Chapter 5 – Kina
I met Jacob at one of the meeting rooms in our offices.
When he walked through the door, his presence spilled into the room before him. It filled the room, pushing into the corners until the room was so full of him.
He looked as surprised as I had been, to find out I was his PR manager.
“What the hell?” he asked, his handsome eyes wide with surprise. “Is this for real?”
“I know,” I said, shaking my head to let him know it was crazy to me too. “I couldn’t believe it either. But this is my job, so…”
He nodded solemnly, which reassured me. He seemed to know that it was important to stay professional. I appreciated him for that. And then I realized that he was probably embarrassed too, due to the nature of needing a PR manager, and then finding out it was me.
He sat down across the corner from me, and I could smell his cologne. I struggled to think straight.
“So, Ms. Kina Peterson,” he said when he sat down. “You’re the one assigned to clean up my image.
I nodded. “Yep, that’s me. I’m your new PR manager.”
I looked up at him. His haircut really did make his eyes stand out. They were a bright blue, the color of fall skies.
He smiled at me, and it was a smile that changed his face completely, turning him from roguishly handsome to drop dead gorgeous.
“Well, let’s get started then,” he said, resolutely. I appreciated his strength in this crazy situation. “What all does this entail? You know that I’m not really here of my own free will. It’s kind of a condition of my continuing to play. So, you tell me what I need to do, and I’ll do it.”
I looked at his file again. He was making me feel unbalanced. I couldn’t believe that the guy I slept with was not only my brother’s best friend but also my very first famous client, a football player. But in this case, he was more like infamous.
“Let’s talk about the charges,” I said.
Jacob swallowed, his eyes sliding away from me. He didn’t want to talk about it. I didn’t blame him. Assault charges were a big deal.
“It was a misunderstanding,” he said.
I nodded. “I gather it was. I read the reports.”
He didn’t answer me. When his face was this serious, he looked completely different. He looked less like the kid I’d seen before and more like the player who had been in the news a while ago.
“Look,” he said. “I know that it was wrong. I feel like shit about it. I’m ready for a better image. Things just keep going wrong for me, and I just want the press to calm down and let me carry on with my life now.”
I nodded, still looking at his file. I could imagine what it had to be like to be in the press this much. A lot of my clients had been in the news frequently, but it was different for the celebrities.
“It will come,” I said. “We just need to work at it, and in time, everything will change.”
He smiled when I said it and that carefree look was back. When he smiled, his eyes were almost cerulean. They were so striking.
“I’m looking forward to working together,” Jacob said, his smile unnerving me. I smiled back at him.
“I look forward to it, too, Jacob.”
My phone beeped on the table, and I glanced at it. I would have ignored it—I was in a meeting, after all—but Jacob’s name had popped up on the screen. I frowned and lifted the phone.
I followed the tabloids and a new post had just popped up.
“Excuse me,” I said and unlocked the screen.
IS JACOB LAWSON SERIOUS ABOUT HIS GAME OR HIS FAME?
I skimmed through an article. It looked like some small blogger was bragging about sleeping with Jacob. She had a scanned copy of his autograph.
I sighed.
Don’t take this personally, I told myself. Stay professional.
He was obviously a player. I knew this from the beginning. It was just a fun one night stand that meant nothing. So why did it hurt so much to be looking at a picture of him and another girl?
Chapter 6 – Kina
“Did you get into any trouble, lately?” I asked Jacob, holding my breath to find out what he was going to tell me. He’d better not lie. Or try to say I meant something special, or something cheesy like that.
Jacob shook his head. “I wasn’t fighting or anything, if that’s what you mean. It’s part of my contract with the Sharks. If I fight, they can suspend my contract with them.”
I shook my head. “I mean with women.”
His face paled just a little. If I hadn’t been watching him this intently, I would have missed it.
“Other women besides…” he asked, trailing off.
“Yes,” I told him.
Besides me, yes. I wouldn’t be posting pictures of us all over my blog.
“Not really. I mean, I’m not celibate, if that’s what you’re asking.”
My cheeks burned. Clearly, I knew that.
“That’s not what I’m asking.”
I turned the phone so he could see the screen. He frowned and took the phone from me, scrolling through the article.
