Keeper (Alpha Athletes #2) (3 page)

I
hated social media
. It was a fucking joke. My phone blew up with texts and alerts. My name was smeared across every damn sports headline in the past hour. It was worse than this morning and the splash about the girl in the bar. Worse than walking out on practice. Everything was balls up in Rio. There was only one person who could get me out of it.

I looked at phone. Rick had called three times.

I finally phoned him back. It rang a few times before he answered. “Hello, Rick.”

“Don’t start with that bullshit,” he fumed. “What the fuck is going on out there? I started calling this morning. Why haven’t you taken my calls?”

I had walked from the street where I left the photographer bleeding on the sidewalk. It seemed like wherever I tried to go, people were staring at me. I didn’t know if it was because they recognized me, or because they were now afraid I was some kind of bloody lunatic.

I paced along the edge of the athletes’ village. I still had to pass through security before I could check in to my room. According to the equipment crew at the hotel this morning, my travel bag was already deposited here. It was a safe haven for now.

“You know how the press is. The guy shoved a camera in my face. The idiot swiped my cheek with his lens. He cut me, Rick. So I shoved him.”

“You shoved him? Great.” Rick paused. “And you walked out on practice? Both in one day.”

“They weren’t ready for us. There was no practice. No kits. No boots. The pitch was being worked on. Did you expect me to sit on my arse the entire time?”

He groaned. “I don’t know what I expect anymore. I’ve already had calls from Dorsey, Aid-Thirst, and Skillz. While you’ve been shagging every girl in Brazil I’ve been trying to put your business back together.”

“What did they want?” I asked. Those were my biggest endorsement deals.

“They’re threatening to drop you. Revolution has flown someone out there to have a meeting.”

“Why in the hell would they do that?”

“You have a video game with them that is supposed to launch in two months. Have you forgotten? You’re a loose cannon, Lach. You’re a liability for any of these companies now. Don’t you see that?”

I shook my head, feeling the tension seize around my shoulders.

“No, I play football. There’s no other keeper out there like me. We have contracts. They can’t touch me.”

“Contracts that can be broken if you violate the morality clauses,” he reminded me. “Revolution is the biggest electronic company in the world. If you don’t take the meeting with them seriously everyone will cut you.”

“I’m no different than I’ve always been. If they don’t like it, they can—”

“Do you even hear yourself? I can’t do this anymore, Lach. I’ve tried. Really I think I’ve given you every chance, but I can’t represent someone who doesn’t give a damn about his brand. You are a one-man wrecking ball.”

“What are you saying?” I could feel the sweat rolling down my neck.

There was silence on the other end of the call. I heard sirens in the distance. Rio was a noisy city.

“I’m saying that I have to end this relationship with you. I can’t be your agent any longer. I’m tired of the outraged phone calls. I’m tired of being threatened. I’m tired of being asked to babysit you. It’s bullshit. You’re a damn talented footballer. But I’ve had enough with your personal life. It’s too much stress. There’s not enough money anymore to make it worth it.”

I had an instinct to fight for my cause. To ask him to stick it out with me, but it evaporated as the anger took over.

“Fine. We’re done.” I gnashed my teeth. Years of loyalty meant nothing to him. I wasn’t about to beg.

“That’s it? You don’t have anything else to say? No apology? Nothing?” he asked, raising his voice more than one octave.

“I’ve got nothing for you. Good luck finding another star, because I’m moving on.” The words felt bitter on my tongue, but as soon as I said them, I couldn’t reel them back in.

“I’ll send you the paperwork.” His voice was clipped. “Goodbye, Lachlan.”

I didn’t bother with a goodbye. I hung up and shoved the phone in my back pocket.

I realized things had gone from bad to worse. But I didn’t need Rick. I could handle my own press. I could handle the sponsors, the teams, the Olympics.

I didn’t need him. I didn’t need anyone.

A
rmed
with suitcases filled with designer clothes, I waved down a cab outside of baggage claim. I didn’t have time to go to the hotel. I needed to find Lachlan Kenzie. I instructed the cab driver to take me straight to the Olympic village. I read the UK teams moved into the village today.

Revolution’s sponsorship came with privileges. I had a pass that would get me in the village. I should be able to find Lachlan. So far, he hadn’t answered any of my calls and neither did his agent. I wasn’t stupid. I knew I wasn’t the only executive after Lachlan. He had endorsement deals with numerous companies. If they had all flown here I was going to have to fight for time with him.

I stared at the high rises towering in front of me. How was I going to find him in there? The village was its own city. I knew there were over ten thousand athletes here. If I had to search every building and every floor I would.

I handed the driver a wad of cash and pulled my luggage from the backseat. He sped off toward the airport to make another run. He had been more talkative than the customs agent.

