No matter how hard I try, I can’t keep anger from rolling off me in waves. Evie cowers at the doorway, and that only pisses me off more. The pictures spread all over the coffee table aren’t helping.
Evie looking more gorgeous than any woman has a right to.
Evie and Alyssa plastering their bodies together in a way that makes my dick twitch in my pants, in spite of my rage.
Evie surrounded by sweaty men who must have felt the same about her spectacle.
Evie at the bar, two thirsty assholes obviously offering to buy her and Alyssa’s drinks.
Byers and Shawn flank the couch, but they don’t dare get close to me. They can feel it, too.
I’m about to explode.
“As soon as they hit the internet, I texted Byers,” Shawn offers.
“We did everything by the book,” Byers interjects, his tone baffled. “I called in extra guys to account for the kind of security the Big Apple requires. I don’t understand how this happened.”
I do.
Five trained, armed men can take down a physical threat because those are easy to spot. Social media is an innocuous enemy of another sort.
“I’m sorry,” Evie puts in, strangely without tears. “I never meant to embarrass you this way. It was just harmless fun, nothing like what they’re spinning it to be.”
“The spin is the key.” Shawn rifles through the stack of pictures with one hand while scrolling on his phone with the other. “They know who you are. They knew where to find you. It’s obvious every picture and caption is taken out of context.”
Byers and Shawn exchange a knowing glance, but it’s Byers who speaks up. “We have a leak.”
Yeah, and I have a pretty damn good guess who that leak might be.
I always knew he was waiting for the most opportune time to strike. Evie relaxing, enjoying herself without me around was exactly what he was waiting for. Even in college, he never went after me. It’s always her.
No. More.
“We need to issue a statement before this gets out of control.” Shawn goes into agent mode, pulling his laptop out of his satchel. “It would have been easier if you’d publicly announced who you’re married to instead of trying to keep it a secret, but it’s too late for that now. The best we can hope for is to mitigate the claims she’s a money-hungry jersey chaser by flooding social media with the expected pictures of your life together. Female football fans are suckers for young married quarterbacks. We need to replace those images at the club with the wedding, the honeymoon. Give me whatever you have.”
“Those photos don’t exist.” I scrub my hands over my face in frustration.
Fuck me. Will every wrong decision I’ve ever made continue to bite me on the ass?
If it weren’t for that particular phrase of a “money-hungry jersey chaser” being plastered all over the internet, I might not know who to blame for this mess. I never thought I’d see the day I wished for the football royalty hashtag to be brought back.
“Okay.” Shawn heaves a deep breath as he continues to clack away at his keyboard. “Then, you finally give in to all the requests you’ve had for a glimpse at your personal life. We’ll schedule a segment with Good Morning, Sacramento with the both of you. Let the Sacramento Sun have their tour of the condo with Evie as the hostess. We’ll paint a picture of your life now, as it really is.”
“No.” Evie steps forward, seeming suddenly sure of herself for the first time since Byers ushered her into our home. “A rebound plan like that will only lend credence to what’s already out there. Our best bet is to do nothing. Let them say what they will.”
That’s it.
I snap.
“Are you out of your fucking mind?” I shoot off the couch like it’s on fire, my voice echoing off the still devoid-of-pictures walls.
Evie recoils as if I’ve physically slapped her, but regains her composure just as quickly. “Yes, in fact. According to the attending physicians at Manhattan Mercy, I am.”
Goddammit.
Phrases like that are going to be just as hard to wipe from my mental lexicon as sexist ones like “pussy.”
Byers intercedes before either Shawn or I get the chance. “Evie. We can’t let them run you through the mud like this. Travers said you were fending off guys left and right tonight. It’s not fair for them to paint you as a hussy when you’re clearly not.”
She furrows her brow. “Travers? Was he the new guy stationed inside the club?”
I don’t like the idea of that one bit. Byers might have connections, but unless I’ve vetted them personally, I don’t trust them.
He nods. “Yeah. He’s an old buddy of mine and has a vested interest in keeping women safe. His wife was date raped in college.”
Evie’s entire posture sinks, but her voice rings sure when she speaks. “Please thank him for his service tonight from me, personally. And if the opportunity arises, give him a card for the Sing Out foundation, in case they need any services.”
In a strange, and somewhat disconcerting, show of humanity, Byers’ shoulders jolt from her offer. “I will. Thank you.”
The statistic of one in four rings through my mind.
Is that why Byers leaped out as the front-running candidate? Did I subconsciously detect a kindred spirit in him?
“As the person who’s being featured in the media right now, consider this me making my official request known. I don’t want a response. You’re being paid to represent Rob, not me. As long as he’s not being portrayed badly, there’s no reason for you to react.” Evie toes off her killer heels and moves toward the bedroom on surprisingly steady feet. “Thank you for your time and concern, though.”
For a brief moment, all I can think is her feet must be killing her.
My agent and head security guard pull me back to reality rather quickly.
“I’m so fucking sorry, Falls. I had it all planned, down to the second.”
“We’ll fix this. Don’t worry.”
I raise a hand to stop their meaningless apologies. Evie’s right about one thing. What’s done is done.
“I pay you to handle it, so handle it.” I’m not going to let anyone destroy my wife’s reputation ever again.
“You really don’t have a single picture of your wedding, or you just won’t give it to me?” Shawn presses.
“There was no wedding. No honeymoon.” All because of the bastard who started this mess. I thought I could outsmart him.
I was wrong.
How am I supposed to be one step ahead of Jackson, if I can’t even manage to outmaneuver my own father?
“What’s the latest intel?” I turn my attention to Byers since I haven’t heard from my other contact in a few days.
We can get through a media onslaught, but another attack is out of the question.
“Still in the Carolinas. He just met with his parole officer, but these pictures could tip him, and I think you know it.”
I do know it. That knowledge has me more worried than the court of public opinion.
If there’s one thing I understand about enemy number one, it’s his sense of ownership. Seeing photos of other men lusting after the woman he believes to be his sole property might prompt him to make a move.
“Evie’s idea might work.” Shawn collects his laptop and all the fucking photographs from the coffee table. “No response at all from us could make this blow over sooner.”
“I don’t want her painted as a gold digger. Fix it. I don’t care how.”
Both men understand their dismissal.
They grab their belongings and depart without further discussion.
Thank God.
I have a wife to console.
The bedroom is dark and…empty when I enter.
No sounds from the en suite bathroom. There’s only one other place to check.
Evie stirs from the pallet I made up when the closet door creaks open under my hand.
“I really need to be in here tonight. I feel so violated.”
“That’s okay, baby. I understand. Do you want me to sleep with you in here?”
I want that, but her needs come first right now.
“I’d like to be alone, please.”
That’s fair. If it wasn’t for my celebrity, her personal time wouldn’t have been plastered all over the media and debased.
“Let me know if you need anything?”
“I’ll be fine, Rob. Get some sleep. I’m sorry again about the mess. I hope it doesn’t change anything.”
Her robotic tone sends goosebumps racing across my skin. On any other night, I’d suspect something bigger might be wrong, but after the events of the past few hours, I can’t blame her for needing to distance herself.
“I’ll be right here if you need me.”
“I won’t.”
Her immediate response cuts through me, but, I force myself to close the door and lean against it.
I try to make myself as comfortable as possible, knowing it’s all in vain.
I have a wife to guard tonight.
No rest for the wicked.