Ward sighed defeatedly. Well, one thing was true; he didn’t feel the same as he used to back in the day. The hangovers were definitely longer and more brutal.

But since his knee got busted, he was going out of his mind with boredom.

‘OK. I’ll tone it down. Definitely. You have my word, Bernie.’ He ran a hand over his chin. ‘And clean up too if it helps.’

His agent grimaced. ‘That’s just for starters, I’m afraid. And your word’s not going to be good enough this time.’

‘What are you talking about? Since when is my word not good enough?’

‘Since that incident at the karaoke bar?’

Ward snorted, shaking his head. ‘The guy was talking trash about Jimmy Buffett, Bernie. America’s greatest folk singer ever and a goddamn hero. What was I supposed to do?’

‘Behave like an adult?’

‘Oh, come on! All I did was give the asshole a little shove but it was like I threw him off the roof or something. It won’t happen again, OK?’

Bernie gave him a long look, then licked his lips. ‘There’s something else.’

‘OK, I know that look and it’s never good. What’s going on?’

‘Management has intimated that you’re already on thin ice, so to speak,’ he said carefully, and Ward’s stomach dropped. He knew his game had been off the last couple of seasons, and yeah since hitting mid-thirties was starting to slow down, but he was still far from being put out to pasture just yet. Physical therapy on the knee was going great and once he got a clean bill of health, he was itching to get back out on the ice and prove that he still had it.

But thanks to that latest goddamn tumble, his recovery would be delayed by a few more weeks.

‘The Panthers want to fire me? Is that what you’re saying?’

‘Of course not; contractually they can’t fire you for a busted knee. But we don’t want to give Craig Sumners or the top brass ammunition in any other areas … ’

‘You’re going to have to spell it out for me, Bernie,’ Ward said. Was the team owner losing faith in him because of the injury, or something else?

He hated all this dancing around. Why couldn’t anyone just come out and say what was on their minds anymore? What the hell happened to straight talk and home truths?

After a pause Bernie said, ‘Coach Lewis and I both agree that you need to get your reputation cleaned up—’ he inhaled ‘—so I went ahead and hired a public relations firm.’

Ward’s eyes widened. ‘You’re kidding. You know how I feel about PR, Bernie. Why would you do something like that?’