It’s my turn to comfort him. “That might be true. You might have succeeded thanks to his support, both financial and in terms of the time he spent driving you to practices and games. But you put in the hard work. You’re the one who gave his blood, sweat and tears to get where you are. Don’t you ever forget that.”
Luke nods. “Thank you for saying that, Bex. So how did he go from head of the athletic department of a college that has a number of division one teams, to a talent agency mogul?”
Our father is much more than that. I didn’t realize it until I snapped out of his brain-washing and saw that he had taken complete control of my life. And the lives of every single one of his clients.
“Six months after he was appointed to head the athletic department, the Dean of students died. It was unexpected and a shock to the entire school. During his short tenure as head of the athletic department, he had managed to recruit some of the top athletes in the country. So every team we had was leading their leagues at that point.”
Luke’s tone is sour, and I don’t blame him. “Yeah, I remember. Three years ago, Bridgeport was the school to beat pretty much in every sport. Hockey, football, basketball and baseball. They all won their respective championships that year. So did the swim team, the wrestling team, and the dance team. Even though they didn’t win every single discipline again, Bridgeport is still the school to beat. The number of championship victories since Dad took over is still unprecedented. How did he do that?”
There’s only one possible answer, and it’s more complex than anyone can imagine. “After that first year, he foundedPure Shine, his talent agency. He signed most of the top athletes in every team.”
His next question makes a lot of sense. “So he became the agent of his college’s top athletes. Is that even allowed? It feels like there would be some kind of conflict of interest there.”
I explain at the best of my ability. “Yes and no. As you know, the NCAA has been relaxing a lot of rules and now college athletes are allowed to have agents and, in some cases, to accept compensation for their skills and the use of their image. Bridgeport is privately owned and funded, and the school board actually encouraged him when they saw how much money his athletes were getting in terms of sponsorships and alumni donations. Dad also used social media to boost the fame of his athletes and make them legit social media stars.”
“That includes you.” The bitterness in Luke’s tone hurts, but I deserve it.
“It does. It did. The thing is, when each of us signed a contract to be represented byPure Shine, we had no idea what we were getting into. There was a clause in the contract that basically gave him power over every choice we made. Most of the money we made with sponsorships and our monetized profiles were paid to the agency, not to us. He would pay the athletes and no one realized how little we really got paid because he took care of us while we were in school. He took ninety percent of what each of us made.”
Luke looks incredulous. “How could that happen?”
“He had someone very good draft those contracts, and the school didn’t have any objections because he used most of the income we generated not only to line his pockets but also to make the board members very rich and he did give the school top of the range facilities all around.”
Luke still doesn’t get how deep our father’s influence ran. “I still don’t understand what that has to do with you cutting me off.”
I close my eyes. The pain is almost too much to bear. “When I say that he took care of us, I mean he slowly took control of our lives. Not just the financial aspect. A year after you left, he built thePure ShineHouse. It’s a legit palace right outside Bridgeport campus. He got all his clients to move in.”
“Like a frat house?” he asks.
It’s my turn to let out a bitter laugh. “No, more like a prison. It didn’t start that way, of course. At first, we were all excited. That place was unreal. Every room was en-suite. We had our own training facilities to practice outside team training sessions. There was an Olympic pool, a spa, a hot tub. A home theater and a state-of-the-art kitchen with a team of private chefs employed to prepare delicious meals, tailored to our specific needs. It was incredible, but…”
Luke catches my drift pretty quickly. “But there were strings attached.”
Shame twists my insides. “Yeah. It started with him reworking all our academic and training schedules to suit the needs of the agency. Then he began having a say in how we spent our free time. Hanging out with anyone outside the house was frowned upon and actively discouraged. That started to include family. He called it‘cutting out the fat.’ He considered every outside contact a distraction from our real purpose, from our calling.”
Luke lets out a surprised whistle. “Is that why you stopped talking to me and taking my calls?”
I battle with the tears that have been pushing to fall since we sat down outside. If I cry now, I’m not going to be able to tell him what happened. “Yeah. But it became much worse than that.”
Bex
Bridgeport, two years ago.
The chime signaling a mandatory assembly in the dining room sounds in the dance studio.
I grab a towel to dry my sweaty face and make my way to the meeting. We have ten minutes to show up when we’re called this way. Penalty for tardiness is a hefty fine, so there’s no time for a shower.
“What do you think this is about?” Aisha asks, as she comes out from the rehearsal studio next to mine.
“Beats me.” I shrug. “Hey Kev. I have an idea for our next video. I got a playlist that will make us go viral, if we put the right choreography to it.”
Kevin smiles. “Sounds good. You know I’m always excited to perform together.”
Aisha elbows me in the ribs, barely managing to stifle a giggle. “I told you he’s into you.” She whispers.
I roll my eyes, glad that Kevin’s strides are longer than ours and he’s out of earshot. “Whatever. I’m too busy to date right now. Between classes, the dance team, and work, I barely have the energy to drag myself into bed at night.”
She agrees with me. “That’s true. I just hope our workload will become lighter once the competition season is over.”
