Lexington and 42nd (The Off Field Series #1)

Copyright © 2016 by Kim Carmody

All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

Printed in Melbourne, Australia

First printing, 2016

ISBN 978-0-9945189-2-7

Kim Carmody

Melbourne, Australia

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

Even standing at five foot nine plus my three-inch heels, Steve Hateley still towered over me. Anyone would think he was a footballer rather than a reporter.

“C’mon Emma, just a ten-minute interview. That’s all I’m asking.”

“No way. You’ll be lucky if I give you access to the team for the rest of the year after the stunt you pulled last week.” I raised an eyebrow, daring him to challenge me.

“Don’t be so dramatic. It wasn’t that bad.”

“Not that bad? You insinuated that the vice-captain of the Sydney Football Club was cheating on his wife!”

Steve shrugged. “So? I’m an investigative journalist, it’s my job.”

“Yeah? Well it’s my job to look after the welfare of this team and right now that means not giving you access to any of them.” I swallowed, forcing myself not to break eye contact. Steve Hateley was one of the more well-respected sports journalists in Sydney and someone I couldn’t afford to have offside—which made my current predicament all the harder given that there was no way I would give him what he wanted.
Especially
when his accusation was right.

“You know this story isn’t going away, Emma. Watts would be much better off making a statement now and clearing the air.”

“Ha! And you think he’ll give the story to you? The only thing you’re likely to get from him in the near future is a black eye.”

Steve shrugged. “I can take it.”

And he probably could—the guy was built like a tank.

I sighed. “Look, we both know you’re not getting near Watts tonight. He’s not doing any one-on-one media.”

Watts chose that moment to appear, practically bumping into us on his way back from the bathroom. Seeing Hateley, his jawline hardened and his body went rigid.

“Watts, just the guy I was looking for. You wouldn’t be able to spare a minute to clarify a few things, would you?” Hateley asked.

Watts stuck his middle finger up. “Clarify this, you fuck head.”

Steve held up his hands. “Hey, I’m just trying to do my job.”

“Yeah, well your job’s got me in a lot of shit right now.”

I didn’t have the heart to point out to Watts that he’d managed to do that all on his own.

“So are you still sleeping with her?”

Oh Jesus.

“What the fuck did you just say to me, you piece of shit?”

“Enough! Enough, enough, enough.” I squished myself between the two men who were nose to nose and pushed on Watts’ chest with both hands. Grabbing his arm, I lead him to the semi-privacy of the hall that lead to the back exit. “Cool your jets buddy, you’re not helping your situation any.”

“Emma, did you hear what he just said?”

“Yes, I did, but he’s right…he’s just doing his job.” I sighed. “Look, you have to be smarter when you’re out in public. I’d rather you didn’t get into any mischief at all but if you have to, do it behind closed doors.”

“Why do people even care what I do off the field. I wish they’d just leave me alone.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. Watts had a big ego and he loved the off-field attention, particularly of the female variety. He just didn’t like it when all that female
attention
caught up with him.

“Look, why don’t you get out of here now, go home.”

“Seriously?” Watts’ face lit up.

I nodded. “Yeah, it’ll be easier for me to handle Hateley without you here. But you have to go home. No going out on the town tonight.”

Watts winked, planting a kiss on my cheek. “You got it. And thanks, Em. I owe you.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, I’ll hold you to that.”

Watching him turn and walk towards the back exit, I took a deep breath. Now to finish dealing with Hateley.

He was still waiting where I’d left him, leaning against the bar table looking altogether pleased with himself.

“I’m not dropping this one, Emma. It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”

“I thought you were better than that. It’s not like you to go for the low hanging fruit.”

Steve laughed. “Nice try, but we both know people love this shit. It sells newspapers.”

I pursed my lips together, none too pleased with what I was about to offer up. “What if I can get you an exclusive sit-down with Mitchell the week of his 300
^th
?”

Steve squinted at me. “You haven’t lined up any of the networks for it?”

I shook my head. “Nope. They’ve just got a press conference. You know Mitchell…he’s too focused on the game to spend his whole week on the media circuit.”

“What, and you want me to leave Watts alone in return?”

“You bet I do.”

Steve nodded slowly, mulling over my peace offering. “Okay, lock it in. But I want an hour…none of this fifteen minutes bullshit.”

