The sports pages trumpet the exploits of the superstar players of the New York Flyers basketball team - while the gossip columns hint of their infidelities and steamy off-court activities. And in the shadows behind the bright spotlights, the wives and girlfriends struggle to keep the insanity at bay and their relationships alive in a world of fame, big money, shady dealings, and easy sex. Now, with the playoffs looming and the team's future in jeopardy, the temptations to sin are even stronger than ever. And before the season's out, the women behind "the great men" - led by Casey Rogers, the beautiful, sexy, savvy lawyer wife of the Flyers' star forward - are going to rock the NBA to its core.
Homecourt Advantage
By Ewing, RitaAvon Books
ISBN: 0060595353Chapter One
Greenwich, Connecticut, in mid-April was quite a sight, thought Casey Rogers as she climbed the winding driveway to Alexis and Mike Mitchell's estate. This morning Alexis, the coach's wife, was hosting a play-off celebration breakfast for the wives of the New York Flyers basketball team. And as wife of Brent Rogers, the team's star forward, Casey had been summoned not just for the breakfast but also for a prebreakfast chat with Alexis.
Should be a great time, Casey thought glumly.
Both Alexis and her husband were used to living more than extravagantly; that much was clear. But Casey also knew that Alexis had not a drop of her own style or creativity: Every inch of the estate was purposefully decorated to allude to some sophisticated place she and her husband had traveled to during the off-season -- usually some exotic enclave in Europe. For example, the cedar trees imported from Allegheny, Pennsylvania, lining the driveway created a tableau reminiscent of Tuscany, a favorite off-season vacation, spot for the Mitchell family. Casey shook her head. Despite the grandeur of the Mitchell estate and grounds, it lacked warmth. As did Alexis. The sight of this place made Casey yearn for her childhood neighborhood with its green hills and unplanned trees. She could remember playing among the rose garden and cherry trees in her backyard.
But New York was where she lived now, and surprisingly, she liked it. She and her husband lived in a penthouse apartment on Central Park South, and from her city window Casey had a view of the park's trees, lakes, and ponds. She had become used to the noisy city sounds below.
Everything Casey had accomplished in her youth -- from being a musical virtuoso, to studying prelaw at the University of Virginia, earning her law degree at Columbia, and achieving partnership at one of New York's most prestigious law firms -- had been in order to arrive at a place like New York City so that she could compete with the best in her field. And she'd been a great success professionally.
Then she'd met and married Brent Rogers. The Brent Rogers who was quoted in every morning's sports section. The Brent Rogers who scored an average of 28 points a game. Over the last eight years, her own career had been swept aside in the wake of the life of a superstar athlete's wife. This was not exactly part of her plan. Sometimes she wanted to laugh at the word plan. Certainly the coach's wife wanted to believe everything could be planned and controlled. Casey knew differently. The basketball schedule fastened by a magnet to her refrigerator both at home and on her desk at work determined not only each day of Brent's life, but also hers. Her husband's ever-growing celebrity had only increased Casey's lack of control over her own life. They'd become prisoners in their home, hiding from fans, reporters, the ubiquitous paparazzi, venturing out at night only if there was a game or for the occasional outing in the country.
And soon it would get worse.
The one thing Casey hadn't banked on when marrying Brent was that she would be forced to make the sacrifices, she would be the one to leave her job at the firm and the fancy partnership. Brent needed for her to be available to him and Brent Jr., his son from his college girlfriend who visited them on occasion. Finally she'd cut back hours and offered her expertise privately to clients, many of whom couldn't afford to pay three hundred dollars an hour for a few phone calls. She began working part-time at Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts where she could come and go as suited her husband's schedule. Lately, though, in the last month, she seemed to be back to her seventy-hour work week with two new demanding clients whose cases left her up to her ears in paperwork. What was going on with her? She had a stack of case law to read through and numerous phone calls to return. Why had she consented to meet with Alexis of all people, and at a hectic time like this?
As coach and queen of the New York Flyers for going on nine years, Alexis and Mike were touted not only by the sports media but also by the society papers as New York's Golden Couple. They were both beautiful blondes, and many believed that he was even prettier than she. In his early fifties, he was a more attractive version of Robert Redford, if that was possible. Mike stood a full six feet six inches and had the lean, muscular build of an athlete in his early twenties. Alexis was slender and striking, with wide-set, almond-shaped blue eyes. What really struck Casey was Alexis's unnatural interest in her husband's endeavors. She was obsessed with the Flyers' records and her motto (which, of course, was an echo of her husband), was "Win at all costs." Neither Mike nor Alexis seemed genuinely interested in any aspect of their players' lives; rather, the games took precedence over all else. The Mitchells had made the team a true partnership: Coach handled the players and Alexis handled the wives.
Two days before, the Flyers had ended the regular season with the best record in the Eastern Conference for the second year running. Now with the play-offs about to start, the real test for the team would begin. Would they finally win it all? But though the Flyers had advanced to the finals for the last three seasons, easily beating all of the other teams along the way, they had never won the championship. Bringing home the NBA championship trophy was the one goal that continued to evade the Flyers.
Continues...Excerpted from Homecourt Advantageby Ewing, Rita Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
