The Set Piece

by Catherine Lane

  Fear flooded his eyes.

  “Yeah, and guess what?” Amy pushed on before she could back out. “We had a camera down there as well. So if anyone’s going to sue anyone, it’s Diego, suing you for sexual assault!”

  Rob recoiled as if he’d been punched in the face for the second time that day.

  “Is this true, Rob?” Wallace shrank about an inch as his chest caved in. “You didn’t tell me any of this. What’d you do?”

  “He kissed him. And grabbed at him in places that no man should ever grab another man. We have the video.”

  “Yeah, so what! I didn’t do anything that he didn’t want!” The muscles in his legs tensed.

  “Shut up. Don’t say another word.” Wallace issued the command.

  Amy pulled out the other glossy photo, the one she’d found in the gym. “And we have this. You showed him this to freak him out. You wanted to blackmail him, Rob, didn’t you? It sure looks like it.”

  “No! It wasn’t like that at all.” Rob went beet red and started shouting. “It’s all your fault!” He rushed at Amy with both fists raised. Amy shrank back, her heart pounding.

  “Stop!” Wallace cried.

  Horowitz leapt to defend her, but Casey got there first. She simply stuck out her foot and Rob sprawled to the ground face-first.

  “You okay?” Casey asked her.

  “Yeah.” She looked down at Rob on the floor.

  The anger that had come on so quick had left him. He sat up, more than a little shaken. “All I wanted was Diego.” His voice was broken.

  “You never even had a chance, Rob,” Amy said. He was all sorts of crazy, and Amy almost felt sorry for him. She was about to get her happy ever after; he wasn’t.

  “We’ll drop the assault case,” Wallace weighed in quickly. “But I assume that you want to make another kind of deal about the pictures?”

  “Play your cards right and work with Mr. Horowitz. He’ll make you a decent deal, Rob. That’s what they do here,” Amy said.

  “We’ll get to that. Believe me, it will be worth your while to cooperate. But first tell us the whole story.” Horowitz’s voice was gentle. The man had some guile.

  Rob said nothing.

  Wallace pulled him off the ground and back into a chair. “Don’t ruin this, man. You still owe me for that thing with your mother.”

  “Fine.” Rob cupped a palm over his other eye. He was going to have matching shiners. “At first, I doctored the pictures only for myself. It was fun. Sort of fantasy stuff. No one was ever going to get hurt. But the longer it went on, the more obvious it became that Diego was in denial, and that got me mad.” He looked up, anxiety filled his face. “Not mad enough to harm him. I’d never do that,” he said. “I thought if I sent the pictures here, it might force him to accept who he really is. He’s not for you, Mizz. Thing,” he spat the words out with real venom. “No matter what he tells you at night up in your little room. He likes men. I know we would’ve been happy together, but I never got the chance.” He looked over at the photo lying on the desk. “All I wanted was to make him look at himself. Really look. I was never going to do anything else with the pictures.”

  “We can make sure of that.” Horowitz pushed the speaker on his phone. “Rachel, could you take Mr. Wallace and Mr. O’Brien to the conference room while we draw up the paperwork?”

  Rachel ushered them out, and suddenly it was over.

  Then why am I still shaking? Casey was by her side in a heartbeat. “Get the contract,” she said.

  “My turn,” Amy said, pointing at her own folder sitting out on the desk.

  “Yes. It is.” Horowitz grabbed the contract from the folder.

  “Wait! You sure we can’t convince you to stay on?” Knight asked. “The money is very easy here.”

  “No. I’m good.”

  Horowitz tore the contract into two pieces with a theatrical flourish and fed it to his industrial paper shredder. Knight groaned as each piece of the contract was eaten up.

  “I’m impressed how easy that was, Ms. Kimball. If you ever think about going to law school, drop by afterwards.” Horowitz said.

  “Are you kidding? In two weeks, I am done with this world forever.”

  She headed for the door without waiting for Rachel to escort them out.

