Page 21 of Stolen

AKA the devil himself.

“I saw you talking to one of the athletes by the pool.” Jacob nodded at the large window next to us, giving him the perfect view into the gym and pool area one floor below. “It looked sort of tense from up here. Was that some of the diva behavior you warned me about?”

“Keith isn’t a diva. He’s Satan.”

“What?” Jacob let out a light laugh. “Come on. Is he really that bad?”

“I need to tell you something.”

“Sounds serious.”

“It is.” I took a deep breath before I went on. “You remember how last night you were asking me who made me feel like I wasn’t beautiful?”

“Yeah?”

“That was Keith.” I half-chuckled before my face fell. “We dated a little bit last year. And despite making me feel like the only guy in the world, he was somehow still cheating on me at every possible turn.”

“Shit, Leo. I’m so sorry to hear that.” Jacob shook his head. “He’s an asshole who never deserved you.” Jacob paused for a moment before he asked, “Wait. What the fuck? If you two used to go out, then why was he all over me? Right in front of you?”

“Because he’s playing some kind of fucked up game, that’s why.” I leaned back in my seat. “At first, I thought he was just being his usual jerk self. But now, I have no idea what he’s up to. We were arguing by the pool because he was interrogating me about who I’m sleeping with.”

“How does he know you’re sleeping with anyone?”

“He says he can just tell. That I’m super easy to read.”

“Ah. Yeah. You do tend to wear your emotions on your sleeve.” Jacob smirked. “Still. That’s none of his business.” Jacob paused again, suddenly seeming hesitant. “You two don’t still—you don’t still have feelings for him or?—”

“Absolutely not. I don’t want anything to do with him. Ever.” I inwardly gagged at the idea of ever going back to Keith. “But sports PR is a small world and unfortunately, this is the price I pay for mixing business and pleasure.”

“Got it. No mixing business and pleasure, which means you definitely shouldn’t be hooking up with people at photoshoots.” Jacob smirked again.

And I smirked right back at him before letting out a laugh. “Shit. I’m never going to learn my lesson, am I?”

“For what it’s worth, I don’t think it’s helpful to blame yourself when things go south in a relationship,” Jacob continued. “You liked someone, so you gave them a chance. Nothing wrong with that.”

“Was that some of your folksy Virginia wisdom?”

“Just good advice, I’d say. Something Parker or Damon would tell me if I was feeling down about something.” Jacob smiled before he slightly laughed. “Even though, I’m usually the one bailing them out of their emotional spirals.”

“Parker and Damon?”

“The guys I work with.”

“You don’t just work with Bradley?”

“I work with Bradley, too, but that’s more on a per project basis,” Jacob answered. “Parker and Damon are pretty much my brothers, that’s how long we’ve been working together. We started Wild Woods up in Roanoke. It’s a camping business, serving clientele that want to get away for a while. Rustic or glam, that part’s up to them. We just provide the cabins, tents, rooms. Whatever they need.”

“Oh my God.” I pretended to cry. “What? You get to work with people who want to getawayfrom you? As in, you never have to see them again after they check in with you?”

“Hey, they have access to us the whole time. We have to make sure they don’t get eaten by bears, you know?” Jacob laughed. “I think the only difference between our jobs is that my clients typically want to prove that they can be self-sufficient. They don’t want to rely on us too much, if they can help it.”

“Still,” I sighed, “that sounds a lot less stressful than what I’m used to putting up with.”

“You love your job, though.”

“I do.”

“Enough to put up with assholes like Keith.”

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