“In your field, real talent is a rare commodity. And you’ve got it, Gigi.”
“Don’t try to minimize this. It’s no different for you. You’re a great quarterback, but your backup’s just waiting for you to screw up. Every year, new guys are drafted. We have to be very careful with our careers. We’re too easily replaceable.”
“I’m not minimizing anything. But you’re telling me there’s only one path, and that’s not true. If there were only one path, there’d be a handful of successful people. Everyone hits walls, makes wrong turns…fucks up. That’s when they blaze a new path and—”
“I don’t want to blaze a new path, Cassian. I don’t want to start all over again. If you get traded, you’re still a starting quarterback. If I lose this contract, I not only go back to the bottom rung, but I’ve got a big mark against me.” She shook her head. “Trust me, you wouldn’t be getting in trouble if you knew that going to a new team meant starting from the beginning all over again.”
“You’re right about that.”
“Yeah, I know I am. Look, I have to go. I’ve got to do some damage control.”
“I don’t want you to go like this. I want—”
“You have to get to camp anyway. We’ll talk later.”
He followed her back inside his house and watched her head up the stairs to get ready. Every step away from him raised his anxiety another notch. He didn’t want her to leave.
It felt like she was slipping out of his grasp.
Later that afternoon, after the meeting with his security team, Cassian left his office and hurried along the hallway. He needed to get back out there, see how Walker was doing in today’s elective. Everyone on his staff would be watching, monitoring, the boy’s behavior, but Cassian felt the greatest sense of responsibility.
As he passed Amie’s office, he heard her voice. Hushed, urgent. Upset.
He’d been focused on himself. How the leaked photographs impacted his relationship with Gigi and his career. But, of course, Amie had a lot at stake, too.
Obviously, now wasn’t the right time to check on her, but…it sounded like her boyfriend was giving her hell. I could talk to him, let him know nothing’s going on.
Like he’d believe me—with my reputation?
For so many years, he’d skimmed by, not giving a shit about anything outside football, and now the consequences were hitting him fast and hard. His behavior was impacting other people. People who mattered.
He’d just let her know he was there for her. He cracked the door open.
“I don’t know what more I can do.” Her back to him, Amie had an arm tucked across her stomach, staring out the window onto the football field. “If this isn’t enough, then…God, I just…of course I want this. You know I want it more than anything.” She turned and saw him, giving him a plaintive look, and then said, “I have to go. Well, there’s nothing I can do right now, and I have a camp to run, so let’s just talk later.” She disconnected and tossed her phone on the desk.
He gave her a chin nod. “Everything all right?”
“It’s just…it’s not fair. I have no control over anything.”
“Steve’s breaking up with you?”
She cocked her head. “Steve? Oh.” She shook her head dismissively. “I don’t know. He’s not speaking to me. Why would he? In the past two weeks, he’s seen me all over social media with you. That…” She flicked a hand at the phone. “Was my agent. I didn’t want to say anything, because you obviously have enough of your own stuff to deal with, but I might lose my job. They were already discussing whether being naked in your arms violated my morals clause, but now…this second time? It doesn’t look good.”
He’d wondered about that. “Is there anything I can do? You want me to talk to someone, make it clear we’re not together?”
She shook her head. “I mean, it’s not like cheerleading’s a career. It’s meant to be a stepping stone. Well, I’m almost thirty, and I don’t have a next step. Which is why getting back on the show matters so much to me. I mean, I don’t even know what I can be this late in life. It’s too late for me to go into broadcasting, which was my major. I need to get back on the show, and I don’t know how. And I just feel scared and hopeless…” She tipped her head back, blowing out a breath. “I’m a take-charge woman. I make things happen, but right now I have no control over anything.”
He’d talked to her before about careers, and she’d made it clear she didn’t want to coach cheer or be a fitness trainer. She didn’t want to open a dance studio. Besides, he didn’t think she’d want to discuss her career options right now. So, all he could do was reassure her that he was handling the photographer situation. “I get it. I’m feeling the same way about this guy who’s following me around.”
“This guy? You mean you know who’s taking the pictures?”
“I just met with my security team, and they’ve gone over the footage in both hotels. It’s definitely the same person. In Aspen, the guy entering the room that overlooks the pool is wearing baggy jeans and a sweatshirt. The guy who caught the images last night came out of the bathroom. He was wearing cargo shorts and a baggy T-shirt. They’re wearing different ball caps but carrying the same camera bag.”
She seemed surprised. “Is he working alone?”
“It looks like it.”
“So, how do we get him?”
He trusted Amie—she’d done a great job running his camp and helping him organize the parties he threw for the guys before and after, but he knew how badly she wanted to get on the TV show. How far would she go? If she were behind this, wouldn’t she be freaking out that they were coming close to discovering the guy’s identity? He watched her carefully, as he said, “We’ve also got footage of a rental car.”
“Do you have the license plate? If you do, we can get the police involved. They can see which hotel he’s staying in. He has to be staying somewhere in town.”
Cassian couldn’t believe the relief he felt. He didn’t like accusing Amie, but he had to consider every possibility. “We can’t get the police involved, because all the pictures were shot in public spaces. But we’re going to see if a clerk at the rental agency’s willing to help us out. I’m also hiring more security, because I’m done being stalked. This place…”
“I know. It’s your sanctuary.”
“It was bound to happen. I chose to run my camp where I live, but to the extent I can preserve its privacy, I’m going to. If I bring the paparazzi, I ruin things for a lot of people. I’d hate to have to shut down my camp.”
She looked horrified. “That’s not going to happen. I saw the shots. There’s no indication which hotel or which parking lot. No one can figure out the details.”
“It’s not hard to figure out a location.”
“Oh, God.” She let out a shaky breath.
“What?” Did she know something?
“It’s just…this camp is so good. We’ve worked so hard, and the kids get so much out of it. If the paparazzi start showing up, the guys might stop coming. One of the reasons we get so many players here is because of the anonymity. If that changes…” She gazed up at him, eyes glazed with tears. “I love working here.”