Fore!(Play)
Chapter 2
Setup
Setup: The process of addressing the ball, so the club and body are properly aimed and aligned.
My office is on the second story of the club house, directly above the Pro Shop. From the large windows located at the rear of the office, it's possible to see the courtyard below where players pick up and return their carts. The tee box for hole #1 and the green for hole #18 are just beyond the courtyard. Emmett is standing in front of those windows when I enter my office. I join him there.
"Did you find him?" he finally asks, still watching the foursome finishing their round on the final green.
"Yes." I don't say more, but he can hear the unspoken words in my silence.
"Was he drunk?"
"Not completely, but he was definitely on his way."
Emmett sighs heavily before turning to look at me. He studies my face carefully before finally asking what he wants to know. "Was he alone?"
Shaking my head, I sigh deeply, too, before continuing. "No, he was with one of the cart girls in the far back corner of the barn."
"Oh, hell, Bella. Please tell me she isn't underage, and please tell me nothing happened."
"She isn't, but she is still in high school. There was some groping and a lot of slurred mumbling going on. Nothing else had happened, yet.
"But, Emmett, it's not Bella anymore. It's Marie Dwyer," I remind him, tapping the name tag pinned over my left shirt pocket. "You can't call me Bella in front of him or this whole plan will just fall apart. Please tell me you can remember."
He doesn't answer, turning instead and walking away to sit in one of the chairs facing my desk. He plops himself down with a huff, his eyes following me as I round the corner and settle into my chair opposite him.
"Why are you doing this?" It's a question he's asked me several times over the last few months as I finished making my plans and set them in motion. I'd called him on numerous occasions, asking for his legal expertise and his personal help.
"You know you don't owe Jasper anything. The mess he's in is of his own making, and I'm not so sure we shouldn't just let him hit rock bottom. I've talked until I'm blue in the face, trying to knock some sense into him, but he won't listen to me … or anyone else for that matter. The gambling, the drunken fights, the women, and then that scandal with the underage girl." Emmett grimaces, shaking his head in disgust.
"No wonder he's lost all his endorsements: Nike, Ping, the Swann Corporation." He looks at me pointedly when he mentions my family's business before continuing. "Even your sponsorship was pulled, and now he's failed to make the cut. No one wants him, no one wants to be associated with him—except you and this scheme of yours to somehow save Jasper from himself.
"If he figures this out, Bella. If he finds out all the stuff you've done, there's going to be hell—"
"Stop!" I interrupt him. "He won't find out if we do this right, and that means calling me Marie. I'll do this on my own if I have to, but I really need your help, Emmett. Please?"
He settles his intimidating lawyer stare on me again, and I have to wonder if he's been taking lessons from Mr. Mallory. They're partners in the same well-respected law firm, although Emmett is just twenty-nine, Jasper's age, and five years my senior. I'm expecting more arguments from him, but his next words surprise me.
"What happened between the two of you?"
It takes me a minute to understand what he's asking. Emmett has never hinted he thought something happened between Jasper and myself. Even after we reconnected two years ago, he never questioned me about my sudden disappearance.
"I … Uh. I don't know what you mean. Nothing happened. I just left to start college early—"
"Don't, Bella," he interrupts. He rolls his eyes when I point to my name tag, reminding him I'm no longer Bella Swann. "Fine, Marie. You forget I'm a trial lawyer, and a damned good one, too. I've gotten quite proficient at spotting bullshit when I hear it. What I'm hearing right now is just that—bullshit.
"I've known you for almost fifteen years. I can remember the way you used to follow Jasper and me around this place. You watched him like a little puppy dog, just waiting for him to give you some attention."
He must see the discomfort on my face because he chuckles softly. "We all knew you had a crush on him. It was obvious to anyone who paid attention. Our group even teased him about it a few times. He always defended you, though, even warning us to leave you alone.
"What you didn't know is that Jasper watched you, too. At first, like a little sister who gave him the attention and adoration he so needed. Then one day, the skinny, fizzy-haired little girl disappeared. The braces on her teeth were gone, the hair was a mass of wavy curls, and there were curves everywhere. Jasper noticed all right. I caught him staring at you more than a few times when he was home from college. Charlie's little girl had become a beautiful young woman, and he noticed.
