Page 14 of Dream On, Liar

“Your meeting with your dad went that badly?” My fingers tightened around my phone as I nodded.

“He was more mad than I’d ever seen him be.” I hesitated, before admitting something quietly. “I honestly didn’t think he would be mad.”

Samyra chewed on her lower lip, making me pause. She was holding back something.

“What?” I asked, a little more forcefully than I’d intended.

She sighed, opening her mouth before closing it again. When she finally had the words, I could still sense the hesitation in her. “Okay, you know I love you, and I’m team Maeve here—but I think with the off season going on right now…this thing has blown up far more than even I could’ve predicted.”

I frowned. “What do you mean blown up?”

“Well, for starters, Rihaan’s dad, who, as you know, was also a cricketer, kind of went on live television yesterday for an interview.” Her attention flicked briefly as a notification sound pinged off her laptop. Shaking her head, she looked back at me. “I genuinely don’t know why he agreed to do it. Unless his goal was to make this entire situation catastrophically worse, because from a PR point of view…”

“Sam.” I interrupted before she could spiral into full analysis mode.

“Right. Sorry. Anyway, it was basically a complete shitshow. At one point he started defending Rihaan so aggressively that he accidentally backed up part of your article.” She grimaced. “He said something about how Rihaan’s been pushing through injuries for years because sitting out important matches was not an option.”

My eyes widened.

“Which,” she continued carefully, “immediately made everyone start questioning why he’s still being selected if his body’s apparently hanging together with athletic tape and denial, and if he was one of the reasons—considering, he’s his manager. One of the commentators even said it might be irresponsible to take him on the next tour if the injuries are that bad. But then his dad pointed out how the coaching staff and the professionals the board hired obviously knew better, and this was bigger than what he thought, because if there were any real concerns, they would’ve acted by now instead of listening to someone who thinks ego leads to injuries. But by then, it sounded a lot more like backtracking.”

Her expression turned apologetic.

“Which made it worse,” she said quietly. “Because one of the commentators asked whether Rihaan was only still being picked because of his reputation, and his dad basically said players like Rihaan earn a level of trust other players don’t. He’s currently the fastest bowler in the entire sport, and benching him would just be idiotic. He said that verbatim.”

A cold feeling settled in my stomach.

She winced as she continued. “So now half the internet thinks your article exposed a real issue, and the other half thinks your dad’s showing favouritism because he’s too emotionally invested in one of his star players. And now, people want both of them to be reviewed…you know, along with the PTs that already work the tours.”

Suddenly, I was thankful my hands were full, because the urge to cover my face while hoping for the floor beneath me to open up and swallow me whole was almost unbearable.

A humourless laugh escaped me. “Well, at least his anger seems justified now.”

“And?” She asked, obviously picking up on my trail of thoughts.

I sighed, forcing my feet to move and leave the store. “…And why he just handed me a promotion to come and fix this mess.”

Her eyes turned into saucers. “He what?”

“Yep,” I gritted through my teeth. “Officially part of the England Lions come next Monday.”

For a second, Samyra just stared at me through the screen like her brain had temporarily stopped processing information correctly.

“Maeve,” she said slowly, “that is not a promotion. That is a public execution.”

“I’m aware. And clearly, I deserve it.”

“Okay, yes, you made a mistake—but how the media is reacting is not on you.”

“It kind of is.” I shrugged, more exhausted than I’d been ten minutes ago. Sighing immediately after, I rubbed at my forehead. “I just cannot believe I have to work with Rihaan now.”

Her expression softened again as the automatic doors opened with a hiss. Adjusting my grip on my things, I shook my head as the cold air hit my face. “I’m going to eat my feelings in my car, get some energy, and then drive back.”

I barely made it two steps out of the shop before walking straight into someone.

The impact hit hard enough to send me stumbling backwards, the items in my hand slipping from my grasp entirely.

“Oh my God, shit—”