Chapter3
It only took one date for Aaliyah and Max to be front and center of the next day’s gossip page. A picture of them holding hands while running into the restaurant, all smiles and attempting to “sneak” past the cameras, was snapped and sent to Aaliyah. Her friend Caroline was all questions as her phone buzzed incessantly, but all Aaliyah wanted to do was shove her head back under the pillows and pretend the night before hadn’t happened. The car ride there, where he’d given her his most charming grin, poured her a glass of champagne, and toasted to their new deal, was the best part of the night. The rest had been a complete disaster, and all she wanted to do was forget it all had happened.
Unfortunately, seeing that picture on the gossip page gave her confirmation that she wasn’t going anywhere. Headlines of speculation wondering who this mystery woman was and if Max Connors could actually be dating someone were splashed all over social media and the news. There was no escaping it. That’s why Eli was so good at what he did. In one night, his plan had worked. Too bad she was going to have to call him and tell him she didn’t care about the money; she wasn’t going to spend another evening with Max.
He’d spent the entire night on his phone texting other women, which he so freely shared with her, flirting with the staff, and charming the pants off of every woman that happened to cross his path. It wasn’t as if she actually cared if he was interested in her or not, but she was all dolled up, and she at least hoped he could pretend to be interested in her. She’d been completely humiliated when he’d spent more time talking with every other woman in the place rather than giving any attention to her. And then, when they’d left the place, it was as if nothing at all had happened, as if he’d been a perfect gentleman instead of what he was: an egotistical jerk.
Her phone chimed with an incoming call, and she wished she could ignore it, but when she looked at the name on the screen, she knew she had no choice but to answer.
“Hello?” she asked, her word muffled into her pillow.
“Well, that was wildly successful, don’t you think?” Eli asked.
“Ha! Yeah, right. Listen, Eli, I really wanted this to work, but he’s a complete jerk. I don’t want anything to do with him again, and now that I think about it, I wonder if it’s actually the fact that he doesn’t want a girlfriend or he can’t get one, because with what I saw last night, I can’t imagine why any woman would ever see him again.”
There was a long pause on the other end, and she wondered if she’d crossed some type of professional barrier, but then she pushed the thought away. This professional barrier had encroached on her personal life, so it wasn’t just professional anymore. Just when the panic started to rise too high, Eli finally spoke.
“What was the problem?”
Aaliyah launched into exactly how rude he’d been and how self-absorbed he was as Eli just sat there quietly on the other end of the call.
“I thought this might be a problem. I’ll take care of it,” he answered matter-of-factly.
She couldn’t help but snort out a laugh. There was a high amount of doubt that anyone would ever be able to change Max Connors, no matter what was on the line.
“Well, you’d better because I’m not going out with him again if he keeps up like this.” She had no idea where this little bit of bravado had come from, but she kind of liked it. Being assertive felt rather great.
“Unfortunately, you’ve already signed the contract. The only way out of it is the clause of buying each other out of the deal. I highly doubt you have the money to buy him out, so it looks as if you’re stuck.”
Any feeling of new found strength that Aaliyah had gotten was quickly deflated by Eli’s comment. She’d forgotten about that clause that she had to buy him out. Even if she sold everything she had and lived in a box, she couldn’t afford to buy herself out of that contract. She was stuck.
***
“He’s a complete jerk,” she told Caroline over Chinese food and a cheap bottle of wine.
Her best friend had not stopped blowing up her phone all day wanting all of the gossip. As annoying as it was, Aaliyah understood how crazy it must all seem. One moment, Aaliyah was just plain old boring workaholic Aaliyah, the next she was front page gossip with a huge celebrity and a new makeover. Caroline was fingering all of the new clothes in the closet, and Aaliyah knew she was hardly even listening.
“Look at this deal you’ve got. Money, clothes, and a chance for a better job—all to get dinner and go to fancy events with a celebrity. Any girl would kill to be in your position! How bad could it really have been?”
Aaliyah flopped onto her bed and let out a long sigh. “Let me just say this, the few times he wasn’t hitting on other women right in front of me, all he talked about was the points he’s scored and his most famous plays.”
Caroline finally turned and gave her a quizzical look.
“He even took out his phone to pull up videos of his famous clips to show me. Of course, even those got interrupted by the constant messages he was getting from other women.”