"But you were still Charlie's little girl, and there was no way Jasper was going to do anything to cross that line. Something happened after your graduation party though, didn't it?"
The memories I've tried so hard to bury come rushing back: love, affection, the pleasure of my first real kiss, the feel of Jasper's hands in my hair, and his arms holding me close to him. I can hear his words telling me how beautiful I am, how he's wanted to kiss me for so long, how he wants us to be together. He'd told me he loved me, had always loved me, would always love me. I also remember the heavy weight of him above me, the sudden panic when I couldn't move, and the smell of alcohol on his breath.
Sudden tears prick my eyes, and I have to turn away from Emmett to regain my composure. "Stop," I plead. "Please Emmett, just stop!"
There's sympathy in his eyes and expression when I compose myself enough to face him again. For a moment, I think he'll listen to me, but then he begins speaking again.
"I saw him, you know, the night of your party. It was late; everyone had gone home. Rose and I were sneaking around the back of the pro shop looking for a little privacy when we caught him borrowing a cart from the shed. He had a half-empty bottle of champagne and a wrapped present on the seat next to him. When I asked him what he was doing, he muttered something about 'going straight to hell, but he didn't care anymore.' I always thought he went to see you, that he was finally getting up the nerve to ask you out. But a few days later, you were gone, off to 'get a head start on college' your parents told everyone. As if any eighteen-year-old girl would want to miss her last summer at home, as if you even needed to start college early.
"You were gone, and Jasper was a complete wreck."
Before I can answer, he stands and marches over to the door, tapping one of his fingers on the framed degrees hanging there.
I've rearranged the office since I came back and took over managing the course. Charlie's portrait is now hanging on one of the side walls instead of behind my desk. It tops a display case containing a few of his trophies and other mementos of his golfing career. I boxed up and stored most of the more important awards and his favorite set of clubs he kept in one corner of the room. My diplomas are hanging beside the office door, in very prominent view of anyone entering or leaving the room.
It's those framed degrees Emmett is examining before he turns that intimidating stare on me once more.
"So, Bella Swann leaves, and now six years later we have Marie Dwyer with a degree from Penn State's PGA Professional Golf Management Program, which I know for a fact normally takes at least five years to complete, and an MBA from Harvard, which takes at least another two, showing up to begin managing the Swan Creek Golf Club.
"Like I said," he continues as he walks back to his chair, sitting down with another huff and focusing his lawyer scrutiny on me. "Bullshit!"
I'm not intimidated anymore however; in fact, I'm beginning to get quite frustrated with him. I can hear the anger in my voice when I answer him. "I'll have you know both those degrees are genuine, both of them were earned. By Bella Swann maybe and not by Marie Dwyer as written on the paper, but it doesn't mean they aren't real. They're the result of hours of hard work, focused determination, and single-minded dedication toward a desired goal."
This time when I glare back at Emmett, he has the grace to look suitably chastised. I laugh softly before shaking my head. "It's amazing how much you can accomplish when you have absolutely no social life," I add.
His chuckles join mine while we both take a moment to calm down.
"Pretty impressive feat, though," he compliments before tilting his head toward the door. "But I'm wondering how you managed to get the names changed—"
"You're an officer of the court," I interrupt. "You don't want to know.
"Now," I continue, taking control of the conversation. "Jasper is going to be here soon, and I need to know you're with me in this Emmett."
When he nods in agreement, I begin again.
"There's just one more thing I want to say before he gets here. You said I don't owe him anything, but I do, Emmett. I owe Jasper. Some of his problems are caused by my running away and disappearing for years. Some of them are caused by something Charlie did. But it doesn't matter because we all owe him. He was, and is, our friend, and right now, he's lost and suffering. We're not turning our backs on him, we're not giving up on him, and we're not going to let him hit rock bottom. We're going to save Jasper Whitlock from himself, even if he hates both of us when this is over!"
Emmett watches me while I catch my breath following my little tirade. He slowly nods in agreement. Before he can answer me, there's a knock at the door. Suddenly, we're both staring at each other, knowing who is standing just beyond that barrier. Straightening his tie and shifting around in his chair, Emmett transforms himself back into professional lawyer mode before winking at me.
"Perhaps you should open the door, Miss Dwyer," he suggests calmly. "I believe it's show time."
.
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Thank you for reading. Sally finds my mistakes. Then I make more!