by Odette Stone
Without a smile, she backed out of the room and shut the door.
I turned to Levi. My entire body felt numb.
“Who were those people?” he asked.
“Mark’s media and communications team.”
He stared at the huge screen. “There’s something I need to tell you.”
“Did we make a sex tape that neither of us remembered?” My lips felt frozen. I couldn’t remember the last time I had been this scared.
“Krista.”
“Levi, turn on the fucking video. I need to know what I’m dealing with.”
He stared at me for a long moment before he hit play.
The camera was shaky and filmed from afar. Levi and I were slow dancing in a parking lot. It was dark, and there wasn’t any music, but we were moving like we had been dancing together for years. At one point, he spun me around and then held me against him. We spoke too quietly for the camera to hear, but then he grabbed my face with both hands and gave me a long, passionate kiss. We were wrapped around each other. We talked a bit more, both of us laughing softly together. Then Levi turned towards the camera. “We’re getting married. Tonight.”
Someone spoke off-camera. “No, man. That is not a good idea. We can’t let that happen.”
Levi spun me around and smiled down at me. “It’s happening.”
“Do you think maybe the drugs you took tonight are clouding your judgement?”
Levi pointed at his friend. “This has nothing to do with that.”
“You’ve only known her for about four hours.”
In the video, I turned and looked directly at the camera. “We were destined to meet each other. I’m an agent, and I’m going to get him signed as a professional hockey player.”
The unknown cameraman spoke under his breath. “We need to try and separate them. We can’t let this wedding happen.”
Another unknown voice whispered back, “Good call, genius—and how do you propose we do that? You saw what happened when you tried to make Levi sit in the front seat of the car.”
“I don’t know, but we can’t let this happen.”
The next scene was dark and fuzzy. A voice whispered from behind the camera. “Okay, for the record, Mike and I were completely against this wedding, but here we are. Somehow Krista and Levi managed to find the only twenty-four-hour chapel in town, and after that, there was no stopping either of them.”
The picture was blurry, and then it sharpened on Levi and me. I was wearing the same dress, but I carried a bouquet and wore a short veil. Levi was wearing his jeans and a T-shirt. We stared up at each other while the priest spoke in Spanish, and I looked so ridiculously happy it was almost embarrassing.
The person behind the camera whispered, “This is such a mistake.”
The final scene filmed us from behind as Levi carried me through my hotel lobby. I was holding my bouquet, but the veil was gone. I was holding him tightly and whispering something in his ear. He stopped and kissed me long and hard in the middle of the lobby.
And then the film ended.
I turned off the video, and Levi and I stood silently in the dim room. My first response to the video was a personal one. It felt odd to watch myself live a moment I hadn’t captured in my memory. The video confirmed how reckless, irresponsible, and out of control we had been that night, but it also showed the chemistry sparking off us that night.
Levi stared at the screen. “At least it wasn’t a sex tape.”
I tried to understand what this would do to us professionally, but I couldn’t even process it. I worked to remove myself from the story and think like an agent, but I couldn’t seem to stop replaying the video in my head.
He touched my arm. “Are you okay?”
This video was going to hit the news shortly. I should have been hitting the ground running, trying to steer this runaway ship any way I could, but I couldn’t bear to face any of it. This would do irreparable harm to both our careers, at least in the short term.
“Where did this video come from?”
His lips parted, but no words came out.
I shook my head. “Your friends obviously released this to someone. Even after they signed an NDA.”
He shook his head. “They wouldn’t do that.”
I tried to keep calm, but anger colored my tone. “Really? Because that’s what it looks like.”
“We need to talk.”
“No. I need to start handling this. I need to talk to Mark.”
Mark was waiting for us in his office. He stared at us like we were strangers. While I momentarily debated how to handle Mark, Levi’s phone rang.
“Don’t answer that,” I warned him.
“It’s Andrew.” He started to back towards the door.
I irrationally held out my hand, wanting him to give me his phone. “Let me speak to him.”
He ignored me and disappeared out of the office.
I turned back to Mark. “I’m sorry about the video. Will you let me explain?”
He studied me without expression, almost as if he were looking through me. “Please.”
“We got drugged that night—by accident. Neither of us remembered anything the next day. We woke up married. Obviously, we’ve been working towards quietly divorcing.”
“You didn’t think to mention this at any point?” His tone was severe.
“Which part did you want me to mention? The part about the drugs in Mexico or the fact that I married your rookie?”
He crossed his arms. “I taught you to be better than this, Krista.”
The fact that this video has surfaced made my frustration boil up over the edges. “You knew he was trouble when you recruited me to sign him—which, by the way, I haven’t even done yet.”
“I still think it’s fair to be deeply concerned about this situation and how you’ve handled it.”
I took a deep breath. “I’ve been trying to handle it quietly.”
“Well, it’s about to blow up.”
