Page 25 of Play the Field

Rolling my eyes, I reluctantly followed him down the hallway. He led the way to the massive carafe of coffee that was freshly brewed on the machine.

When I rounded the corner to the kitchen, the pot of brown elixir felt like finding the holy grail. I poured myself a cup into a to-go mug and pulled out my phone. There were a few unanswered texts. Most of them were from unsaved numbers who I didn’t care to respond to. But one was from my agent:

Call me when you’re free. Want an update.

I tapped my finger against the cup of coffee, unsure if Tommy would appreciate the wake-up call. But I’d known her a long time and I think she’d earned a little bit of punking. So I clicked her contact name and clicked “call.”

After a few rings, Tommy’s groggy, panicked voice sounded. “What’s happening, doctor?”

“What?” My forehead wrinkled at the question. Was she still asleep?

“Shit, sorry.” There was shuffling on Tommy’s end of the phone and I couldn’t quite tell if the apology was directed toward me or whoever was keeping her company. “I just figured if I got a call from you before six in the morning, it was probably an ER doctor looking for someone to inform.”

I rubbed my forehead. “Ouch.”

“Yeah, sorry. What’s up?”

Clearing my throat, I shrugged. “I just wanted to give you that update. I’m back in New Winford and I’m heading out to practice right now.”

Tommy’s voice grew concerned. “With who? Your brother?”

“No,” I hesitated to be honest. “My ex?”

“Oh, dear god.” Tommy buried her head in her hands. “Why do you insist on causing me so much trouble?”

As I headed for the door, I waved goodbye to Daniel before leaving the house. I did my best to shut the door quietly but itwas already nearing six which meant I was going to be late no matter what. But I knew Cleo would find a way to hold every minute against me.

Walking to my car, I shrugged. “It’s not trouble. Cleo Fontaine had what it took to go pro. They just didn’t want to.”

“I remember the name from your college days.” Tommy groaned. From the sounds of it, she was pouring her coffee as I ducked into my Benz.

“I was at my best when we played together. They know my game better than anyone.” I started my car and set the mug of coffee in the cupholder as I tried again to convince myself this was a good idea.

Through the phone, Tommy sighed. “Look, I have no choice but to trust you right now. But if this doesn’t work…”

“I know, I’m done.” Before I hung up the phone, I pointed out, “But hey, one week with no bad press is an improvement.”

With a light chuckle, Tommy said goodbye. “Don’t call me before 8 am unless you’re on a stretcher, got it?”

“Heard.” I hung up the phone and drove my car out of the driveway.

One thing was clear, it was going to be up to me to prove that this plan would work; that investing my entire future back in the one person from my past who had every reason to sabotage me was a good idea.

High risk, high reward… right?

17

CLEO

I knewshe couldn’t be trusted.

The thought repeated in my mind on an endless loop with every passing second. Looking down at my phone as the cold, metal bleacher dug into my ass, I shook my head.

Fifteen minutes late. Bitch.

At this point, the fall dew collecting on the stands had been absorbed by my workout leggings. I was tired, pissed, and cool. God help whoever found me in this state.

From behind me, a car door slammed and her grating voice sounded. “I know, I’m sorry.” It was like she’d read my mind, somehow still buried deep into my psyche.

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