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I was operating on a few hours of sleep. The heat wrapped around me, and I had to wrestle my bags into position behind me. They bumped over the sidewalk as I stood in line behind a girl that was easily six feet tall. I wondered what sport she competed in. I sized her up as a volleyball player or maybe a rower.
Thirty minutes later I made it through the metal detectors and started my hunt for Lachlan. The buildings were divided by country. I couldn’t imagine the nightmare of working out the political logistics of placing each team based on preferences and cultural demands. The United Kingdom was grouped together in building three.
I rolled my suitcases behind me, looking for numbers on the buildings.
I passed by a small tropical oasis filled with bright flowers and a cascading waterfall that trickled into the pool. A game of volleyball had broken out between the most perfectly toned people I’d ever seen in my life. I tried not to gawk as I walked past them, but it was like something out of a magazine. Their muscles glistened under the lights of the pool as they laughed and splashed in the water.
I forced my gaze straight ahead and marched into the third building in the row. I tilted my bags upright in front of the concierge desk.
“Hi, I’m here to see Lachlan Kenzie. Is there a way to page him or can I go directly to his room?” I asked.
The woman behind the desk looked up from her phone.
“You can’t go up there.”
“Okay.” I wasn’t entirely surprised. I knew my badge didn’t give me unlimited access in the village. “Can you call him or something? I haven’t been able to reach him. It’s extremely important.”
“Are you his coach?” She smacked a piece of gum in her mouth.
I shook my head. “No.”
“Are you a trainer?”
“Um, no.”
She shrugged her shoulders. “You can wait, but your pass expires in two hours.”
“What? Why two hours?”
She pointed at my chest where the badge hung around my neck.
“There’s a village curfew. The gates close in two hours and you can’t be in here. It’s only open for athletes and coaches.”
“But I need to see Lachlan. It’s important.”
“You can wait for him here, but in two hours you have to leave.”
I pinched my forehead together. This was crap. I had to see him tonight. I thought about trying to explain how he was going to ruin my career. How if we had to push this game back or find another celebrity, he could ruin other people’s lives. People who had worked on the game. People in programming. People in marketing. His decisions affected an entire division of Revolution. I was their voice. Their champion. Saving the Kenzie game was bigger than me.
But as she smacked her gum and messaged someone on her phone, I realized she didn’t care what Lachlan Kenzie did.
I looked over my shoulder at the lobby accommodations. There were bright blue, red, and purple couches grouped together. Half of them were covered in athletes.
“Okay, I guess I’ll wait.”
She nodded her head. “Have a seat.”
I didn’t see what choice I had. She wasn’t going to give me his room number and there was no other way to find him in this chaos. I felt like I had stumbled into one of my old dorms, only instead of kids studying for finals, these people were built like gods and goddesses.
I straightened my pencil skirt and scooted into a corner of one of the blue couches.
I didn’t want to think what would happen if I didn’t see him in the next two hours.
I pulled up a picture of Lachlan on my phone. We had never met, but I was sure I would recognize that man anywhere.
I tried to look at him with a professional gaze. He was part of my portfolio. But in almost every picture I had of him, he was shirtless. His abs rippled with chiseled indentations. Most men weren’t made like Lachlan. He had jet black hair and eyes to match. He wore his shorts low on his hips, showing off the firm muscles of his chest and torso. Client. I reminded myself. Game ambassador.
But there was a reason Revolution had chosen him. He had fiery sex appeal. There was no denying how women reacted to him. Twenty-somethings thought he was a complete badass. The entire success of the game hinged on him being able to appeal to all ages. Our test markets in the US and UK liked him because of his bad boy image—but it had never been this bad before. I placed my phone face down, hoping I would see him walk through the lobby door any minute.