Caroline finally stopped checking out her new wardrobe and came to sit by her friend’s side. “Can you get out of it at all?”
Aaliyah shook her head sadly. “It’s too much money to buy him out. I have a feeling that Eli knew I’d never be able to afford it, but I’d certainly want to run. So now I’m stuck.”
Her friend went silent before giving a shrug. “Well, think of it this way. It can only get better from here.”
Aaliyah sighed. She supposed her friend had a point. What was the worst that would happen from there? He’d keep ignoring her on dates, keep talking to other women in front of her… Well, if that was the worse than he’d already done it. And it wasn’t as if she was invested in him or anything. She’d known he was a complete playboy and jerk when she’d signed the contract; she just didn’t think he’d be that awful. She’d figured there would be some amount of decency in him, some amount of respect, if not for her then for his career. Maybe that’s what she needed to do, maybe she needed to lay out the rules and make him give her respect. She may be stuck in the contract, but that didn’t mean she needed to take his playboy crap.
After Caroline left, Aaliyah quickly called Max. She needed to do it fast before she lost her nerve at telling him off. He answered on the third ring, sounding as if she was the last person on earth he’d expected to hear from.
“Max, we need to talk.” She was proud of herself for how firm she sounded.
“Yeah, I know. Eli already called and chewed me out. But listen, I don’t get the big deal. It’s not as if we’re actually dating, so the normal rules don’t apply.”
“No,” she responded. “The normal rules don’t apply. But the rules of respect do. You want to chat up other women when you’re not around me, text them and flirt with them, be my guest. It’s your reputation on the line, and if those women then go to the press and say you’re texting them while you have a girlfriend… well, that’s your problem; I’m still getting what I want out of the contract.” Aaliyah had no idea where all these words were coming from or how she was putting herself head first into a conflict like that without crying, but she was off and running and had no plan to stop.
“But you’re not going to make me look like a fool when we’re out in public. I’m not going to be made a joke. So, you do whatever you want on your time, that’s your problem. But while you’re with me, you’re at least going to act like you like me. Act like you respect me.”
If he could see her, he would know she was completely bluffing. It wasn’t as if she could say “or else” because there was nothing she could threaten. But he didn’t have to know that.
Max waited a beat before saying anything to her. But when he did, she was shocked by his response. “All right then, that’s fair enough.”
That was it… as if she hadn’t just completely blown up at him. But she smiled to herself. She had never been one to stand up to anyone, and here she was standing up to Max and demanding respect. And he’d actually agreed. Life really was changing faster than she could keep up with it.
“Well... err… thanks.” She had no idea what to say to answer him; she hadn’t expected him to agree like that.
“So, plans for tonight. How about we go to a club.” It was really a demand, not a question.
Panic immediately set into Aaliyah’s core. The last place on earth she wanted to be was clubbing. Plus, that wasn’t at all something she felt the two of them were ready to endure. He’d hardly been able to handle going to a restaurant without women crawling on him and him loving it. Just because he’d agreed to stop that in the moment on the phone didn’t mean that he’d be able to hold up to that agreement.
“No, how about we try dinner again. Some place a little quieter?”
“Quieter? Why would we want quieter? The whole point is to be seen together. And why can’t we go to a club? There’s far more fun to be had there.”
She had to admit he had a point about going someplace quiet. They did need to be seen together if their plan was ever going to work, but she couldn’t disagree more about the club.
“Isn’t it all that fun that got you into this trouble in the first place? We’ve got to keep you away from clubs, from that lifestyle.”
“But that’s my lifestyle.”
Aaliyah smiled; she knew she’d just won. “That’s exactly the point.”
In one conversation, she had gotten Max to agree with her twice. She had a definite feeling that wouldn’t last long, that eventually he was going to get fed up with the girlfriend thing and the quiet nights, but for the moment, she had been able to prove her points and have him agree.
Small victories, she thought.
They agreed on a French restaurant where the clientele was a bit higher class, more exclusive, and a lot less likely to annoy her all night. She was comfortable with that, and when they hung up, she could actually feel herself lighten up a bit. They’d even been able to compromise on their night together. Maybe they’d just gotten off on the wrong foot. Maybe with the rules a bit more clear, she’d be able to get through this contract, keep her money, and get a better job. And maybe she’d even be able to help Max in the process. For the first time since she’d signed the contract, she actually felt as if everything might actually work out in the end for everyone.