  “You did great!” Casey said as they waited by the elevator. Her breathing had returned to normal.

  “You had to rescue me again,” she said. “First the pool, then the concert, and now Rob.”

  “We make a good team. We each play to our strengths.”

  “I look forward to exploring that more now that I am free.” The doors opened to their new future together. “But first I have to find Diego. Make sure he’s okay.”

  In the end, it was Diego who found her.

  Amy and Casey went back to his hacienda but the house was empty, so Amy texted him; Casey texted him. Even Tammy texted him. But no one received a reply.

  Casey returned to her office to get some work done. Amy went upstairs with Dulce at her heels as usual. By late afternoon, a soft knock came to her door. Amy opened it, expecting Casey, but a sheepish Diego stood on her doorstep. He put both hands over his heart, looking contrite.

  “Look, I’m so sorry about earlier,” Diego said. “I was upset, for so many reasons, and I took it all out on you.”

  “No. I get it. The whole thing was intense. Did Paul tell you? It’s over for real now. There is no more Rob.”

  “He did. And he also said that I have you to thank for that.”

  “Well, it was the least I could do. Do you want to come in?”

  He nodded, reached down to pick up Dulce, and rubbed his face in her fur. “Hey, pup.”

  “Where were you?” she asked when they were settled on the couch with two beers. Diego was breaking a lot of rules today.

  “The track. At UCLA. It’s where I always go when I am upset. I ran for hours. Trying to work all of this out. But I guess you were already doing that for me.” He reached over and took her hand. “I know this day would have ended up much worse if it weren’t for you.”

  “You talk to your mom?” Her hand felt odd in his.

  “No. It’s too fresh. We both need to get over our disappointment about this morning.”

  “It’s a start, Diego, like little baby steps. But don’t leave it too long.”

  He squeezed her hand and dropped it. “It doesn’t matter as long as I got you by my side. I’ll go off to training camp and give the national team my absolute best shot.”

  “Paul didn’t tell you?”

  “Tell me what?”

  It dawned on Amy that Knight had left her to tell Diego that #Amiego only had two weeks to go. She broke it to him gently.

  “I thought you liked it here.” He looked genuinely confused and hurt when she was done.

  “I do,” she said.

  “And I thought you liked me.” He acted as if they were really breaking up.

  “You’re a great guy, Diego, and this is probably the best job I will ever have. But that’s the problem. I don’t want this kind of job. In the beginning, I thought it was all about the money and the fun of brushing up against the MLS and you. But you see, I’m not getting anything real out of it. I know that this is working for you, it’s just not working for me.”

  “So what would be real for you?” He set his beer down and gave her his full attention.

  “You’re not going to believe this. And I’m in no way making fun of you. So I’m going to pull the band aid off fast. I’m gay, too. Casey and I are together, and I don’t want the fake you and me to get in the way of something real with her.”

  “Casey? My Casey?” His eyes went wide with surprise.

  “Yes. She’s my Casey now. But I’ll share her with you on work days.”

  “Wow.” He rak
ed his hand through his hair and stared at her. “That’s a lot to take in. You two are serious?”

  “I think so. I hope so.” A tinge of panic rose. They hadn’t had time to talk about what they both wanted. Everything had happened so quickly. She thought she knew Casey’s feelings. The joke would be on her if she had made all these changes for Casey, only for her to tell her that what they had together was a fling.

  But even if she and Casey didn’t work out, she suddenly realized that by sitting here telling the truth, she was way ahead of the game. Her panic evaporated as quickly as it had come. Whatever happened now, whether she was with Casey or not, she was definitely moving forward.

  Silence hung between them. Diego rubbed his chin. And then he threw back his head and laughed. A great big hearty laugh full of happiness.

  Amy flinched. She wasn’t sure of this new development. She had expected annoyance, anger, maybe even a little regret, but not a belly laugh.

  “Diego, are you okay?”