Someone knocked on the door. A man stuck his head inside. “You should turn to the Sports Now channel.”
Mark turned on the television. I watched in horror as our video played for the world to see. When it was done, the commentator started to talk. “Folks, if you are just tuning in now, that is footage of Wolves rookie Levi Ziegler. He has blasted onto the hockey scene this year without warning, leaving most owners, scouts, and agents scrambling. He is currently temporarily signed to the Wolves as their defense, and he’s been battling it out for a long-term contract with the other league favorite, Brody Hillman. Drama seems to follow this player around, since he is currently in the middle of a legal battle between his old agent, Scott Spears, and his prospective agent, Krista Taylor.”
The announcer stared into the camera with a huge smirk on his face.
“This is where this story gets a bit crazy. The woman in the video? The woman our rookie married after only knowing her for four hours? That’s his wannabe agent, Krista Taylor.” He shuffled papers as he continued to fight not to smile on camera. “Obviously, this will complicate their legal battle against Spears, and I can imagine this news story will only get more interesting.”
I sensed Levi coming back into the room, and I looked for him over my shoulder. He was looking back at me. He motioned with his head to come and talk to him.
I gave Mark an apologetic look before I stepped outside.
I crossed my arms and looked up at Levi. “Did you tell your friends that I am going to hunt them down and hurt them?”
“The video came from my phone.”
I let that one sink in for a moment. There was no way that was the truth. He was just trying to take the blame for his friends. “Excuse me?”
“Andrew says that after he sent this to me, he deleted his only copy.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “You’re telling me you had a copy of this video on your phone? Since when? And why didn’t you share that with me?”
He didn’t speak.
Shock washed over me. I couldn’t believe he’d kept that video from me. Even after everything else we had shared. My voice shook. “Since when, Levi?”
“For a while.”
He was telling me the truth. “You didn’t think to show me?”
He hesitated before replying. “Thought about it. Decided against it.”
I felt betrayed by his admission. “Why would you do that?”
“You would have asked me to delete it.”
My voice rose a couple of notches. “Yes, I would have asked you to delete it—to prevent this from happening!”
He took a long breath. “Well, I didn’t think this would happen.”
“What did you think, Levi?” My tone was bitchy as fuck.
He shrugged. “This is the only video we have of our wedding night.”
I had no response to that.
He continued. “The night my hotel room got tossed, my phone was moved. I found it sitting on a pile of towels in the bathroom.”
That made me stop cold. I thought through all the scenarios. “Do you think this is the work of Brody?”
“Who else would it be?”
Mark stuck his head out. “We have a situation.”
We both looked at him.
“This thing just went viral, and Scott Spears is already doing interviews with anyone who will talk to him.”
I turned to Levi. “I’ll deal with you later. Don’t talk to anyone, do you understand? Not even Mica.”
Two hours later, I arrived back at my office. Charlie, the greatest friend one could ever ask for, was already working in my office. When I walked in, she stood up and gave me a hug.
“How bad is it?”
I squeezed her tight. “Thanks for coming. It’s bad.”
“Your phone has been ringing off the hook. I’ve told everyone that we’d be releasing a statement shortly.”
I knew I had to get into work mode, but I instead sat on my couch. “I need a minute.”
“You’re married.” She spoke with awe and a tinge of excitement as she sat down across from me. “I always knew there was chemistry between you and Levi.”
I gave her a grim look. “You do realize I was out-of-my-mind stoned when I married him.”
“The heart wants what the heart wants,” she said primly. If we hadn’t been talking about my life, I would have found that statement funny.
I had a flash of Levi lifting me up against the wall before entering me slowly. I felt my entire body flush hot. I dropped my face to my hands. “You know, this might have blown over—except they found Spears.”
“Levi’s agent?”
“He was so close to releasing Levi. Now he’s refusing.” I rubbed my face. “He’s been talking to the media. He’s accusing Mark Ashford and myself of some really bad things.”
“What?”
I let out a long sigh. “He says that Mark deliberately sent me down to Mexico to seduce Levi for the purpose of pulling him away from Scott. He’s saying that I’ve violated the league’s ethics code by using sex and marriage to control Levi’s career and that I did it for personal gain.”
Charlie’s eyes were wide. “Uh-oh.”
“It doesn’t help that I said on video that I would be his agent and get him signed—in the same breath that I told his friends we were getting married. That was a huge red flag for the league’s ethics committee. Now everything is under review.”
“Holy crap.”
I covered my face with my hands. “The media is portraying me as a predator. They’re starting an investigation to see if there are any grounds for sexual misconduct on my part. Considering Spears has been battling to keep Levi as his client, this is like adding gasoline to his fire.”
She touched my arm. “Krista.”
“The optics are terrible. The fact that Mark hasn’t signed him yet, while Levi is still legally bound to Spears, doesn’t look good either. Mark has been notified that he is also being reviewed by the ethics committee.”
