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I hurried there.
I arrived just in time to see Trish Jameson walking out of the restaurant. She swiveled her head, spotted me, and flashed a huge, predatory smile. “Blondie!” she called from down the street, then walked toward me.
I looked past her through the glass windows of the shop and saw Damon glaring at his plate inside. My insides went icy. Maybe I wasn’t as stupid as I thought.
“Oh, don’t worry. I haven’t fucked him. Yet,” Trish said. “Well, I guess that’s not accurate. We fucked hundreds of times already, but I mean I haven’t had that big, perfect dick of his yet this weekend.”
“What were you doing in there together?”
“You want the truth? Because if you ask him, he’s just going to give you some bullshit story about what a crazy bitch I am. The truth is he never got over me. He still wants to make things work, and I just might let him. So we were planning a date for tonight. But go ahead, ask him yourself. I’m sure he’ll have fun spinning up a lie for you.”
I clenched my fists and said nothing as Trish walked away, supremely happy with herself. This was a crossroads point. I sensed that.
My instincts wanted to believe everything she said and go in there guns blazing. I wanted to demand to know how Damon could do this to me, even if we’d never made anything official. We both knew what we felt, and how could he still think about someone else when it felt so right to be together.
But I thought about what that banshee of a woman must’ve done to him. Whether I knew the details or not, I knew she hurt him. Maybe it still hurt for him. He didn’t need me to take her word over his. He didn’t need me to doubt him.
And even if trust was a two-way street, some people had more reasons to protect their trust than others. So I sucked up all my emotions and walked into the restaurant, then sat across from Damon. He lifted his eyes, saw me, and frowned.
“How’d you find me here?”
“Mild stalker talents,” I said dismissively. “But that’s not the point. Look… I’ve been thinking about all this wrong.”
Damon set down his fork and gave me his full attention. “What do you mean?”
“I just ran into Trish. Again. By the way, she’s a raging psychopath. But she keeps trying to convince me you’ve got some maniacal secret. Or that you two are about to sneak off and sleep together any moment. And I decided I don’t care what she says. I don’t even care that you are still not ready to open up to me. Someone always has to be the first one to trust, and I’m willing to be the one to put myself out there. So… I trust you.”
“Damn it.” Damon sighed, folded up his napkin, and threw it on his plate. “You’re a pain in my ass, you know that, right?”
“Uh,” I said slowly. “I think there must be some kind of miscommunication. I’m trying to say—”
“I know. And stop talking before I change my mind and decide not to tell you this. Trish blackmailed me. I thought I loved her. After you and I met at the Marriott five years ago, I had this emptiness. I tried to fill it with her.
“I ignored the warning signs, and every time I felt like things were strained, I gave her more responsibility and power at the company. Eventually, I told her a few things I never should’ve told her.”
“Such as?” I asked carefully when he didn’t continue for a few seconds.
“One was that I faked my certifications in business for the first few years. My brother knew, but none of the other athletes I took on did. I eventually went and got it all taken care of, but there are regulations. If it ever got out and someone investigated properly, I’m not sure what would happen. I do know my credibility would be shot.”
“Wow,” I said. “And Trish knows?”
“Yeah. She threatened to out me if I didn’t let her hand-pick from my clients when she left. The only reason I still have some clients is there were a few who refused to leave, even when she hinted that I was a fraud to them.”
“You said you told her a few things? What else was there?”
Damon sighed. “I may have admitted what got me into being an agent in the first place. And that I take on many of my clients strictly to help protect them from predatory situations. A lot of the work I personally do involves scouting situations where young athletes are prime targets for relatives and family to take advantage. I try to sign them, regardless of how it stands to benefit Rose Athletic.”
