Total pages in book: 76
Estimated words: 73174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73174 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 366(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
After trying on a few, we found one that fit. Emmett was still waiting for me outside the coat closet. Bless his fucking heart, as my mom would say.
“I’m so sorry,” he said near my ear. “I didn’t know.”
“Not your fault,” I said, trying to get comfortable in the borrowed jacket. “Let’s just go sit down, yeah?”
The walk to the table felt like walking the plank.
“Thank you for being here with me,” Emmett said, and when I turned to him, it was like seeing a beacon of light in the dark.
Emmett was so fucking perfect.
It was frustrating sometimes, because I never felt like I measured up.
But when I looked in his eyes and saw how genuine he was, how deep his beauty went and how much he truly cared, it knocked me on my ass, every time.
Of course I’d fucking try, for him.
Nobody had ever made me feel the way he did. So challenging, so interesting and different from me, and so goddamn hot I wanted to pull him into one of the hallways here and grind against him until I came in my damn pants.
Not that it was time to think about that, right now.
I cleared my throat, scratching my head.
“I, ah, didn’t know it was going to be a big business meeting,” I said. “I thought it would be one guy.”
“I didn’t think he was going to bring more people, too,” Emmett said, casting me a genuine I’m so sorry look. “But they’re good people. I promise. Are you okay?”
I sucked in a breath.
There was a time when I would have refused to come somewhere like this, and I’d have said my opinion loud and proud, not giving a shit what people around me thought.
But… it meant something to Emmett.
I wanted to be here for him, and him only.
I wanted to do my best for him, and maybe that feeling meant more than my own stupid opinions, for once.
“I’ll be okay,” I told him, smiling as we arrived at the table.
For the first part of dinner, Emmett, Hugo, and Landry caught up with each other. They’d worked together years ago, and now Hugo wanted a big, sweeping marketing campaign for his new electrolyte drink company, Icy Tap.
“Wait,” I said, piping up for the first time in a few minutes. “You’re the owner of Icy Tap?”
“Yes sir,” Hugo said, nodding at me. “Only been in production for about a year now, but we’re growing fast.”
“My team absolutely loves that stuff,” I said. “One of the guys brought some about a month ago, and it’s all we’ve been drinking. It’s delicious. We hydrate with it before and after games.”
A big smile came over Hugo’s face. “I had no idea. I’m incredibly honored. You guys really like it?”
“Love it,” I said. “You’re making a great product. Hell, I can post about it on social media right now, if you want.”
I reached to pull out my phone but Hugo shook his head. “No, no, that’s not necessary. That’s part of what I wanted to consult with Emmett about. I’m not sure if a grassroots, social media campaign is the direction we want to go, or if we want to seek out other brand deals or traditional advertising.”
It occurred to me again that the people here didn’t think like me.
They calculated their moves, making sure they didn’t make a single public misstep.
I was the opposite. I acted on impulse. If I felt like posting something, I posted it. I didn’t think about the consequences. Sometimes it bit me in the ass, and other times it paid off great.
But looking around the table here, I realized that I couldn’t act that way around these people. Certainly not if it would have repercussions for Emmett.
And as the dinner went on, I was hit with reminder after reminder that I was the odd one out. The conversation soon turned to memories of college, and all of them talked about the different Ivy League universities they’d gone to, comparing and contrasting and talking about things that I didn’t even understand.
What really was an academic secret society? What was the difference between magna cum laude and summa cum laude, and why did it matter? I’d gone to college on a full athletic scholarship, and while I’d done okay in my classes, my focus had been on football almost exclusively.
And as Emmett and Hugo began discussing potential avenues for marketing the Icy Tap beverage company, I was so aware of how out of my depth I was.
Hugo glanced over at me, and a chill hit my spine all at once.
I realized that it was very possible that Hugo didn’t want me to post about his company because it might actually have a negative impact on his brand.
He might not want it associated with me at all.
Sure, I was famous and he thought I was a great player. But I was also a loose cannon. A liability. Always cruising toward a public scandal.