Aiden (Members From Money Book 8)

by Katie Dowe

  "Long enough." She squeaked. She coughed and tried again. "Since high school."

  "Lucky you."

  Charli glared at him.

  "Was that meant to mean something?" She demanded.

  "Not really. I've never had a long-term relationship beyond six months." Mark shrugged. "Could never find someone I wanted to settle down with or someone who could keep up with my hectic schedule."

  Charli knew the feeling. Even after all this time with Andy she was still finding it hard to accept that she would come second to tennis. It was starting to wear on her commitment. But she wasn't about to tell that to Mark; that was giving information to the enemy. She wasn't into using underhanded tactics to put another player off their game; Andy's agent may be willing to train Andy to do that but she wasn't.

  "Communication works." She said coolly. "Most of the time."

  "Most of the time?" Mark grunted with a grin. "That's not comforting."

  Charli wasn't about to air her dirty laundry to this man. She squared her shoulders.

  "We've been together since we were fifteen. We've had our ups and downs but we've stayed together."

  They had had more downs than ups and they were on a downer right now. But Mark didn't need to know that.

  "I admire that." Mark sounded genuine when he said that. "Loyal women are hard to come by."

  "Sounds like you don't come across them much."

  "I do." Mark shrugged. "I'm just too much of an asshole to actually stay."

  "Aren't we all?" Charli grinned. "I'm a bitch as well. I can make people's lives hell if they piss me off."

  "I don't doubt that."

  They stared at each other, the air seeming to get thicker around them. Charli knew she shouldn't be encouraging him and she should send him on his way but she couldn't take her eyes off him. There was something about Mark that drew her to him. Andy had had that pull when they first met but it had worn off a long time ago; Charli had to admit that things had worn thin between them lately.

  They were certainly heading for trouble if things carried on the way they were. And with a shit-stirrer like Kimberly Cole hanging around, they were going to get there a lot quicker than Charli was prepared to go.

  "Charli."

  Charli snapped her head around. Andy had left the court with his coach, carrying his jacket and racket bag. He hadn't come onto the porch but Charli could see his angry glare at Mark's back. Mark didn't turn around, still staring at Charli with a thoughtful expression that had Charli wanting to shift in her seat.

  Shaking off her daze, Charli picked up her purse and stood, nodding stiffly at Mark.

  "Nice talking to you, Mr Hildenstern."

  She didn't wait to hear his answer, hurrying off to join Andy, who looked like a volcano about to erupt.

  This wasn't going to be a good day.

  *****

  "Andy?" Charli leaned forward and slid her hand across the table. "Andy."

  "One second, Charli." Andy didn't bother to look up as he typed furiously at his phone. "I need to send this off."

  Charli could feel the frustration building. They had been in the restaurant an hour and were halfway through their main course but Andy had barely touched his dinner, choosing to send text after text, his cell phone constantly buzzing, or talking to Kimberly, who sat a little too close beside him in the booth. The other woman kept sneaking smug glances at Charli, as if she knew she was spoiling their evening and was enjoying it.

  Charli glared back at her. Kimberly had come into Andy's life weeks before Andy graduated from university. She had done something to improve Andy's tennis but she was also the driving force in Andy's behavior. It was shortly after the problems started. Charli had tried to leave several times but Andy had managed to get her to stay. Even after she found provocative texts and explicit pictures from other women, which Andy said were just enamored fans.

  Charli didn't believe it but she loved Andy so she stayed. Now she was beginning to regret. There was nothing there anymore and they seemed to be staying together because that was all they knew.

  And Kimberly was loving it.

  Charli slapped the table hard, making Andy jumped and his glass sloshed his beer onto the table.

  "Charli, what the hell?"

  "Andy, will you listen to me?" Charli said desperately. "We agreed to come out to dinner to talk and have an intimate evening." She glanced at Kimberly, who smirked. "It's not been very intimate so far."

  Andy sighed and put his phone down.

