I wanted to say something. I wanted to reach out and hug her, wipe away her tears, but before I could, she was already out of the car. She grabbed her bags, racing toward the entrance while I struggled to keep up. Airport security was crowded, and she wouldn’t look at me as we made our way through. The walk to our gate was short, leaving little time to have a heartfelt conversation. Maybe it was for the best. She had a lot to process. After the way I'd treated her, the things I'd said. It was best to cool it for a bit.
I grabbed a burger at the bar while Katrina snacked at the vending machine near our gate. I watched her on the hard, uncomfortable chairs, squirming to find a comfortable position as she fumbled with her Oreos and can of Sunkist orange soda. She was stubborn, that was for sure. But there was still something inside of me that said she was hiding something.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Katrina
I caught Todd peeking at me from his seat on the plane once or twice, but he never tried to speak. His facial expression wasn’t cold, but it certainly wasn’t warm. I was confused, hurt, and even a little angry. Who the hell did he think he was?
Okay, so maybe I acted a little strange when he questioned me about the job, but it wasn’t about Rhett, not at all. It was about the fact my dad lost everything, and this job was the only thing I had to survive.
Maybe if I told him the truth, he’d understand. My heart ached at the thought of how loyal Todd was to his family. He was willing to take a fall, possibly lose fans, his position on the team, just to keep his brother’s name out of the media. Wasn’t that what I was doing now? It was my dad’s secret, my mother’s fear of their family’s image being ruined. None of this was my decision.
It didn’t matter. He was obviously not interested in talking. His nose was pushed into a magazine as the loud speaker announced we were ready to land in Daytona. As soon as the flight attendant said it was clear to unload, he was up and out of the plane. I followed a few feet behind him, realizing we were being collected by the same driver. This was silly. He was being ridiculous. I didn’t have time for this. I had way too much to handle, and without his cooperation, it was going to be extremely tough.
“Ladies first,” he said with a smirk as he held open the door to the black SUV.
I slid into the seat, avoided eye contact, and didn’t react to the sexy scent of his cologne that wafted under my nose. Damn, why did he have to smell so good?
“I’m sorry,” he said, and then paused as my heart fluttered, and my eyes began to well up with tears. That’s all I wanted to hear. That’s all I needed to hear. “Those assholes had no right to put that video of you on the Internet.”
My heart sank deep into my chest, so hard and so quick that I couldn’t breathe for a moment. “It’s okay,” I muttered.
This was my job, my life. I knew how to put a positive spin on anything, even this. I was sick to my stomach thinking about it but I could do this.
He reached across the leather seat, touching his hand to mine as the driver pulled up to the tall white condos. He didn’t speak. He didn’t apologize for the fight. I knew I’d have to come clean if I wanted to clear this up. I just couldn’t. Not yet.
Fuck! Lana stood at the front doors as I exited the vehicle. Her lips were tightly pursed together, her eyes narrowed and slanted with anger. Todd offered me a sympathetic smile as he walked past her and toward the elevators. Great, leave me to be sacrificed.
“I don’t even know what to say to you,” Lana scolded.
“I’m sorry,” I said, my eyes moving to the floor to watch my feet shuffle beneath me. I didn’t want to deal with her, not now, preferably not ever.
“How did you let this happen?” she snapped.
“Let this happen? Are you fucking serious right now?”
Her eyes widened, her lips parted, and for a moment there was an aroma of fear that surrounded her. That fear quickly dissipated when her bright white teeth snarled beneath her lips, and a strange darkness filled her eyes. “I think having an attitude with me right now is the last thing you want to do,” she hissed.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. It’s been a long couple days,” I apologized.
I wanted to slap her across her freckled face, but I knew better. If I was willing to push Todd to exploit his brother for this job, I could take her screaming.
I walked toward the elevator with Lana right on my heels. Inside, she continued her ranting about the events that had occurred the night before. I was still sore, still embarrassed about the video of me plastered all over the Internet, the last thing I wanted was Lana in my face.
“One night, one fucking night I trust you with a team player, and you let him get his ass kicked in an alley?” she snarled.
“He didn’t get his ass kicked,” I snapped to his defense, not exactly knowing why.
“And you, what the fuck were you doing there with him? How are we supposed to clean up your mess?” She cursed under her breath, then continued her rant. “I knew Rhett hiring a spoiled little rich girl would do nothing but cause trouble. I still don’t understand how you got this job.” She slung her words at me like an ape slings feces at an enemy.
I was at my door. My key was in hand, and there was no way I was letting her push her way into my room. “Lana, like I said. I’ve had a long fucking couple of days. I’ll clean up the mess, even the one where I was almost fucking raped and videoed for the whole world to see. But right now, you need to leave me the fuck alone.” I slid my key into the door, opened it, went inside, slammed my door, and didn’t even look back to see the horrified look I knew was plastered on her face.
My phone rang as soon as I set my bags down. What now?
Rhett’s number scrolled across my screen. Great, round two of the ass reaming. Just what I needed.
“Yes, Rhett,” I answered with the most professional tone I could muster up at the moment.
“Have you landed safely?” he asked, his voice filled with concern.
His calmness surprised me. “Yes.”
“Where did you get with Todd on the brother angle?”
Shit, I really didn’t want to deliver the bad news.
“He’s unwilling to exploit his brother,” I said calmly.
I waited during the pause, expecting to be screamed at, or worse, fired for my incompetence. “Well, I guess that’s noble. Did you explain how the fans could perceive this fight?” he asked.
“Yes, but the video of me shows him as a hero rescuing me from the thugs. I think that’s the angle we should take.” I hated the words as soon as I spoke them, but it would be the best spin. Instead of burying the video like I first planned, I’d push it into the limelight and exploit myself to save Todd. To save my career.
“Are you sure you want to do that?” he asked.
“Yes. It’s the only way.”
“Okay. That’s great. I mean, it’s not great what happened to you, but it’s great it can be used for some good.” He stumbled over his words as he tried desperately not to sound so fucking excited about my misery. It’s just business, and Rhett Hamilton was a savvy businessman. Of course, he was excited to hear I had a solution, even if it was at my own personal expense.
“Are you doing okay? Do you need any time off to recover?” he asked kindly.
“No, sir. I’m fine.”