I was joking about sitting outside so the paparazzi could photograph us, but apparently Tara couldn't pass up a golden opportunity like that. It made me all the more happy that Becca had helped me curl my glossy brown hair. We'd picked out a cotton dress that I paired with a light, summer scarf and my favorite pair of designer flats. For once, the paparazzi would snap photos of me when I didn't look like crap after practice.
"Hi Tara." I smiled down to her as I walked up. She'd been scrolling through her iPhone, no doubt googling herself, so she hadn't seen me approach. The second she heard my voice, her ears perked and she shifted her vicious gaze to me. Tara was a prime reason to not judge a book by a cover. She looked beautiful and docile. Her sweet features masked such insanity beneath them that I couldn't quite figure out how she'd become the bitch that she was.
"Hello, Kinsley. Please take a seat."
I thought she was actually going to be polite.
"You're blocking the sun and I'm trying to get a tan while we get this over with."
Or not so polite.
"Right," I said, shifting down into the seat across from her and placing my purse on my lap. I pulled out my cell phone and ensured that the speaker was facing her before dropping it casually onto my lap.
"How have you been, Tara?" I asked.
"Cut the crap. What do you want?"
She really wasn't going to make this easy. I folded my hands over my lap. "I want to apologize for the way I acted. I should have never started dating Liam while he was our coach and had I chosen my actions better, you might not have been kicked off the team."
My apology was clearly the last thing she was expecting because her face contorted into an amused glare.
"Oh, please. Anyone of us could have dated Liam. You were just the first one to open your legs. So don't think you're so high and mighty because you sucked him off in the field house and now you think you're actually his girlfriend."
I could feel my eyebrows drifting toward my hairline. Welp, I guess we hadn’t actually gotten away with that as smoothly as I’d thought.
Alriiiighty, then. On to plan B.
"Well, if you aren't mad at me about those things, I'm a little confused why you're still going after me in the press. I've seen multiple quotes from you that are aimed directly at me."
She rolled her eyes and tipped back in her chair as if bored with the conversation.
"I do what I have to do to stay in the public eye. I put a pause on the soccer crap and now I have a bit more time to devote to my career."
"Your career?" I asked, trying to keep my tone attitude free.
"Modeling and acting," she answered dully, as if I was a blubbering idiot for having to ask.
"Oh, that's awesome. I think you'd be great at that." And I actually did mean it. She was dramatic, crazy, and beautiful. What better person to be cast as the villain in films than a person who actually played the role in real life?
"Thanks, but I don't care about your opinion."
I nodded and shifted my gaze to the street for a moment. Camera flashes caught my attention and reminded me about the task at hand.
"So then, if you're focusing on your career now, maybe we can come to an understanding..." I began.
"And what might that be?" She cocked her eyebrow with an incredulous look.
"You have to stop finding fame by dragging me down. The story will fade and eventually people will see right through it. Not to mention people will realize that I'm actually very boring and they won't care what I eat for lunch or how I take my coffee. This won't last forever so there's no reason to prolong the inevitable."
A sinful smile spread across her lips. "Kinsley. The beauty of free speech in this country is that I can say whatever I want, whenever I want. If I want to keep telling the press lies about you then I will because I don't actually give a fuck about you or Liam. I care about making it big. So this whole conversation has been a colossal waste of your time. In fact, I think you've just made it all the more fun to talk about you to the press because now I know that it's bothering you. Honestly, Kinsley, you make it just too easy."
I'll admit there was only a small part of me that had hoped that Tara would come to the light and change her ways. The other 99% of me took pride in the fact that I'd been right in masterminding my plan from the very beginning.
I reached forward and set my phone on the table so that Tara could see the recording screen. Then I hit pause and glanced up at her with a confident smile.
"You know, you think you're so brilliant, Tara, but what you're actually doing is against the law."
"Oh please, I'd love to see you try and take this to court."
I laughed and saw her perfect facade start to crack. "No. I don't plan on suing you. I don't give a shit about your money. What I'm after is public opinion. You see, yesterday I met with a lawyer and filed a restraining order against you. I outlined all of the facts that happened concerning your hazing and bullying, and then I had the other teammates and Coach Davis corroborate my story."
That was complete bullshit, but she totally bought it. Her mask had a giant crack straight down the center.