by K. M. Scott
“Got it. You don’t have to worry about me, Mike. It’s just a date with someone who paid ten grand for some time with me. The least I can do is take her to a nice restaurant.”
Mike didn’t look convinced. “Yeah. Well, let me think about it. I’ll send you over some ideas later today.”
The call ended, and as I stood in my bedroom alone again, I thought back to those early days of my career. Christ, I was such a naïve kid. Straight out of college and barely twenty-two, Miami started me halfway through the season when Sterling tore his ACL. Too green to even realize I should have been scared shitless seeing that happen right in front of me on the field, I ran in and huddled up with the players, ready to be the phenom everyone said I was since the first touchdown I threw in college.
By the end of my first season, I could do no wrong. Everything came so easy. Money. Women. Success. And for a few years, life was all I’d ever dreamed of.
Then one day it wasn’t. Then one day I was in my late twenties and hurt. Nothing too bad, but bad enough for Miami to want someone new, someone younger. So when New York needed a new quarterback, Mike made the deal and I became the highest paid quarterback in the history of the game.
Now all I had to do was show them I was still the best in the league.
The screen on the wall made a noise to let me know a call was coming in, and I turned to see Sherilyn smiling at me. Her hair didn’t look like someone had taken a blender to it anymore, and she wore makeup like she usually did when she worked.
“I’m glad to see you’re up and dressed, Killian. I never know how I’m going to find you when I call,” she said, blushing as she finished.
I couldn’t blame her. More than once here and in Miami, she’d caught me buck naked in bed or standing in front of the monitor. I never had been able to remember that goddamned away message.
Not that it mattered. I imagined she’d seen people naked before me.
“Showered and dressed like a normal person, for once. I don’t think I’ve been up this early on a Sunday when I wasn’t playing in years,” I said as I sat down on the edge of my bed. “So what did you find out about Tressa?”
Sherilyn looked down at her tablet and scanned the information before looking up at me again. “Tressa Stone is twenty-seven years old. Never married. She has no children. I thought you’d like to know that right off.”
“Not married is good. I like kids well enough, so it wouldn’t matter to me if she had some rugrats. What else did you find out?”
“She’s a member of the Stone family. Very influential family in this city.”
“So I’ve heard.”
“She’s not a frequent topic in the gossip pages or even on the business page because of her work for Stone Worldwide, her family’s company. She’s a VP at Stone Worldwide and the newly minted COO of the Richmont hotel chain.”
“Nice. What’s this company make?”
“There are dozens and dozens of subsidiaries inside the main company. The Stone name is on things from a line of outerwear under the Storm name, a high end restaurant chain under the name brand Harrigan’s Chop House, and dozens of other companies. You probably know their Richmont hotel chain the best, though.”
I filed all this information away for our date. “So, she’s a business executive? I can see that. She gives off that vibe.”
Sherilyn shook her head and frowned. “No, you’re misunderstanding. Tressa Stone isn’t just a powerful businesswoman. She’s also an heiress to a huge fortune. She’s set to inherit billions when her parents die, along with her brother and sister, and even now is one of the wealthiest women in all of New York. And the family is old money, not nouveau riche.”
“So what are you saying? Someone like her would never lower herself to go on a date with a lowly football player? I’m not exactly a pauper here, Sherilyn.”
“I’m saying that maybe she isn’t exactly the type of woman you date. Usually, I mean.”
The way Sherilyn said that made me wonder if she hadn’t told me all she’d found out about Tressa. What was she hiding?
“Is there something you’re not telling me about this woman?”
Sherilyn slowly shook her head. “No. You saw her. Does she look like the type of woman who spends her time with athletes? My guess is she’s more of a three-piece suit kind of woman who likes men who are like her, if you know what I mean.”
I’d known my publicist longer than I knew my agent, so I couldn’t believe anything she ever said to me wasn’t meant to be helpful. We’d been together through thick and thin from before I even signed with a team, and she’d seen me at my worst and my best. I knew what she was seeing in Tressa Stone, but I saw something else.
Something more than just a businesswoman who projected an icy façade to the world. And I planned on finding out if my hunch about who she was behind that cold mask was right.
“Well, it’s just a single date, Sherilyn, so you don’t have to worry about me.”
“Oh, I’m not worried about you, Killian. I know you. You’ll be the same charming man you always are with women, and if she doesn’t like that, at least it’s just a few hours of your time and it’s for a good cause.”
“Thanks, Sherilyn. I can always count on you to help me. Talk to you later.”
Now that I knew some details about Tressa, it was time to make that date with her.
Chapter Three
Tressa
After oversleeping nearly two hours, I sat at the table in my living room and stared out the window that overlooked the city. I squinted at a ray of sun that chose at that very moment to shine into my penthouse, turning away as I prayed my morning coffee would start to do its job. So far, it hadn’t done a damn thing to make me wake up, and I couldn’t function well until the caffeine kicked in.
The chime from the TV told me someone had made the mistake of thinking they should call me this morning, and I turned to look at the monitor as the person’s face came into focus. Ethan. Ugh. Not this morning. Please, God, not this morning.
