Page 8 of Under My Skin

Right below the signature – in the actual body of the email, not as an attachment where I could have ignored it – was a picture of a woman’s pussy with her fingers buried inside to the third knuckle. But instead of turning me on, it made me feel like puking. Now I knew how women felt when they received unsolicited dick pics. I would never have wished this level of skin-crawling discomfort on anyone.

“Serious-fucking-ly?” I grumbled as I deleted the message, blocked the email address, and tossed my phone back onto the bench.

“Anotheremail?” Malachi grabbed his water bottle and took a long swig.

“Yep,” I clipped out. “This time with a pic of the chick’s crotch.”

He shook his head and snorted. “Classy.”

I couldn’t help it. I chuckled just a little, despite my shitty mood.

It wasn’t like this was a new thing, though. This email was just the latest in alongline, and honestly, I was at my wit’s end about how to stop them. Even though I always blocked the email addresses, it didn’t seem to be doing anything to deter this person – and I was almost positive it was just one personsending them, because they were always signed the same way. It wasn’t like it was that hard to make a new email address. Or even three dozen of them.

Thiswas, however, the first time the email had been accompanied by any kind of photo, and for it to be a picture like that… Well, I’d have been lying if I’d said I wasn’t a little freaked out. Was this an escalation that I needed to take seriously? Or was it just a harmless fangirl who had way too much free time on her hands?

I wished I knew the answer, but I could barely string a coherent thought together today. As creepy as it was and as much as I felt like I wanted to go take ten showers to wash off the slimy, gross feeling that was permeating every pore of my being, this would have to be future Braden’s problem.

“Have you thought about talking to Vicki about this? Maybe having her field your emails so you don’t have to see messages like that?” Malachi asked, breaking me out of my thoughts.

“She’s supposed to be. Yet this shit still ends up slipping through,” I practically growled. “And after today, she’s lucky she still has a goddamn job.”

“Whoa, what?!” His eyes went wide. “What happened?”

I sighed. “Right after training camp ended last year, I got a new number and had my old one forwarded to her so she could field interview requests. I told her a few personal calls might slip through, and I asked her to either give the people my new number or take a message and pass it on.”

“Right. You told me about that. I’m guessing she got a call she didn’t tell you about?”

“Not justacall. My uncle died, my cousin called that number to tell me, and she never fucking told me about it. I missed his funeral today because of her.”

I tried to choke down the emotion that was threatening to drown me, but I wasn’t entirely successful. Ever since that phonecall this morning, I’d felt like either screaming or crying or punching something. Or doing all three at once.

“Damn,” he said sympathetically as he put a hand on my shoulder. “I’m so sorry, B. Why didn’t you say anything, man?”

I shrugged. “It’s nothing personal. I just needed not to think about it for a little while, you know?”

“I get that. Did you call her out on it?”

“Yeah,” I said with a nod. “She said her secretary must have taken the call and not passed it on to her, but…I don’t know, man. In all the times I’ve called her office, I’venevertalked to her secretary. My calls always go directly to her.”

“I don’t even think shehasa secretary. I mean, there’s someone at the front desk, but I don’t think the individual agents have secretaries. Garman’s whole business model is about building a personal relationship with their clients.”

Wait. Now that I thought about it, he was right. Shedidn’thave her own secretary. But maybe she’d meant the secretary at the front desk.

I couldn’t sort through my thoughts with any clarity right now. I was beyond pissed off about this whole situation, and I was grieving for my uncle – whose death had been sprung on me in the worst possible way – on top of it. Which meant I definitely wasn’t in any kind of condition to be making major business decisions right now.

“I fucking wish I could fire her, but I know I’d be shooting myself in the foot if I did,” I muttered. “And I know I’m not in the right headspace to be doing something like that right now.”

He sighed. “I hate to say it because this is not okay on so many levels, but you’re right. As much of a shit human as she is, she’s a damn good publicist. So, you up for a round at Hurricane’s Eye later? I can’t do much to help you now since you already missed the funeral, but I can at least buy you a drink.”

I cracked half a smile. Malachi was a good dude. Most of the guys on this team were, but he and I had just clicked right away and were as close as brothers now.

“Sure,” I said. “After we finish up here and hit the showers.”

“No way,” a deep voice laughed sarcastically from behind me as a hand landed on my shoulder. “Braden fucking Hicks.”

I pulled my eyes from the basketball game that was playing on the TV at the bar and turned around, groaning when I saw a guy from my hometown, Jeff Hollister. I’d had the misfortune of attending the same high schoolandcollege as him and playing on two different football teams with him. He’d gone out for the draft at the same time I did and had ended up being picked up in the final round by the Portland Foxes, but from what I’d heard, he hadn’t been getting much field time. He was a decent safety, but he wasn’t great. A good, reliable backup, but not a star player by any stretch of the imagination. Not to mention, he was a pompous asshole.

“Hollister,” I said with a slight nod. “Long time, no see.”Not long enough.“What are you doing here?”

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