  "Charli, I have an exhibition to train for this weekend. We need to get the game strategy ready. Plus all the endorsements and modeling I have to do."

  Andy loved doing the modeling. That was when the women drooled over his pictures with him wearing barely anything. With his body, his dark hair that touched his shoulders and his youthful looks, he was the epitome of a Greek god. At least, he had been in Charli's eyes. Now she saw a spoiled brat with an inflated ego that didn't leave room for her. Andy had changed and not for the best.

  But Andy didn't seem to notice. With his success and Kimberly whispering things into his ear he thought he was the biggest thing on the planet. His underhanded tactics to unnerve players also unsettled Charli, who saw the desolation and humiliation when Andy beat them easily because they had been shaken by the things he said. That was another one of Kimberly's tactics.

  The old Andy had never done that and would never consider doing that; he had always been a considerate person and the sportsmanship had been commendable. But this new Andy was not something to be proud of. Andy might be proud of himself but Charli wasn't.

  Maybe she needed to cut and run while she could.

  But she smiled and leaned forward, knowing her cleavage would be on display.

  "You don't need to do that for a few hours, do you?" She asked sweetly.

  Kimberly snorted.

  "Charli, you knew when Andy turned professional that he would be busy with things other than a relationship."

  Her attempt at seduction failing, Charli swung a glare in Kimberly's direction.

  "This was arranged as a dinner for two, Kim." She snapped. "Not a dinner for three where the girlfriend is the third wheel."

  "You shouldn't be too bothered with that." Andy sat back and folded his arms.

  Charli was confused.

  "What's that supposed to mean?"

  "Well, you were talking to Hildenstern earlier. So I'm talking to Kim."

  "You told Kim to come here to talk with you and ignore me because I was talking to Hildenstern?" Charli couldn't believe the childishness of the pair of them. "That's what this is about? He spoke to me, that's all. I could see he had an agenda and I made it clear I was taken."

  "From the look on his face when you walked away he didn't get the message." Andy sneered.

  Chapter 2

  Charli didn't need to be a genius to figure out what he was saying. She sighed and reached across the table, touching Andy's hand. Andy pulled his hand away and Charli sat back, hurt and angry.

  "I'm not cheating on you, Andy. I've never cheated on you."

  "Are you sure about that?"

  Charli snarled at Kimberly, who was sitting with her arms folded, her expression saying she didn't believe a word Charli was saying. She also noticed Kimberly was leaning a little towards Andy, their shoulders touching.

  "How long have you been Andy's agent?" She demanded. "Four years? I've been with him for ten, known him for thirteen. I have never cheated." She looked back at Andy. "I have forgiven but never cheated."

  Kimberly gasped. Andy's jaw tightened. Charli could see him keeping his temper barely in check. He didn't like it when his faults were pointed out to him. He didn't like it when someone had a go at him.

  "I told you I never strayed." He said tightly.

  "So the girls who sent you explicit messages and pictures were to the wrong number?" Charli snorted. "I don't think so."

  Andy's face went red.

  "You have no right to
go on my phone." He growled.

  "And you shouldn't have been texting those girls in the first place. When I entered a relationship with you I knew your tennis was important for you. I was fine with that. What I didn't accept was this new you where you're willing to be nasty to other players to put them off, acting like you're single and bedding any girl whose top was low enough and who gave you a smile."

  "You'd better be careful what you're saying." Kimberly warned. Her eyes were angry.

  "I beg your pardon?" Charli raised her eyebrows at the other woman. "You're threatening me? He's the one who's cheated and I've forgiven him over and over because I love him. But I never said this relationship was an open one unless I missed that memo."

  Kimberly glared at her and Charli matched it with one of her own. At five-two and one-twenty pounds, short blonde hair and dark eyes, Kimberly's innocent-looking appearance hid the fact that she was cold, calculating and willing to do anything to get her charge to win. Charli had suspected drugs in the past but she had no proof. Although the way Andy had suddenly bulked up should be proof.