But he had other ideas.
“Good morning, Tress. How are you feeling on this fine and sunny New York morning? Feeling famous or would it be infamous?” he chirped away with that ridiculous smile on his face.
Wishing my coffee would kick in at that very moment, I mumbled, “I don’t have the time to deal with you today, Ethan.”
His stupid grin grew even larger. “It’s a wonderful day, so why not make time? The birds are singing in the trees, and the newspapers are out with all the news we fine citizens could possible need. Want to see the highlights?”
My brain attempted to figure out what the hell he was referring to, and just as the memory of the charity auction popped into my head, he pointed to the pictures of Killian and me at the charity auction last night that popped up in succession to frame his face on the screen. Each one showed me gazing at the man like some lovesick schoolgirl, or worse, like some horny teenager looking like she wanted to jump him right there in front of everyone in the ballroom.
“I love how you keep things on the down low, Tress. Just how low is that now? I mean, I guess it could have appeared on the front page of the Post and the Times. That would definitely not be keeping it on the down low like you are now with it on Page Six, all the gossip websites, and even on the local TV news.”
His teasing made me want to lash out, but I was too exhausted, and honestly, it was all so embarrassing. Ethan had me dead to rights on this mess, and there was nothing I could do about that, so I just snapped, “What are you doing up so early? Did you lose your girlfriend? Did she finally figure out she could do better?”
My brother simply smiled at my sharp attack. His smugness knew no bounds, and justifiably so. He’d waited all his adult life to get me back for all those times I’d chided him about how he conducted his personal life. I didn’t begrudge him this payback. I’d do the same thing myself. I just wasn’t in the mood at that very moment to trade verbal jabs with him.
“S
ummer and I are perfectly fine. I just wanted to check in on my sister who preaches about keeping things on the down low. That seems to be working pretty well for you. I do have to hand it to you, though, Tress. You definitely chose someone perfect for your debut on Page Six. Just wait until Dad sees you standing with Killian Brenton.”
I groaned in misery. The thought of my parents seeing me ogling some football player at the charity auction made this morning one hundred times worse. I’d always prided myself on being the consummate professional, and now this would ruin everything I’d so assiduously worked for.
“If I find out you called them about this, I swear to God, Ethan, I will be merciless in my revenge.”
He threw his head back and laughed like he was having a grand old time. “They don’t live in a cave, Tress. They’re going to find out eventually. It’s all over the news. One of their friends probably showed them those pictures over breakfast.”
Oh. God. The very thought of one of my parents’ friends calling them up over coffee and muffins on a Sunday morning just to show them those pictures made me feel like I’d be sick.
And just when I thought I couldn’t feel any worse, I saw my father calling.
“Ethan, go get back to your life and leave me alone. I’m busy.”
More laughing at my misery was followed by more taunting. “I’ve waited for years for this day. I’m not going to let it just go like that. How about we talk about that ten grand you paid to spend the night with Killian? That was how they said it, spend the night, right? I’m loving this down low thing you have going on. You should give lessons on how to keep your private life private, Tress.”
“Go to hell.”
I hurried over to the TV and ended the call with Ethan to answer my father’s. Before I said a word, I immediately assessed how he looked. No frown. Good. No pacing. That was definitely good. When my father was upset, he paced. Maybe he hadn’t heard, but then again, if he hadn’t, why would he be calling me so early on a Sunday morning?
Plastering a smile on my face, I effected my happiest voice. “Hi, Dad. It’s early to see you this morning. Everything okay?”
Oh, God. That sounded panicked, not chipper, like I wanted it to be. Hopefully, he didn’t hear the fear in my voice. I had to stay cool. Nothing bad had happened. This whole Killian Brenton thing would blow over by the time Monday rolled around, so I just had to keep things in perspective.
“Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine. How was the charity event last night? Did you have a good time?”
My father had never been the teasing type, but his questions sounded oddly taunting, similar to my brother’s. Had Ethan already gotten to him? If he did, I would kill him for this. Or even better, I’d torture him. There would be no end to my vengeance.
“It was a very nice event, but they always are. You know how they are. You spent enough years attending them. You haven’t spoken to Ethan yet this morning, have you?”
Damn. My words tumbled out of my mouth so quickly my father had to suspect something wasn’t right.
My father shook his head. “No. I haven’t spoken to him in a few days. Is anything wrong?”
Good. There was my chance to steer the conversation in the direction of my brother. I needed to build on that inherent worry he always had that Ethan had done something wrong.
“No. I mean, you know how he is. You can never tell what he’s going to do. One day he’s taking pictures of dogs, and the next who knows? That’s just Ethan, I guess.”
Nodding, my father said, “Your brother has been known to have some wild times. I guess I expect it from him. Now you, on the other hand, I don’t expect it from.” He stopped talking and pointed to a box at the top of the screen he’d put there as he spoke. “Imagine my surprise to find out my daughter is going out on a date with the new quarterback for my favorite team. You don’t even like football, do you? Not that it matters to go out on a date, but you’ve never wanted to go to a game like your brother and sister.”
