Faye grinned. “Way to go, predicting back-to-back championships.”
Peggy rubbed Marilyn’s arm. “You made us proud.”
“Shit, you represented.” Faye turned wide horrified eyes toward Jaclyn. “Excuse my mouth.”
Jaclyn laughed. “We’re in the NBA. I’ve heard worse.” She turned to Marilyn. “Congratulations again. I have some things to wrap up before tonight’s flight out. I’ll see you all in Denver Saturday?”
A chorus of agreements followed Jaclyn from the room.
Marilyn turned to the other women. “What’s next?”
Peggy took Marilyn’s arm as Troy escorted them through the conference room’s rear exit. “Now, we’re going shopping.”
24
Julian chuckled. “I hope you can make good on the back-to-back championships Mary just promised.”
Warrick stared blankly at the large, high-definition television in Julian’s living room. The local channel had just aired Marilyn’s press conference in its entirety. His thoughts were jumbled, spinning like a top across his mind. His media-averse wife had called a press conference to tell the country she loved him.
He asked the first coherent question he could pull together. “Did you know she was going to do that?”
Julian aimed the remote control at the TV to turn it off. “Jackie called earlier. But I don’t think Mary knew we were watching.”
Warrick freed his attention from the now dark television and turned to his host. “Why not?”
“It’s obvious. If she’d known you were watching, she would have said ‘I love you, Rick.’ Instead of ‘I love him.’” Julian set the remote on the white-veined ebony corner table. “Besides, Jackie asked me to try to get you to watch the press conference. She didn’t say anything about Mary.”
Warrick was still dazed. Marilyn had gone on television to defend him to the media and the public.
Julian continued. “Jordan Hyatt’s statement came out right before the press conference. For Mary to include it in her notes means she knew about it in advance.”
“How could she?” And why hadn’t she called me to talk about it?
Warrick rose and crossed the room, trying to wrap his mind around what had just happened.
“Maybe she’s the one who convinced Jordan Hyatt to tell the truth.” Julian’s words followed him.
If that were true, Marilyn had gone to a lot of effort to restore his reputation.
Warrick stared out the window at the late afternoon. The trees in front of Julian’s home and across his street cast shadows on the sidewalks. “She challenged the press to keep their spotlight on us.” Did that mean she was ready for forever with him?
Behind him, Julian shifted on the sofa. “Yes, well, that might not have been a good idea.”
Warrick drew a hand over his scalp. “When the media first started invading our privacy, Mary wanted me to retire. She thought if I didn’t play basketball anymore, the press would leave us alone.”
“It doesn’t sound as though she wants you to retire now. It seems like she wants you to win the title next season as well.”
“Why?”
“Because she loves you and she knows it’s what you want.”
“What if I don’t win? What if I disappoint her?”
“You heard her press conference, Rick. You can’t disappoint her. The only person you could disappoint is you.”
“Maybe.” Warrick returned to the armchair. “I feel as though everyone expects me to fail—the press ... the public ... my parents.”
“You’ve already won, son.” Julian’s words were earnest. “You’ve been through the fire, but you didn’t let it consume you. Instead it made you stronger. There are a lot of people who admire you for that, including me.”