For himself. For us.
“I'm glad to hear it,” I say.
“Keep it up.” Jennifer stands. “And good work on handling the Toronto situation. I know it wasn't ideal to sacrifice your day off, but it shows real dedication.”
Guilt twists sharper. “Just doing my job.”
After she leaves, I sit back in my chair and stare at my computer screen, not really seeing it.
I'm lying to my boss. Hiding a relationship with a client. Compromising my professional integrity for personal reasons.
Everything I swore I'd never do.
But when I think about Liam's smile, about the way he opened up about his family, about rose petals hidden in my suitcase, I can't bring myself to regret it.
Not yet, anyway.
I force myself to focus, diving back into work with renewed intensity. If I'm going to do this. If I'm going to risk everything for Liam, then I need to be damn good at my job. I need to prove that I can handle both the professional and personal without letting either suffer.
An email pops up from Nike's marketing team. I open it, scanning quickly.
Following our recent discussions and Liam's improved public image, Nike would like to discuss featuring him in our upcoming youth sports campaign. The campaign focuses on mentorship, perseverance, and positive role models for young athletes.
My heart soars. This is huge. Nike doesn't just want to continue their endorsement deal; they want to feature him in a major campaign. This is the kind of opportunity that could reshape his entire public image.
I immediately forward the email to Liam.
His response comes within minutes:Holy shit. Is this real?
Me: Very real. Good job.
Liam: This is incredible.
Me: You earned it.
Another email catches my attention, this one from Sports Illustrated. Another offer. They want to feature Liam on their December issue.
We’re getting there. This is everything I've been working toward. Everything I hoped we could achieve with the right PR strategy and behavioral changes.
And Liam did it. He actually did it.
I respond to the Nike and SI emails with professional enthusiasm and promises to coordinate schedules. This is good. This is what success looks like in my job. Major opportunities and positive press.
The fact that I'm also sleeping with said client is just a complicating factor I choose not to examine too closely right now.
By mid-morning, I need a break from emails and decide to check in with Eliana about game coverage.
“Hey,” I say, pulling up a chair beside her. “Do you have a minute to go over Thursday's coverage plan?”
“Sure.” She minimizes a few windows. “I was just pulling engagement metrics from the Toronto game. Want to see?”
She shows me graphs and numbers that all tell the same story. Positive momentum, strong engagement, Liam's content performing well above his historical average.
“This is great,” I tell her. “Really great work, Eliana.”
“Thanks. Though honestly, Liam's been making it easy lately.” She grins. “Whatever you said to him, it worked.”
If she only knew.