There was a line half a block long at the security checkpoint. I retrieved my ID badge from my purse and roped it around my neck.

I was operating on a few hours of sleep. The heat wrapped around me, and I had to wrestle my bags into position behind me. They bumped over the sidewalk as I stood in line behind a girl that was easily six feet tall. I wondered what sport she competed in. I sized her up as a volleyball player or maybe a rower.

Thirty minutes later I made it through the metal detectors and started my hunt for Lachlan. The buildings were divided by country. I couldn’t imagine the nightmare of working out the political logistics of placing each team based on preferences and cultural demands. The United Kingdom was grouped together in building three.

I rolled my suitcases behind me, looking for numbers on the buildings.

I passed by a small tropical oasis filled with bright flowers and a cascading waterfall that trickled into the pool. A game of volleyball had broken out between the most perfectly toned people I’d ever seen in my life. I tried not to gawk as I walked past them, but it was like something out of a magazine. Their muscles glistened under the lights of the pool as they laughed and splashed in the water.

I forced my gaze straight ahead and marched into the third building in the row. I tilted my bags upright in front of the concierge desk.

“Hi, I’m here to see Lachlan Kenzie. Is there a way to page him or can I go directly to his room?” I asked.

The woman behind the desk looked up from her phone.

“You can’t go up there.”

“Okay.” I wasn’t entirely surprised. I knew my badge didn’t give me unlimited access in the village. “Can you call him or something? I haven’t been able to reach him. It’s extremely important.”

“Are you his coach?” She smacked a piece of gum in her mouth.

I shook my head. “No.”

“Are you a trainer?”

“Um, no.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “You can wait, but your pass expires in two hours.”

“What? Why two hours?”

She pointed at my chest where the badge hung around my neck.

“There’s a village curfew. The gates close in two hours and you can’t be in here. It’s only open for athletes and coaches.”

“But I need to see Lachlan. It’s important.”

“You can wait for him here, but in two hours you have to leave.”

I pinched my forehead together. This was crap. I had to see him tonight. I thought about trying to explain how he was going to ruin my career. How if we had to push this game back or find another celebrity, he could ruin other people’s lives. People who had worked on the game. People in programming. People in marketing. His decisions affected an entire division of Revolution. I was their voice. Their champion. Saving the Kenzie game was bigger than me.

But as she smacked her gum and messaged someone on her phone, I realized she didn’t care what Lachlan Kenzie did.

I looked over my shoulder at the lobby accommodations. There were bright blue, red, and purple couches grouped together. Half of them were covered in athletes.

“Okay, I guess I’ll wait.”

She nodded her head. “Have a seat.”

I didn’t see what choice I had. She wasn’t going to give me his room number and there was no other way to find him in this chaos. I felt like I had stumbled into one of my old dorms, only instead of kids studying for finals, these people were built like gods and goddesses.

I straightened my pencil skirt and scooted into a corner of one of the blue couches.

I didn’t want to think what would happen if I didn’t see him in the next two hours.

I pulled up a picture of Lachlan on my phone. We had never met, but I was sure I would recognize that man anywhere.

I tried to look at him with a professional gaze. He was part of my portfolio. But in almost every picture I had of him, he was shirtless. His abs rippled with chiseled indentations. Most men weren’t made like Lachlan. He had jet black hair and eyes to match. He wore his shorts low on his hips, showing off the firm muscles of his chest and torso.
Client.
I reminded myself.
Game ambassador.

But there was a reason Revolution had chosen him. He had fiery sex appeal. There was no denying how women reacted to him. Twenty-somethings thought he was a complete badass. The entire success of the game hinged on him being able to appeal to all ages. Our test markets in the US and UK liked him because of his bad boy image—but it had never been this bad before. I placed my phone face down, hoping I would see him walk through the lobby door any minute.

We couldn’t lose him. I smoothed the wrinkles out of my skirt and pulled my jacket together, covering my chest. There were two men having a conversation next to me in what I thought was Italian. They were clearly athletes. Arms and legs like that put them in the track and field category, but I wasn’t completely sure.

I wasn’t sure about a lot of things as the minutes ticked by.

I
pushed through the door
. I’d lost my appetite for partying tonight. Rick pissed me off. The team pissed me off. The media pissed me off. Everyone was coming at me and I couldn’t find any relief. I was knackered from the entire fucking day. I’d sleep it off.

But as soon as I stepped over the threshold, I heard my name.

I thought this place was supposed to be media-free. Did someone let one of those pissers in here?

I turned my head as a blonde ran toward me in a tight skirt. Her ass was poured into it. She was the only one in the lobby in a suit. I noticed her long legs were tan and firm. My eyes landed on her high heels.

“Lachlan, I’m Aspen Pitch from Revolution.”

