Offside (Pro-U Book 2) by Ali Parker

setting me up to score all day, but almost too good of a job." I rolled my shoulders. "I'm being paranoid. After spending half my evening in coach’s office last night, trying to explain that I didn't rape anyone, nor was it me that spiked the beers, I just feel like everyone is out to get me."
    "They called me in too. I was going to tell you this morning, but you weren't exactly in the mood to chat." He backed the car up and turned on the air conditioner. "You heard about what Emily did, right?"
    "What do you mean?" I took a long sip from my water bottle and glanced over at him.
    "She told Coach Diaz that she was with you all night."
    "Oh shit. Was that what happened? He asked me if we were dating, and I told him no." I turned back toward the front of the car and let my head drop back. "Why would she do that?"
    "Because she's a good woman, I guess. Maybe they said something to her about you getting hit with a rape charge?"
    "I didn't rape this bitch," I barked as anger rolled through me. "She sucked me off and was mad when I wouldn’t fuck her against the wall."
    "Yeah, that's really tough." He was being a dick.
    "It is." I closed my eyes and tried to shake the heavy emotion that accompanied knowing that Emily had stepped up and practically fixed the situation for me. They would still be investigating everything, but her alibi was going to help. "You need to set us up."
    "Never. She's a great girl. You need to prove to her and yourself that you're not the whore you've been pretending to be all these years."
    "How do you know it's a facade? It might be the real me."
    "Nope. I've seen the real you, and that jackass ain't him." He pulled down his visor and turned up the radio, cutting off the conversation and leaving me to stew in the truth of his words.
     
    *
     
    "Well? How was practice?" My father walked back to the dishwashing room in the back of the pizza parlor and stuck his head in. The smile on his face pulled me out of my funk as it always did.
    "It was good. Nice to get back on the field for sure."
    "Why are you back here? I thought you were going to be in the kitchen." He put his hands on his portly waist and gave me a knowing look.
    "I was scheduled to be, but Gino hates washing dishes, and he's been with you a year, Dad. He needs a chance to prove to you that he can work with the pizza."
    "He put sugar instead of salt in a batch of dough last week and ruined the whole damn thing. I'm not a thriving business that can sustain those kinds of losses. We're going broke, remember?"
    "Yep, and if you have someone spend some more time with him, and teach him how to do his job better, he's going to be a great employee for you. He respects you a lot. Give him another chance."
    "Where is my son? What have you done with him?" He walked in and patted me on the back as I sunk my hands down into the warm suds in the sink. Part of me wanted to rebel at having to work at all, but it would have been a shitty thing to do. My father had been killing himself all my life to provide for me. It was time to start doing my part, no matter how uncool it felt to have to do it.
    "How are you doing on hiring people? Anyone new?"
    "No, not yet. Do you have any friends that are looking for a job?"
    "You don't want my friends up here." I chuckled. "Well, Micah might be good, but I'm pretty sure his basketball scholarship has him set."
    "No pretty girls that could help wait tables and host for us?" He lifted an eyebrow.
    "None that wouldn't have two-thirds of their tits showing."
    "Watch your language." He shook his head and walked to the door. "Keep your eyes open for the right person, please. We need at least one more person to come help us, and I would prefer she was a she."
    "Most shes are a she, Dad."
    "Smart ass." He chuckled and turned to walk out.
    "Watch your language old man. We're trying to run a business here."
    "What is this we?" He walked down the hall, leaving a smile on my face. The idea of Emily getting a job at DeAngelos was