“How’s Mark taking this?”
“He’s being a gentleman about it, but I can tell how upset he is.” I lay back on my couch and looked over at her. I didn’t want to move. I felt almost paralyzed. “Thanks for coming to help.”
“Your sister called the office twice. She’s not happy.”
I winced. “That’s one conversation I don’t need to have any time soon.”
She stood up. “I’m putting on a fresh pot of coffee. Then we’re getting to work.”
It was after midnight when I got home. The day had been a complete train wreck. I had dozens of messages from people, including Levi. I turned off my phone and climbed into bed. Exhaustion rolled over me. I felt nothing but numbness. My entire career, and everything I had worked for, was in jeopardy. I was already fielding calls from clients. They all wanted to schedule a talk about our future.
Charlie and I were mediating everything to the best of our ability, but suddenly my ethics and integrity were on the line, and I was starting to doubt my agency’s ability to weather this storm.
When this hit me emotionally, it would hit hard, but right now, I felt only adrenaline, fatigue and a certain out-of-body clarity to help me cope with what was happening.
I needed to sleep, but I couldn’t even shut my eyes.
I lifted my head when someone knocked at my apartment door. I knew it was Levi. I looked at the clock. It was after one in the morning.
I crept out of bed and stood in my foyer, listening to him softly but persistently knock. I wanted nothing more than to let him in. I craved his touch, his force and his possession. When he was fucking me madly, the entire world faded to nothing, and I needed that tonight more than any night before.
Which is why I fought my urge to answer the door even though temptation pulsed through my entire being.
I needed to learn my lesson. I needed to stop opening that door.
He stopped knocking. It felt like the beginning of the end. Only when I heard the stairwell door shut did I start to cry.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Levi
I sat in the parking lot outside the office tower and tried to call Krista again. It went to voice mail. I knew she was avoiding me, and she had every right to be livid, but I also needed to know what was going on. Yesterday, someone from the league had asked me down for this meeting. My only hope was that Krista would also be here.
Once I got into the office, they ushered me immediately into a boardroom. To my disappointment, Krista was not there. Only one older gentleman sat in the room.
“Levi Ziegler.” He stood up and shook my hand. “My name is Harrod Buchnard.”
Without speaking, I sat down across from him.
“Can I offer you some coffee or something to eat?”
“I’m good.” I tugged at the collar of my dress shirt, wishing I hadn’t tied my tie so tight. It felt like it was constricting me.
“Well, let’s get to work.” He smiled and opened a file. “You probably already know why you’re here.”
“I have an idea.”
“I’m the president of an independent review committee that is a watchdog for our professional hockey league. We are a neutral party that wants to ensure athletes are not being taken advantage of by team owners or sports agents.”
I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Then you need to do a review of Scott Spears.”
“We looked at all the evidence given to us.”
“No one talked to me,” I interrupted. “There wouldn’t be an investigation if you had simply talked to me.”
“Excuse me?”
“No one has asked me for my version of things.”
“Well, that’s why you’re here. Shall we begin?” He looked down at his file. “We understand that Ms. Taylor came to Mexico with the intention to sign you. Drugs were involved, your marriage also occurred on the same night, and we have video footage of her promising to get you signed as a hockey player.”
I didn’t even blink at him.
He made a noise in his throat. “Did either of you sign a prenup?”
“Neither of us remember that night. It was just a mistake.”
“When you married Krista without a prenup, it made you legally liable to share your future income with her.”
I leaned forward. “Krista is the reason I am going to have a future income. Everything she has done, she has done without payment. All the costs have come out of her pocket, and I’m not even signed yet.”
“We call that grooming.”
I couldn’t keep the shock off my face. “You’re sick.”
He looked at me over his reading glasses. “Trust me, Mr. Ziegler, we take these accusations very seriously.”
“Scott was the one who asked me for money but refused to help me with my career. Krista hadn’t even signed me yet, and she helped me secure a contract until December—which, incidentally, didn’t benefit her at all.”
“How would you categorize her relationship with Mark Ashford?”
“Excuse me?”
“Would you say they are more than professional?”
I felt my nostrils flare. “You realize you’re talking about my wife.”
“Was this marriage a mistake, or is she your wife? Which one is it?”
I leaned back in my chair. “It’s complicated.”
He shut the file folder. “Thank you for your input.”
I shrugged. “Is that it?”
“For now.”
“Do you want to hear my side?”
“At this point, we’re just fact-checking.”
Which meant they didn’t want to know the truth. Frustration rolled over me. “What happens now?”
“No one is questioning your level of talent. That’s actually what is so curious. No one in the league has been able to get near you. We can’t determine if it was Mr. Ashford, Ms. Taylor, or Mr. Spears who was blocking those overtures, but regardless, we feel you haven’t been given a fair chance.”
