin sits down and pulls out his legal pad, much like the detective. “We’re going to get your story, speak with Hook, and let Jeffrey’s team take care of the media.”

The door opens suddenly, and my eyes open wide as I take in Saylor, dressed similarly to the way I saw her last night, except now she’s in work mode. I groan internally, wishing that Jeffrey would’ve come himself and not sent her.

“The media is preparing for something big. Jeffrey said you plan to speak on Travis’s behalf after the DA gives his press conference?” Saylor states.

Saylor all but ignores me and focuses on Irvin. This is how things should be, right? The people I pay to protect me, doing their job?

“Of course. I’m not going to allow the DA to railroad my client,” Irvin says, and she nods, finally looking at me, although it’s brief.

There’s a quick knock on the door, and Hook walks back in and takes a seat across from me and next to Saylor. There’s a tinge of jealousy coursing through me that he gets to be next to her and I can’t.

“Travis, now that you’re in the company of your lawyer and—”

“My public relations team,” I say, interrupting him.

“Right,” he says, sighing. I’m sure he doesn’t like dealing with athletes, but I have to protect every side of my life here, and the last thing I need is a scandal. Saylor can, and will, prevent that. “Tell me about last night.”

Instantly, I look at Saylor, who peers down at the table, avoiding eye contact with me. I shake my head and start. “I met Blue while I was in the bar. We shot a few games of pool. I let her think she was hustling me, so she won a few games. We kissed a few times, but I ran into a friend, and when she left, I did as well.”

“And Ms. Ward?”

I shrug. “I left her standing on the side of the road. I was more interested in my friend.”

“And who is this friend?”

Once again I seek out Saylor. She shakes her head slightly, confusing me. “Um…”

“Do you know her name?” Hook asks as he slides the yellow legal pad over to me with a pen resting on top.

I can feel everyone’s eyes on me, and I’m afraid to look back at Saylor out of fear that I’ll give her away before we have a chance to talk about last night. “I need to talk to her first. I, uh…I can’t do this to her without some warning.”