“Shit,” he breathed.
“If this is going to happen, I’m not taking you on,” I said. “I’m not here for damage control as more incidents pop up. I’m here to fix what’s been broken.”
Jacob sighed, handing the phone back to me. “I understand,” he said. “It wasn’t even about that. I didn’t think she knew who I was until afterward. And this was the night before… you know… just so you know. It was just some stupid hook up. I didn’t think there was anything more to it.”
I was happy to know that this had happened before he met me, even though I knew I had no claim to him. But I was annoyed that he was that promiscuous, to have randomly hooked up with some other girl the night before he had hooked up with me.
I shook my head and decided to focus on the matter at hand. I had to help deal with the fall out of his past stunts, whether or not I personally liked their existence.
“You can’t just go around trusting everyone. They know who you are. All of them. Whether it’s because of the assault or because of football, there are people out there who are going to want a piece of your fame.”
He leaned back in his chair and rubbed his hands on his jeans. They were Levi’s, faded in all the right places. He was nervous about the blog, about what they were saying about him. That was a good sign—if he cared, then we could do something about it.
“So, what are we going to do about this?” he asked, gesturing to the phone.
“We can fix it,” I said.
“Really?”
I nodded. I wasn’t sure how just yet, but I had gotten this job for a reason—I was good at what I did—and somehow, I had always managed to get it to work before.
He smiled at me again, and it drove that haunted look out of his eyes. It made me want to get him to smile every time just to see him look as carefree as he did. When he was so serious, I saw what the past year had done to him, and it was ugly. But not ugly enough that I didn’t want to sleep with him again, I noticed, as my panties dampened.
He opened his mouth to say something when my phone rang. It was an unknown number. I frowned.
“Sorry,” I said and answered it.
“Kina?”
Kyle’s voice was thick on the other end of the line. And I remembered the fact that he was calling from an unknown number. This could only mean one thing. I pressed the phone against my chest and closed my eyes briefly.
Kyle was always in trouble. Since he’d failed to go pro the way Jacob had, he’d been regressing to the point of being a problem. My parents had given up on him, but he was my twin, and I couldn’t do that to him. We had been together since the womb.
Which meant I would answer his calls every time because the chances that he just wanted to say hi were very, very slim. He always had some bigger problem that he needed me to help him solve.
“I’m so sorry,” I said. “I have to take this.”
I stepped out of the meeting room, phone still against my chest, before I pressed it against my ear.
“I’m in a meeting, Kyle,” I said.
With your ex best friend. Who I hooked up with.
Obviously, I wasn’t going to fill him in.
“I’m in jail,” he replied, confirming my suspicions.
Fucking fantastic.
“What did you do?” I asked.
“Nothing. I just drank too much, and they locked me up.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “It’s not even five yet, for God’s sake.”
He didn’t answer me. I could imagine him giving me the nonchalant shrug I always got from him when he didn’t have an answer for me.
“I’m coming,” I said.
I just needed to pick him up. Someone had to take him off the street until he was sober and no longer a public disgrace.
I walked back into the meeting room.
“I’m sorry, Jacob. I must cut this short. My brother needs me.”
Jacob nodded. “I understand.”
I wasn’t sure if he did. I didn’t know how much he knew about Kyle, how much he’d kept tabs on his former friend.
He opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say more. But then he closed it.
“Give Kyle my regards,” he said. “I hope he’s doing well.”
I had a feeling he had been planning to ask how Jacob was doing, but had then decided against it. Perhaps he feared the answer wouldn’t be good. If so, he would be right.
“We’ll be in touch,” I said as I collected my things. “I’ll call you.”
Jacob nodded and held out his hand. I took it. His hand was warm and large, a little calloused. It was great to hold.
“I hope it turns around for him,” he said.
Apparently, he did know something about Kyle and who he was now.
I nodded. “Thank you. I hope so, too.”
It was odd, hearing him bring up the past. He had known Kyle once upon a time. But he didn’t know what he had turned into since they had stopped talking.
Jacob walked to the door and let me walk through, first. What a gentleman. I left him and my safe life behind to step into the chaotic life of my brother and save him. Again.