  Andy leaned forward, leaning his arms on the table.

  "I love you, Charli." He said simply. If it had been any other time Charli might have believed him. "I have never looked at anyone else. But it upsets me when I'm doing all this for us so we can have a future together and you cheat with my rivals."

  Charli groaned.

  "How many more times do I need to say it before it sinks in? We spoke, I blew him off. That's the only time I've ever met him."

  "Like I'm going to believe that."

  Charli could feel her anger about to get out of control. She gritted her teeth.

  "Considering you've cheated so much, I'm not surprised you're insecure about me. But you should at least trust me." She pointed at Kimberly, who was smirking and enjoying the scene. "She's supposed to be your agent, not your girlfriend. That's my title. But seeing as you two are dead set on making me look the guilty party, I'm going."

  She stood and picked up her purse and jacket. She squeaked when Andy's arm shot out and he grabbed at her wrist, holding on tight.

  "I never said you could go." He growled.

  Charli pinched the outside of his hand and Andy pulled his hand away with a flinch. Charli rubbed at her wrist. There would be bruises there later.

  "I'm your girlfriend but you don't give me orders." She slipped on her jacket, taking her hair out from under the collar. "As far as I'm concerned the pair of you can go to hell."

  She stormed away, keeping her head high and trying not to run. Behind her she could hear Kimberly laugh.

  *****

  Mark sat at a corner table and watched Charli's table, observing the interaction between her, Andy and an attractive blonde woman in her thirties. He could feel the tension from his seat right across the room and he was sure that something was going to explode.

  He hadn't been able to get Charli out of his head since he caught sight of her. She was beautiful and there was something about her that had Mark more than intrigued. He could also see that she was a nice girl and Mark couldn't understand why someone like her was in a relationship with a guy like Henson. They seemed to be completely mismatched.

  It also puzzled him that Kimberly was there as well. The woman was known in the tennis world as being aggressive, both as a former player and as an agent. She had been linked to drugs in the past but nobody had any proof that she was actually involved. That didn't stop her from using tricks get her clients to the top by any means necessary.

  She had only one client in the last six months and that was Henson but she was certainly making money off him. Mark wondered what incentives she was giving Henson to make him win. Judging by the way she was leaning on him and goading Charli, it was sexual.

  Charli stood up and got ready to leave. Anger came off her in waves. Mark decided to make his move. Leaving a generous tip for the waitress, who had been flirting with him since he came in, he hurried out without being noticed. What he was about to do was just as underhanded as Henson but Mark wanted to mess with the kid. He wanted to level the playing field.

  If he could mess with Henson's head believing his girl was cheating on him that might put him off his game.

  Mark felt bad that he was about to use Charli to his own means; she didn't deserve to be involved in any of this. But he wasn't thinking that clearly.

  He just wanted to get back at the bastard.

  Mark hung around outside the restaurant, waiting for Charli to come out. When she did, she stormed out, almost banging the door open. She turned towards him and Mark started walking. He timed it right and guessed that Charli was too upset to notice where she was going.

  It still hurt when she collided with him, her fists hitting him in the chest. She wobbled on her heels and Mark caught her before she collapsed onto the ground.

  "Whoa, easy there!"

  Charli grabbed onto his arms and the contact of her hands on his bare arms had Mark's whole body tingling. His cock hardened and demanded some attention. But Mark wasn't going to do that; Charli was a classy person and she didn't deserve to be used like that. He only meant to give the impression that she was cheating, not actually follow through.

  But his body seemed to have missed the memo.

  "I'm so sorry, I..." Charli got her balance back and looked up. She saw him and her breath caught. "Oh, it's you."

  "Sorry, did you want to bump into somebody else?"

  "I just..." Charli blushed a deep red. She looked very cute when she blushed. She stepped back and adjusted her jacket, trying not to look at him. "Look, Mr Hildenstern, I'm not in a very talkative mood. I just want to go home."

