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I took Cami’s advice and wanted to get ahead of this thing in case Travis decides to leak the story somehow.
Mark Suby appears on the screen, looking less like a dominating businessman and more like a friend you might be meeting up with on the golf course with his polo and baseball cap.
“Ryker and Ben, what a pleasure to speak with you today. What can I do for you? You know we still have a few more weeks before our final decision on the draft,” he reminds us, his voice curt since we had to beg for this meeting because of how busy he is.
“We’re aware of that,” Ben speaks up. “We wanted to talk about something that needs to stay between us.”
That attracts Mark’s attention, and he sits up straighter on his side of the screen. “You have my word. What’s going on?”
I take over, wanting the information to come from me. “When I was in high school, I got into a fight defending my friend’s sister. It resulted in an accidental broken arm for the other person and I was arrested, but ended up never charged with anything. However, I did do community service, so it was never put on my record.”
Mark remains quiet, as does Ben while I continue.
“I’m telling you this because someone is threatening to go to the press with the information, with hopes it’ll deter anyone from drafting me. While I understand the severity of something like this and how it can affect your organization, I hope there’s something we can do to overcome it. I was just a kid, and it was an acc—”
“I’m going to stop you right there.” Mark holds up his hand, making my body freeze in fear. “If some punk thinks they’re going to sell this story, then let them. There’s no recorded proof, and we will work with our head of PR to put out a statement to address it. When we tell our own stories, it gives us the power back.”
I let out a breath, my entire body relaxing as the tension fades away.
Ben knocks his shoulder into mine. “I told you, kid, everything will be fine. You did nothing wrong.”
“Thank you so much, Mr. Suby. I appreciate it,” I tell him, expressing my gratitude for his grace.
“Not a problem. Shit happens in life.” He shrugs, then types away on his desktop computer. “I’m going to have a meeting with our PR department in a moment, and they will be in contact with you shortly. I know we haven’t signed you yet, but I’m extending this service as a kindness. I don’t want to see you lose out on a career in baseball because of some idiot who wants to tear other people down.”
Ben and I chuckle at that and share our appreciation once again. Then our screen turns black.
I slump back in my chair as waves of emotions wash over me.
Relief. Thankfulness. Happiness.
Thank fucking God that is over with and went well. Now all I have to do is make a post explaining what happened with the help of their head of PR, if Travis decides to sell the story. I swear, if I knew it wouldn’t upset Camille that I kicked the shit out of Travis, I’d have done it two times over already. He deserves it for ever thinking he could come after what’s mine.
Yeah, mine. I’m done pretending like it’s not true anymore, because she is.
“What do you want to watch?” I ask Camille, who’s snuggled under the blankets in her bed. I’d bet anything that she’s going to fall asleep within the first twenty minutes.
“The Aristocats,” she offers, setting her tea cup on the bedside table.
I find the movie online and then throw the covers back and climb under with her.
Our bodies instantly move to be closer to one another’s, my arm around her waist while she rests her head on my chest. My hand gently strokes her hair, playing with the strands as the famous castle appears on screen.
Camille lets out a contented sigh, snuggling in even closer.
“How was your day?” I ask softly.
“It was busy, but good. I spent the day going over interior decorating ideas for Jasmine’s bakery with her, and then I had to edit a bunch of videos to post,” she tells me, never failing to impress me with how hard she works. “How was yours?”
“I had the meeting with Mark Suby and it went well as you already know. After that, I went for a run and worked on some final assignments.”
“Sooo was it good or…?” She trails off, looking for my final stamp of how my day was.
“It was okay, but it’s better now.” I tighten my hold on her, pressing my lips to her forehead for a small kiss.
We watch in silence as the movie begins, my hand still working through the silky strands of her long hair. As I predicted, within twenty minutes, she’s fast asleep on my chest.
This is one of the highlights of our time together, when Camille falls asleep because then I get to look at her for as long as I want and wonder how fucking lucky am I for having gotten to know her.