I stopped.
Holy fuck.
This was who Revolution sent? I had done everything over the phone. I’d never met a single one of them. I let Rick handle it.

I raised my eyebrows after raking over her body. Her tan legs disappeared under the hem of her skirt. Her long hair fell in waves over her shoulders. She had the kind of lips I’d seen on enough models, but these were real, lush, and ready to be kissed. Was this some kind of a set up?

“How did you get in here?” I asked, skipping over the introductions.

“I have a pass.” She held up her badge as if I gave a shit about her credentials. “I’ve been waiting almost two hours for you.” She looked annoyed.

“Did you try calling?”

She glared at me. “Of course I did. You didn’t answer your phone. Neither did Rick, your agent. It’s been impossible to get in touch with you. We need to talk.” She sounded like a damn headmistress.

Rick warned me this was coming. I wasn’t in the mood. I hadn’t taken a call since I spoke with him. My phone was turned off for the rest of the day. But I couldn’t stop eyeing her. She was annoying, but sexy as fuck.

“I’m going to bed. I have practice tomorrow.” Truth was I hadn’t decided if I was going back to the stadium in the morning.

I tried to walk past her, but she jumped in front of me. “You don’t seem to understand how serious this is.”

“Sleep is serious.”

She sighed. “Your contract with Revolution is more serious. We need to discuss it. Do you not care about your game launch? It’s in jeopardy.”

She was gorgeous. I’d give her that. But I wasn’t going to let some American chick start dictating my life. I’d had enough of that today.

“Another time, love.”

Her blue eyes flared. “I’m not leaving until we speak.” She looked at her phone. “I only have fifteen minutes before they kick me out anyway. Let’s get started and schedule a meeting for tomorrow.”

“And why is that?” I asked.

“Curfew,” she huffed. “I don’t see how we can get this settled in fifteen minutes. There are a lot of items to go over. I’ve never had to work through something this radical before.”

I arched my eyebrows. She sounded like the kind of person who played by the rules.

I saw two suitcases next to the couch.

“Are those yours?” I asked, pointing to the bags.

She nodded. “Yes, I came straight from the airport. I haven’t checked into my hotel yet. Our meeting was my first priority. You need to realize this is my only interest in Rio.” She took a deep breath. “I have to tell you your game could be pulled from production. Do you have any idea what that would mean? Do you understand the amount of work that’s gone into it? The money? The creativity? This game is going to change soccer in America. Don’t you see that? Don’t you care?”

I took a step back and let her get the speech out of her system. She had probably been preparing it while waiting on the couch. The girl could talk.

I remembered why I had Rick handle this shit for me. I didn’t care about these kinds of details. I never pretended I wanted to be a role model.

If it wasn’t for her bright blue eyes and those lips, I wouldn’t even think about overlooking the fact that she was stuffy, controlling, and uptight. I could tell she was one of those women who liked to steer the ship. She probably stuck to a locked itinerary. It didn’t take five minutes with her to realize she was inflexible.

But I wasn’t the kind of man who shied away from a challenge. There was something about her. A strong energy that soared around her. An energy I suddenly wanted to harness. Fuck, it made me hard just thinking about it.

She exhaled.

“Are you finished?” I asked.

She nodded. “For now.”

“If you’re done with the bloody lecture, I think I have a solution for you,” I announced. There was a way I could make this work to my advantage.

“You do?”

I walked over to the couch and grabbed the suitcases. What in the hell did she pack in these things? They were heavy as shit.

“What are you doing?” She chased after me in her heels, clacking along the floor.

“You’re coming with me.” I hauled the bags to the lift.

“I can’t go up there,” she protested. “They won’t let me.”

“You can have all the access you want if I take you.” I winked.

I saw the instant blush on her cheeks. “But now we only have ten minutes. I’ll get locked in. It’s not enough time,” she protested.

“Would you rather get locked in with me or get locked out without me?” I posed the question.

Her eyes darted back and forth. “I am here to represent Revolution. This isn’t a joke to me. I don’t know what kind of game you’re playing right now, but I’m not amused, Mr. Kenzie. Nothing about this is funny to me. Millions are on the line.
Millions
. And all you can think about is a way to get me in your room for the night.”

“I’m trying to help you and listen to what Revolution needs,” I lied. “Did I imply it was something else?”

The lift doors retracted. I stepped inside. “I’m going to my room. Are you coming with me or going back to your hotel?”

I held up the bags. I could easily set them outside of the doors, but I waited while she sorted through her choices. Truth was I liked watching her squirm.

“Fine,” she huffed, stepping inside with me. “But—”

The doors closed behind her.

“But what?”

She folded her arms over her chest.

“This is about your contract with Revolution. We’re discussing the game and your behavior in Rio.”

“We’ll see.”

I smiled for the first time all day.