*
Even though he hated to admit it, practice did go easier when he wasn’t hung over or still drunk. His mind was clearer, and his shots were better. It was possible that Eli’s plan might actually work, which made Max laugh a little. In just one, day his shots were already better and he’d made the gossip page with Aaliyah. Not that he cared one way or another about being on the gossip page, but he did care that people were taking notice. For the plan to work, they had to be seen out together, they had to be noticed, so that people would know he had changed his ways.
Of course, if he kept hitting shots like he was, then maybe he wouldn’t need the gossip pages at all. Maybe his game would speak for himself.
Looking at the picture that Eli had texted him, Max had to admit that he didn’t really have a problem being on the page with her. She’d looked drop-dead gorgeous the night before, and he’d actually enjoyed being seen out with her on his arm. Apparently he hadn’t handled that all that well, though, considering he’d been yelled at by both Eli and Aaliyah first thing in the day. He was sure that Eli had checked in on Aaliyah and she’d complained about his behavior, so they were both riding on him to do better.
But what he really wished was that they would cut him some slack. He wasn’t used to having to give attention to only one woman for a whole night, to ignore the ones who were texting him begging for his attention, and to not be flirtatious with any woman who approached him. His usual night out would consist of everything the exact opposite of what Eli and Aaliyah were looking for; how was he expected to change in just one night?
But he also knew that they were both right, especially Aaliyah. It may not be a real relationship, and once everything was fixed then they could both go their separate ways, but until then, he at least owed her some respect when they were out together. So, he’d have to figure out a way to fix that. He’d never been around women who cared whether or not he was giving them his undivided attention, just as long as he was giving them some attention. They didn’t care if he talked to other girls all throughout the night, as long as they were the one to go home with him for five minutes of fame and to be with a celebrity for the night. It made for a good story, he knew.
But Aaliyah wasn’t in for the fame, she was in it for herself. And considering that she was, he was going to have to stop acting like that. So the first order of business was to actually do what he was supposed to be doing in his contract. He was going to have to act like a boyfriend, however that was supposed to be. Rules weren’t things he generally liked to follow, and boyfriend rules? Well, those he was just going to have to figure out along the way. Luckily, he had Eli chirping in his ear to give him the right answers. So when she had called to ream him out, he’d already been prepared to have to fix things.
“So, what club tonight?” Kenny asked in the locker room.
Max took a breath before he answered. This was part of the boyfriend thing he was not looking forward to. “I can’t actually; I have plans.”
There was a small hope inside of him that keeping it vague would be enough, but he had a very distinct feeling that it wasn’t going to happen quite like that.
“Plans? When do you ever have plans?”
“Tonight. That’s when I have plans.”
Kenny’s face dawned in understanding, and he threw his dirty towel at Max. “Is this about that girl you were out with last night? Have to admit, man, she was pretty hot, but not hot enough to blow off the clubs.”
Max wanted to argue that he was wrong, that given different circumstances and if he was a different type of guy, then Aaliyah would definitely be hot enough to blow off a night at the club. But that wasn’t the point, so he kept quiet on that instead. Even with his team, he had to go along with the plan. Everyone needed to think that she was his girlfriend; no one could know otherwise.
“Actually… I like her. So, yeah, we’re going out tonight.”
“So, you actually have a date tonight? I never thought I’d see the day when Max Connors had a date. Actually, I never thought I’d see the day when Max Connors would choose to go on a date rather than go to a club. One girl versus one hundred.” Kenny shook his head and laughed. “Seems to me you’re not making the best mathematical choice here.”
Max could certainly see the point of what Kenny was saying, especially since he wasn’t going to be getting anything from Aaliyah that the other girls would give him. But there was also a small part of him, a very small part, that had to admit that after their little phone call from earlier, he was intrigued by Aaliyah. Yes, he had seen the night before that she was gorgeous, so that was something. But all night, she’d barely said a word, which he learned had apparently been his fault, but he had suspected that she was some boring workaholic girl. Someone who wouldn’t stir the pot no matter what, a woman without a backbone. He wasn’t entirely convinced that she wasn’t that girl, but after their phone call, he had a suspicion that she might not be as boring as he’d originally thought.
It might not be sex, and it might not be what the girls at the club could offer him, but since he was in this boat, he figured he might as well enjoy the ride.