My stomach dropped to my feet, and I cringed as I looked up and saw the picture of Killian and me staring at each other like long lost loves. Oh, who was I kidding? That wasn’t even remotely true. Only I was staring at him like that. At least he hadn’t put up the one of me staring at him like some oversexed schoolgirl.
“I think I must have had a reaction to the allergy medicine I took yesterday afternoon, Dad. The pollen has been terrible this spring. Did you see how much of it was in the air this week? I think it made me a little loopy—the medicine, not the pollen—and then I had a few sips of wine right after I got to the event. It must have been that. Honestly, it looks much different than it was in actuality. It’s really not a big deal.”
Nice job rambling, Tressa. That will convince him everything’s fine. Anytime anyone in the history of the world said something wasn’t a big deal, those very words told everyone it was so much a big deal.
None of what I told my father sounded even plausible and didn’t explain why I was gazing up at Killian Brenton like some pathetic schoolgirl with her first crush. I didn’t even have allergies.
God, how was I going to show my face anywhere ever again?
My father smiled sweetly at me like he always did when he saw me worrying about something. “You don’t have to explain having a good time, honey. You’re a grown woman, and a very competent woman at that. And Killian Brenton is a big deal. I’m not surprised you’d be more than a little impressed with him. The amount you bid to the charity for him all goes to a great cause, so I think you must be feeling pretty good about things.”
I wasn’t impressed by him. He was nothing more than an attention whore who loved the limelight. That kind of man was nothing but a turn off. I couldn’t tell my father that, though, since he didn’t see me like that. To my father, I was his overachieving daughter who would someday take over Stone Worldwide. I acted the way I was supposed to, as opposed to my two siblings, and he appreciated that.
So if he knew what had been going through my mind at the moment that picture of me gazing longingly up at Killian Brenton was taken, I’d be too embarrassed to face him.
“It was nothing, Dad. Just some allergy medicine gone wrong. I’m happy to make the donation to the pediatric cancer association, though. At least that went right.”
“When are the two of you going out? You did bid on a date with him, right?” my father asked a little too eagerly.
“We’re not,” I answered, grimacing at how tawdry the whole thing sounded. Thank God it was for a worthy cause. It was truly the only saving grace of the entire situation.
“Why not? He’s the talk of the town,” my father said with a deep frown, sounding downright disappointed by my announcement that I wouldn’t be going out with Killian.
“I prefer my dates to grow out of organic circumstances, to be honest, Dad. I’m sure Mr. Brenton will be fine with my declining his offer. He has other things to occupy his time with, I have no doubt.”
“Oh. Well, if you want to do it that way, that’s fine. I just think it’s a shame you aren’t going because if anyone deserves a night out, it’s you. I know how hard you work every day. I wish you’d reconsider. I hear he’s a great guy.”
Ethan had been right. My father did want me to go out with the quarterback from his favorite team. What was it with these men and football that made them think such ridiculous things?
I needed to change the topic or I’d have to explain my dislike for Killian Brenton to my father, something I really didn’t want to do now or ever. “I have to go, Dad. I have work I need to get done today, and I’ll never finish it if I just sit around all day. Tell Mom I said hi. Are you two just relaxing today?”
Leaving that horrible discussion of my misadventures the night before, my father’s eyes lit up, and he smiled. “No. We’re coming into the city to take Diana out for lunch. You’re welcome to join us. Ethan and Summer said they might come too. We’d love to have you there too.”
My sister had recently started leavin
g the hotel more because of Summer and Ethan’s efforts, but I didn’t feel right crashing their family time. Diana and I were too different to spend much time together. Every time we did, I seemed to say the wrong thing and upset her.
“I wish I could. Tell Diana I said I’m sorry I couldn’t come this time but maybe next time. Tell her I’ll stop over to see her this week.”
That hopeful look in my father’s eyes made my chest ache because I knew as soon as I said those words that I wouldn’t go to see my sister anytime soon. I couldn’t. Being around her made me too sad because I always thought back to who she was before the accident. It broke my heart to know she’d never be that person again.
“Okay, honey. Have a good day, and Tressa, remember that you deserve to relax and have a good time every so often.”
“I love you, Dad. Don’t worry about me. I’m having a good time doing what I love, which is working at Stone Worldwide and making it the successful company it is.”
The screen turned black, leaving me alone in my misery once more. Feeling a headache beginning to form, I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to push the memory of those images of Killian Brenton and me out of my mind. So far this day had been utter shit, so it had to get better. Maybe if I took a shower and got dressed. That might make me feel better.
What would really make me feel great would be if someone could invent a way to wipe my mind and the mind of every person in New York of the sight of me looking up at Killian Brenton like I wanted to devour him. That would be perfect.
Chapter Four
Killian
Why were my palms sweaty? It made no sense. I’d dated hundreds of women. Well, maybe not hundreds but I’d never had a problem with getting any woman I wanted. There was no reason to think Tressa Stone would be any different. For God’s sake, she’d already basically given me the green light the way she looked at me last night. She was probably waiting for me to call at that very moment.