“Fine, done.” I let out a breath, shaking Steve’s outstretched hand. I swear if the guys could just keep it in their pants, my job would be a whole lot easier.

I sagged against the wall as he walked away, relieved to have dodged that bullet—for the meantime anyway. Putting the media and a bunch of footballers in one room was a difficult yet necessary task.

“Nice save.”

I turned to find my boss Jim standing behind me. “You heard all that?”

He nodded, gesturing to a nearby lounge area that was unoccupied. “You handled it well.”

“Thanks.” I shrugged. “It’s only because I’ve had so much experience handling their crap. If the players were better behaved, it would save us all some time.”

Jim nodded in agreement, hesitating before continuing on. “Emma, you know how much I value your contribution to the team,” he paused, taking a breath. “You’re a hard worker and I know how determined you are to build a solid career in this industry.”

I nodded but didn’t say anything, slightly baffled at the unusual compliment. Jim normally showed his appreciation for a job well done by giving you a heavier work load. On the other hand if you’d done something he wasn’t happy with, then you’d hear about it. He wasn’t one to use many words but when he did, he made sure his message got through loud and clear.

“I’ll get straight to the point. We’ve had an opportunity come up and I think you might be just the person for it. You know the work the executive team has been putting in to setting up a relationship with the Warriors?”

Curious now, I nodded. It had been the top priority on the CEO’s agenda for the past two years, ever since some fraudulent executive activity had left them with some serious cash-flow problems. Ultimately we would have a close working relationship with one of the biggest powerhouse sporting teams of the world, the New York Warriors. It would mean access to their strategies, commercial deals and the development of new media opportunities. Basically an extremely beneficial financial partnership for the club, which, given that we were teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, was crucial to ensuring our on-going existence.

“Well, one of the initiatives they’ve been working on is setting up a trial exchange program. The idea is to send one of our staff members over to work for twelve months while someone on their staff of a similar background joins us. Ideally we would share best practice experience and provide a pretty impressive development opportunity for a high-performing team member.” Jim looked around the room before going on. “Mike approached me a few weeks ago about the opportunity and the first person that came to mind was you.”

My jaw dropped open. “Seriously?”

Jim nodded, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth. “You would need to be there for the NFL draft at the start of May.”

Huh. Well, that was unexpected. I rolled his words around in my mind, trying to absorb their meaning.

Me.

In New York.

For twelve months.

The thought was overwhelming.

My immediate instinct was to say no. Not possible. I couldn’t just up and leave for a year. What about my family, my friends, the club?

Jim’s voice pulled me from my thoughts. “Take the weekend to think about it and give me an answer on Monday.” He stood to go, turning to look down at me. “I’ve put my ass on the line recommending you. Mike wanted to offer it to someone from the footy department, but I fought him on it.” The ice in his whiskey glass rattled as he pointed his pudgy finger at me. “Don’t fuck this up, Lexington. Otherwise we’re all out of a job.”

See what I mean? Loud and clear.

CHAPTER ONE

I sat in the bustling deli in midtown New York, having lunch with my four new colleagues, James, Carrie, Dana and my boss Mark—it was impossible to keep up with their conversation, when all I could think was
am I really in New York for the next twelve month?
It was staggering to think that in just four short weeks I’d literally flipped my whole life upside down and now here I was in the middle of the city that never sleeps. And having been here for almost a week, I could vouch first hand that New York City was, in fact, just that.

My new housemate Julia had been a wonderful tour guide, leaving me with lists of places to explore each morning and taking me out for dinner and drinks every night. I was beginning to realize how perfectly my living situation had turned out, which had been one of the easier problems to solve in my rush to get here. I was simply doing a house
and
job swap with Sarah, who at this moment was on her way to Australia to take over my role with the Sydney Football Club and my unit in Rose Bay.

The apartment I was calling home for the next twelve months was on the fifth floor of a walk-up, and while small, was beautifully decorated—one of the perks of living with an interior designer.

I had enjoyed my first few days in New York so much that I hadn’t had a chance to even think about the fact that the whole reason I was here was to start a new job. My biggest concern was that I knew
nothing
about the NFL. Like literally nothing. I couldn’t tell you how many players there were on a team, how long the game went or how the scoring system worked. It had been my intention to study up during my
settling-in
time, but clearly that hadn’t happened so it looked like I would be winging it for a little while.