  Mark could understand. He had got there a few minutes before Charli and Henson and had seen her expression fall when Kimberly arrived and got cozy with her boyfriend without any shame. Charli's body language had changed in the short time they had sat there and Mark wanted to go over there and make her feel better.

  While he wasn't good at long-term relationships, he never treated a woman the way Henson was treating Charli. He had a bit more respect than that.

  "You got a ride?"

  "We took a cab here. I thought I'd be having a glass of wine and didn't want to risk driving."

  Smart girl. Mark wished he could be as smart. He had been on soda to prepare for this meeting; he didn't trust himself to go overboard as he normally did when he touched alcohol.

  "My car's around the corner. I can take you home." He held up his hands. "I promise you, I'm just acting as a taxi service. I won't do anything untoward."

  He could see Charli debating with herself. But he had noticed the dilation of her pupils when she first saw him and the slightly rapid breathing. She was attracted to him.

  Maybe he could work on that.

  Finally she swallowed and nodded.

  "Okay."

  Mark knew he was in trouble now. He had wanted to mess with Henson's head but knowing Charli was attracted to him was going to make this hard. It was going to make him feel like the bad guy if Charli got hurt.

  But when he slipped Charli's arm through his and they began to walk down the street, he didn't feel guilty. Not in the least.

  *****

  Charli knew what she was doing wasn't the best idea in the world. But she wanted to get home and Mark was there and he was offering to take her. She wanted to get out of there.

  It felt weird walking next to him, touching him, and Charli liked it. Even in the cool evening air his body felt warm, his muscles flexing under her touch. Andy had been wearing a t-shirt and jeans but he couldn't pull it off like Mark could. There was something about Mark that Andy was missing. Charli didn't know what it was but it was getting her attention.

  She shook herself, mentally telling herself to get a grip. She shouldn't be thinking like this. But Charli didn't care.

  Mark's car was parked around the corner. Charli whistled when she saw the vintage vehicle, its dark blue paint gleaming. She didn't know her
cars but she knew it was an old make and model. It didn't look old; it looked brand new.

  "Nice car."

  "Thanks." Mark looked pleased at her comment. "I inherited it from my dad. He bought it when it was going for scrap and did it up. It's worked like a charm for nearly twenty years and I've had it for half of that."

  "What happened to your dad?"

  "He died of cancer eleven years ago." Mark looked uncomfortable. "He left this to me and made me promise to look after it. I wasn't going to let him down."

  "You've done him proud." Charli ran a hand lightly over the hood. "It's beautiful."

  Mark coughed and blushed a bright red. Charli bit her lip as her arousal rushed straight to her core. Mark was a handsome man and something ramped it up when he blushed. That shouldn't even be possible.

  Mark helped her into the car, Charli settling into the cool leather seat. Mark got in behind the wheel and switched the ignition on, the car barely making a sound. Charli then felt the seat suddenly warm up and it took a moment to realize that the seats were heated. Once she got over the feeling that she had suddenly peed in the seat, it felt nice.

  Charli gave directions and Mark turned the car into the street, turning north in the direction of her apartment. As they drove, Charli thought about what had happened in the restaurant and how Andy and Kimberly had made her feel. When a couple went out they expected to have time to themselves, not have someone barge in and make one of them sit on the outside.

  She was angrier at Andy. They had done everything together and Andy always remembered her feelings. They had drifted apart in the last four years and Kim was the reason. She hadn't believed Andy would be so easily led but it was more than that; Kim had brainwashed him.

  He was such a bastard.

  "I thought you weren't in a talkative mood." Mark said lightly.

  Charli realized she had said that out loud.

  "Sorry." She looked down at her hands. "He just makes me so mad. After his ego and that bitch, there isn't any room in his life for me."

  "Sounds like a rough relationship."

  "It was great until he went professional in college and won against the US number five."