Page 8 of Let It Be Me
Jeff holds his hands up in surrender. “Fine. You’re right. But I think with you as his rep, he’ll shape up.”
One of the reasons I became so good at my job is that I had zero distractions. Everything had a place and nothing shook me. Because, really, what else did I have to do? I have no love life to speak of so all of that saved time went into work. My clients fell in line. I worked press releases to their advantage, got them photoshoots that no other publicist could, I made their reputations squeaky clean, and in the end, the community and fans love them. I became a shark in a male-dominated field.
“Will you send him in here?” I ask.
“Sure,” Jeff says and gets up. “Again, I know this is sooner than you hoped. But you’re saving his ass from never playing hockey again. I’ll send you an email of what he’s been up to so far.”
I give Jeff a smile that doesn’t reach my eyes. As soon as he leaves, my phone dings with a text.
Emmy-Lou: Cookout this weekend.
Me: Do I finally get to meet this elusive man you’ve been spending all of your time with?
Emmy-Lou: Yes.
Emmy-Lou: But Kam doesn’t know you know more than her. So please keep that under lock and key.
Me: What’s in it for me?
Emmy-Lou: The strongest and largest margarita poolside?
Me: You drive a hard bargain, little bird.
Emmy-Lou: Love you!
I’m smiling at my phone when a knock sounds from the other side.
“Come in,” I announce without looking up and place my phone face down.
I move my gaze to my computer and wiggle my mouse to wake it up when the familiar scent of cedar wood and leather invades my senses along with a hulking figure that darkens my doorway. My head swivels to the doorway and my eyes slowly take in the man standing at my door. From his crisp Air Maxes with worn black jeans that encase his muscular legs to the long sleeve henley that’s pushed up to his elbows revealing the tattooed forearms I remember holding onto as an orgasm ripped through me. A silent fuck leaves his mouth as the surprise at seeing each other is more than we ever thought.
Words seem to fail me. If he were anyone else they’d be so easy to pull out of thin air. But, this. Seeing him after replaying that night while laying in bed. What do you say to that?
“Take a seat, Theo,” I say and open up my email. I do what I can to avoid his gaze for as long as possible. I have no other reason than trying to avoid looking at the man who made me come harder than anyone ever had. Shaking myself out of those NSFW thoughts, I see the one promised from Jeff and quickly scroll the contents. “Or is it Riley?”
I can’t believe my one night stand is Riley Jones. What are the actual odds? Considering I went to Columbus when we hooked up, the possibility was more likely that I thought.
He finally steps into my office and closes the door, resting his back against it. “It’s Riley. But my middle name is Theodore and I usually go by Theo when I’m out on the town. I didn’t know if you just wanted one night because you knew me as ‘Riley Jones the hockey player’ so I went with my middle name. Well, the shortened version of my middle name anyway.” He tells me this while still resting against my office door. His body is tense and I’m not sure if he’s afraid to say or do anything that’ll cause me to fly off the handle.
My forehead scrunches. “Back up. How would I have even known it was you? And you approached me in case you’ve forgotten.”
Riley pushes off the door and strides over to the chair that Jeff was occupying and slumps down, crossing his ankle over his knee. His cologne wafts towards me and he exudes masculinity, power, but also cockiness that I fear has been his go-to for so long he doesn’t know how to stop. “I did and I don’t regret that.”
We stare at each other. Separated by a desk. In the lightof day we’re nothing but strangers. But our night together might as well be playing out between us like a hologram the longer we sit in silence.
I shake out of my memories of our night and get back to business. I do my best to ignore what happened between us and turn my professional hat on. “Were you happy with your last team? Your agent, publicist…that team.”
He stares at me as if he can’t believe my switch up, but then he too, shakes off the daze. “They were okay. Some of them turned out to be in it for fame rather than helping my career move forward. I didn’t really catch on until it was too late.”
Figures. “Right. Well I’m going to do my best to get your information from all of them. If that doesn’t work, I’ll see if Jeff can pull some strings. If you are looking for a new agent, which I highly suggest you get a new agent as soon as possible, I can ask around and see if any are looking to take on a hockey player. In the meantime, I can assume the role of your agent and publicist temporarily.” I say all the while drafting up an email to his former team. My talent for multi-tasking should be studied. I then draft up another email for Columbus’s front office regarding his agent status. It’s unnecessary but if they make any moves without him knowing, it won’t go over well.
“You’re not gonna have me do tutoring or anything, right?”
My fingers halt on the keyboard and I turn to face him and raise an eyebrow at his blasé question. “All of my clients are involved in the community. Whether it’s camps for kids or community clean-up. No exceptions. It’s part of having a sparkling clean reputation, which you now need. And this is where your last team and I differ.” I push my keyboard and mouse to the side and lean forward so he knows I’m serious. “As your publicist I need to be on the same page as your agent, your coach, your manager, your personal trainer, and so many other people that it would make your head spin. Since I’m now your temporary agent, that job now falls to me. If you want your team to respect you and the fans to make your jersey the top seller in the store, then you’ll do what I have lined up for you. That includes reshaping your social media and real life presence.”
Riley's gaze challenges mine, waiting for me to waver in my demands. If he thinks our night together will soften my approach to him, he’ll be waiting until hell freezes over. Our time together was a pebble thrown into a still lake. Enough to shake us both, but not enough for me to bend on how I do my job. And when he realizes I won’t bend on the way of my working to make him more successful, he finally gives in. “Fine. When do I start.”
“I knew you’d see things my way. In a couple of weeks there will be a Fourth of July event downtown. A bunch of locally owned businesses will be there along with some athletes for the teams who aren’t in season. Fans flock to this event every year because they look forward to it every year. It’s a great way for you to market yourself and get to know the area.”
