Greg and Allie 03: February's Curse

"I'll give it some thought," I told her.

The next day, news broke that LaValliere had been taken into custody after he broke into a man's house and allegedly assaulted a child. From what I saw and read, the man went after LaValliere with a skillet and put him in the hospital. I couldn't help but smile. It couldn't happen to a more deserving asshole. When she got home, Allie told me about what happened.

"Guess who was brought into my Emergency Room today?" she asked.

"Marc LaValliere," I told her.

"I guess good news does travel fast," she said. "Yeah, some guy cleaned his clock with a frying pan."

"So much for mixed martial arts," I said jokingly. She laughed.

"Remember that, buster," she said with a smile. After dinner, we caught the evening news.

"Sharks tight end Marc LaValliere is reportedly facing multiple charges tonight after he allegedly kicked in a door of the home of a woman he was spotted with Friday night. According to police reports, he is said to have assaulted the woman's husband and one of her young children. The report says the husband defended the home and his children with a large cast iron skillet," the anchor said.

"LaValliere is currently at County General Hospital where he is being treated for a serious head wound and other injuries. The District Attorney said that charges will be filed and LaValliere will be taken into custody when his medical condition improves. The Sharks team management just issued a statement saying LaValliere is suspended pending the outcome of the investigation." The scene changed to show Roger and Jack standing behind a microphone. I was curious to see how they would spin this.

"We regret to say that tight end Marc LaValliere is currently in the hospital receiving treatment for a head wound and other injuries," Jack said. "We read the police report and would like to express our apologies to the family he allegedly assaulted. For the record, we reached out to the husband and made what we feel is a more than reasonable offer, however, he rejected it."

"How do you respond to the charges being considered?" One reporter asked. "From what we can see, those charges include making a terroristic threat, breaking and entering, assault and battery and striking a child."

"We have no comment at this time," Roger said. "However, we have placed Mr. LaValliere on paid suspension pending the outcome of the investigation. At this time, he is still unconscious, so we have not heard his side of the story. That is all for now. Thank you." The scene shifted to the studio.

"This is a breaking story," the anchor said. "Stay tuned to Eyewitness News for updates as they come in."

"You think maybe you should say something to the team about what he tried to do to us?" Allie asked.

"I'll get with Coach James tomorrow," I said.

The next day, things were hectic at the team headquarters. Everyone seemed on edge and the tension could be cut with a knife. I tracked down Coach James and spoke with him briefly.

"What's going on with LaValliere?" I asked. "I've seen the reports."

"I'm afraid he's in some serious shit," Coach said. "And the team is facing a potential lawsuit."

"Have you told management about what he did to me?" I asked. He nodded his head.

"Yeah, I did," he said.

"And?" I asked.

"They've put him on suspension pending the outcome of the official investigation," he said.

"I heard that last night," I said.

"Well, your story is just one of many others, I'm afraid," he said. "The only difference is he never succeeded in bedding Allie. But it will be a factor in their final decision." I didn't dwell on it much, though. We were nearly finished and I figured the sooner we could wrap things up, get paid and get out of there, the better.

A few days later, the switch was flipped on the team's network and we spent a couple days making sure everything was up to speed. Everyone seemed happy with the speed and efficiency of the new system. According to the contract, Lenny would stay on for two months to transition Ryan into the new system. The rest of the crew were finished, their jobs having been completed to satisfaction, so I paid them and gave them another bonus for their hard work.

Eventually, LaValliere was sentenced to eight to 15-years in prison, and the team fired him. I heard that a class action lawsuit was being filed against him and the lawyer putting it together was asking for any information from the public that might help the case. After talking with Allie, I agreed to meet with the lawyer.

I reached out to Lisa Hawkins, who asked me to come by her office and give a full statement. I told her the whole story from our first encounter to the day of the demonstration.

"And you're saying all it took was for you and your wife to say, 'no' to him?" she asked.

"Well, not all, but he never got his hooks into her," I said. "I think once he realized I wasn't going to take his crap lying down, he got the message and backed off. I hope my statement helps you here."

"It does," she said. "It'll go toward establishing a pattern of behavior. Maybe your wife should hold a class on how to say, no," she said with a smile. I wasn't expecting anything from this, but I hoped my statement might help the men whose lives and marriages LaValliere destroyed.

That night as we sat in the theater, Allie looked up at me with a mischievous grin. Uh, oh, I thought. Here comes trouble.

"You know, it's starting to warm up a bit outside," she said. "You still want to take me out with my new vibrator?"

"Now that sounds like fun," I said, wrapping my arms around her.

Yeah, February sucks -- more for some than others, I thought -- but for me, life was good, and promised to get better...

To be continued...