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On the way back to my car, I sensed someone's eyes on me. I turned to see a man with a camera standing across the street.
He gave me a finger wave and a smug smile.
It wasn't until I was halfway home that I remembered where I knew him from.
Harvey Danbury, infamous reporter and paparazzi.
CHAPTER 19
BAM
Carson Thomas tapped the headline on his tablet. If it was a newspaper, I'm pretty sure he would have slapped it down on the table. He might do that anyway; he could afford to have a new tablet here within the hour.
"Do you really think sleeping with Grace Hardy was a good idea?" Carson narrowed his eyes at me.
He clearly expected me to agree with him.
I couldn't.
Well, I could, but not for the reasons he was implying.
"We're both consenting adults." I wasn't sure how the press got a hold of the story in the first place. I didn't think she would have gone to them. That didn't seem like her at all. When she left, she seemed determined to forget all about it and move on with her life. That stung, but I had to put on my big boy pants and deal with it.
"She was fired from the Rapids," Carson said, as if I could forget. "Consorting with someone who left under a cloud makes you look questionable at best. Like you're not a team player."
I jerked up higher in my seat. "I'm the most teamingest player on the whole team." I didn't care that wasn't a word. "Who I spend my time with, after hours, is my business."
"Not when you're in the spotlight it's not," Carson said. "Especially when you're under extra scrutiny because of your past actions."
"That's why I'm spending time with Grace," I argued.
"Yes, yes." Carson set the tablet down on the desktop with a thud. "So my daughter told me. Next time you feel the need to do good, go through a publicist who still works here."
"You could rehire Grace." He opened the door, of course I was going to stroll right in. For all I know, he'd say yes. How quick could she get here from her place?
"No," he replied flatly. "She was photographed entering your building and left the next day in mostly the same clothes. Your t-shirt, the press is speculating. Her dismissal from her job here is no secret. At this point, she's becoming as controversial as you are."
My blood started to steam. I should have known someone was stalking one or both of us. It was normal for me. I should have warned Grace it might happen to her.
On the other hand, she was besties with two team girlfriends. She must have some idea the kinds of things the press put them through. Hadn't Bec quit her job because she didn't want to work around those kinds of vultures?
"People should mind their own bloody business," I muttered.
"They should, but they don't," Carson said. "As long as we're in the public eye, people will want to know every detail of everything and everyone we do."
It sounded like I wasn't the only one getting a hard time from the press. I hadn't paid much attention. No one on the team mentioned anything at practice.
"They'll certainly want to know if you're sleeping with a former employee. How long has this been going on?" He propped his elbow on the desk and rested his cheek on the back of his fingers.
"It was one time," I said. "Won't happen again. We agreed to meet in public from now on, so no one assumes anything. After the Christmas in July party, we'll never see each other again."
Speaking those words out loud made me feel like I was ripping out my own heart and stomping on it. "But you know, if you rehire her?—"
"Out of the question," he said before I could even finish my sentence. "People are talking enough. If she came back, the press would have a field day. They'd assume it was because she's your lover."
"She's not my lover," I argued. I just wished she was.
"They would assume," Carson said, his voice tight, like he was about done talking about it.
