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My brother hesitated, then said, “Someone wrote to the club, insisting she’s pregnant with my kid, and that if they didn’t give out my contact info she’d go to the press.”
I went still as a statue.
“Is it true?” I asked eventually.
Jace dipped his chin to his chest. “Low blow, sister. Thought you’d be on my side instantly.”
“I’m always on your side,” I clarified. “I just want to know the facts.”
“No, of course it’s not true. I’ve never even met the woman. The club’s PR department usually deals with this without even telling us. Apparently people will invent all sorts of things to get our personal information.”
“I don’t understand. Why is this an issue, then?”
“She gave a very detailed account of what I did while I was out at a pub to celebrate a victory. It seemed real, and it gave our PR people pause. Which is when I turned to our dearest sister for advice.”
“The Lords’ PR people and I reviewed the footage of all the security cameras at the pub. We’d found out what she looked like by searching her name on Facebook,” Hailey said. “She’d been at the pub that night, watching him, which was why she could give all those details. But they never even spoke, and she left before he did.”
I remembered them whispering together during the past two Friday dinners. I’d ask why they hadn’t shared this with all of us like I’d told them about my issues with Beauty SkinEssence, but I knew Hailey’s modus operandi: she only shared a problem after she’d solved it. I hadn’t known that Jace also subscribed to that.
“It took some time to get the footage and look through it, but when she was confronted with the evidence, she dropped the issue,” Hailey explained. “Then Jace and I moved on to happier topics, which included him stripping for your ads.”
Jace groaned. “I only agreed to think about shirtless ads.”
“We’ll wear him down,” my sister fake whispered to me.
“We’ll do whatever you’re comfortable with,” I assured Jace.
“But you’ll persuade me to be comfortable with stripping?” he guessed.
I grinned. “I promise not to.”
“Well, you’re no fun today.” Hailey pouted, then checked the time on her phone. “I have to go already.” She stood up, kissing us both on the cheeks. Jace didn’t make a move to leave.
“We drove here separately,” he offered at my questioning glance.
“Are you okay?” I asked him after Hailey left.
“Yes. I just didn’t need this drama, but I guess no one ever needs it.”
Jace was a happy-go-lucky kind of person. He’d always been that way, as if nothing could faze or bother him. But lately, I’d sensed that something was off with him. I hadn’t voiced that thought because I was trying to be less of a mother hen to them all, but I didn’t want to stay silent anymore.
“There’s more bothering you,” I said slowly.
“When I decided to play professional soccer, I wanted to do it because I loved the game. But lately it feels like the game is on the back burner. Ever since the GQ title, things became insane. I can’t complain, fame brought me many advantages too, and I’ve enjoyed them, it’s just that....”
“What?”
“It’s a bit too much. The pressure, the expectations. All these people coming out of the woodwork wanting to befriend me. I envy you. You built all this, but you’re in the shadows.”
“Are you sure you want to go on with the advertising gig? It won’t help the cause.”
“I think it’s time I got used to all of this, took advantage of it. Listen to me, rambling on about first world problems.” He shook his head.
“Hey, problems are problems. And grappling with change is natural, I think. It’s a process, like everything else.”
“What if I’m just not cut out for it?” he said in a slightly lower tone, and I could tell it was weighing on him.
Usually, when I gave advice or reassurance, I tried to put myself in the shoes of the other person, but in this case, I was out of my depth. My brand was built around the products, not myself, so I’d always been in the shadows.