  “Okay? This is perfect.” He grabbed both her hands this time and shook them with delight. “This is why you should stay.”

  “Sorry?” Confusion played over her face.

  “You know, I thought maybe…Boy, do I feel stupid now, but I thought that you were developing feelings for me.”

  Amy shook her head. “No.”

  “See? That’s great.” Diego’s voice was full of relief. “And now that I don’t have to worry about that or taking advantage of you. This totally puts us on an even footing. Plus, you’re with someone I trust completely. We should totally keep all this going. It’s been really good for my image.” Diego was actually getting excited about the idea.

  “Diego I—”

  “—and, frankly, my game is fantastic now. Being a couple has really taken a weight off my shoulders. I haven’t played this well in a long, long time.”

  “Okay, but you see—”

  “Amy, I’m not ready to give you up, and I’m going to fight for you.”

  Amy almost toppled over. Again, the last thing she had expected Diego to say. They almost sounded like a real couple.

  “Diego, I’m flattered, I think. But—”

  “It comes down to this. I need you. How about I get Knight to double your salary?”

  “It’s not about the money anymore.”

  “That’s even better. Then do it for me. A good deed. Give your and Casey’s relationship a little positive karma?” He looked at her with puppy dog eyes. “Please?”

  “I don’t know.” The resolve with which she started the conversation seemed to evaporate. It suddenly seemed awfully selfish to leave Diego in the lurch like this. “I’ll talk about it with Casey. I’ll get back to you after practice tomorrow, okay?”

  It wasn’t until she was walking across the flagstones to Casey’s office that she realized two things. First, it had been a very long time since there had been anybody in her life to run things by. And second, cool air swirled around her as she moved.

  The heatwave had broken.

  CHAPTER 12

  Casey drove Amy to a park at the edge of the Valley. It was nothing special, but it was the one place where she said she felt the most comfortable. A basketball court stood at one end with a covered toddler playground at the other. In between was a large grass area where kids of all ages scooted around with soccer balls at their feet. Every square inch of turf was marked out into practice grids. Amy and Casey sat and watched the activity.

  “This is where my first team practiced. We met here twice a week when I was growing up.” Casey pointed to a spot not far from them where a female coach encouraged her girls into a three-man weave. “There were days I spent more time here than at home or even at school.”

  “You miss it?”

  “I do. Every day. But my turn’s over, whether I want it to be or not.”

  A girl, around Mia’s age, finished the weave with a blistering shot into the pop-up goal.

  “Wow,” Casey said. “Look at that shot. That girl’s got a foot on her. It’ll be her turn next. And then someone else’s after her. The game’s in good hands.” She snuggled into Amy. “And, besides, there are lots of ways to move forward.”

  “What are we going to do about Diego?” Amy raked her teeth over her bottom lip. “I should just tell him two weeks, and that’s it. Right?”

  “I don’t know. He’ll be right in the middle of camp then,” Casey said.

  “That’s what he said. And I get it, this isn’t all about us. So I wait until after camp, until the decisions come down? What if he doesn’t make it? Or worse, what if he does? He and I stay together until after the World Cup?”

  “I don’t know. That does seem a little extreme.”

  “And what happens to us in all that time?” Amy asked.

  Casey shifted on the bench so she could look into Amy’s eyes. “Who knows?”

  Amy’s heart clenched.

  Casey touched her arm reassuringly. “That’s not what I meant,” she said. “What I meant is it’s impossible to have this kind of conversation two days into a relationship. Who knows where we’ll be in two years or even two months. But we’re putting it all out on the table here? Yes?”

  Amy nodded, unable to speak, her throat suddenly dry.

  “Okay.” Casey took a deep breath. “This situation is so crazy, but you know, life is like that. We’ll figure it out, and I’m pretty sure we’ll make it work. And if it doesn’t, we’ll turn it into a situation that does work for us. We’re both athletes. We know how to see a play before it develops, right?” Amy nodded, unsure of where this was going. “The bottom line is that whether you’re Diego’s fiancée or not,” Casey looked straight at her, “I’m all in.”

  Amy squeezed her eyes shut; the relief hit her hard.

  “I’m all in, too.” As soon as she said it, Amy realized that this was her new truth and all the rest with Diego and Knight and Simon, none of it mattered as long as she had Casey.

  “So if we’re good with each other, where’s the harm in helping Diego?” Casey asked.

  “I worked way too hard to get out of that situation to walk right back into it.” Already all the pretense and lies were starting to weigh on her shoulders. “I know it doesn’t look like it from the outside, what with all the parties and the promos and the VIP boxes at games. But it’s getting really hard to hold it all together.”

  “Who says you’ll walk right back into it? I say you go in with guns blazing completely on your own terms.”

  “Which are?”

  “That’s for you to decide.”

  Amy settled back on the bench. It felt good, for once to be in the driver’s seat.

  Knight almost leapt through the phone when she texted him. Can we meet?

  He responded, I’ll meet you anywhere you want.

  They ended up in the bowling alley coffee house and hammered out a new deal with no contract and no penalties. This one was very much in Amy’s favor. She got everything she wanted. She would have reduced appearances with Diego, the wedding date would go into a permanent hiatus, and both she and Casey would get an all-expense paid trip to the World Cup, if that panned out for Diego. Top of the list, however, the homework–soccer club would progress from a study to a reality at top speed. They hemmed and hawed only over one point.

  “Take it or leave it,” Amy said. “It’s non-negotiable. I’m done lying and so is Casey.

  “It opens us up to a lot more liability. I don’t like it.”

  “Yeah, I know. But you’re going to have to trust me. And if you don’t trust me, you’re going to have to trust Casey. She really loves Diego, you know, and will make sure that nothing comes back to bite him. She’s the one you should have gone to in the first place, anyway.”

  Knight slumped back in his seat. “Everyone hates a Monday morning quarterback, you know.”


  Amy tried not to smirk. Instead she wrapped her hands around her coffee. “Well, you in or not?”

  “I had a call from Nike today…and Diego wants this. It all depends on how far he is willing to go,” Knight said.

  “And if he agrees?”

  “Then I’m in. But I have to tell you I don’t feel good about it.”

  The smirk she had been holding back burst out. “Welcome to my world.”

  Amy and Casey walked up the wooded streets of the Hidden Hills complex. Diego, along with Dulce, had joined them. Wide dirt paths opened up before them in the moonlight, weaving like ribbons around the huge mansions on the hillside. Dulce ran along beside them, her backside wagging in ecstasy as she followed one scent after another into the surrounding wild chaparral.

  Casey and Amy had met Diego as soon as he arrived home from practice, and then under the thin pretense of all of them taking Dulce for a walk, they quickly left the house. Amy saw a curtain flutter in the kitchen window as Tammy watched them head up the driveway.

  “So?” Diego said, as they turned the corner onto the hiking path by the house. “Are we breaking up or getting back together?” He didn’t smile at his own joke. Amy could see the tension in his face.

  “The answer’s up to you,” Amy said. “Casey and I want to be together. But we don’t like leaving you high and dry, especially if you think having a fake fiancée is helping your game.”

  “It is,” Diego said, cautiously, a little hope appearing in his eyes.

  “Okay, so what we would like to propose is that Casey and I come out to the people that matter around us, and you and I still present ourselves to the public as a couple.”

  “As my fiancée?” The hopeful look grew stronger.

  “As your fiancée, but with no set date for the wedding. The Atoms’ season will be over soon, and hopefully you’ll be away with the national team. So it won’t be as intense as it is now.”

  “So where’s the catch? That sounds great.”

  “Here’s the catch. You’re not going to like it, but hear us out.” Amy looked to Casey, who gave her an encouraging nod. “Casey will tell her family about us. Tammy will have to know, since Casey will be around a lot more.”